Mordcha the Innkeeper
A good part! Lots of witty remarks like "If the rich could hire others to die for them then we, the poor, would all make a nice living."
Its funny Barry how it all started after she broke her collarbone. I know its her and not the horse, but she cant pinpoint what she's doing wrong anymore. Gilligan has always been somewhat of an issue though as he's a thoroughbred and he wants to do everything quickly. Too quickly. She has better luck approaching obstacles in a canter instead of a normal trot, but i'm not sure that's allowed all the time.
An injury will do that, Todd. The rider becomes tentative and the horse picks up on that. Perhaps the rider's use of aids are not spontaneous and confusing to the horse. This will straighten out in time.
It's easier for horses to adjust their stride approaching an obstacle at a canter. It takes a little bit more work doing it at a trot. "Do I sit or post the trot?" is a common question and coaches teach different techniques. I'm comfortable posting as I approach the jump. My horse always departs at a canter and I know he'd like to continue cantering to the next obstacle. He's a thoroughbred too.
These days, we spend our all our time out on the trails. It's good for his mentation and I don't have to be concerned with diagonals and leads.