Poppy is as Poppy Does

I rode Poppy today and she was pretty spectacular, especially given that I have only ridden her twice in the past two weeks. Having owned a thoroughbred for the past four years, I am constantly amazed at the differences between my old horse and my new. Darwin does not like to be ridden in windy weather because leaves blow up in his face. Poppy loves being ridden in windy weather because leaves blow up in her face and she gets to eat them. Darwin does not like to go out on the trail because of all the scary things that could potentially kill him (you know: trees, grass, scary branches…). Poppy loves to go out on the trail because of all the things she can eat (you know: trees, grass, scary branches…) People say that drafts just naturally have a quiet personality. I don’t think they necessarily have a “quiet” personality… I just think they’re so busy thinking about what to devour next they don’t have time to spook at anything.

I’ve been working a lot on trying to regulate Poppy’s tempo, especially at the trot. Like any green horse she has no sense of natural rhythm under saddle and either tries to run full speed ahead (she is surprisingly quick on her feet despite her size) or stops to admire the fence. For the first time she picked up the trot and went along very nicely on a medium rein with little contact and I didn’t feel like I had to post a million miles an hour.

Her canter transitions where also very good; she even picked up her right lead which she has been sticky on lately. The next step will be canter circles; we always start with the best of intentions but never seem to make it all the way around. We also attempted a x-rail… lets just say her jumping career is a work in progress.

The ride ended with a very nice trail ride (mainly because I didn’t have to fear for my life) and Poppy plodded quietly behind her frenemy Cami and Harry (Harry is the four year old wonder horse – it was his first trail ride and despite the dark skies, crunching leaves, and wind he was, of course, perfect). I’m planning on taking her out for some gallop work on Friday and am really looking forward to it. I need to start hacking her out with a little more consistency to really build up her hind end which will hopefully lead to an improvement in the jumping career. On a high note, she didn’t break out of her field today (YAY!) and I managed to get some tranquilizer from the vet so the next time the farrier comes out she will be all set to get her feet done. All in all, a very good day for Poppy.