My Nutty Friend

"My nutty friend" is Opie's nickname when I'm trying to give him his words of affirmation as he's getting himself so tightly wound he starts his piaffe button. Anne Gribbons says piaffe cures everything after it. MB has found this to be true as well. Getting to the other side of it is Opie's sticking point.

Over the weekend I dragged poor Hubby out for another round of videoing my tests. We made it through both of them this time, so that was a win! I remembered all of 3-2 this time, but I forgot the stupid reinback in 3-3 which happens prettyyyy much every time I ride it. Who just sticks a reinback in the middle of your trot work? I'm out here trying to mirror each movement as one does in dressage, and sike--quick halt, back, and carry on in the trot like it never happened. Alright, I will. By making it never happen in the first place lol. Which is a shame because it's actually one of Opie's best movements.

Stupid.

Anyway.

Opie felt a little sluggish in 3-2 so I had Hubby go and grab Mr Tappy. He'd felt mature about its existence the past couple rides so I was hoping the threat of it would getting him going a little more. Obviously I can't actually use it, but baby steps.

worked great, he was stoked.
lolololol

He actually kept it together better and longer than I thought he would. He wanted to shoot off as soon as I picked it up, but he reeled it and we started our test okay. The half 10m to half 10m over the centerline in the trot work that he's found tricky in the past started off SO well. As we were riding it, I was telling him he was the best nutty boy ever. And then we had to finish turning left. And he said, "Absolutely not, I do not turn that way, it is impossible." 

But he put all his feet back on the ground and we carried on in a mostly sane fashion. His L-R change, which as you'll recall is his better and easier and cleaner change, was late behind a step because he launched into it. I could feel him building and building as we approached the R-L change so I tried to just sit as quietly as possible and breathe my seat bone over to ask.

You can see it here. Blogger is being a fucker.

Guys, he gave me a CLEAN CHANGE!!

Of course then he lost his shit and I had to just focus on keeping him pointed the right direction, but at least it's proof he can do it! No weird karate kick with the LF first. We have had SO MANY discussions on if he even knows it's physically possible to do a clean change this way or if it's so locked in his head to do it wrong. I didn't get a second to tell him he was the goodest boy because I was trying to defuse his tantrum, but maybe there's hope. I haven't touched them since then. 

he's getting stronger in his med/ext trots

Tuesday I gave him another mental health day, but unlike the last one where I tried stretching for funsies that turned into not so funsies, we set up a few crossrails instead. This turned into a real live mental health day. He enjoyed himself, he listened, he let me carry Mr Tappy the whole ride, just generally a good boy.

also got some pemf

He had yesterday off, but I finally got all his Lyme drugs so he started that last night. This morning, after only two doses in, he let me really get in there while grooming him for the first time in forever and was just generally perkier and less snarky so that's good news. 

MB did a training ride for my lesson this morning because I wanted her help on the dreaded SI. It was a good ride on my end because I didn't have to deal with his nutty shit. The first eighty percent of the lesson was MB trying to sweet talk him and kindly show him the way. Then there was about two percent of her being like, "No, Opie, you HAVE TO TRY AND LISTEN STOP GUESSING" which made Opie Big Mad (as always) so he started piaffing in rage. Then he stopped piaffing and magically got the work we were looking for. 

"no regrets, give me my candies"

The discussion afterwards was the oft repeated "Why do we have to have a meltdown before we can settle down and do the work? Because he's capable. He knows it. He can do it. He just needs to stop trying so hard and let it happen."

Why you gotta be the drama, Opie? Make it easier on all of us, pleaseeeeeeeee!

He'll probably have until Sunday off when we go to a hunter pace because it's supposed to be ungodly hot and humid. We broke the record for the most ever rainfall in a day in the history of ever in Rochester in the space of two hours yesterday so fingers crossed there's still land to pace on.