Always learning!

This is our canter track; nice isn't it?

Spent a wonderful day at the yard today. Mainly pottering about, but still worked Pinto... trying something new.

I've thought about it for a while, and after our lunging with side reins has gone so well, I got my Pessoa-rip-off out again to see if Pinto was OK with it this time. Well there was mixed results! He didn't freak out this time (*yay*), but he wasn't accepting of it either (*boo hiss*) which was manifested by a very stuffy trot and not wanting to go forward. So after only 2 mins on each side (which was set on the lowest, and supposedly easiest setting) I gave up and switched to the elastique, which was marginally better. He still goes best in side reins though.

So after the lunging exercise, once again we went out on a hack. Even after his day off yesterday, Pinto felt tired, and he soon stopped of his own accord trotting up the first hill. On the canter path though he soon perked up, and we were trotting along like nobody's business. Again I stopped a couple of hundred yards from the end and walked the rest of the way. (Is this getting too boring yet? ;o)) We came to our nice canter hill and off we went. Now I knew Pinto was tired, because he didn't want to go very fast up the hill and he stopped as soon as we got to the top.

Then we went on a little exploration further up the track which we, or at least I, haven't been down before. I found another hill which might be suitbale for cantering up. I'll have to explore further in the other direction. We didn't get to canter up our last hill as we met an acquaintance coming down. Though it was very good for Pinto so he doesn't learn that certain hills always mean cantering.

After we got back to the yard I chucked him out into the field while I waited for the lessons to be posted to see who I would be riding tonight.

I'm really going to miss going to the yard on an afternoon and riding out. I guess my riding out will be confined to the weekends, especially in a couple of weeks once the clocks go back.