1.5 Weeks

Well, we went from one of our best lessons yet to a complete write off, washout of a lesson the very next week. 

I never was able to replicate the good things--aka the canter--that we got from previous lesson on my own. During his PEMF session he was uncharacteristically pretty back sore. DL did warn me that he was going to be sore working so hard in such a new way, but I guess in my head it was going to be more of a cumulative thing and not an immediate result. 

For our lesson, I thought he felt alright warming up, but my hands started bouncing and I felt like a jumbled mess which turns out ties into how Opie is feeling. The better he goes, the easier he is for me to ride. Things kind of spiraled into general grossness as the lesson went on. Any time we put on the pressure to do more than flop around, Opie adamantly said no. 

I gave him a canter each way in half seat which loosened his back up, but he wasn't interested in doing anything that resembled real work. DL had us back on the circle at the walk and we moved in and out of haunches in and haunches out as an exercise to loosen him up--while telling me no half pass because she caught on immediately that he loves that as an evasion. 

We quit there. DL suggested adding in Buteless to his daily life as we start ramping up the big kid work and his body transitions, which I did.

Saturday he got a quick bareback spin because I could not resist getting to ride in our outdoor for the first time this year.

Sunday was 80* and sunny and glorious so K and I loaded up our ponies and went to the park for the first time this year. We got plenty of canters in, splash parties galore, and walking on the buckle in between. 

On Monday, when I usually would give him a day off after the park, it was super warm again outside with snow in the forecast for later in the week so back to the outdoor we went.

He's been really rude and dishonest about my outside aids the past few weeks. I put my outside leg on and just falls inside--or like dives into the inside. Zero outside rein connection. So right off the bat we addressed that. On a circle, hold the inside bend, and turn off my outside aids. 

He. Was. PISSED.

There was much flailing and leaping and trying to run through my outside aids, but I held firm and did not give in an inch from what I was asking. Eventually he caved and did what the aids were telling him to do. We did our haunches in to out on the circle at the walk, and from there I had a rideable horse. I was able to do t/c that focused on me and my position while he went around like a trained horse. Love it.

Tuesday he had off, this morning half the freshly painted jumps were up in the indoor so obvi we had a quick spin over them. I continued working on making my arms side reins, pulling my right shoulder back, and making the outside aids a thing we live with. 

He was literally perfect for all of it. All 2'6". Single vertical around to a 3 stride vertical to oxer, to a rail topped gait. Then we did the gate to vertical bending line. 

The first time he landed and I went to turn him and he was like, "wtf why are you running me into a jump where are we going abort you idiot!" and came back to a walk before I booted him into the trot and made it over the vertical out. The second time he knew we were turning but I didn't half halt on landing and he ran past the distance. Third time was the charm: he knew the game, I put in a half halt, fucking crushed it. Put it all together for a mini course and nailed every distance and every lead and ended there. Riding forward and straight, man. Makes it all come together lol.

We were supposed to get our saddle today, but it was rescheduled yet again. Hopefully Friday now which means our lesson will get reschuled, but at this point the saddle situation needs to be sorted for good.