Adventures With Ember

Mom has had more time off at the same time as me during this time. So we have taken the time to put some work into Ember. Ember has redeemed himself since the bucking bronc impression. We started by opening up the arena so he had more room. Before each ride I lunged him, with a butt strap and with side reins. It was fun to watch him figure out how to carry himself.

Then I would ride him for about ten minutes. As he has improved and become more comfortable, I have been able to put the dressage saddle on him and attach the reins to the bit. He was quick to bulge out his shoulder, which made working on turns difficult. Finally one day my Mom told me to drop my inside rein. Well Ember had nothing to pull against and he actually stopped bulging. So he will teach me to let go of the inside rein. Our turns are getting better since we figured out that trick.
The only other change we have made is we put a straight happy full cheek on his bridle instead of the three piece. He seems to be happy in it and it is a little clearer to him.

We have expanded his riding to include another horse in the ring. First we did Rosemary, who keeps him honest out in the field. Ember quickly figured out that what grandma does, does not effect what he does. He was better about her moving quicker than he was and did not try to "play."

Comrade was the next to ride with Ember and that was a bit tougher for him. He really could not understand why he could not follow Comrade. Unfortunately Comrade was NQR, so we ended the ride pretty quick.

Ember has also branched out to the trail. He did a solo walk with Mom walking with us first. Surprisingly he was really brave until we came across some roots sticking up off a down tree. But he settled quickly and I hopped off while he was good. Next we followed Rosemary. Again Ember was great and having a horse did not change anything. Then we went with Comrade. Can you believe it was the 15yr old that was the problem child? Ember took the lead and did not tell me Comrade was doing anything behind us. I made sure to get off him earlier after he was really good. I looked up to see Comrade acting like he did as a 5yr old, jigging away. The closer we got to the hill leading to the barn the more wound up Comrade got. Mom had to turn him away and then we put him behind Ember so he would not pull his "buck n run" trick he used on Peggy way back.
Overall Ember has been improving with each ride. We still have not attempted canter again. I would like him to be less spooky about the jumps before I ask. Well on Tuesday he decided he would canter off down the long side. I finally stopped him after the curve of the short end. Once I got my breath back, I put him to work. We worked a little on opening and closing his trot. And I even got a little side step out of him at the walk.

So our adventures with Ember have only impressed us. He is just like Roscoe and such fun to watch grow. He is almost to the point where I can ride him alone. Not bad for the pony we thought would need a pro to start.