I started both days by riding Comrade, who is much improved. His canter had push both directions and was willing. I did not work him too hard though. We ended by going out on trail. Sunday I let him take some of the jumps. Sometimes he just needs to play. He gave me a cocky, suspended trot afterward. Happy boy.
Saturday was beautiful so I was determined to ride my guys. First I had to trim my barefoot ponies. I try to keep them on a four week schedule, especially the Cobs. Roscoe is so nosy. He always wants to check out my hoof stand. At least this time he stood better. Winston was a star, standing loose in the aisle while I worked. Rosemary and I had to have a conversation about standing still. Hmm, do you sense a theme in what Rosemary has to "learn." She thought that since Dottie was out being ridden, she needed to take a head count. Her role as barn monitor is very serious :) We survived and her long toes got trimmed. Whew, good for another month.
Now it was time to play. Or so I thought. Rosemary decided that she could hear Dottie calling just fine, but listening to me was too hard. After her airs above ground at Peggy's, I took it slow trying to get her head on the ride. So we walked and then I breathed in and as I let the breathe out we halted. Very calming for me and it helped get her attention. At the trot she wanted to really lean going to the left. To help her I moved both my hands to the right and verbally asked her to "Step, Step" as we entered corners. From groundwork she knows what I mean. Sometimes I would even come down to walk to make it easier on her. By the end of the ride she was able to complete a couple corners bending correctly and softly. She is a smart girl when she listens. This ride made me remember a comment that was made by a French Cadre rider, "Do what is needed for the horse to learn and don't worry about pretty." He showed us that if he had to drop his shoulder to get the horse to learn to move off his inside aids, then he would do that. Nuance comes later. A good thought to remember when riding a green horse.
From young to mature. DaVinci was ready to work. He went straight into trot. I made him work though. After warm up, we started doing volts (small circles) where he had to step under and push. Out of a volt I had him open his trot, then go into another volt. DaVinci is really fun to ride because if you ask right he will give you the right answer. He has helped my lateral work immensely. On the other hand, if he gets distracted using lateral work to get his attention does not work. He can do that stuff in his sleep. Transitions, direction changes and these volts seem to get his attention. It was a great ride to end the day with.
Sunday brought rain when I arrived at my barn. I organized the tack room and waited for a break in the weather. Eventually it came. I worked Roscoe in hand. More on that in another post. Then with the little time I had left before heading home, I took DaVinci out for a stroll. He enjoys trail riding or in our case field exploring. As we neared the pond he decided to take the loop around it. Griffyn went for a swim and Kayla waded. We stopped to enjoy the view as the sun began to set.
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| DaVinci was disappointed I pulled out my phone instead of sugar :)
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