More Ride Time with Mom!

So starting last week, Mom began coming out on Thursdays to ride in addition to our Saturday lessons together. Yay! She also snatched an extra ride with me on Sunday because she was trying out her new Wintec 2000 saddle. It works great for both of us. Yay! Mom tells me how much she loves our extra bonding time. We worked on keeping my head in the correct frame as we transition up to the trot. It is harder than Miss Jean makes it look...

Yesterday, instead of working in the arena, Miss Jean invited Mom and me to go on a trail ride with her because she needed to take Milton out. Miss Jean helped Mom fit my new saddle pad, girth, and breastplate.  Mom had cleaned up my bridle all nice too so we looked really snazzy going out together. It was the first time we rode in all of Mom's tack. I was super excited that I was going out with Milton too. Milton is the lead gelding in our herd and we've recently become pretty good buddies. I'll hang out with him and his girl, Lilly, when we are in Miss Jean's field. He's a really cool guy and a very kind leader so I felt confident and safe following behind him. I had taken this trail once before with Miss Jean. It goes into the woods and circles around the bottom of one of the mountains. It has a couple of small inclines so I get a good workout. Miss Jean hopes that by the end of October that I will have built enough muscle to ride the trail that goes up the mountain. All in all, it was a wonderful evening. :-)

A Month’s Worth of Change

So I thought ya’ll might like to compare some pictures of me when I first arrived at Miran Farm and a month later. I am starting to develop some butt muscles and Miss Jean estimates I’ve gained about 45 pounds overall. I still have a way to go to be in athletic shape, but I think I am coming along nicely.

 JULY 1, 2012                                                            AUGUST 1, 2012

Saddle Woes & (Future) Jumping Shows

Trying out the Merielle Saddle...yuck.

Sorry for not blogging in a while my dear human herd mates…I’ve been so busy in training! During the last couple of weeks I made the transition from western tack to English tack. Miss Jean put me in an elevator bit and Mom has been trying out a couple of different saddles. At first she tried a M. Toulouse Merielle plus 4 with Genesis (a monoflap), but I HATED that saddle…she was all over the place trying to find her balance and my back hurt. I’m so glad she decided to take it back. Then she grabbed a Wintec Pro Jump saddle thinking that is what Miss Jean has, but turns out Miss Jean has a Wintec 2000 so Mom has that one on order from Dover now. I was fine in the Pro Jump, but Mom’s knees were way in front of the flap so that was a no-go.

In other news, Miss Jean told me how proud she was of my behavior on our first long trail ride. We went with a couple of roping horses and I showed her how super good I am both following and leading. In the ring, she is still teaching me about how to respond to leg aids, give to the bit, and carry my head properly to better use my back muscles. In our lessons, Mom and I are working on getting smooth transitions to the trot and we had a chance to do a little bit of canter work in light seat. Mom is still trying to work on staying relaxed, keeping her hands even when steering, and sitting back and deep in her heals. We are both very excited about our work, though, especially after Miss Jean suggested we should train for jumpers instead of hunters since it suits me better. Yay for speed and high jumps…eventually. :)