Here are some video stills from some pasture racing at work on Wednesday(youtube messes up the video so I can’t post that). Everyone else is out of the shot for the pictures because we were quite a ways ahead. We rent these horses out for the summer only so the only thing I really know about the horse I’m riding is that she is about 9 I think, from looking at her teeth, and I think she is at least part TB. She has no tattoo. I wish we would have gotten our last race on video because I got her to stretch out into an actual gallop. Judge if you’d like.
I’m not too familiar with what you guys were doing, so I don’t want to come across as an “expert” in your field. Love your rein length, you look really well balanced, and I like the horse’s head carriage. I would think at this pace, you might need your stirrups a little shorter…but I’m no expert!
There was just about 5 of us racing across the pasture for fun. I definitely would have liked to have my stirrups shorter but this is the highest my saddle goes and I didn’t have time to punch holes.
It is always good to give your horse a nice run but be careful with that. I have seen SO many horses get injured because the terrain is uneven, there were holes, and other such reasons in a pasture. Also, if you do it too often it can strain their legs or cause other problems. When you are doing this kind of thing though, try to get more into a two-point position but try and be super tight in your calves, to hold your place so you don’t fall if anything happens. Also, keep your shoulders a bit more back from the two point position. You will want to bring your stirrups up a few holes too. He has a nice stretch in his legs and he keeps his neck nice, but if you want a full running effect try and get him to stretch his neck out a bit more. He has beautiful long legs though!! (:
Sink your weight into your heels!! Looks like fun!
She was just figuring out what I wanted by this time. The race after this she stretched out into a full gallop instead of just a quick canter. I made sure to walk the area we were racing at to check for holes and such and we chose the flattest part of the pasture. Plus most of these horses run down the same path to breakfast and dinner each day so they are pretty used to the terrain. If you look especially at the 2nd photo my heel is down, I just wasn’t forcing it down like I would for an equitation class. My main goal here was to stay on her back and not let her get too quick so we had plenty of time to slow down and such. Thanks for the critiques and comments! It was a ton of fun. I’m actually looking into getting an exercise saddle because we will probably do this just one more time this summer. It was great for the horse to be able to get her mind off all the arena work we had been doing recently to prepare for the staff routine at the rodeo in 2 weeks.