Feeling forward in Mexico continued...

Since I have been in Mexico I have tried to ride just about anything I could get a saddle on...just for the experience. I believe that versatility among horses accelerates learning. So...I have ridden ¨The Filly¨ ¨The Colt¨ ¨No name horse¨ ¨Brujo¨ ¨Maya¨ ¨Natalia¨and Pequeno. Let me tell you a little about them!
The Filly...is 9 years old. Ha! She is uneven in her trot (Maybe some trauma to her right foreleg brought this on....she has some scars on her knee). She loves to go deep and low and heavy....good lord. I did an earthload of transitions with her. The second time I rode her I jumped (which the very thought of jumping an unsound horse terrifies me but I did it anyways). We did a line with 5 or 6 canter poles and then one small verticle about 2´6. She RUNS like crazy! So, the filly taught me a little bit about the importance of timing your half halts to keep the rhythm. AND I had the epiphany that I cannot TRAIN every horse I touch....sometimes I just have to learn to ride them the way they are.
Next I tried to ride the colt. He is the fillys brother...maybe 10 years old. His movement is even!! Yay for that! He was much lighter!! And he let me know that using his back, tracking up with his hind legs, and keeping his nose on the verticle was waaaayyy difficult for him by groaning for an entire 5 or 6 strides. Silly horses. When it came time to canter...he totally ran away with me! So, I have something to learn with this one...and I will let you know what happens on our next ride. My feeling is that I put too much pressure on him and fell behind the motion...my plan for next time is to use my half seat and ride with less pressure. After all...he was trained for jumpers.
I rode No name horse on the lunge for a week or two while my hand was healing and now I ride him free...about 6 days a week. He is 6 years old and the son of Mezcalero the dutch warmblood stallion that won the olympics (in the 80´s??? at some point) for Mexico. This horse is smart, sensitive, and a typical red head. At first he loved to poke around and go behind the verticle...now that I woke him up a little bit he is finding out that he can go forward and he loves to run. He loves to run whether he is walking, trotting, or cantering. So we are working on our rhythm...and transitions transitions transitions. You will be hearing more about him in the future. I really enjoy riding him even though he is a larger horse than I generally prefer (approaching 17hh)....he is a fantastic jumper and we have been doing some gymnastic work...learning to adjust our stride. I think I jumped him somewhere near 3´9 sometime recently...and that was the first time in 3 or 4 years that I jumped that high! But really....my position is feeling rock solid over the fences and I believe I am capable of so much more. I plan on perfecting my knowledge and ability of gymnastics and jump technique.
My last ride was a gelding named Brujo. I am not sure how old he is but he has seen his fair share of life...seen trainers come and go. He is a handsome fella...and the class clown. Brujo quickly exclaims that he doesn´t like dogs, he doesn´t like that thing rattling in the bushes, and he doesn´t really like to go forward. Ha ha.

To be continued...