Meet Friday
Friday is my new student, and so is his owner Christy Meeks. Christy's main objective for Friday is Training Level eventing but she has never felt safe over the higher fence requirement and her dressage tests with him have been disasters. Friday is part draft and as you can see by this picture at walk, he uses his head, neck and shoulders like he is pulling a plow. In this picture, he is front-end-drive only. He has a nice reach with his hind legs but his stride is not taking energy over his back but simply moving his hips up and down. Friday needs longitudinal connection, and strength and suppleness in his back and rib cage. He needs to use his core.
Friday's Personal Training Program
Friday begins each day with walking and stretching his top line. This picture was shot the first day we worked together and already he is better over his back. He is softer under his neckline and his arched crest is pulling and putting tension onto his nuchal system so his stretch is coming past the wither and positively effecting his back and hips. In time with more stretching practice and more back strength, Friday will be able to extend his nose forward of the vertical and not lose the stretch. There will be more to come with trot and canter. Keeping in mind the first picture, would you canter this horse?
