Snow

Boy was I glad that I had an indoor arena to work in this morning.
I had the opportunity to work with Buddy. I got him saddled and started to warm him up with my usual exercises of circling, flexion, disengaging the hindquarters and moving his shoulders. He did all of them very well. We are refining them better. I also had him move sideways and do the falling leaf exercise. Then I put the bridle on and got on. I went to get up on the right side and he spooked sideways so I just stepped off and let him move. I had control of him with the rein so when he calmed down in a second or two I started back up again and bounced around on the stirrup and then when he was nice and calm I got on him. We flexed a bit. He is stiff on the left side so we did that one alot. Then I moved him off and worked on him just following his nose. I was picking up the rein real soft and using my leg to reinforce the direction if needed. After he was doing this consistent and disengaging to a stop ok I asked for a trot on a loose rein and then would pick it up and ask for a slight bend to the inside and I released as soon as he gave it to me. I noticed that he lifts his head up in the air alot, probably because he has had this done so much in the wrong way tha the thinks that is the way out, but I just hold it til he lowers his head and is soft. So we went back and forth at a walk and a trot for about 30 minutes. He is real resistant to the left and pretty good to the right. So I know what I have to work on. I just want him trotting and walking until I get him real good at this then I will ask for a canter from him. But that will take some time. Right now he feels like a green colt to me.

Camina, on the other hand did real good for me today. After my usual warmup with her I got on and she wanted to really take off at a trot, so I brought her back down with some disengagements and shoulders over. We moved out at a fast walk and worked on some of the exercises like serpentine for a few minutes, then when I was ready I let her trot as fast as she wanted to and we worked on connecting the reins to her feet by flexing and bending her so that she disengaged then moved her shoulders. She was moving off my leg pretty good so then I went to asking for collection and she was real soft at that. I gotta go now so will finish this later tonite.