Monday, October 11, 2010

Sigh, it has been so long

I've been meaning to write and just keep forgetting. As soon as I ride I think I'll come in and write an update but it always escapes my mind by the time I get in the house.

I am not doing a good job with consistency in the riding department. It seems like something always comes up and gets in the way of the time I have to devote to riding and training.

The good news is that when we do the work we do make progress, it is just going very slowly and more slowly than I'd like. Lunging is going well, with him going more forward, on more contact, and accepting the boundaries of the circle. So that's good. I do feel like we are way behind the curve, though, and should be farther along - but I guess I can't have high expectations given the time we've put into it.

Under saddle he is doing better with staying on the rail. I had an a-ha movement when I figured out that I was crooked and so when I straightened my body he was straighter, too. He still does drift toward home, though, so I need to put more thought into that. Steering with reins alone to keep him on the rail really doesn't work so I've got to spend more time working on steering off of the leg, which will be my focus this week.

On an unrelated note, he is beating Paddy up so I've got to keep them mostly separate. Paddy is very polite and does not push the boundaries and try to take over herd leadership, so Mac is being a bit of a bully toward Paddy. He doesn't act that way toward people, but when it comes to other horsey relationships he is firm about maintaining his top dog position.

So today I will lunge him and perhaps I'll be able to have a lesson this week to get us dialed back in on the program. These are the times that I miss being at a training barn.

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