Schooling success

We made a trip to Water Farm on Monday evening after work to do some schooling, with Sarah and Franks. It was a thank you for us helping out at the second dressage clinic last weekend. Can't ask for better payment than free use of a lovely indoor arena! It was made all the more interesting when Nancy joined us. This is Nancy:

She is very opinionated, and was not interested in the slightest in leaving us to it. Luckily Rio wasn't too worried about her, although he did avoid her for a couple of rounds. We did some lovely demi-volts along the opposite side of the school, and then set back to it, and he was fine. 

We had some fab movement and work in the trot, and he's really starting to work better from behind now - which followed through into tonight's session at the yard! I was a little disappointed with the canter work (or lack thereof!) at Water Farm, after we hacked out twice at the weekend and did none at all. I thought he'd be itching to get going. 

Tonight I was very pleased with everything he did, on the ground and in the saddle. He stretched down and forward beautifully by the end of the session, and we managed our longest canter in our grass arena yet - and he didn't drop out of it on his own, I asked him forward to trot! As a little bonus my friend was having her horse schooled by a mutual friend who teaches, and as we were trotting around at the end, he gave me some pointers on getting Rio working more effectively from behind and pushing down and forward. I was absolutely beaming by the end, but shattered! 

Absolutely brilliant discovery - take feet out of stirrups, and let them drop down, and Rio stops dead in a perfect square halt. 

Not so good when I eventually come to wanting to work without stirrups, but interesting nonetheless. I ride quite short, so it must feel very odd to him when my legs stretch down! 

After Franks had a bit of a meltdown on our casual walk out on Saturday, courtesy of the two practising trial bikes I inadvertently took us past, I decided to take Rio out for a casual walk up the road on Sunday morning. I was determined to clock up another solo ride, and this one was a bit of a challenge that I ended up being proud of. 

We crossed the road, where he took offence to something (still no idea what!) and promptly spun to the right, and took off up the 3 foot grass bank. Onto the farmer's field. Not good! I used my recently learned trick of lifting my right rein to bend him and disengage his hind, and brought him back quickly, before too much damage could be done to the crop... I whisked him straight back off at the corner of the field, where he still put up an argument about proceeding up the road. After a moment of discussion, with a couple looking on from their car across the road, he eventually got on with it, and we marched on our way. 

The ride was made up of little victories; sitting the spook, not turning back and making him listen to me, not turning around at the top of the road because my nerves were shot, and having a great trot across the two fields. The trip back down the hill was relatively uneventful, which was lovely. 

Positively Spring

The pole clinic went well! This is our first time over the new poles at Wendy's. Having done coloured poles before, it never struck me to take him over them before we started working with them. His beautiful bascule was from a trot, as he tried to keep us both safe from the blue and black pole monster! (Hubby says the poles are white and gold...!) When I took him back around to walk over it, he didn't want to go anywhere near it, but after 5 or 6 small figures of eight over the poles, we were all good. 

I definitely need to take Rio out off the yard for a hack this weekend, as we schooled on Monday night and this morning before the farrier visited. He worked very well both times, and has started to settle more in our outdoor arena. Or maybe that's me. We are working more consistently together, and I have been trying to work more on my breathing to enhance my communication with him. Bringing him down from trot to walk with a sigh along with my aids has proved to work well, but walk to halt still takes a little more. 

Today we did some canter work, and although the left rein was a little touch and go, his balance on the right rein was much better. We had a lovely rhythmic 3 beat canter from A, doing a 20m circle, and back up the long side, where I asked him back to trot before the corner. It was the first time I've felt able to ask him to collect a little, as opposed to getting him into the canter and letting him settle into the pace he wants to keep him in the canter! He is also responding much better to my carrying a schooling whip. It is only there for when he pushes through his shoulder, as he's lovely and forward anyway. He's really getting the hang of it now, and as soon as I touch it to his shoulder, he instantly straightens up and moves over. We even managed a bit of leg yield on both reins today (and once in trot too!)

Last night (much to Rio's dismay) was bath time as the temperatures had shot up. He was a bit of a fidget bum, but once he realised that the hose stayed on him no matter where he moved to, he eventually gave in. Well, for a couple of minutes anyway. Then he had to test it again. I did feel a bit bad, as by the end he was shivering as the temperature did seem to dip off all of a sudden. 10 minutes with his waffle rug did the trick to warm him back up again though, and he's lovely and soft today! 

I now have a copy of our dressage test, which I will be editing and uploading soon - super excited, you can see our super speedy dressage cantering antics!

Redressing the balance

Sorry for the silence from the Eastern front here, it's been a busy couple of weeks, and a bit of a tough time last week also. No fear, things are most certainly looking up, and don't worry - Rio is fine! I've just had to make some changes to my own routine, as it appears that the yard was slightly taking over my life. 

There has finally been a little bit of riding going on, in amongst all of this though! We had the farrier out last week, and he's said that if we are going to be doing more road work than we already are, that Rio will need to have back shoes on. I'm not so keen on that, so fingers crossed now that the nights are drawing out and the weather has been drier, we will be able to do some schooling and cut down on the roads! Although the school is also quite hard at the moment, with the sudden stop in rain. We just can't win haha.

We had a fab ride out the weekend before last, we found a new trail which involved everlasting rolling hills. The boys loved it. No sooner had we hit the bottom of the first hill, Rio threw in an all-four-feet-off-the-ground jump because he was so excited! Luckily it seems my seat has developed since the last time he did this, and with a few strides of walk, we were off again. I'm not a fan of going down hills, but a few more goes on this route, and I'm sure that fear will soon be gone. What was even better, was that he wasn't too hot and sweaty when we got back, and despite his sweaty face and eyebrows, his chest and shoulders barely broke a sheen. (With all those hills, it's no wonder! It was all push, push, push!)

He had 9-10 days off after that weekend, as it was hubster's birthday last Sunday, so he was left to chill out in his field. Sarah brought him up for me on Wednesday evening, as I need to do some schooling with him before the dressage clinic next weekend. If he can take the attitude he had on Wednesday to the clinic, I will be ecstatic. He was going off the leg beautifully, was responsive to my weight aids (however clumsy they are currently...) and we had a couple of nice canters. He still drops out of the canter, but they're gradually getting longer. This may be a bit of an issue on Sunday however, as the test we are riding is prelim 12, which involves cantering the long side, circling in the middle, and cantering around to change the rein across the diagonal. Hm. He even was coming into a lovely natural outline for a few strides at a time in walk. Needless to say, I felt much better after that session. Especially when he spooked 90 degrees off the track, and my bum stayed right where it was! Haha. 

That feeling of inadequacy

We managed some schooling last weekend, after a fab ride out on Saturday (see video below!) I felt pretty good about it. Making it into the school, me not worrying. Rio being a bit of a prat and me still not worrying, trying to get a feel with him again... All until I put together my video. He fought and fought with me, and despite him coming in a bit, despite me desperately trying to get him moving forward into a contact; all that happened was me holding him together, and it didn't flow at all. 

I've booked us in on a dressage clinic next month, and I'm just dying to get in there to try and work this out. It's come to that point where I feel like we need to step it up or I just feel like I'm not enough for him. This weekend's frustration was my lack of ability to just sit to the trot. I'm not kidding now, this is really starting to eat at me. By now, I should be past the point of getting excited about sitting to three strides before I lose it again. Right? 

Wrong. I need to remember not to run before I can walk. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't so long ago that I was terrified of that school and of Rio being stupid in there. 

It wasn't so long ago that on a hack I would have been a sprung ball of tension at the slightest trip or spook. 

It wasn't so long ago, that if another horse had come sprinting past causing Rio to rush off in pursuit, that I probably might have lost my seat (maybe a stirrup or two) and bailed out in a big sprawling mess. 

Not any more.

These are the things I need to remember, and when the inevitable downs of horse ownership and riding come into play, these are the things I need to draw on. How many times have you been through these patches? How did you get yourself through them? I don't want to feel like I'm letting his potential be lost because I'm not a capable enough rider. I want to learn, and I want to be able to teach Rio, and for him to learn with me. It's time to start saving to try and get a trainer in every few weeks. 6 weeks and counting until the clocks go forward. I cannot wait.

On a more cheerful note - here's our hacking video! 

If anyone has any tips they would care to share, I would be more than grateful.

Going off piste

We're not going down there are we mum? Yes. Yes we are. 

Um, I'm not so sure. Bailey doesn't want to go in there, and Monty is hanging back, so I don't think it's safe. Really? How about you give it a look, and then if you really don't want to, we can discuss it sensibly? GET ON! 

Mum. No. I'm not going in there. Look, my head is under the roof, and I'm telling you - it's SCARY. I'm turning around. No you're not. Look, have a second, that's fine, but you're not turning and running away from it. You're better than that. Come ON. 

AAAHHH ok mum we're in, it's... it's not so bad actually... I just need to check the others are following! Good boy, I told you it would be fine! Of course they're following, you've just shown them it's not scary, you ninny. You funny boys.

We've had a mixed bag this week. Rio came up for a little play on Thursday evening, and there were three horses in for the night. Do you think he would go into his stable and stay whilst I closed the door? Not a chance. He ended up being driven backwards the length of the barn because he was being so rude. We went into the indoor school to work on manners, where we experienced difficulty in getting him to stay on the right rein in walk or trot. We made it in the end, and ended up with some nice movement once he was actually listening. He joined up, and was happy to follow me at liberty in the school in various shapes and over a small raised pole. He went into his stable (still with a little fuss) and had dinner afterwards, so I still managed to have my own way on that front! 

Yesterday we went on a little mission around the local village, and ended up doing alot of road work. It was probably around 1hr 45mins with minimal time of that being off road, so although we had taken it steady and it was a walking hack for 98% of the ride, I was still a little worried about his splint and hind (unshod) feet. All was well though, and there was no sign of heat or swelling today, and his splint is no different. In the picture above, we are all lined up on Amy's drive (not pictured, but Monty is the one I'm holding!) 

We certainly drew a lot of attention, as there aren't usually horses on the roads we trekked. There are probably a few people with photos and videos of us now... Amazingly none of the boys pooed on the drive, but we did stop at Tesco on the way back to get a coke, where Bailey decided the pavement was a great place to let one go. That didn't go down so well, despite Mils trying to kick it off on to the road - the cashier wasn't impressed. Hey ho. Won't be going in there for a while! (The reason we were on the pavement was because it's on quite a busy road, and we were less in the way on the pavement than milling around in the road... I know we're not technically meant to be up there - just sods law!)

So we come back to today's ride, where we conquered the scary underpass! Rio was lovely and relaxed, other than the little fight to get him to trust me that he wouldn't get eaten down there. When we got back I decided we would spend a little while in the outdoor school again, whilst I was feeling comfortable and confident in the saddle. He would not move past the other boys as they were stopping to be untacked. Amy kindly grabbed her riding crop, and we were off. We had some lovely movement, and he even took up a bit of a contact with a bit of work from me. Perfect. Here's a video Amy took on our second run (can't beat a good bit of desensitising!) - I couldn't leave without going back again to get photos haha.

Sunday Musings - what works?

Hi there from sunny Montreal! I've been enjoying the opportunity to have a good play with the camera, what do you reckon? I do love a pretty little macro shot. 

So, something caught my eye on my facebook feed this morning whilst I was having a quick catch up. I dabble in a bit of Parelli natural horsemanship stuff with Rio, because I want to improve our relationship on the ground. I don't take it too seriously - I just use the bits that make sense to me, and ignore the bits I don't like (I will never whack a metal clip into his head... That's just not how we roll, OK?) and someone had posted this article. Obviously I had a little read.

Now, Rio usually works in a regular halter or his leather one. He will have a rope halter on the Play Days, and that is about it. This isn't so much an issue for us. At home, we work on his manners without utilising pressure and release with these more "pressure pointed" aids. Slobber straps - we don't use them. I ride with regular rubber reins, and we have been working for some time now on understanding each other and developing his contact in a much quieter way. We are past fighting over it, and for the most part, he offers a contact and supples quite nicely (when I ask properly...)

The carrot stick I have found to be of some use. On the ground it has proved invaluable on a couple of occasions, and despite being unwieldy and really quite heavy to carry regularly, I would always now keep one handy. In the saddle has proved a little less successful - perhaps we haven't played enough of the friendly game with it in that respect, but I am happy to use a schooling whip or regular crop to achieve the same end, with far less angst or resistance. 

As for treats, these don't get offered regularly. At the first couple of Play Days I ensured I got a big tub of treats ready for training and rewarding, because this was how I was being taught. What I actually ended up with was a horse that wanted to be in my space all of the time because that was where he got the treats. I don't want a horse that mugs me for nibbles. Since ditching the treats and opting for scratches/cuddles/grass munching time as a reward, I have had a much more responsive horse to work with. I'm lucky in this sense that Rio is such a people person, because he's usually more than happy for you to give him a good rub on his neck as a reward. 

The idea of "just get off" is a tempting one. I have however learned that unless you follow something through, it's likely you will find a brick wall develops. Once this happens, not only have you got to knock that wall down to achieve what you're after, but you've also got to build the bridge! Surely we all understand this one - aren't we always told when we're learning to ride, if you fall off the horse, you get straight back on? Why should it be any different if your horse is finding something a little difficult? Three strides of controlled canter and asking him back to trot is a better start than avoiding canter altogether (for example). That is something to build on. If you don't take the plunge, how do you build the foundation?

It's interesting to get a full picture of what goes on when we are training our equine friends, as we always seem to get so focused on what we want to achieve, that sometimes we overlook the side effects of what we are trying to do (and probably not quite getting right!) It's so important to take a step back every once in a while to appreciate the small things and the impact they can have. You can create something wonderful if you just take the time and make the effort.

That said, I do think that anybody going into horse ownership thinking they will automatically have a best friend for life should really reconsider if owning said horse is right for them at that time. I love Rio to bits, but I'm under no illusion that 10 months is an infinitely small time in the grand scheme of things. We have a lot of experiences to have together, many scary things to work through, and lots to develop in our relationship. I just hope that in 10 years time we can be in as strong a place as Sarah and Franks are together. Fingers crossed, we will have experienced half of what they have too - I'll be a very happy lady if we do!

Sweetie Pie - my dad's girlfriend's cat in Montreal!

Enough rambling from me, please feel free to share your views on training your horse (natural horsemanship or otherwise!) Are there any things you feel work particularly well for you and your horse, or indeed anything that you avoid like the plague?

Ride / play safe

Stress Sucks

Stressful times have meant we've not been doing much recently. Work has been hectic, and has been putting me in a very low place at times. Unfortunately these lower points have carried over after leaving the office at the end of the day, and caused me to avoid riding as I didn't feel up for it. Add to that the headache caused by said stress and Rio is now getting a little bit round!

We had the vet out today as I found a lump under Rio's jaw late on Monday night. He's on antibiotics for 7 days which he will be having in his breakfast, and started it today after the vet left. We think it is a lymph node that has swollen whilst fighting off an infection of some sort, he is still eating and drinking but it is a little sore. We have a week of monitoring it but I've been told only to squish and poke it every other day otherwise it is difficult to tell! 

We schooled this evening, and despite it being a little breezy when I brought him up, I got his tack out immediately and then groomed so that I couldn't talk myself out of it. I walked him in hand around the school a couple of times (more to put me at ease than him I think!) and then I hopped on. I was especially pleased with how he settled, we didn't walk a single circuit around the outside edge of the school whilst warming up. I was very focussed on changing the direction and keeping him guessing, and we managed some nice work on the bit too. 

Sarah sat in and reminded me to use transitions as well as shapes, and admittedly I did a couple and then forgot, so we played with trot poles instead. We did a LOT of trotting. By the end I was feeling it, but it felt great. We played with three trot poles on the ground, a "double" consisting of an "upright" one tyre high and a cross pole, and an "upright" two tyres high. We did lots of attempts in trot, and Rio was being super lazy. Three pony kicks later and we were going much more forward. No more falling over his feet, and we even cantered both "uprights". I know that two tyres isn't much, but it's a big deal for us! Woohoo!

Ride / play safe x

Stubble's up!

The stubble is out in full force! Not only are the fields across the road open for action, but the one next door to the yard has now been cut too.

So over the weekend I had Sarah school Rio on Saturday as I managed to pop my hip out on Friday afternoon in the office (don't ask!) so I was a bit uncomfortable. He was a very good boy, and the improvement on him taking up the contact was a joy to see. At least I must be doing something right. Anyway, here are a couple of videos I took:

He took up a contact on both reins, in walk and trot (I've not quite got him in trot just yet, only a few strides), popped a small cross pole in trot and then canter after doing some very nice trot pole work, and then did some leg yield with inside bend. What a clever boy. We went out for a hack around the village on Sunday with Sarah, and went out across the river field where he had his silly 5 minutes last week. I was a bit nervous, but made sure I took deep breaths and we just trotted on the outside track. It all went pretty well, albeit Rio and myself were both a little tense at times, but he didn't run off or do anything daft, so it's a foundation to build on.

Yesterday was my first time out on a stubble field with Rio. Sarah came out with us, as I was a bit unsure of what he would do. I'm not sure if he has been on a stubble field before so I didn't want a repeat of last week... I'm quite sure that a fall on to stubble is going to hurt much more than on to soft long grass. I needn't have worried, he walked quite calmly through it, and we had a little trot behind Sarah with no excitability. I was pleased with that, and will be trying to avoid cantering on any stubble fields just yet - I want him to be happy walking and trotting first and not just to associate it with going flat out!

Last night was a bit of a strange one in any case, all of the horses were playing up in one way or another, and they were all a bit on their toes! Even the usually best behaved ponies proved that there is no such thing as a bombproof horse. Must have been something in the air I guess. I'm hoping to try and school tonight, so fingers crossed it has passed.

Ride/play safe x

So what is your horse for?

I got down to the yard to see Rio this morning with his girlfriends - yes, plural! 

Now I know why I have Rio, but I wonder for what reason other people get their neddies. For me, it is not just about me and Rio but the yard itself, and the people. The atmosphere of peace after a long stressful day, somewhere where I don't have to sweat the small things and can roll with the punches. I love that he's not a perfectly preened show pony; if anything, he's an absolute mud monster at the moment. He comes back from a hack dirtier than he leaves, because he's s a sweaty boy. He has a fidget and tries to scratch his butt on everything in reach when he gets hosed down. He pulls silly faces when he's trying to eat an apple because he can't figure out how to bite it once it's in his mouth. He has a huge trunk on him, and can't stop snouting at everything around him. 99% of the time, spooking doesn't even result in him moving from where he is. The other 1%, well who knows. Our bond is getting better every day. I can easily while away any number of hours at the yard, whether it's with Rio, or just chatting away the time. We keep on breaking new barriers together, and today we had our first adventure out together with no other horses, that wasn't just around the big field. Yes, my friend cycled with us, but we were the only horse and rider, and you know what? It was wonderful. 

All in all, having him just makes me smile. That's what Rio is for. He keeps me sane.

So what is your horse for?

x

New arrivals & some peace

The boys managed to survive the day together yesterday! I didn't get down to the yard until much later than usual last night, but Sarah sent me this. Franks very kindly offered to spend the night in Rio's paddock to help graze it down a little more, which I thought was lovely of him. I am pleased to report that even after one day of being on a barer field, Rio's grass belly was visibly reduced, and when I tacked him up to ride last night, his girth is actually in the same place, if not one hole higher than it was before. 

I'm waiting with baited breath for the delivery man to turn up (the tracker says he was due 10.45 - 11.45!) as I'm home on my lunch break, and have to leave again in ten minutes. It's Rio's grazing muzzle. He will be back in his own field tonight, so I would really be happier if I knew he had it on so he doesn't undo the good work of yesterday, last night and today being in Franks' field! 

This little man is the reason I was late down to the yard yesterday, meet my new nephew Benjamin! We had to get up to the hospital before visiting hours ended at 7pm. He's a little darling, barely made a peep the whole time we were there. That's the kind of baby I can deal with!

I decided when I got down to Rio that we would do something, it had been raining earlier this afternoon and we even had a bit of a thunder storm, so I'd all but discounted the option of riding. By the time I made it there though, it had been dry for a couple of hours, and Rio was actually pretty dry so we had just a little schooling session. I *think* we managed a couple of steps on a contact, but without someone on the ground I'm still getting used to telling. We did some trot poles, and gave cantering a go, but had to take it easy as he's not got the hang of cantering around bends in the school yet, and lost his footing behind on the damp grass. All in all, I was pleased, and glad we got to do something just the two of us. Still not taken him back out again on my own since the fall, but I'm working up to it!

Ride / play safe x

(No more) Soft Touch

After such a pleasing day yesterday, I was a little hesitant to hope that today would live up to expectations. After breakfast with hubby and my father in law, I headed up to watch some of the stressage at Stratford Hills. It all looks very scary to me, there were 6 arenas on the go when I arrived, and lots of horses in the warm-up area. Lots going on! Anyway, it spurred me on to join Sarah schooling when we got back, and give riding with a contact a go. Rio has offered it up to me once whilst out hacking, but I didn't really ask him, so we're starting from square one.

I have an issue with loopy reins, so first things first was to get to grips with keeping him on a shorter, tighter connection so that I could feel him properly on the end of them. He gives a bit of a fight for it, and this is where I need to toughen up. Once the fight has been had, he is quite a natural at carrying his head in the right place, THEN you can soften up with him. I need to have that bit of a battle, and because I know he's not a kicker or a total idiot, I can more or less trust that if I can arrange myself, he will eventually follow. I was still struggling a bit, so Sarah and I swapped horses and I got to try riding a Franks! It's the first time I've ridden him, and I was a little nervous! 

Franks is pretty special, he's done all sorts with Sarah over the years, and no sooner had I picked up the reins, did he take up a contact. It was great being able to feel what I'm looking for from Rio, and Franks' trot is amazing to sit to - I don't have that luxury with Rio as he's a bouncy little dude! The saddle is also a nice squishy armchair of a dressage saddle, which was wonderful. I took comfort in the fact that I was able to keep my hands steady and maintain the contact with Franks' - good news as it means it's not my hands waving around that's causing the issue. I need to learn with Rio to hold my hands up a little and ensure that I keep a slightly tighter outside rein to maintain the contact, whilst playing a little with the inside rein until he drops down. My problem is recognising when he drops his head and relaxing (but keeping!) the contact in that second. 

Once Sarah had got Rio going nicely, I hopped back on, and worked on the same. We did manage a few good steps in outline, but boy was it hard work. It's certainly something we can work on now that I know what I'm looking for! I was also really pleased as Sarah got a full circuit and a half of canter out of Rio on his right (good) rein. Even she found it hard work though, and it took a bit of verbal encouragement (read: noise) to keep him going around the top bend of the school. Something else to work on. In the meantime, we have trot poles laid out to intersperse the serious stuff. Rio loves them! Please ignore my heels in this photo, I was just trying to keep him in a nice active trot (something else I'm working on... heels into the ground!) It won't be long before we try a little cross pole hopefully, especially if we continue at this rate. 

Ride / play safe x

Needle in a haystack (or field)

Rio had a long hard night on Thursday. Sarah goes down a little after me in the mornings, and it would appear that the boys had a little routine going. (Past tense as Rio bit Franks on the bum Thursday between my visit and Sarah's, and is now back in his own field...)

• Graze at opposite ends of paddock when mum comes down, Franks to acknowledge presence, and possibly say hi, Rio to come and loiter around the wheelbarrow ready for poo quality control checks
• Graze together for a bit as mum leaves
• Rio to lay down for nap time in prep for Sarah's arrival, and Franks to stand watch
• General grazing after Franks has had breakfast, including extra curricular activity such as sliding stops, cantering up the long side of the field in pairs, and apparently a smidge of cannibalism (although this can be thrown in whenever fancied...)

It's a shame really, as they seemed to be doing very well together in the field. They will be having supervised play dates in future, as although I don't want him tearing poor Franks to shreds, being able to interact with another horse is invaluable at his age. Having been the one with the horse on the end of the bullying originally, I don't want to be the mummy of the bully... 

How can such a funny boy be capable of such things hey?! This has to be one of my fave snaps Sarah has sent to me so far.

I spent my evening last night fencing Rio's field off so that he's got an L shape to roam and graze. There's still a LOT of grass in there, but thankfully the sheep have grazed down a little bit of it. I'm hoping it will be a good incentive for me to keep up the riding routine, so he doesn't balloon again. With any luck Franks can come over and visit for a bit and help with the grazing down too. 

I was just tidying all the bits up, when I realised that I had pinged the inch-long pin out of the fencing reel (the one that holds the end in place so it doesn't all unravel in storage)... I wasn't prepared to accept that vet bill, should Rio find it whilst grazing, so I had to walk the fence line in the hope it hadn't gone far. Would you believe I managed to find it? I was so pleased. I'm not sure I would have slept last night if I hadn't!

Today was one of those good days. Rio walked straight out of the field with me, walked up nicely, tried being a little cheeky on the last stretch and came back to me when I put my foot down. Stood nicely at the barn, picked his feet up with minimal fuss (he's been a little impatient the last few days with his feet). Stood perfectly to be tacked up, moved over when asked, and took his new bit without question. SIDENOTE: We are definitely keeping the Neue Schule, the new wider bit fits him perfectly, and I was actually sent a brand new one to trial this time! No need to even return it for a new replacement to keep. Result. Rio seemed indifferent to it being any different to his current bit, which I will take as a positive. It's a bit narrower than the steel one, but I'm hoping the Salox will even out the difference. Now to work on the contact... 

I actually schooled again today. We did a few transitions (nowhere near enough though now that I think about it) from walk to halt, and then from trot to walk to trot and some that were just trot to walk. He felt active underneath me, and although his shoulder was falling in on the end of some of our circles, we were trotting shapes in a nice forward way. We have a bit of an issue with Rio's canter transitions. He's picking them up much better in the bottom corners of the school. This is where I usually ask for canter. He's still struggling to maintain a canter for a full circuit, but the transitions into canter (in his "canter corners") are becoming much easier to make. So now we need to try cantering from other parts of the school. 

We finished off doing some trot poles, after getting some advice from Sarah on how to try and work him onto the bit. It didn't go so well today, but it's something I'm just going to have to work on with him and find our own way of discussing. I've never really worked "on the bit" before, so am not exactly sure how to ask what I want to ask, and because he hasn't particularly been taught to work on the bit, he's not sure what I'm asking yet either. Any advice welcome! I've had him take up a contact whilst out hacking on the field once before, but at the time, I wasn't specifically asking it of him, I guess I just found the right combination of things and was properly relaxed without intending on it. The trot poles were great fun though! We will definitely play with those more.

In other news, my cousin has got her new 4 year old OTTB at my yard for a little while whilst a space comes up at her place. He's fresh off the track, and is a cute leggy little chestnut. Watch this space!

Ride/play safe x