Morgan and Mister 8/12

Well, today wasn't as good as yesterday :D. Mister and I had a bit of trouble. Tacking up was fine, and we headed down to the bigger ring today. I'm not sure if I mentioned but yesterday I was in a VERY small ring just to get the feel of cantering. My trainer also helped me get him moving yesterday because she had a dressage whip with her on the ground. Today, in the bigger ring was a slight problem. He was feeling extra lazy and getting him to move was a real hassle. He was also being really spooky today. He kept stopping and throwing his head up. Luckily, he's not the type that will run away with you or anything. However, his spooking made me nervous. We worked on leg yielding today (trying to get him to stay on the rail instead of following my instructor like he likes to do) and giving the correct and firm aids to get him to trot when I ask for it the first time, instead of having to battle him for it. We worked in the ring but my trainer saw my nervousness and also figured that I was getting frustrated trying to get him to trot only to have him stop because he's lazy and/or sees something. So, to relax, we headed into the field and walked around like a mini trail ride. That was nice and easy, and I think my trainer definitely understands me and doesn't push me to keep doing something that makes me nervous. After walking around in the field some (with my trainer having a hand on him because the thing spooking him was somewhere in the woods of the field), we both calmed down. I rode around on my own a bit. This was all at a walk. After that, we headed into the ring and I got to ride him bareback! That was awesome. Of course, only at a walk. I haven't ridden bareback since I was a youngin. We did a few steps of posting trot, which I didn't find difficult because to me it just feels the same as posting without stirrups. After that, I got off and cooled him down on my own while my trainer went to teach her next lesson. She thinks I'm independent and is confident in my tacking/untacking abilities so she's comfortable with letting me do my own thing, which I consider an honor. Anyways, not that productive of a lesson, but not counterproductive either. I didn't have to push myself to keep doing something when I was scared, and I really liked that.