Pages

Thursday 28 May 2015

Then and now!

I've finally gotten around to having a look at comparing my photos of Rio from last April to this year's shoot! He's grown up so much in 12 months, and I couldn't be prouder of where we have come from and where we are going.

I've been feeling very tired recently, so there have been some questions raised over the lack of riding I've been doing - I've taken preference to developing our groundwork and riding for a shorter length of time. I'm sure that some people think this is crazy, but I'm happy. Let's face it - Rio is an opinionated young man when he wants to be, and he's a half ton of horse to take on when he's got his mind set on something. If taking a step back is what I need to do at the moment, then so be it, and we will work on getting to know each other better! 


The pole clinic went well. Speaking of attitude, Rio took some of that with him that day. After going to move him into a field away from the arena and him going to trot off around me, we took to playing on the ground. 40 minutes later, with lots of backing up, driving, playing with obstacles, and getting control of his feet over a pole on the ground, and we mounted up with a renewed understanding. 


The morning session resulted in a light, forward going and responsive ride. The fear of the end of the arena was almost gone, until his brain was a little overloaded by the end of it, but I was absolutely chuffed with his efforts. 


The afternoon wasn't quite the same story. Unfortunately I think he blew his mind and left his brain by the trailer for the most part. I ended up getting my instructor to ride him, and it was a pleasure to watch him in the end. He tried his little heart out, and although he totally lost it on a few occasions at the scary end of the school, he really made up for it in the end. 


Onwards and upwards!


No comments:

Post a Comment