So Ollie is re-learning how to have contact with the bit and give to the bit at trot without trying to break to the canter or pop up on the front end, and he’s done amazingly well.
(Of course, that’s not counting the day in the middle of the week where he needed to review everything he’s learned up to this point because it all went out of his head! We all have those days once in a while.)
When she first started Ollie back in long lines, Brandie put Ollie in a regular loose ring snaffle and started at walk before moving to trot just to be sure he was OK with the line under his tail and because we don’t skip walk. At trot, she just asked him to trot forward without asking him to give to the bit. The purpose was to allow him to bump into the bit on his own to see 1) what he would do and 2) if he would figure out that the bit was just there and he wasn’t being asked anything.
The first time at trot, Ollie was moving to the right, and when he hit the bit, he bounced a little. He threw his head up, took short, choppy steps with his hind legs, and popped up through his shoulders. But, he did keep going and settled down when he realized there was no pressure on the bit. Subsequent trots to the right got better, and on the third attempt, Ollie just kept going without a hitch. To the left, he didn’t really have a big issue, just an initial bobble.
The next time out, Ollie repeated the process of trotting in a circle without being asked to give to the bit, and he was great. Never a doubt and not a bobble in either direction.
Asking for give to the right. This is Ollie’s harder direction, so he’s resisting a little.
On his final work day in long lines this week, Brandie asked Ollie to give to the bit at trot. Initially, he had the same reaction as he did when he first hit the bit while trotting, but he smoothed right out, kept going, and got it really quickly.
Getting some give going to the right. It took a few strides, but Ollie got there.
Ollie’s surely not where he’s going with a lot of contact, but the fact that he can actually give to the bit at trot without popping up, taking funny steps or bobbling in any way is a big deal compared to where he was before he came to us.
But what will Ollie do under saddle? Stay tuned!
Next Steps: Trotting under saddle revisited
Oliver's New Chapter 