Well, the storm got me yesterday...no ride...but tonight I was determined to ride. It stormed before I got there (obviously, since I wore my magic make-it-rain-riding-breeches) so I cleaned some stalls, took my time grooming Pro...still light thundering. But it was light outside, so I tacked up - once I put on his bridle, a huge crack of thunder. Nope! I called my mom (she pretty much eats and breathes the weather channel) and she gave me the go-ahead, so I got on.
Man, he's REALLY decided that rushing is the new fad in evasion. Wasn't too keen on flexing, but I kept at it. We ended up spending about 20min at the walk (on a 15-20m circle in the middle of the arena), working on focus. He was determined to spook since the air "felt" like a storm was coming, but we kept at it. Walk, halt, walk on. When he gets looky, I have to let him go a little longer in the reins, but still keep him deeper than normal. Only when he feels secure can I bump him up to nose on the vertical. He seems to need a strong reminder in the beginning of the ride that YES, it is MOM who is still solidly in control, and there is ZERO tolerance for challenging this. Once that gets settled, I can trust him to go on the vertical.
His trot today felt VERY big and lofty, probably because of the wind and feeling of the storm coming in. It was pretty enjoyable!! I couldn't trust him for a second though, since there was a ton of stuff to look at with the trees all blowing. His tail was up and floating out behind him!! I did love the big huge steps he took, his shoulder was really open and free. Fantastic.
I did do a few circles at the canter, where he tried to rush to evade me. I didn't push the issue once I got him to a normal canter. No need to risk getting bucked off in the wet sand! :)
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6 comments:
It sounds like you had a great ride overall, especially that wonderful trot! Awesome! There's nothing like a good ride! :)
Man, I wish someone was there to take pictures of those lofty gaits. I can see Pro having that mad look in his eye and thinking "she was gone for a week, what happened?"
Sometimes it is nice to ride when the horse is really up...you get lots of forward and impulsion.
I, too, would have loved to see pictures of his tail flagged and his long stride. :-)
Ooh, don't you just LOVE energy? There's really nothing better in my opinion! :)
Glad you had a good ride!
I knew he was going to be stupid for you! Of course, he did have a pretty good excuse... hope it doesn't storm on you this evening at least.
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