And we have canter! 11/7/17

Tuesday 11 July 2017

And we have canter! 11/7/17

We have now completed 5 weeks of rehab and Jack is still feeling great, I have to touch wood every time I say that!
We've had a good week with some nice hacks including a splash in the river when it was hot, a little lunge and 1 light schooling session which I was really pleased with as Jack felt light, responsive and flexible and a loose school.

So having done 2 weeks of just walking followed by 3 weeks of walk and trot this weekend we were able to have our first canter :)

We went out for a hack with 2 friends and when we got to a bridle path I put Jack up front and popped him into canter, he was a bit excited to be able to go faster for the first time in months so we had a bit of spooking and quite a few changes of leg and going disunited but he felt fine so I don't think this was because of discomfort more due to excitement, and he was really keen to go although he did run out of steam a bit towards the end! It was a big step and I was so please to get that first canter out of the way without mishap, it felt good to be getting back to normal! I was beaming when we got to the end :)

On the Sunday it was baking hot again with temperatures in the 30's so I didn't ride until late in the evening. I decided as it was still pretty hot and getting late to just go for a quick hack around the block, walking with a few little trots on the road and then a gentle canter back along the bridle path. Jack needed reminding we were only supposed to be doing a slow canter but he listened and it is always nicer to have to slow him down rather than kick him on. I know now that if I'm having to kick then there is probably something wrong!

Last night as we had hacked for 3 days in a row I did a short schooling session with ground poles. I love using poles, the difference it makes to Jacks quality of work and his attitude is immense. He enjoys skipping over the poles, it gets him moving over his back, picking up his toes and really loosens him up. I hardly ever school without putting out some poles these days. Yesterday was no different and I was so pleased with how well he worked, lovely and forward, loose, light and supple he was a pleasure to ride :)

He is feeling stronger and starting to build back up all the top line muscles he lost being on box rest.
I'm really pleased with his progress and I'm looking forward to having a fully fit horse again in the not to distant future.
Now we are up to canter and all is still going well I feel a lot more positive and optimistic about our future!

I am going to see if we can get our physio Tamsyn out soon for a check up too, just to make sure he is comfortable so he can continue to work to his full ability. Now he is begining to work a bit harder he could be starting to feel it so a quick once over by Tamsyn will make sure he doesn't get to sore and affect his work.