planBE

Riding four days in a row makes such a difference! My last two days were such magic that I got goosebumps as my wonderful steed carried me confidently forward on the trail. My last ride involved several canter departs, and most of them were on the correct lead at the first request. Occasionally I  needed to recorrect by the second stride but Q was not flustered for the first time ever of his little mistakes. In the past, he has gotten extremely amped and upset when I correct his canter leads on trail. The mellow soldier in the arena, is not the fiery dragon I have on trail. That said, I am just so impressed at how forward he is on trail. He is really a pleasure to ride. Not much leg is required to get a jump into the trot or canter. In fact, I have to learn how to make a softer and quieter canter depart with 10% of the pressure I need in the arena. Ive learned this week as I practice canter departs on trail, that I am struggling with the down transition to the walk because Q is just am

I had a plan. My horse had another. I wanted to canter. My horse wanted to bolt, spook, and gallop! So we trotted and cantered up hills and across trails until the poor guy was winded. I let him walk and catch his breath, which of course is a little challenging when he is still jigging. I thought he had calmed down and we could start practicing canter transitions when a pheasant startled in the bush. Poor Q was wired! So we kept on trotting until finally 10 minutes later he asked to walk. I got this little clip after thirty minutes of trotting and just before he asked to walk. He is looking a little sedate, finally. Eventually I got to do some canter work on a wider stretch of the trail. At first the circles were ovals but eventually Q figured out my game.  Which got me thinking ... will I ever gallop? My old timer cowboy trainer told me many moons ago to be very careful about never “opening up” my QH on trail. So we kept our speed to hand gallops in closed spaces. But many trainers, b

Was a lovely day spent in an apple orchard with a deluxe food basket for two and a bottle of local cider. The weather was brisk but sunny and it was lovely to be surrounded by an abundance of ripe fruit! Q got the day off after five days of good rides. He will get all the treats tomorrow with some nice grass if all goes well.

Im all for the student becoming the teacher, and learning to fly on their own. I live in a world where education is the core but everyone is an optional player. But I cant help someone who won’t help themselves or take responsibility for their situation. If you want to work with me you better be ready to commit to the process and do your homework. I have zero patience for slackers. Classes start tomorrow and Im revving up for my first day of the year speech where I explain to my students that they can choose to stay or go. But staying means work. They then have two weeks to withdraw. Our poor wounded warrior at the barn is having surgery tomorrow and probably getting her broken jaw wired shut for 4-6 weeks. An awful situation made worse for this self-employed rockstar that will probably not even be able to teach while she recovers from her broken jaw and ribs. And of course riding is out of the question. I am simply aghast that her two most bumbling students with no natural talent, wor