Monday morning routine is happily back again: empty arena for F. and myself, with only the banners left from yesterday's horseshow (the bright colours of which Pacha does not particularly enjoy)...F. is riding Milha and we spend a little hour working at walk and trot. Draw reins, no spurs, no whip, rubber rod snaffle. I have re-read Nuno Oliveira's teachings for schooling young horses, and try applying them to Pacha: a lot of circles of various diameters, serpentines, figures of eight at walk first, interspersed with brief shoulder-in as and when Pacha seems ready for it. Bending needs to be still very light, as well as shouder-in requests, failing which the horse stiffens and escapes the movement by moving the whole body inside. The inner leg at girth is not yet a full proof wall for him yet! As can be expected from a young, unexperienced and sensitive horse, shoulder-in has to be approached with delicate caution and care. This is obviously the case on the picture showing Pacha giving a nice shoulder-fore to his junior master J.
After 15', posting trot for a few minutes to stretch him. Then, same work at sitting trot, with paying much attention, as per the Mestre's recommendations, to the regularity of the geometry. Pacha soon gives a relaxed, round and low trot - very pleasing. We carry on 15' like this, then posting trot at brisker pace during 10', with transitions and halts now and then. Good stretching of the horse which becomes fully concentrated and completely forgets about his reluctance to approach the coloured banners stuck on the arena walls. I decide that this is enough for today and skip the canter session. Pacha comes back to stables clean and dry.
Overall lovely session with the added satisfaction of finding once more how useful it is to re-read Nuno Oliveira' s books, which in my view outclass all others when it comes to actually using them in practice. And JL. Sauvat's drawings are wonderful!
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