Black and white and green all over

That is going to be a double entendre, as you will soon find out. Colin was nice enough to take a short video of me and Mac last week. He hit some button on the camera that gave the video odd coloring and it is black and white and green! And also Mac is a "green" horse so there's the double meaning!



So we're still working at the walk and trot in the arena, which is really not very exciting. I'm trying to work on geometry, i.e. going in a circle that is actually a circle not an oval or a square. We're also working on transitions from the walk to the trot to the walk, etc., with a loose rein. He seems to like a looser rein and not a lot of contact with the bit so we're doing that for now.

I have to say I get a bit discouraged sometimes. I have to remember to adjust my expectations to Mac. He's a mustang. He knows nothing. Well not nothing, he IS learning, but he didn't have the benefit of growing up in a training barn where he would have been taught all these things at a young age and would therefore be further along in his riding career by now. I'm sure he could care less, of course.

I was at a show this weekend with Paddy and someone I know was there with his three year old gelding. At such a young age that little horse is so much further along than Mac. That horse is walking, trotting, cantering, jumping, and showing! It is going to take me a while to get to that point with Mac, if we ever get there.

What he does have going for him is his sensible mind. He's wonderful on the trails. I can take him out alone or in a group, he can be first, middle, or last and he doesn't really care. He actually does have some get up and go, as I've cantered him on the trails, and also galloped him on the trails! What fun! If we had trails right off our property, I'd probably never do anything else!

I will continue to take him for a lesson every now and then with my dressage trainer. She's having me work on lunging and voice commands, but I must admit lunging gets pretty boring after a while, Mac thinks so, too! I'll just keep plugging along and getting help from professionals who have way more experience with this than I do.