Training - I Think? x2

Sunday my friend and Sassy came to ride again. We went out to the ring to switch it up, and did a whole bunch of trotting and cantering. Cantering only because Spyder was ready to go! He didn't want to trot, and I guess that's proof that he has the ability to push harder. I thought I was pushing a bit just because of distance and not so much speed the day before, but he needs more. After doing a bunch of jumps and trotting the perimeter (and trotting HUGE, moving out REALLY REALLY BIG), we headed out to the cross country jumps for Sassy. Spyder and I trotted behind, and Sassy went over all that she was asked until the ditch. She refused it, and Spyder thought she spooked so he had a head tossing fit. Sassy went around to do it again and "popped out of the woods" so Spyder freaked out again, but it didn't stop Sassy from jumping. I am proud of the way that I handled it, and we continued to follow until Spyder pulled me out in front of her. He was a feisty thing and wanted to be in front!

We went to the xc jumps that are along the edge of the woods, and these are ones that Spyder always looks at while coming around the track. There was a black pipe, a white pvc fence rail (which he huffed at, but went over), and a log that we skipped since he was worked up. We followed Sassy at a trot into the woods and let her go over some larger logs while we trotted around them. Wait, let me rephrase that, bucked, reared, and head tossed passed the jump down a hill in the woods. That was fun... not! I handled it well and he got over it to continue on.

We decided to head back out to the track since they were feeding off of each others spooky attitudes. We trotted around the track 2-3 times, and by that time, I realized it was close to when I had to leave to meet my sister and mom for lunch before the snow. We were 1/2 cooled out when we realized this so we decided to call it a ride. It ended up being 7.15 miles of handling some not so great situations, but getting in a ton of trotting and cantering. Back at the barn, I saw the cat soaking up the sun in a weird spot (or hunting because she's always getting birds).

Sweaty mess

Spyder and I trotted out before the ride with a crop that I took to the paddock, and we worked on it after the ride with a lunge whip. He didn't get it the first try, but the second, a light bulb turned on. We trotted up and back twice, and we ended it on the PERFECT note. I'm going to keep practicing, but I was so happy with his progress that I gave him all the treats he could want... OK, OK, 4! haha.

I contacted the farrier to get a trim in before the ride, and he's going to come 2 weeks out. He's clicking a bit from his overreach so I need to get his back toes trimmed shorter. I bumped up his grain a little bit since we've been working harder, and I hope he keeps his weight for this upcoming adventure. With spring, the grass should be getting better so I know that will help if this snow ever melts! I'm SO annoyed we got 6-8 more inches Sunday into Monday, but the 40 degree weekend was nice. Let's hope it melts before next weekend. I'm also battling this finger hurting, but I do know I am sacrificing healing each time I get on to ride. It'll heal slower than it should, but it is getting better.