Yesterday, we headed out to the big field and he was peppy the whole way out. He trotted around nicely, but wasn't getting a consistent tempo so we worked on that. I was fighting his speed so much so I decided to go back to it after cantering to calm him down. I know, I should have stuck to trot and made him work it out, but he had energy so i went for it. We saw a lot of deer, and he didn't care watching them run which was one positive of the ride thus far. He was great to the right which was always his worse side, but his balance there is better.
I switched to the left and he decided it was a good idea to kick out like he used to. Oh, the cooler weather. It was sunny, but a little chilly. I rode through his first kick out or two and then he got in a good one. He used to be so ungraceful and think about it, but he snuck this one in without thought. I was working on sitting out of the saddle to see if that would help his attitude, but it gave him the opportunity to get me off. He doesn't mean for that to happen, but when my balance is off, it's never good. This is the third time in 2 years that I've come off. I tried to catch myself so my ankle hurt, but I got right back on. We cantered a smaller circle so I could keep control and balance then we moved to jumping because I figured I'd leave the canter alone after he went around a few times without trouble. We did 2 different x-rails that I set when I came off (yes, I'm lazy and never get off to do this so it was a "great" opportunity). The first, a huge buck (deer, not a buck from Spyder) came running out of the brush in front of his. He looked, but that was all. WHOO! I really need to attempt a trail, but I think I might wait until it gets a bit more bare in the woods so I can see better, and then we'll wait for cooler weather for the chiggers. I got a few again yesterday and i'm SO itchy!
I switched to the left and he decided it was a good idea to kick out like he used to. Oh, the cooler weather. It was sunny, but a little chilly. I rode through his first kick out or two and then he got in a good one. He used to be so ungraceful and think about it, but he snuck this one in without thought. I was working on sitting out of the saddle to see if that would help his attitude, but it gave him the opportunity to get me off. He doesn't mean for that to happen, but when my balance is off, it's never good. This is the third time in 2 years that I've come off. I tried to catch myself so my ankle hurt, but I got right back on. We cantered a smaller circle so I could keep control and balance then we moved to jumping because I figured I'd leave the canter alone after he went around a few times without trouble. We did 2 different x-rails that I set when I came off (yes, I'm lazy and never get off to do this so it was a "great" opportunity). The first, a huge buck (deer, not a buck from Spyder) came running out of the brush in front of his. He looked, but that was all. WHOO! I really need to attempt a trail, but I think I might wait until it gets a bit more bare in the woods so I can see better, and then we'll wait for cooler weather for the chiggers. I got a few again yesterday and i'm SO itchy!
Headed back to the barn, it was feeding time, and he was getting very strong so we worked on shoulder in/shoulder out down the track. He kept pulling towards the barn so we worked on a nice circle on the track while I counted for our tempo. He did fairly well, but kept leaning towards the barn so we worked until he could forget about feeding time. He was excited to be turned back towards his stall so we went past it and around the barn to cool out. He needs to learn!
Good for you for not giving into him when he was drawn to the barn lol :)
ReplyDeleteIt's SO beyond frustrating! I'm working on being more firm!
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