lesson

I'm proud of my horse. Last week was really busy, and didn't have much time for riding. I worked in the arena on Wednesday, cantering circles both directions! It is something I've never much worked on. He did object one time with a buck, but right back to work fixed that. On Thursday I decided to try the group lesson at the stable down the road. We rode over to the stable, where there are lots of scary thing: picnic tables, chickens, other horses, a pig. Major saw the pig, his eyes went wide and head up...but then I walked him over to it, he smelled it, nosed it, and then thought it was a toy (it was not he had to be reminded, it was Buckley the pig). Once that was over, Major was more interested in some leftover food.

Into the lesson, with six other horses! Places in the arena were a bit unsettling: a pallet next to the fence, horses eating on the other side. But once we started working and trotting he forgot most of it, and realized this was work! And in an arena! And he didn't like it! He tried to stop a couple times, to remind me that he was done, we'd practiced enough. Well, we hadn't so we rode, with everyone else, rode in pairs a couple items, cantered some, all without much fuss. The best part of the night was when the trainer (who helped me when I was buying Major) said he'd come a long way. I was a proud parent all night!