Halt, Rein Back and Canter

So before I went to the doctors and got trussed up in this massive splint, I got a few rides in. Once on Rosemary and twice on Comrade.

Rosemary I ended up riding bareback and bit less because her bit was off her bridle and I had no time to put in on. I looked at the bosal and figured what the heck. First thing I did was flex her laterally, to make sure I had bend. With only one point where the reins meet, I had to be sure. To the right she was fine. To the left she had to think about it, but gave the right answer. It turned into a fun ride using round bales to circle around. She of course thought they were there to eat.

Casual Cute, She knows it too

My Comrade ride was suppose to be an easy, go through the paces type of ride. Instead he gave me a really great trot. At times he got heavy, which made me play with rein back. He responded really well and only got a little crooked. So I upped the challenge and asked him to trot out of the rein back. Comrade seemed to laugh and say "is that all?"

Considering he had issues moving forward when I said, I started asking for canter. I did not care about the lead, I just wanted him to rock back and canter forward. You know what? He did wonderful and even picked up his right lead most of the time. The rein back was enough to set him back and get the push he needed. The canter it produced reflected the transition. To give him a break I would ask him to open his stride on the long sides then he had to balance himself on the short end. My hand was throbbing, but he was being so good I kept going. By the end I did not have to rein back to get him to sit and push off his butt into canter. A slight lift of the reins, then a swing of my seat with leg support and he was off. Totally worth my sore hand after.

Now I get to think about it until I can ride with contact again. It will be a long couple weeks.

Secret Trainer

During this time of turn out drama and medicine mad caps, my oasis has been riding Comrade. He has been absolutely amazing. Some time in the last few weeks he has found the forward button. That forward goes all the way from his tail to his head.
When I started riding him two years ago, I could never imagine getting this movement out of him. He was so stiff and barely knew his own body. Comrade felt blocked especially in the mid section forward. Over the last year he has really started to loosen the blocked area. And these last rides, I am not feeling the blockage at all in the walk and trot.
To be honest, I think he is cheating on me. He must have a secret trainer coming in between my rides to work with him. Though the trainer needs to work on the canter some more:)
I wondered if it was a fluke at first. Just a hot pony strutting his stuff. Plus riding bareback, movements feel fuller. The first time, I enjoyed it. The next time, I played with it. Did he maintain during corner work? Yes. Did he maintain during lateral? Yes. Okay who is this pony? Finally I asked him to lengthen. If you have followed my posts you may remember that Comrade prefers collection to lengthening. That stems from the blockage. Well not only did he give me an awesome lengthening, reaching through his shoulders, he also maintained the connection before, during and after in the transition to working trot. Amazing!!!
Then I got to wondering if all this great movement would transfer to when he was wearing a saddle. Saturday was the test and the movement was there. It was not a fluke. Well I decided to try and get a video of Comrade to show everyone, but Mother Nature said "Not today." Darn rain. I still rode him, but I had to chip him out of the mud since he rolled as I walked out to get him.

Rare shot of him standing square in the cross ties. See his muddy glory? His mane is full of mud and leaves.

Typical shot in the cross ties, resting. Ready for a bareback ride.

Overall I am really happy with the progress Comrade has made. We have both stumbled along with only a little help from a trainer and sporadic help from my Mom. Could we move faster? Sure, but right now this is working. He is obviously doing his homework and putting together the pieces I give him to give me these awesome rides. Hopefully I can get some video soon.