Progress

Yay I got my official student number from the college today! I’m excited although I know its going to be a LOT of work. I’m going to take my PT next Tuesday. I have to be there 13 minuets before 9 am. Ugg and they want me to test well? I’ll be half asleep then! Anyway I’m getting closer to attending college.

I was able to get on Wynter late today. Around 5ish actually. We spent a while bending and walking in circles. Today we started to add a spur stop. Which is where you add your spurs to gain collection. Sounds funny but it is a really really neat ‘button’ on your western horses. It starts at a stop where you bend right and left each time you bend right you add right spur not enough to making them go forward to as an aid. Then you release the spur and let the head go when they give. Then you do it left. We probably did it around 17 times each side and then you add both spurs again not as a forward action but more as a ‘button’. He got it and dropped his head down. Step one complete!

We had a hard to distinguishing forward and spur stop for a second. Then we got it and were able to move forward. We worked at the opposite end of the arena today since there was a jump right next to the wall at the end. At the trot I focused on pegging that inside shoulder if it tried anything funny. I also work on keeping him hip on the out side of the circle. This made him think canter so we went around at a canter for a bit. He was mucho better today. He leaned on me a little but was quicker to give and pick himself up today.

Going the other way we did a little trot work but it was pretty good going left so we went down the long wall to try and track straight. This was super good or I was missing something. I’m pretty sure I can tell where everything is but was a little skeptical that he was tracking up that well. So we reversed and he needed a little help he would swing his butt in just a little bit. Every time I added a little thing of spur he would throw it all the way out. He doesn’t know what moderation is. We did a lot of long walls today working on forward straightness.

Around this time we started working on stopping and walking of straight. He love to pitch his shoulder to the right when he step off at the walk. My right spur was in action when we did this, a few times he thought if he laid into it it would go away. When that didn’t work he moved from it and viola no spur. We whoaed and go’ed about 4 times in a row until he was walking off with out going crooked. This is something I’m going to have to work on every day until he just goes centered and then we won’t have to worry about it…much.

I then went to more canter work and his left side was really good he was soft and centered and I only did two transitions with him. Going right I was being picky about it. I made him work that side a little more just because it isn’t as good as the other side. We did about Four transitions to canter and he never missed a lead. He almost missed one of his left leads though but I shut him down before he had the option. We worked as far off the rail I could making it hard for him. He was really good by the rail but when he went to the center of the pen he would drop out with his outside shoulder and aim for the rail. We went around and around with my trying different rein and leg combinations until he finely went around the center collected and soft with out falling in or out. This was an instant whoa. He is almost a reining horse he stopped so fast.

I was really surprised he was sweaty, he was barely warm today. I called it a day with the good canter and just leaped off of him. He wasn’t sweaty enough for me to rinse him to so I just put him in hos room after I was done. Overall it was a much improved ride from yesterday. Which everyone would call progress! That’s exciting. It will be interesting to see what Jen says tomorrow.

In other news my stuff still isn’t here! Ugg I wanted new rowels before I went back to Jennifer’s. I may just use my English ones he he.