A day of flatwork

After a much needed day off yesterday, which happened to be the hottest day of the week (91 degrees!), all of the horses had a flat day today. Since Patrick had been going so well, I raised his 2.80m cavaletti in preparation for today's ride. I figured I'd just give him a light workout, introduce him to the raised poles, and be done with it. He, on the other hand, had a different idea in mind...

Once again, he outright refused to pick up the correct lead. Every time I put on my canter aids, he fought them and picked up the opposite lead. So, naturally, I tried asking with the opposite aids, and all he did was throw his head in the air and protest that that was not the correct way to ask for a canter departure. So I tried every other combination of leg and rein aids I could think of, until I finally just had Nathan run and grab a schooling whip. Then, after twenty minutes of us both dripping sweat, he finally decided fighting was just no fun anymore, and picked up the correct lead both directions at least once. Sometimes, I really hate thoroughbreds. However, he was a total champ over the raised cavaletti! Bring on the jumps! I'm not quite sure I'm ready to show him to my trainer tomorrow though...=/ I think I'm going to put a chambon on him next time, so he can just fight himself instead of me, and throw him in the round pen until he picks up the correct lead in his sleep. It's frustrating, because I know he's just doing it to be annoying. That's the way he's always been, unfortunately.

Of all of the horses, Bailey was the most pleasant to ride. Go figure. It was her third time being genuinely ridden, and she schooled around w/t/c both directions like a little lesson pony. I'm pleased to say that she, on the other hand, is very naturally balanced and already understands canter cues and how to pick up the correct lead. Thank the higher powers above that I won't have to go through that with her. I think she actually enjoys being ridden. Her big floppy ears are always pricked, and she's so thrilled with herself at the end when I shower her with love and affection. I can tell she's happy to have pleased me. That's when I absolutely adore mares:D

I wanted to take things easy with Bella today, so I just hacked her out on the hills. This, however, turned out to be no easy accomplishment. There were invisible horse-eating deer in the woods, and she was so puffed up that she looked like a welsh stallion. This led to some super fun suspension in her gaits, but it made her A.D.D. nearly insufferable! So I did a few canter sets, and then took her up to the ring for a few laps over the cavaletti and called it quits while I was still ahead!

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning up my barn and scrubbing a few weeks worth of grime off of my tack in preparation for my trainer to come tomorrow (which I think is actually happening! I'm in his schedule and everything! Whoohoo!)

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!