3/20/05 Training

Back in the saddle after a few months off. She was quite good for getting back into it. I need to lunge her in side reins a bit and then just a lot of school figures at the walk and a lot of trotting with simple turns. I think once we get out roading she'll see more use in it. In the arena you could tell when she was getting bored.

Everyone's hairy and shedding out. Luckily she's not so wide that my Isabelle doesn't fit, and I found a hunt bridle for her. I do need to get a different browband, though.

 

She really is cute. Huge feet and big in every way except for height.

Side reins and driving her a bit more forward might get that hind end under her and not so strung out.

 

Trainers are funny....

We had a lot of Meg gravity. The big test was walking or trotting by and not slowing or stopping.

 

She can really cover ground in her walk. A good thing for fox hunting.

She wasn't at all concerned about the poles on the ground.

 

Very careful about the cavelletti.

We've got a trot and we're going around a corner.  Not too pretty, but we're still in the arena.

 

She would toss her head to try and intimidate me, but my trainer would just yell to put more leg on. I think a couple more rides like this and she won't worry about getting out of work. She just isn't sure if she has to listen.

Some posturing, but no bucking, even into the trot. Afterwards I worked another horse, and she tried to come over and still get attention. I think she'll get it pretty quickly.

She almost listens to leg, so I think she knows what it means. Now she'll just have to learn what my leg means.

I'm happy here because I didn't have to fight to get the turn. Once we got an entire circle of the arena at a trot in one direction(the first direction took a while), we went the other way. She was completely obedient, circled twice with no balking and got a lot of praise and reward. It'll be so much fun if things get easier every time.