Yay Luke!

I think I start a lot of posts with that...oops! I'm just so proud of him.

I was realizing this week that Luke and I are really starting to develop a close bond. I'll never have the bond with him that I have with Jodi but it's pretty darn close. Seeing him more has helped I think.

I rode again on Saturday and he was wonderful. He might be getting a little overwhelmed with jumping lines, or maybe I didn't have the striding set up quite right, because we knocked some down. Or maybe he's just realizing that PVC poles don't hurt at all.

I rode him in a Herm Sprenger bit and he went fabulously. Now I need to save my money for one! He really liked it, and wasn't fussy in the bridle at all. We did lots of trotting, and did some canter transitions. He consistently picked up the right lead for me, which is usually his difficult one. Yay! Maybe training level dressage is in the near future!

My life is so crazy right now, and I have no idea why. I'm just overwhelmed, and trying to figure out how to fit in riding more than 3x a week. I'll get to ride tomorrow though, so that will be nice!

Can it be spring yet?

I haven't updated in a while...oops!

I had a lesson last Tuesday, and Luke was really good. We did lots of trotting and cantering, and at the end jumped some little crossrails. He's settling in really well, I'm really impressed with him. It took him maybe one ride in the indoor before he was ready to get down to business. He's such a fun horse, I can't wait til warmer weather.

I rode him on Sunday, and had a great ride. We did a line of three jumps - crossrail, vertical, crossrail. He was great to the left, but to the right, he had a tendency to pop his shoulder and run out. Once I realized that that's what he was doing, he was perfect. It just took someone telling me, "Hey - more leg and rein!". He was like a little kid - once he realized he'd been caught, he did it perfectly.

Tonight I'm headed out to ride, and want to work on his right lead canter, and do some bending with him. I really want to get him more comfortable at the canter, because we can't show at intro level forever! Hopefully he just needs more muscling. I can't wait to get out to the hunter paces...I'm tired of riding in the arena!

Yay Luke

The boys are doing well. They've both settled in really well. Jodi was so cute today when I fed and brought in horses. He came trotting up to the fence, stuck his nose in my face, and demanded to be brought in first. Who could resist that?

Melissa rode Jodi yesterday and he was really good for his first time in the arena. He was lazy, but he's old, he's allowed to be. Luke was kind of a brat yesterday so Mandi rode him for a few minutes and we were able to end on a good note.

I went out today to feed and after I was done, I hopped on Luke. He was really really good tonight. I rode him in a kimberwicke, and he was respecting me a lot more. We mostly trotted, did a little canter, and a couple trot poles thrown in, to see if he'd forgotten what they were. Nope, he's a superstar. Then one of the younger girls hopped on him and rode him for a bit. It was nice to see someone else on him. I told her she can ride him whenever she wants...he goes really well for her, and he needs the exercise! Poor boy. He's not sure what to think about being back in work, but I think he's enjoying himself. He looks SO cute. Not that I'm biased :)

TWO Great Rides!

I never got around to posting about Sunday's ride, but it was really good. He hasn't been ridden since December, so I thought he'd be nutty, but he wasn't. I lunged him, and then hopped on. There were two other horses in the arena, and the radio was blaring, and he did really well. We mostly just walked with a little bit of sitting trot. He spooked once, but other than that, he was really good.

I had a lesson tonight, and it went really well. Mandi rode him first, and he picked up the correct lead every time. Yay for improvement! I hopped on and did lots of trotting, working on going between more collected vs. more extended, not just faster. He was so cute, and so good. I got a 1 minute crappy quality video of her riding, but I'm uploading it now. Here it is!

Luke is loving being able to stick his head over the door. He doesn't even try to crib anymore, which is AMAZING. I never thought I'd see the day. He still wears the collar, but I haven't seen him try at all. Jodi on the other hand, has apparently become more of a die hard cribber over the past few months. We took his feed tub out and replaced it with a rubber dish so it's one less thing for him to crib on. I think that will cut down on the cribbing. I'm not sure why he doesn't stick his head out more - I thought he'd love it! He seemed happy to see me yesterday though - he was at the far end of the outdoor, and when he saw me, he looked up, starting walking, took a couple of trot steps, and then came full blast cantering at me. He did a sliding stop at the fence, and stuck his head in my face. It was so cute. I hadn't seen him canter in months, so it was an amazing feeling. I was also told that this morning, when Mandi was taking Luke down the hill to the outdoor, his front legs started sliding forward, and he just sat down on his butt and slid down the hill. I'd give anything to have video of that!

All Moved In!!

The boys are moved in, finally!

We moved them yesterday morning, which was torture since I had volunteered at an overnighter on Friday night. I was so dead on my feet, and then my feet hurt once Jodi stepped on one!

They settled in well, and are getting acclimated to the new place. I'm heading out in an hour or so to ride Luke if he seems calm enough (I'll lunge him first!!), and feed. I'm also stopping at TSC to buy some No Chew spray for their stalls. Apparently Luke can't figure out how to eat with the muzzle on, so I think I'm gonna send it back.

I'll try to post pictures later!