HTBF Colonel Brandon

[exvet]

Exvet, I don't see much about your position that someone wouldn't envy. I like to watch you and try to ride like you honestly! You are so steady and methodical with how you ride.

Brandon is looking so grown up. Especially at the trot. One question for the canter, and just a genuine question not critique in any way. Would it help Brandon to be a bit more forward in the canter or would that be detrimental and make him lose balance?

Thank you LSP, you're too kind. Impulsion at the canter for Brandon is a bit of a conundrum. Going straight, yes, impulsion would and does help. On the circle, going left, yes, impulsion would help there too. However, going to the right because we're still working on getting the correct mechanics established consistently impulsion pushes him into a balance he can't handle safely yet. I do get him out on the trail and canter him and as his hind end develops more strength and catches up to his front end I hope his canter improves. An exercise I haven't tried yet but plan to once I feel he's ready (which is soon) is leg yield at the canter (very gradual due to his age and stage of training but he needs to work into the outside rein better).

[Lipsmackerpony88]

He's improved so much, you guys are obviously on the right path. That makes sense about left vs right for him. Thank you for the explanation!

[exvet]

I'm guessing that some if not most of you have heard of Amelia Newcomb Dressage and seen her videos, webcasts, courses, etc. She is heading here next week for a clinic which I'm auditing the first day. When she offered a course on 30 Days to Round Challenge, I decided to jump on it. I have received umpteen million tests back from judges declaring that I needed to have my horses more round, more supple and working better into and accepting the connection, which was true. I felt that having another means to work on this wouldn't hurt and who knows maybe it would help. I've always been a relatively disciplined rider always having a plan for my rides and often having the same for the week in advance. This is the only way I've been able to advance my horses. I've been very lucky in that I've had access to some pretty phenomenal instructors as well, some well-known others not but still gifted. I also have had the advantage that Molly also entered the challenge and took the course because so many of her students were doing so. There are prizes being offered for those who show the greatest improvement with their horse, but the real benefit of course is simply the satisfaction and accomplishment of IMPROVING. While I applied her program to both of my horses, I decided to submit Brandon as my 'challenge' mount. Here is the video I submitted for Day 1 of the competition.

https://youtu.be/DUgcSaL9-P0

And here is the video for the final - not the best comparison but the deadline is looming, and we ended up getting a ton of rain, so I had to hustle to shoot a video before the bottom fell out of the sky and had to depend on my pivo. Damn thing lost me a few times but I think most would agree that though we still have a lot of work to do, the contact and overall roundness is better.

https://youtu.be/mgoTrbyu2qA

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Definitely better!! And I will say Brandon has filled out so much! Turning into a brick house like Junior!

[exvet]

Definitely better!! And I will say Brandon has filled out so much! Turning into a brick house like Junior!

I need to upload a picture taken yesterday. It shows a front view of Junior, Brandon and Ace all standing side by side mounted. I think Ace wins with the 'manliest' chest, then Junior and then Brandon. I'll agree that Brandon has filled out a lot but he still has a ways to go to equal either of the other two. I'll be honest I'm hoping he just builds more muscle over the top line and the back end. It's kind of nice to ride a horse that actually fits me

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Yes that's a photo we must see!!

[exvet]

Ask and Ye shall receive!



L-R, Brandon, Junior and Ace

[Lipsmackerpony88]

Wow!! Okay you are right, he's still the baby!! I still think he's definitely filled out a bit though. But man, Ace! What a chest.

[StraightForward]

Brandon is looking a lot steadier in the contact. And what a bunch of chonky bay boys!

One thing I was doing with Tesla before she could really LY in canter was to just turn a little early and try to drift to the rail with the left shoulder leading. It helped to have her a little more into the left rein when we got to the long side. It's so tricky when they're at that stage where they need more buttons installed to address the straightness or *fill in the blank* but it's hard to install the buttons because they're so crooked or *fill in the blank."

[exvet]

Yes, StraightForward I hear ya! It is tough and that's one of the issues is that Brandon is less willing to get into the left rein; but, we are working on leg yield in canter and it is helping.

Ace is a Navajo mustang. He was intact with foals on the ground when I got him at the age of 5. I gelded him after he put the 300-350 lbs back on him that he needed (he was a 3/9). So despite being underweight he did come with his 'stallion neck'. I do have him on metabolic type management because it's pretty clear that not only because he's a mustang but we strongly suspect that he has draft blood in him, both contributing to his air fern body type. We figure any horse that can make Junior look 'smaller' in terms of chest/width/breadth likely has to have some draft in there.