Rides 22 & 23

We're back at it!

On Tuesday, I went out in the freezing cold evening to the barn. Turns out I was the only crazy person there all night. But that meant I had the arena to myself!

I made a last-minute decision to tack Stitch up, pop on my helmet and boots, and see what his thoughts were about me putting weight in the saddle again. I was by myself (the evening employee was around to check on us, so I wasn't totally crazy), so if he didn't seem confident about me putting my foot and weight in the stirrup we would stop there, but if it was all good then maybe I'd swing my leg over, and then???

Unsurprisingly, it was one time with weight in the stirrup, then the leg over. When I asked him to walk away from the mounting block he took steps backwards instead of forwards and I wondered if I was going to get myself into trouble, but once he went forward he was all good. 

It only took about a 20 m circle for him to relax and feel quite confident walking around the arena. We did a total of about 10 minutes, with some steering, walk transitions off of my seat, and halts off my thighs. An excellent refresher for him.

Despite the weather being significantly nicer on Thursday, (a balmy -12C), when I arrived at prime riding time the place was again empty and I had the arena to myself. Sweet!

Stitch had a little bit of pep in his step when I got on but quickly settled into the walk. Lots of snorts were released.

He picked up the trot right away when asked, and unlike when I started him in the fall, forward was not a problem! He was a bit too quick, so we had to work on settling the trot, which I wouldn't really say we did in the fall since we always trying to just go forward. Sadly, I think he already has a better half-halt off my left rein than my right, which seems to be how all my horses go. I was hoping he'd cover up my faults for a least a little while!

It's late and I don't feel like sending any video to YouTube, so enjoy this awkward gif.

We attempted a couple of simple figure 8's at a trot. They were a bit of a mess as our steering at the trot hasn't been worked on too much. I think he'll be much more forward now, so getting some steering sorted out is going to be our main goal for the next few rides. There was one corner he kept cutting, although the ones at the far end of the arena he went super deep into, so we'll be working on that.

He kicked dirt into the kickwall coming out of the corner and gave that wall a good look 

All in all, I was very happy for how these first rides in three months went. He definitely hasn't forgotten anything. He also feels much stronger than he did in the fall. Still a ping pong ball at the trot, which is to be expected, but not nearly as bad as he was in the beginning. He was just starting to feel solid about carrying me in October when we stopped, so I'm hoping it will come a bit faster this time. 

Feeling pretty pleased with himself after a turn on the forehand. Also - hasn't he filled out since the fall!

The rides will still be very short for the next little while, slowly adding in a bit more trot every ride. Stitch isn't clipped, and at this time of year I really don't want to have to do it. I have to keep him under his sweat level because this stupid cold weather has settled in for most of February by the looks of it, and when I ride in the evenings I don't want to have to deal with a sweaty, hairy pony that has to be completely dry before going back out.