Crazy week.

So after getting the car unloaded on Monday and going back to work to find 20 emails that HAD to be answered (I was only gone for two days but I think the world ended while I was gone).  After getting caught up at work on Tuesday and Wednesday, I picked up my Aunt on Wednesday after work who flew in from Alberta.  I then got the 24 hour flu on Thursday (I seriously haven't been that sick in years, I hate throwing up!). 

I spent some quiet quality time at the barn on Friday and lunged Lucy in the outdoor pen, and she was much better this time.  I hope to be riding up there by next week so that she can get used to riding outside before the show at the farm on July 6th.

Saturday I helped with chores at the barn while Lucy had a lesson with an 8yo rider who is getting used to "bigger" horses (she had been riding a small hunter pony) while her parents shop for a new pony/horse.  Lucy went awesome for the kid, D did most of the lesson the in center of the ring letting Lucy think she was on the lunge line.  But she walked/jogged and loped for the kid (which was great considering the kids legs didn't go past the saddle blanket).  I got on at the end and we jogged around for a bit and attempted some trotting poles.

Today (Sunday) I helped with chores and then had a privet lesson with D where we worked on getting Lucy more responsive to my spurs, without her just thinking they mean full foreword or full stop.  We spent a lot of time moving her hips around, at the walk and jog then moving to working on a spur stop, and roll backs to get her lighter in her front end.  We moved into loping and were able to finally get a hold of her mouth while loping and I was able to slow her down.  She doesn't like contact and had been fighting it at the lope but today we were able to get contact, and the correct response to the contact!  We got some great slow lope both collected and she even held it when we went back to a loose rein.  We couldn't hold it long, but atleast we weren't fighting each other anymore.  A lot of our problems are not helped by the fact that she's built downhill and has to fight nature to be light on the front end, and lope slowly.  But that will bother her less and less as she gets fitter behind.

Best ride ever!

So I had my make up lesson from last weekend on Thursday.  I had Friday off (more on that later) so I told D I was ready for anything he wanted to throw at me.  So after we discussed our goals for the show in one month (!) and that I would have to ride one handed for my riding classes, he sent me to the rail to ride for the lesson one handed.

And we loped, and loped and loped some more.  Then we took a break for the other horse in our lesson to lope then we went back to the rail and loped some more.  It was hard work, I haven't ridden much one handed, let alone loped much but it was a sink or swim situation.   By the end of it we were having some really good loping both direction as well as some good stops.

I go back tomorrow am for another beating but I'm looking foreword to it.  I'm having so much fun riding Lucy.

So on Friday me and my best friend took off to the big city to go see Great Big Sea in concert.  I had originally bought the tickets for my parents to go, but they had something else going on so we went instead.  It was their 20th anniversary tour, and they played for 2 and a half hours.  Below is one of my favorite songs, video quality is bad but all you need to do is listen to them.

But everyone else is doing it!

I think I over did it on the weekend..... scratch that.... I know I did.  I came home Sunday afternoon and had a nap, and then still went to bed at my regular time and slept all night.

After my tough lesson on Saturday I didn't think I was too bad, but I didn't have much get up and go.  I helped C with the chores, then we sat out in the sun for a bit and played with the cats. (I also managed to get a sunburn on my face, the only exposed skin on my body, thanks drugs!!)  One of the kids showed up and she rode outside, while we watched.  And then my friend that I rode with on Saturday showed up to ride even though she was sore, and C decided to ride, so I thought well if they are going to I should too.

And we had a good ride we mostly walked and jogged but used the entire ring (even the so called scarey corners weren't scarey) and we jogged around like we would if we were showing.  C's appaloosa has some passing issues and I've never ridden Lucy with more than one horse before so it was a good thing to work on.  I didn't lope, but I feel so much better about "us" after this weekend.  We can work on lopping next week :)  I only lunged Lucy about 5 minutes in total, and I took off my spurs, and both seemed to be good decisions. 

However as we were getting off the horses and my friend started walking away, she was complaining about how much she hurt, and then turned to me and said "I don't know how you do this!  Its hard enough on me and my joints are good."  I went home beating myself up because I didn't lope, but maybe I should be happy that I survived a hard lesson and still got on the next day to have a good ride. 

But some days I wish I could be like everyone else, to have a hard ride and still be able to function the next day without a nap.  And even to sit outside on a nice day and not burn!

Lesson

So we had our second lesson today with D.  We rode with my older friend who has her horse Cruse at the barn.  It worked out really good, Cruse is only 5 but he's only returned to work last week, so him and Lucy are in the same boat. 

We had a really good ride, we warmed up with some long trotting, then moved into some jogging small circles.  I was allowed to collect her a little bit, and we think that she might need her teeth done as she's really fighting the bit going to the right. 

We did fair amount of loping to the left, and although our transitions suck we had some really good moments where we had a great stride, her head was down, and I was relaxed.  We just need TIME.  D thinks that he or C might ride Lucy this week to give her some more saddle time at the lope on a loose rein.  But I still plan to go and ride some tomorrow.

Lucy is still dead in heat, I don't know how people deal with mares all the time.  She pees everywhere!  Not that it helps that the cross ties are near the studs stalls which makes tacking up and brushing a dance of trying to avoid the pee that comes flying out when you least expect it.  Good news is that she should be coming out of heat soon and hopefully if Rusty did his thing, it wont happen again! 

Good lesson

So we had our first lesson with Lucy and D today.  Lucy was wound for sound!  She was hyper and a full of it, which made me nervous, but Dean put us to work jogging.  After a couple of trips around to get us both working, and then I was told to go faster, and to let go of the reins.  That's all we worked on!  It took almost the whole hour for both of us to be happy, extended jogging around the entire ring on a big loose rein.  It was just what we needed.  Lucy needs to trot out for the next week or so to open up her shoulders and get her reaching up under her self, and I need to go on a lose rein so I stop tensing up on her!

And by the end she wasn't spooky, and I wasn't tense.  All in all a good ride but I'll sleep good tonight!

Lesson #3

First off I have to say that my Mom finished her Masters in Education today!  

Well we had lesson number 3 this morning, both horses were full of it from not being able to run and play outside to much so we both had to lunge a bit longer than usual.  Once we got on D had us practice some backing and haunch turns to get the horses moving off our legs, and had me and Oscar doing a couple of spins as well.  So we warmed up jogging around and working on picking our horses shoulders up again and moving there hips around.  Then we trotted though and over some poles that D set up for us.  Then we worked on our loping.  D had set up the poles so that we could lope 20 m circles and go though the poles to work on our steering and straightness. 

Once we had worked on all of that D, had us do a mini trail course we backed though one set of poles, 90 turn on the haunch for another set of poles, 90 then jog around all of the poles to jog over a set of raised poles.  We did ok, but Oscar really picked his legs up to get over the poles which was bouncy, but we did it!

Today I really felt like I was having some good loping moments.  I remembered to sit tall and keep my hips loose.  I'm still sure that it still doesn't look good, but we're figuring it out. 

My big things to remember are to keep my body loose and keep Oscars nose up and to the inside so he can't swap leads on me!

Maybe I can ride after all, Lesson #2

Well we survived our second lesson.  We rode with one of the kids who trailers in for lessons as D thought it would be good for both of us.  The plan was to work on some trail obstacles, and D didn't want to set up for both our lessons so he thought combining was a good idea, plus both of us need practice riding with other people.

So we warmed up doing circles 10m and 20m, changes in direction though the center from A-C and from B-E.  We worked on the different bends the horses should follow on the 10m versus the 20m.  For me this  mostly involved keeping Oscars shoulder up and inside leg on to keep him from falling into our circle.

Once we've done this a bunch in both directions, we would do our 10m circle then canter out for 5-10 strides then back to the jog.  The idea was to keep a bit of the bend out of the 10 meter into our lope (shoulders up haunches to the inside).

After a little walk break we worked on getting the bend for our circles on the straight wall while going straight and asking for a lope. We'd lope 3-6 20 meter circles then back to a walk and work on shoulders and hips while walking.

We had some great jog work, and I felt like I finally figured out Oscars lope.  I wasn't afraid to use my reins a little bit, to help me frame him up a little bit especially when it was something we were working on at the walk and the jog it was just a continuation of that.

I felt like I was really able to RIDE him this time rather than just being a passenger at the lope.  We had some absolute great lope steps and some awesome transitions from the walk to the trot.  I had some moments where I was like "This right here is why I love western pleasure".  And no not the head bobbing sideways lope that you see at the shows, but the soft easy slow lope that's so wonderful when you find it. 

D said that Oscar's legs were the best he's seen them in a long time.

And we never got around to trail, but that was ok too :)

Lesson # 1

So I had my first real lesson back with D today.  I was a little nervous but I know in my heart he would never put me in a position that I would come to harm.

We started with some small figure 8's and working on keeping his inside shoulder up and keeping a good rytham at the walk and then the trot.  Then we moved on to using the whole arena, but still doing the 8's, but using it as an opportunity to allow him to stay correct for a larger circle.  Then we added halts, walk steps, and turns on the haunches in the middle of the 8's.

After we were both warmed up and working we started throwing in some 1/2 circles of lope in the 8.  Our transitions were rough which is to be expected, but this work of short burst of lope gave me a chance to work on them.  Once we had mastered the 1/2 circles of canter we started throwing in some complete circles of lope before changing direction.  Again we reinforced the 'keeping up the inside shoulder' at the lope.  We did try a change or two (on purpose this time!) but didn't get them this time LOL.

We also did some two tracking to get my leg pressure even and correct before working on loping large around the ring both directions.  This was the hardest because Oscar gets 'hoppy' if he gets too tense (and I don't help at times).  But D and I worked on tweaking my position a bit to ride more defensively and not so much like the equation rider I try to be.  We've decided to think about letting my legs go foreword a bit, to keep my top from swinging it foreword.  So were going to give it a try, and I'm going to think about keeping my legs more toward the girth.

Cancer sucks, worst Monday in history.

2 people in 3 days.

On Saturday it was the kid (well he was 18) that lived across the road. He has been battling cancer since he was a kid.  No one thought he would survive the first, or second time he had brain cancer but he did.  Last year they found out it was back, and there was nothing left to do.

In the process of his short life he and his mom raised money for brain cancer research and spread awareness across the country.  The good die young.

Today my other 'adult' rider at the barn that I show with lost her mom to colon cancer.  She had only been diagnosed this spring.  On thanksgiving weekend my friend told me that they were giving her 2 months to live.  She died 2 weeks later.  

She was the barn "Mom" and was always around with words of encouragement.  She will be missed.

And yet there is more...

I knew that my former student 'paint kid', E, who now rides with D and C had been having some weird issues at school but today when I mentioned something to my dad he finally told me how bad it is... She is randomly loosing vision, walking into walls and can no longer control her muscles enough to dress herself.  So if anyone has some prayers, or happy thoughts to send to E I would appreciate it.  She goes in for more tests tomorrow and we're hoping to now more by the end of the week.

I have back developments but its nothing compared to everything else today.

Lots to think about

Kate from http://ayearwithhorses.blogspot.ca/  posted a link to this great blog post:

http://lopetexas.typepad.com/horse_tales/2012/04/the-right-match.htm

Talk about just the right timing.  So here's the question part of the blog and my answers on how they relate to Lucas and me.

Here are some questions that I have found useful to consider:

• Do you frequently postpone riding sessions with your horse because he is having physical problems? Is your horse ever sore (legs, back, withers, etc) after riding? Is this a consistent pattern?

Not really, I find more health reasons for me not to ride than I worry about Lucas.

• Have friends or family ever suggested to you that you might need a different type of horse? Has a trainer/instructor ever told you that your horse wasn’t a good match? Have multiple trainers/instructors suggested that you might want to reconsider your horse choice? Note: Multiple professionals giving you this type of feedback is a very serious signal to think about.

 Several people have suggested that I'm not happy, and neither is Lucas. 

•  Has anyone ever told you that they were worried that you were going to get hurt with your horse?

 My best friend is the only one that is concerned about my safety, but she knows what will happen if I fall off.  D and C recently admitted that they think he is becoming too 'bossy' for me, and a bit too strong.

• When you ride your horse, do you both progress steadily over time? Do you work on new things or always do the same routine? Are either of you bored?

I feel like we never progress, and he has so much training I have nothing to teach him and I love teaching new stuff to horses.  

• Do you have fun when you ride your horse? Note: If your stomach is churning and you only exhale every 15 minutes while in the saddle, you are not having fun.

No

• Do you put off learning more advanced riding techniques because you aren’t sure you and your horse can do those together? Note: Not everyone is interested in learning how to piaffe, but this question did help me realize what was going on with Sally and me.

 Yes, he has the talent (and truthfully so do I) but we never seem to get there.

• Do you spend more time on the ground with your horse (round pen work, hand walking, grooming, etc) than you do riding your horse? Note: This question is not directed at folks who have pasture pals they adore but don’t ride for a good reason (the horse is retired or in rehab, for example). The question is for people who have a horse they acquired for riding. 

Yes, I wish I could ride more often, but I don't for just about every reason under the sun.  Mostly lately its come down to a pain issue.

• How often have you ridden your horse without supervision (i.e., not in a lesson) in the past 6 months? In the past year? A low number (i.e., one that you can actually remember) is food for thought.

A reasonable number, what would be more interesting is what I do when no-one is around.  Mostly just walk-trot.

• Pretend for a minute that you HAVE to rehome your horse for a good reason (such as you just got offered a dream job in New Zealand and can’t take your horse there). How does that make you feel? Sad, excited, relieved? 

Relived, but sad.

• If you use a trainer for your horse, how long has your horse been in training with that person? Have you switched trainers since you’ve had your horse? If so, how many trainers has your horse been with in the last year? In the last two years?

We've only been with D and C, but the man I used to work with did give us a lesson in December.  If I just shut up the voice in my head and LISTEN to D I would be ahead of the game.

• Pretend for a minute that the horse person you trust or admire more than anyone (your current instructor, your most revered horsemanship master, your barn BFF, or Ray Hunt himself speaking from the grave) just sat you down and told you that your horse needs someone different. How do you react — are you angry (“What do they know?”), defiant (“I’ll show them and ride my horse in the Olympics one day”), concerned (“Oh no, what if they are right”) or sad (“I know they are right”)?

Sad, and I would agree

Eye opening to say the least.  As much as I love Lucas, I need to love him enough to find him a home where he will be happy all of the time. 

I did have a good lesson on Saturday with D. We worked on trot poles and getting the horses shoulders "up" and the horses rocked back on there haunches.  It was good because it gave me something to focus on so I couldn't stress about noises, or passing the other horse (or having the other horse pass us).  We ended up cantering though two of the poles then having to make a sharp right turn about 2 strides out of the poles.  It was a good exercise for both of us and made us sit back and think, instead of getting heavy and flat.

Riding

Well my feet had finally healed enough that I was able to go and ride last Wednesday night. I had a great ride on Lucas and we even did most of the trail obstacles (including the bridge!!!!). My friend mentioned that I would have had no expectations of him, and maybe that's why we got along better. I had nothing in mind to work on other than getting him moving under saddle. Looks like Im going to be having one last show with him next weekend, I hope I make it though it without crying.

Still waiting for someone to come and buy him, lots of interest but no serious people yet. I went to the local AQHA show on the weekend and the trainer that I took lessons from in 08 (I think I have them listed under Lessons or Bunny) told me that he had a call from the first people who tried him. After she had been out to see Lucas she called the Trainer and asked him if he would go out the next time with them. He's waiting just like I am for them to call back.

Also found out that someone at the APHA show on the 4-5th not only took down all of my posters they also went around and told people he was sold. very weird....

The AQHA show was extremely small (58 stalls in use) and considering that it was split combined (halter and english one day western the next) all of the classes were done at 1pm after starting at 9:30. The Youth classes were the only ones with more than 5 entries, and they combined the jr and sr HUS and had 5 (we had 6-13 in just the Sr last year!).

Lucas is getting his hind shoes off in the next day or two so he can start going out with other horses again for the first time since last winter :) Im off today to clip him and get everything ready for the show next weekend.

Yippie!

Well tonight we did it! Although the goal is still a "stuck" free ride tonight we had a mini-stuck and I didnt get completly scared and freeze! I grabed horn and started kicking, it wasnt long untill he was behaving perfectly.

We did some good bending and pushing around his hind end (where we got stuck) and then worked on getting him lifted and light in the trot work. We then did a bunch of transitions canter, trot, canter, trot, walk, canter ect. got us working really well together.

Trust X2

So another fantastic ride on Lucas! Once I got on we stood in the center of the ring while one of the kids worked out some kinks on her own horse. Then once she was done she stood in the center while we practiced walking in and out of the "line" up, good practice for the show ring. Then we started working. We did our walking and trotting on a loose rein. Keeping both of us relaxed and forward.

Then we loped/cantered on a loose rein :) No head tossing, no freaking out on my part, just a smooth canter transition.

Then D started a bit of a challenge to me, I had my reins loose in my outside hand (of a large 20 meter circle) when he got heavy, or his head got too low I had to reach down and slide my inside hand down the rein and lift that rein up. Once he got re-balance I let go of the inside rein, and continued to ride with my outside rein. It involved me moving around a fair bit in the saddle (while keeping my legs solid and consistent) and a fair amount of trust.

So we worked on it at the trot and then we worked up to a canter. You know if you had told me less than a month ago I would be cantering Lucas one handed on a loose rein I would have laughed at you, but we did it! It was hard work, keeping my legs consistent, while moving around and picking up my reins. But I finally got my hips to flow which allowed my upper body to be more independent. We did have a bit of a misstep when I lost my outside leg for a moment when trying to push him out of the circle a bit and we got a fantastical smooth lead change!! It wasn't supposed happen but it was great all the same. :)

By the end of the ride we were doing great transitions on a loose rein. And keeping a good balanced canter (and wow it was nice! I totaly LOVE his canter on a good day!) and trot on a good loose rein. Lots of lift and drive, and so easy for once!!! Its really teaching me to stop being so dependent on my hands, (extremely bad habit I seem to pick up all the time!) and since he is always worse at home, if I can have him go like this at a show........ I need to stop picking on him!

Trust

So we had planed a ride for tonight, but when I got to the barn it was poring rain and blowing like crazy. I originally thought I should chicken out, but thought that if I did that it would just be another missed opportunity.

So I let him have some free time in the indoor to have a run (its much too muddy for them to do any actually riding outside) tacked him up and then lunged him. D came to the gate when I was putting his bridle on and I asked "am I chickening out if I ask you to get on him for a few minutes before I do?" D said yes, but that he would get on him first as he wanted to try something out.

So D got on him and just sat on his back for 5 minutes waiting for him to relax. Then he walked him around on a completely loose rein for another 10 and got off. The plan was to no put any pressure on him, and keep ourselves relaxed so that he could stay relaxed. So I got on I had a ton of slack on the reins and got told to keep my hand that wasn't holding the reins on the horn of the western saddle.

We did big 20 m circles and some figure 8's all at a walk and on an extremely loose rein, no leg except to steer. D's idea was that Lucas only got into panic mode (like when he reared the other night) was if he got his head up once we started 'working'. He then thought he was going to get punished so he was thinking about getting out of the beating before it even happened. (disclaimer: we know that Lucas was in an extremely hard training program before we got him, abuse of the show horses that didn't go as 'programed' happened)

So my whole objective was to bounce around in the saddle, pat his neck, pat his bum, do everything but grab the reins. Oh and stay relaxed, and not to panic about anything!

Lucas never picked his head up, didn't spook and certainly didn't even try to rear. We walked and trotted on a loose rein, with a big drape. I got worried occasionally about what might happen but I just grabbed onto the horn a little tighter! At one point I worried that he might not stop when we trotted off.... and the I remembered that he was spur broke (meaning if I apply my spurs together in one spot he will lift, and slow down, or stop if I continue to apply pressure)

It went really well. All of us were impressed with how well he was neck reining as he really isn't a western horse. He was the best he's ever been. I guess Ive been putting pressure on both of us that neither of us need, and I just need to trust him, and in our abilities.

Well we got some attitude tonight!!! Lucas front feet actually left the ground tonight about 1 minute into the ride. The figure 8's at a walk and changing direction and size of the circle got him going forward again and we had a fantastic ride after that.

Did alot of work at the trot lifting his belly and shoulders up and driving from behind. Then we did some canter work as well, then threw some transitions into the mix. We had a great ride for the last 20 minutes :) I need to get on him more frequently. He only does that attitude thing when Im not riding him much, its just getting my ass in gear. And the longer Im not on his back the more I think about the bad stuff that could go wrong.

D is very encouraging, and seems to 'get' what I need, and when I need support. He thinks I should be riding more too, and that my horse can handle me (and that I need to stop making excuses!)

I finaly ditched my old black boots and started using my dress boots to ride in. They helped ALOT! My ancles werent rolling like they normaly do which gave me more stability. I went and ordered a pair of full seat breaches that should be in next weekend, which should help with the english riding as well.

quality time

I went and spent some quality time with Lucas tonight, who took every oppertunity he could to remind me how spoiled he is. :) And how lucky we both are.

Work has been a little crazy lately, and is only going to get worse.... however show season is coming, if there was ever a better excuse for late nights in the barn that makes 2 good reasons.

We did our 'halter' workout tonight, and we have a lesson scdeduled for tomorrow night. Hes getting stronger with the work so for only being back into work for 2 months (with me having to take a week off due to the flu) I think were doing ok. Truthfully hes so broke he could show by himself in 2 months.... Its me Im worried about!

One crazy day

Well the meatballs were a hit! I came home with no leftovers, and requests for more next weekend! Since my first cooking experiment worked, tonight I made a banana and strawberry smoothy. It was good too!

On the barn front, the BO's puppies were born last night/early this morning. 4 healthy and happy puppies, and a tired mommy dog, and 2 very tired BO's! So me and one of the kids helped do all the barn chores (and OMG I am so tired now... how did I used to do all those stalls before?!?) Two of the clients who have horses in for training were up and they had lessons while we were working.

The two kids that came with them were going to work on showmanship with the horses, but D and C hadn't had a chance to do much with them so C (and the owner of one of the horses) asked if I could take Lucas and one of the lesson horses out and give them a mini lesson on horses who know what they are doing. The truly funny part of this is that the person who asked if I could, was the same person who judged me and Lucas at the last show (and placed us second to last!). Anyways the girls had fun and Lucas was a very good boy but completely took advantage of the littlest girl, got a little bit sloppy with her. It was fun to teach again and they really wanted to learn (which makes it more fun!)

Another ride, and we cantered!

Had another ride last night, was only going to jump on for 15 min but D stayed in the barn to give me a hand with getting on Lucas (hes still backing up a step when I put my mounting block next to him, something were working on) Anyways D and C stayed and gave me an mini lesson for 1/2 an hour.

I was just walking off when he was pulling his 'lock and stop' move, and I was being too cautious about making him move on. I tend to nag, with both my hands and legs, more than fix and move on. He tried stopping a couple of times but didn't do anything once I bumped him with my spurs, I was really at a disadvantage using only my English spurs. My western ones are blunt ended rowels and give me more options about reactions from my legs, they also roll better instead of getting stuck like my English spurs do.

We really worked at getting him forward and up in his shoulders. We worked on figure 8's and spiraling out on circles from a 10m to a 20m. And we cantered for the first time since the September show!!! We had held off due to my health issues, then his health issues, so its been a while. (D has been cantering him some, just not me) Have I ever told all of you how much I love his canter? *sigh* and the lifting of his shoulders was a big help, even in his bad direction I had way more impulsion and lift than I thought I would get.

I really just had to turn off my emotions, and just ride. I stopped worrying about how he felt, or if he was going to like me at the end of it, and just rode for results, and what his feed back was telling me (light in one circle, change direction, keep a smaller circle until he lightens up...) It was good, it was how I should ride.

C and D were very happy with how he was going, they said that our canter was much better with as little work as we done this year, than how it looked in the middle of last summer. I think that because I am going to more of the shows that they will be at, they want me and Lucas showing at our best potential, and this year I asked for help. I wanted to do it on my own (mostly) last year but I've made my point that I can, but we can be even better with help, and that's what we want to do this year. Call me stubborn but it takes me alot to reach out for help.... but I did, and I'm glad that I did. C and D said they didn't want anything extra money from me, just an extra hand at chores on the weekend, or if they go away, which I really appreciate.

Now tonight I'm off to make cookies for D and C. They wont take any money but they will take food!

Good ride.

Well I had selection for jury duty today, and it ended around noon so I snuck off to the barn for the afternoon! I helped do the rest of the stalls, then me and C started tacking up horses for D to ride we managed to do 6 horses in just over 2 hours! Only 3 of them were horses that were being ridden, the other 3 are still getting used to the saddle.

At the end, I saddled up Lucas and lunged him, and D got on and warmed him up a bit then I got on. I rode in his western saddle, and my western spurs and Lucas didnt pull his 'stop and stamp' routine! We did some trot circles, then worked on changing direction across the diagional. We both find the change of direction from the right rein to the left very difficult. Wouldnt you know it but my right leg (the one that I broke a couple of years ago and have very significatly less controle over) is the outside leg and it has a hard time assisting in the changing of the bend!

We did a bunch of that and mixing up 20 m circles in when he was anticipating, or bracing. We had a little break, then I did some small circles to get him to follow the bit more than bracing against it. Then we did somthing I truly didnt think was going to work. We took a portion of the ring (about 20m) and did figure 8's though it. I was so busy keeping his sholders up, and rounding his belly I didnt have time to worry about weather or not Lucas or I could do it, or that he might spook, we just did it. I mean he is 16.3 hands and neither of us are at our best, or very flexable, but I didnt have time to think about anything but the next turn and it was great! Remember the 5 seconds I was talking about in the last post? I had my 5 minutes :)

So I need to stop thinking, and keep it intresting for Lucas. I only need to think 'go' and 'show direction'. I get so caught up in perfecting small things Im missing the bigger picture.

The ride...

Actually went very well. The BO hit the road block (stopping and throwing his head around) about 1 min into the ride (about average) and he grabbed horn and swung the end of the reins! And Lucas jumped about 1/2 foot in the air and walked on! So not such a big issue after all. He also had the same issues with him changing bend while changing direction that I had (although he worked though it in the ride better than I have been!), and agreed that his main method of 'fighting back' is throwing his head around (which is hard on me, and I may be letting him go a bit to much in hopes of saving my hands).

He thinks that because Lucas has such a low gas tank (lots of leg to keep him going all the time, although he has his moments, most of the time he is very slow) and his dislike of actually having to lift his belly, that he wants me to use my western spurs for a few rides to get him more responsive to my legs. Im also to ride in his training saddle (which fits Lucas) for a couple of rides so that I have some security till we get him over his couple of issues.

It was really nice to watch someone else ride Lucas (only the BO, and my best friend have been on him since I bought him, one time each) He had him bridled up a bit more than I would (more of a dressage frame, but still low) but its serving the purpose, keeping him more collected for short periods of time will help him build the mussels that he will need to go long and low in a couple of months.

So the plan is that hes going to ride him once a week, and he'll watch me ride him on the weekends. With driving him in between it should be a good program for the next month so both of us work on our fitness.