Rain Dance

I know we need the rain, but I'm dreading it! I got in another quick ride Wednesday before it came (and it's raining now and will for a few days), and it literally started the second I started untacking! I headed out to the xc field where we started with w/t. It was consistent, calm, and he wasn't arguing so I picked up the speed. It was windy since the "tropical storm" was coming (so far, it's just showers and patches of rain), and he had a lot more go than usual which was NICE! He was super looky, but he kept his cool even with the "new and scary" plastic chair... ahhh. We worked on transitions with NO SPURS! Spyder was happier and peppy, and I was super excited. He's getting the canter cue without question now.

I did feed before I rode, but he wasn't that grump coming out of the field so I figured I could push for the canter a bit. Once we would pick it up, I pushed through him wanting to stop. Our next step is going to be the "forward and go" as he doesn't want to hold it. This isn't because he can't, it's because he chooses not to. I decided to see what would happen if I changed directions with him, and I was spot on. He HAS to swap his lead because he can't be wrong. It was a very interesting swap with a head toss, but he tried his heart out. After his head toss, he did two steps of trot and was right back to canter, good horse! We did lots of cantering with no kicking out, AND he did everything I asked him to do! Since our transitions were awesome, I did the xc log jump and then trotted around the farm before cooling out.

I decided to reward Spyder with some grazing while I put my tack away, and I grabbed his treats. He is so focused on food so I can let him hang out and eat in peace while I clean up. I had to record this because he KNOWS the sound of the plastic they are in, and e looks at me, looks away, stuffs his face with as much grass as possible. He decides to come over to me because he's ready for them, in which case he chews on them WITH his mouth full of grass. I wish I could canter with a treat in front of his face, he'd keep going all day!