day 74

Yesterday was a good day with these guys. I got Star out first and groomed and saddled him then worked him a few minutes on the ground to make sure he was with me and relaxed. Then the last 40 minutes we rode. I worked immediately on bending for lateral and vertical softness when he was doing that good we moved up to trotting. For the first time he was carrying his head lower at the trot even giving me softness for a stride or two. I let him trot around doing the cruising exercise on a loose rein for several minutes as well. Robbie was much the same. I saddled him and moved him around through the ground exercises then got on him and worked on bending at the walk and trot. Towards the end he was real stiff lateral so I had to stop and work on lateral softness then move back to the walk and get it and then get the vertical. Then we moved back to the trot. I didn't get as much softness as I would like, but we made progress. I let him trot around even canter on a loose rein for a little while then back to walking. Both guys did well. Next is to move over to the outdoor arena and do the same thing.