Wings

This is of course going to be more yelling from the rooftops about my horse, no shame.  

I'm thrilled with his use of his head and neck!

First, so that y'all don't kill me I will tell you about the two minor naughty things he did.  I got to the barn just as morning turnout was occurring and he didn't seem to take exception to that.  I put him in the crossties and removed his blanket, then he went poo.  So I scooped it up and then had to go in the paddock behind him to get the last bit.  Of course he then decides that the other horses in turnout were really exciting so he ran to the front of his crossties and stepped all over his boots, dumped the brush bucket out and was generally a nuisance.  I came back around, deposited the manure and decided that I would throw him in the turnout for a moment, he attempted to run me over so first we did some backing up and such.  Mr. Prisoner thought that he shouldn't have to listen and reared straight in the air, we just kept backing up.  A much more polite horse followed me politely to his pasture and then after I told him he could he took a calm canter around and then rolled in the mud.  I'm pretty sure that the crosstie shenanigans were just a plot to gain access to mud rolling sans blanket.

From the other day, much more speed involved

Well I caught him up again and he was perfect until after our ride.  I opened the gate from his back so we could go for a walk around and he thought that the moment I started to push the gate open that he should bolt through it, about taking my leg off in the process.  Some one reined stops and bending solved that.

Warm enough to sponge off!

OK, back to how great he is.  We did a small gymnastic, xrail, one stride, xrail.  After I had gone through it the BO came and set it up higher and took video!  The first element remained an xrail, but the second jump went to a vertical, then a vertical with a gate under it, and finally an oxer.  P-Diddy didn't blink and eye and only rubbed one jump one time.  At the very end we did the gymnastic and then looped back over a singer vertical a couple of times.  We had some very clean lead changes and some not so clean changes, but he has been getting the correct lead pretty much ever single time I ask for it from the trot.

Not even a peak at the gate

He was perfect through the gymnastic and just a little rushy to the single jump out of the canter.  Currently the jumps we trot there is zero rushing!  I've got video that I will share from this day, I still need to upload video from the other day when we hauled out, there is proof of cantering jumps without rushing, win!  

What am I even doing here!?

Over all I was very happy with the ride.  My position is decent, I would like to see my leg a little tighter and my upper-body/release more consistent.  The more I can keep myself from moving the more he can stay quiet to the jumps.  I also want to start adding some narrower jumps and 'looky' things so that I know we are going to be well prepared at shows.  I'm not making a show schedule until I have an official job, that way I know what I can budget for shows and memberships and such.  Ideally I would get to a couple USEA events towards the end of summer with some clinics and schooling shows this spring. 

Ok video is taking tooooooo loooonnngggg, I will do a video post with all of them at once soon.