Shadow Updates

It should come as no surprise that I am really enjoying working with Shadow, the standardbred. He is everything I love about the breed... sensible, level-headed, reliable, and willing to really, truly try. Mike happened to be off of work one afternoon when I drove down to work with Shadow so I wrangled him into coming with me and taking photos. When we were done, he commented that Shadow moves pretty much exactly like Ozzy. I had to laugh because it really is true.

Learning to go in side reins.

A few sessions ago, I introduced Shadow to the concept of lunging with side reins on. He needs to build fitness and balance and it seems unfair to demand he learns to carry himself and a rider at the same time. Shadow was a quick study on the concept of lunging. He is learning verbal cues at an alarming rate.

The funniest thing about Shadow was when he decided to get sassy during his first time on the lunge line. When I asked him to pick up the canter to the right, he threw a fit from sheer excitement. As Erin always said... we love the standardbreds, but they are some of god's most graceless creatures. Shadow's attempts at bucking had us in tears from laughter. It was ridiculous.

Under saddle, we continue to work on building a better trot and developing consistency within the gait. His walk-trot transition is lovely and smooth now, provided that you hold him together through it. I am slowly teaching him to default to the nice transition, even with less help from his rider. The same thing goes for the trot. He is pretty good so long as you ride him with a firm contact and push him forward with your seat the whole time. The second you give him more rein or ask for a bigger stride, he lurches forward and promptly falls apart. I've been doing a lot of medium walk to free walk and back, working on following contact without losing momentum. The concept will eventually transfer to trot work, but for now it's pretty abstract to him.

Shadow and April

I have also started cantering him a little bit here and there. He picks the canter up very willingly, but can only hold it for a handful of strides at a time. Then he gradually gets more and more lateral until he's pacing. The good news is that he knows that pacing is not the answer and he is swapping from pace to trot more and more immediately. The idea is that he'll eventually learn that he can either trot or canter... that's it.

In the course of lunging Shadow and working on his canter, I've become a little concerned about his right hip/stifle. He is not lame by any stretch, but he does have some weakness in the right hind. He is more reluctant to pick up the left lead than the right, and it's not stemming from disobedience. He also points that foot when he stands out in the pasture, and April and her farrier noted that he has a hard time holding that leg up properly to have the foot handled. I suspect we may have found the reason he was retired from racing despite a promising start to his career. I told April not to panic yet. She has only had Shadow for a month. It takes about three months for a joint supplement to properly kick in. I suspect that with maintenance and strength-building, Shadow should be just fine, and will probably also be able to jump.

The good news is that April loves him regardless of his limitations. She informed me that she would keep him even if he was pasture sound only. This horse really lucked out.

  

Attempting to lift off.

*flail*

Standardbreds can't canter.

Sassy!

Graceless.

An outtake of my awesome face. You're welcome.

The walk is coming along nicely.

April and Shadow working together.