Posted by THE ELEMENTALS on August 14, 2008, 11:33 am, in reply to "-jawdrop-"
Message modified by board administrator August 22, 2008, 10:16 am
Okay, I suppose I can help you out with defenses. : )
For your first defense I think you made a mistake in just standing to take it. There were so many things you could have done to minimize the damage, such as moving farther away to decrease the power in Ethereal's strike, or moving at an angle so that it was a glancing blow, which would also decrease the power. The less power behind a hit, the less damage Delilah has to take, and the more you can do with her when you move on to her attacks.
Also, in the first defense, I think you state that when you braced for the hit you placed a lot of weight on her haunches - also a bad idea. The more weight and tension that is placed on the target, the worse the damage is going to be. Take advantage of the fact that 60% of a horse's weight is carried on their forelegs and maybe even lean into them a little - this will also minimize the damage.
Now that we're past what you can do to minimize the damage...
Always keep in mind what parts of Delilah are injured in every movement she makes. If her hind legs/anywhere on her haunches are injured, she will be less likely to want to rear or place any more weight on her hind than necessary. If her rib cage/barrel is injured, she won't want to buck because that will stretch out the injured area - it will be sore and actually minimize the damage she can deal to her opponent. Make sense?
Same goes for foreleg injuries. If her foreleg is injured she won't want to buck because that places too much weight on the injury. Also, you NEVER want to use an injured limb to attack. There are ways to attack with only one foreleg, but also bear in mind that if she rises to attack with the uninjured foreleg, the injured foreleg will be the one bearing the weight when she comes down.
To get on a judge's good side, consistently mention any limp, and if Delilah makes a sudden movement mention a wince or hesitation because of the pain. Even if she takes damage initially, right after the attack, if you make it seem as if the injuries disappear later in the battle then you'll get points taken off. In a way you are very disadvantaged by being the second attacker, because you must always bear in mind your injuries, which limit the attacks you can perform and the power of the attacks.
Does any of that help? I know it's a lot, lol.
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