Back to the Grind

I managed to tear myself away from the zoo in my house to ride Walker last night. I was there pretty late so we had the barn to ourselves. It was also blistering hot so it didn't take long to work up a sweat. Naturally I forgot my phone so I have no picture evidence (and for those of you following me on Instagram, this is also why I'm behind on the challenge).

I was pretty happy with our canter work - nice and bouncy, all on a loose WP rein. He wasn't behind the leg and kept himself in a semi-nice frame (considering that I haven't tinkered much with that yet). I definitely could use a bit more work on my own seat at the canter. Perhaps it was just the change back to the western saddle, but I felt a bit too bouncy in my own way.

As usual, our trot work left a lot to be desired. As in, "Trot? What is that? I think we should jog." Same story, different day. When I did get him going a bit better, he kept breaking to the canter, but its understandable considering his fitness level and the heat. He was dripping with sweat within 5 minutes and panting hard, so I didn't push the issue too much.

In summary I'd say we have a few things to work on. Walker needs to move out at the trot and stop being behind the leg. He needs to get muscles again so we can trot a straight line and, you know, do circles and stuff. For now, I'll keep it at that but frankly, he's back to fighting a little bit about stupid things like cutting corners despite my directions and other stupid, lazy Walker things. If I can get him in front of the leg, I expect to be able to manage these things better.

As for me, I need to find a stupid saddle. In the meantime, I need to work on getting Walker in front of my leg because 1.5 years with him has made me a nagger. I'm half the problem. I also apparently need to work on my seat, as usual. Despite my quick attempt at a month-long boot camp, I still need to get back into shape myself. Oh well! That's what horses are good at!

Tonight my mom is visiting so I don't think I'll make it to the barn. Hopefully tomorrow depending on how long she stays, but I'll be out again at the very least by Thursday. Then a full weekend of work!