"More Please"

7 more days to enter the Canter Mane and Tail give away :)
Comrade has been asking for more work for a couple weeks now. Between weather and health I was not able to satisfy him until last weekend. The trail rides we took with Peggy were just a warm up for him. We would get back to the barn and he would look at me like "What, was that it?"

"Are we working today?"

So I was not surprised to have a go-go pony ready to work on Saturday. I did have to do a lot of lateral work to get him to loosen up. Shoulder in and leg yields mixed with quarter turns really helps him find his shoulders, hips and middle and utilize them. Once I had him warmed up, I made the work tougher by adding voltes. This got his brain working and his body engaging. He had to step deep and push to balance on the circle. Then out of the voltes, we opened the trot before beginning another volte. I have to remember to really think inside leg to outside rein for this exercise because Comrade will lean on the inside trying to get me to hold him up. Most of the time I think shoulder in on a circle to help keep the steps in my head.
Even with all the tough voltes, he was still energized. Time to put that energy to use. I did a trot serpentine with transitions to halt in the middle of each loop. The trot-halt-trot, got him working from behind, so when the next halt came I asked for canter. We had a few walk steps, but overall I was really happy with the push he had into the gait. Plus he maintained that energy within the gait. At canter we did a larger serpentine with the same halts. Except for him anticipating the upward transition or change of direction, he did great. The transitions were sharper than I expected after the down time.
The best part was that the saddle did not shift. The towel is still under the panel to help, but even at canter I did not feel the saddle move. Working those specific areas on his back it helping. Peggy is going to have her vet evaluate him for body work or chiropractic. Can't wait to hear how that goes.

As for other Cob news, Rosemary is a super star. Okay I know, that is not new. M came to ride again and took Rosemary for a spin in the icy wind. They both are slowly figuring each other out. Still some things to work on, but overall a happy pair. I froze my fingers getting some pictures.