The arena at work was plowed and graded after the snow yesterday, so it was perfect for riding this afternoon. All of the horses at work got their feet trimmed/shod and they had chiropractic adjustments yesterday as well, so it all came together to make for a very good day today.
Berri, the dressage pony, was the first to be ridden. We're working on training level dressage, so it's nothing super-fancy yet (none of Stephen Colbert's so-termed "fancy-prancing", but we're working on it). That doesn't mean that I'm not excited about every little thing that goes right, though. Because I absolutely am.
Today was the first day that I managed to get Berri to engage her back and lift in real collection for more than two steps in a row. I was praising her like she'd won at Devon, and I think she was pretty pleased with herself too.
Me and Berri, two weeks ago
Zoe was next up, and we had a similar breakthrough in our communication. Something along the lines of her realizing that she can't counterbend or go crooked around the entire arena. Either that or she just got dizzy from all the circling.
Carlos, the saint of a horse that he is, is worth his weight in gold. I hopped on for a quick warm-up and then he was off teaching beginner lessons both on and off lead. There's really nothing like watching a new rider, grinning from ear to ear as they walk around the ring on horseback (without a leader or side-walker) for the first time. And there's no better horse for that job than Carlos.
Carlos and I, August 2012; like I said, he's a saint
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