We've got this

I didn't ride over the weekend between painting trim to prep for carpets AND my bridal shower! Oh, the rain didn't help either. Anyways, the bridal shower was a great surprise and my house now has carpet! For the first time since we settled on April 30, I feel like I have a home. I can walk around with no socks on (because it's clean now) and sleep in my own bed (this has been packed away since February when we sold our first house). Needless to say, I can get back to more riding as now we'll take one room at a time. WHOO!

So last night I rode after work, and Spyder was AMAZING! He's shed out nicely in most areas, and he looks so shiny! It's great he looked so good because I hadn't been out since last blog - so maybe Thursday or Friday? I lose track of time when things get hectic. Anyways, I think he's the horse in the field that birds choose to hang out on... that or he's very "lucky" to get pooped on so many times. He had so much where the pad goes, really Spyder?

He was already in his stall to eat which was nice, and he looked at me like "Oh, God no. It's so hot, please spare me... and give me more grain." Since he's on just a 1/2 of a scoop he gets bored in his stall while he waits to go back out with the others. His favorite part? Getting back in the field to make his rounds to all of the grain buckets to see what others have left for him. My least favorite part? The one tb gets supplements and different feed to keep his weight up. He never eats his grain because he gets all worked up sooooo Spyder LOVES it!

Back to riding, we went out to the dressage ring. The grass is tall in the field and hopefully that gets worked out soon. I'd like to jump a bit now that I feel like we're getting somewhere with the canter. We worked on that after we did some trotting and moving off leg while going round. Instead of using the "cranking" method or half halts, we worked on steady pressure on the bit until he gave. This meant that my arms got a great workout because I moved them apart to get some steady pressure on his mouth, then, I would put them back together once he gave. He got it! I just hope it gets easier to move him off of my leg at the same time, but we'll get there. Since I haven't been riding in a routine, it could be my leg, too.

We used 1/2 of the ring to move out on a circle, and once he was balanced, we worked into a canter from the trot. HE GETS IT! :) The next hardest part is going to be keeping his balance at the trot and not getting lazy (he'll pace when he "doesn't feel like it" or when he gets off balance), and the same goes for the canter. We REALLY need to work on straight lines because we've got the circle! Even if I ask him to move straight in the canter, he wants to keep turning because it's what he's comfortable with since we've always worked in the circle. We'll get there.

Oh, and a bird tried to attack me in the barn. It was unsuccessful, but it swooped down towards my head and I had to crouch down for cover! There is a nest on the light above the barn opening, and this bird is not a happy mom. I'll have to pay attention to her coming at me next time I'm out there. Yes, more bird stories.