After stalls were cleaned, I took the horses out for some much needed exercise in the round pen. I wanted to see what each of them remembered since we left off last fall. Ok, mostly Zoe. I wanted to see if Star was sound. We have issues every summer...I'm thinking it's got something to do with the rich grasses, but we'll see. I'm going to change the way we summer the horses this year to see if I can keep her sound all year.
Anyways, Zoe was a rock star! She behaved very nicely while being led around and when it came time to round pen, she knew exactly what to do. I didn't ask her to go any faster than a trot because there was a spot in the round pen footing where it was still a little wet but Zoe decided she wanted to go faster. As soon as she hit the bad spot she almost fell on her side. We took a quick break and assessed her. She was fine. Not even spooked at all.
We worked for about 5 minutes each direction and called it a day for each mare. I got some nice relaxed trot work from Star where she stretched out nicely. She also wanted to do some cantering but knew to avoid the bad spot. She looked great, by the way. Nice floating trot, head was level with her withers...poetry in motion. Canter looked very energetic and forward but I wouldn't call it relaxed or collected. We'll work on that.
I round penned both girls every day this weekend for about 10 minutes each. Not long, but they are both out of shape. I will continue at 10 minutes each until Friday where I will up it to 20 minutes. Once I have the 20 minutes of round pen work for a week, I will start with the saddle on Zoe and do a short ride on Star. That's the plan so far. Gotta take it slow with Zoe to see what all she remembers from last year. I DO NOT want to end up on the ground because I skipped some important steps with her. I made that mistake once last year and do not care to repeat that experience again.
In other news, I bought a rope halter for Zoe. I have found that she respects that halter more than the nylon one we were using. We only did a quick back step before she realized the new halter. After that, she was in tune to me. If I took a step, she did. If I stopped, she did. Never had to touch her face at all with pressure. She's like that in the saddle too. Very tuned in to her rider. If I lean back for a stop, without touching the reins, she stops. A very nice stop, I might add. If I turn my hips for a turn, she will turn. Don't even need reins on this mare! She might be a good candidate for bridleless riding if I can get her broke! I'm so happy with my decision to purchase her! She's exactly the horse I've been looking for!
Until next time!
Quote for the day:
"Doubt whom you will, but never doubt yourself."
-Christian Nestell Bovee
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