Awesome trot work today!

I went out to work Abner today, who was a total mess.  I spent about 30 minutes trying to clean him up, and finally got most of the mud/dirt off of him. I put him on the lunge line and he was AWESOME! He was very full of himself, but for good reason! He did an amazing extended trot, his headset was very nice.  (This extended trot was totally unasked for- he felt good enough to do it himself!)

Tried to take a video, but my phone was dying. :(  I'll try to take one when I see him tomorrow.

We also did a little bit of walk work, practicing going through "weird" things without running/jumping/becoming upset.  It took a couple tries to get him going over the tiny puddles (for all he knows, they could be neverending!) without panicking, but he quickly got over it.  We did a little bit of hill work too, but I didn't want to overdo it.

I was so proud of him today!  He got a good grooming after his workout as well. :) 

Seems the other blog got deleted... but we're back!

Since I recently got my driver's license, Abner has been put back into work.  He has been doing great!  He loves the grooming before and after our workouts, as well as the treats!

We started our workout yesterday with a little bit of walking on a loose rein.  I rode him yesterday because it was too cold for me to stand still and lunge him, and I was worried about him slipping and falling in the snow.

After a warm up, we did a bigger, more collected walk.  I actually saw a glimpse of the dressage horse he used to be!  He was a little stiff at first, but after a few minutes it went away.  We practiced turning, stopping, and listening to my leg telling him to move closer to the fence. 

At the end of the workout, we did a little bit of trotting, which seemed to loosen him up.  He wanted to run- even threw in a canter stride or 2. 

I have been riding him bareback because we're not doing too much work, and I need the exercise and practice of keeping my leg tight- I am determined to fit into my half chaps again!