First big space play since Pagosa

I rode Garbo today for the first time in 4 weeks!
Boy - he has a bouncy trot - way bouncier than I was used to with Heart lol. Isn't it funny I could forget something like that??

We headed out around 1.30pm and had a lovely play on the 45ft, where I very much enjoyed being Jim Carey and playing the "come here so I can spank you game". It was very effective.

Then I got on and did all my lateral rein, indirect and direct reins. Then I did some bow ties at walk/trot. Finally after about 8-10 times Garbo got the pattern and started relaxing and blowing out. Yay.

Had an awesome catch up with my friend and tried to fill her in on all my two week adventure days.

Still cold but we played again

It's turned quite chilly but I got out and gave the boys another brush to try and get rid of some more winter hair. Then I worked on getting the boys to pick up their feet from a less than phase 1 - snapping fingers...

George came up the driveway with me and held which ever horse I wasn't playing with.

Maraschino was a little jumpy so we did some half circles with a disengage at the fence, then some figure 8's which he does beautifully even at trot. Then circle - today he had so much suspension while on the trot circle and also flexion it was amazing - looked amazing. Sorry I didn't get a photo.

With Garbo we did Falling Leaf again - he wasn't pushing into me so much today. Yay. Progress.

Then we let them have some grass and hopped them on the pedestal on the way by. Then I showed George how to do the On The Barn Halter knot.

Garbo has his ears back because Coco was backed up to about 2 inches from his back end - he was not impressed. When I am cleaning out their hooves, Coco backs right up to me and bumps into me for a scratch.

First play post Flex Track

Well I got to play with my two big boys today for the first time since I got home. After giving them all a good groom because they are moulting like crazy! Especially Coco. It's really strange, after two weeks with Heart my boys seem HUGE. You'd think she would have seemed small since I have been around my guys longer than two weeks, but she didn't.

Grady showed me how to do Falling Leaf at the Flex Track, one night after dinner because I missed the workshop due to getting the Parelli Saddle fitted. He said Falling Leaf was for Dominant Horses and Backwards S was for Unconfident horses. So can you figure out which one I did which with today?

Garbo has always used Falling Leaf (attempts) by me to push into me and stop me walking forward, but I had new tools today. I had to separate, isolate and work on disengage for a little bit, then start over. But by the end he was getting the hand of it without over-reacting and trotting or cantering. He started blowing out and lowering his head.

 

I also worked on drawing him from a circle in preparation for Change of Direction (the new and improved version), because he assumes - that I am sending him the other way.

Then of course practicing my belly button focus I took him back and grabbed Mr Maraschino.

We did backwards S which he was pretty good about, and then he got to witness my new way of doing Figure 8 - focussing, not leading - it's so awesome - we didn't have any cones but I had imaginary ones I was focussing on. Gosh at one point I upped my energy a bit and he jumped off all 4's!

I am loving having so many more ingredients to work on.

Measured them both for saddles and they came out as Standard!!??