Tuesday, August 11, 2009
44 days boarded
29 days training
Shane and I had a really good ride today. I really drilled him on getting his bend correct, focusing on the inside of the arena (especially to the left) and not the outside, and keeping to the outside, rather than drifting. It was tough work and we had to take lots of breaks because he stressed and really chomped the bit, but with breaks in between he picked up on it well. He's not used to me being in his face when he's working so it was a harder concept for him to grasp.
His lope is really smoothing out, he seems a lot more sure of himself, but he still thinks he's going to fall if we do small circles. That's to be expected from a young horse and I don't really push it on him. He's got to figure out where his feet are, first.
Lastly we went on another small trail ride. He had to open and close the gate (with me on his back the whole time) and did really well, both leaving and returning to the arena. We rode beside traffic, and while he tensed up when vehicles approached, he never thought about running off or anything. He had to walk over big fallen trees, too, and did it like a pro!
