A Little Bit of Work Mixed in with a LOT of Fun & Sleep

Ahh, almost summer here but it seems as though this has been a very mild year in the PNW. Lots of sunshine, mild temps- I could get used to this!

I has playtime

Ben has been enjoying his new barn & the great weather too- tons of turn out & socialization with his buddies, makes for one tired horse.

Too tired to wait for fresh shavings, must sleep now ZZZZzzzzz

 He's been great for his other rider, though their rides have been short as she has been getting used to him. This means I still ride him a bit to keep him spruced up and fresh- which is hilarious if you think back to this time last year, and I was barely able to stay on him let alone be an effective enough rider to school him. Ben so quickly likes to take the easy road if allowed, so making sure he's putting in his half of the work is important.

I've noticed things slipping a bit- he is diving into the bridle and not being very soft through his body- which is elongating his trot and canter making it much harder to for him to hold and ride. The fix for this of course is softening - transitions and bends. So that is what we did this weekend. I have been introducing to him simple changes through the trot and walk across the diagonal, and serpentines now that we have the space. These two have done wonders to his trot-canter transitions. They aren't always pretty, but they really help to keep him balanced and not falling out every which way. I've noticed now too that he requires very little aid for canter- finally just a shift with the hip and off he goes.

I'll also let you in on a little secret- he knows his leads :) I was playing with this yesterday, just seeing if I could ask for counter canter, not expecting him to keep it, but just asking- and voila- the boy knows.