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Training Log for Synergy Loewe
Log note: Synergy is a friend's horse that I tune up on occasion or keep tuned while she is on vacation. During the gaps in the logs, she is riding him. 9/27/06 Because of his shying and somewhat unpredictable behaviour and the fact taht he is developing little muscle despite a lot of work, and his breeding, we suspect that Claude has EPSM. We have put him on a high fat diet and will give him a few months to see if that helps. 7/5/06 Trail hack around the field. He was tight against the bit, wiggly and inattentive to my leg. We spent a lot of time getting those things straight at a walk. Then on to trot and canter work around the field. By the end he was coming along, but there is much work to do. A lot of the difficulty may have been that he has had a few days off (for log readers, Denise has been riding him since my last log entry, but there have been a few days off lately due to the July 4th holiday.) 3/21/06 Took him on a slow hack around the block, requiring him to be down and relaxed in his neck. He had a few moments of real tightness, but also some very nice work. We did mostly slow trot, but had a few canters, which were quite nice. He did quite well. 2/28/06 Took him for a hack in the hayfield behind the barn. He is just beside himself with energy. We did a lot of trotting to burn off some excess without letting him overtax himself in canter. When we did do some cantering after a warm up, he was very strong, and we had some discussion about the necessity of jumping into the bridle. He did some nice work, but it took a lot of riding to get there. 2/22/06 Nice day. Took him for a hack across the road. I required him to walk with his neck down for the first quarter mile, which he was pretty good about. Then we did some trot work and it was a little more difficult to maintain his focus as we did so. Canter work was all over the place as he wants to jump into the bridle. We had some success with getting him to carry himself and not hurry. 2/14/06 Beautiful day. Took him for a hack. He was very relaxed for the walk out but got slowly more tense as he got closer to the woods. He managed to go by the tractors with his neck down with a lot of riding. Then trot work up the hill and around the corner. Then we did some canter work in the field where he was really quite strong and when we took a turn away from what had been a homeward bound track he put in a moderately imprsessive series of bucks for which he was booted and made to continue cantering for another stretch. I note that he is a bit out of shape, though, so I didn't canter him on as far as he so richly deserved. After a rest we did some more trot and canter work and he provided some entertainment with a few bucks and one or two dropped-back bolt attempts. He is clearly well fed... He ended up very nicely with some nice trot work and a relaxed walk home. 2/2/06 Took him out for another hack. He was very good at keeping relaxed with his neck down out past the woods. He had some "moments" but we discussed them and he got over them. We had some reasonably nice canter work, though I would like him to let go in the base of his neck more easily. Good trot lateral work. 1/31/06 Took him for a trail ride to continue work on focus. He had a nice walk out past the paddocks and even only a mild neck lift past the tractors in the woods. When we got around the corner and then to the fence and turned around and went a few steps, he had a moderate freak at apparently nothing. Jump in the air, try to bolt. He got a step and a half and a big smack on the butt for crying wolf. He got over it. Then we went past the woods another two times at a walk and he got better and better, but it required constant riding to keep him focused. Then some canter work in the field which was by turns fabulous and terrible, but as things went on it was much more the former than the latter, which is great. I have to admit that I am looking for things to challenge his focus with so that he will get better and better with it, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is improving. Yay. 1/27/06 LOVELY DAY. Unbelievably nice for January in Iowa. I tacked up and headed out for a trail ride. Neck down for leading and stood for mounting. Good. Walked out nicely to the woods, got a little tight in his neck, but went past the farm machinery in a flat-footed walk and shoulder in away from the object at my request. Moderate issue about the wood pile around the corner but dealt. Then we went for a trot and canter in the soybean field, past the McDonald's sign (It is huge!) and to the corner of the field. He shied mightily at NOTHING in the corner and I whacked him on the butt, made him circle and go by it in shoulder in away from whatever he shied at and he was fine. Good boy. Road hack home and a cool down walk around the field. He was more relaxed, but a little tight in the neck past the farm machinery. On the way home, past the scary stumps, he was relaxed, with neck down on a loose rein and breathing! Woohoo! 1/25/06 Took him for a morning trail ride. He walked out exceedingly calmly, it was lovely. When we got down by the woods, he chose to come unglued in response to a few deer cantering through the woods abot 100 yards away. We had a discussion about that over many canter circles. He had another moment over the parked tractor in the woods which he has seen no less than 10k times while standing in his paddock. We had another discussion about the appropriateness of that response. By the end he was trotting and cantering in a focused manner in the Great Wide Open. Good boy, Gee. 1/17/05 Windy outside, so the indoor was quite full of activity and also noisy with rattling sheet metal. Despite that he was relatively calm. He only shied mildly at the corners the first time around. He let go with the right side of his neck, which was refreshing. He did have two real shying moments, but he recovered well. Did some nice leg yielding and shoulder in work, focusing on keeping the rhythm, and staying upright between the reins. Good good. 1/11/06 Afternoon hack. He was much better when leaving the barn, neck down, relaxed walk. Had to look at the tree stumps and did a very impressive skid shy at NOTHING near the woods. Got a boot for the effort. Then into the woods and across the creek (no problem) and on some new trails. Then canter work in the field. He really wants to pull up on the right side. We had one in ten strides soft. Coming along, though. Nice hack home, neck down, breathing. Good. 1/10/06 Rode in the morning. 15 degrees, but sunny and no wind. Very pretty out and a good chance to test out the borium shoes on the frost. Tacked up and gave him cookies, which he was into. Went for a hack. Had a big shy at the cat jumping off the hay bale behind the barn. We walked out to the woods, focusing on him stretching down and forward with some success. On into the woods and up to the creek, which he swore to me he had never crossed. Wanted to turn back big time. I just asked him to stand there looking at it and after about 30 seconds he crossed it without prompting. Went for a while and on the way back he crossed it perfectly. When we got back out to the hay field we did some canter work where he managed to drop his back and bolt for about 10 strides before I got him back. The farm machinery was scary he says. We had some reasonably nice canter work after that, but I'd like him to let go a little more and come through his neck. Walk home to cool out. Coming along. Fun day for both of us. 1/5/06 Groomed, cookies and tacked up. Warmed up with ground work which went much better than yesterday. Then walk on a long rein and some trot serpentine work quarterline to quarterline. I faked him out because he thought I was working on bending, when I was actually working on him staying focused on his rider. Both went well, but we had a moment when he objected to me rubbing the whip all over his hindquarters at a trot because I objected to him over-reacting to any touch of it. We came to an understanding. Canter work was by turns abysmal and fabulous, depending on his focus and his choice of staying ahead of my leg or perhaps not. Sometimes he opted for the second and then I would tap him and then he would over-react and then I would rub the whip all over him and he would pretend to freak out and I would comment that I was unimpressed and he would get over it. By the end we had some very nice work and he earned rubbing and cookies. 1/4/06 Groomed him and fed him cookies. Good start says he. Then I led him to the arena and he was being inattentive and tight against the bit, so I spent the first 15 minutes walking around the arena requiring him to be polite and attentive and walk with his neck down. He has a habit of carrying himself in a posture of alarm, with his neck up and underside of neck engaged. While there is a time and place for this posture, it is not appropriate constantly. After he had this managed, I got on and we walked around for a few minutes, while I reitereate the same lesson while mounted. He figured it out and even manage to breathe a bit, which is fabulous. Then on to the same exercise in trot and canter. He needs help staying in the moment at the faster paces, but we had some nice movement in that direction. Very good. 8/3 Long walk warm up where we worked on stretching to the bit and leg yielding without over-reacting to the leg aids, especially in the first few strides. He made good progress with this. Then we went on to some canter work and worked a lot on encouraging him to step under himself with a lot of transitions from canter to walk and transitions within the canter. He did well. 8/2 We rode in the indoor and did a lot of lateral work and stretching with a lot of transitions. He did very well.
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