Progress

One of the things that Ashke and I really focus on in our lessons is improving our canter. I don't know if he's gotten stronger, if he finally has figured out he doesn't need to race, or if it's a combination of the two, but he has turned a corner and is beginning to understand the canter we want is as slow as he can without breaking down to a trot. On Friday afternoon, Mom came out to see the barn and the new camper and to watch me ride Ashke. J came with us to pull the battery out of the camper (should always pull it out over the winter) and she also took video.

It is definitely much more difficult for Ashke to canter on the right lead and he gets more pissy when we are moving that direction. There was one point where I was trying to get him to bend before a canter depart and he kicked up and hit the bottom of my shoe. I didn't get upset but I did make him move in a circle until he stopped trying to argue to me and finally calmed down a little bit.

He did the 15m circle (although to the left he drops in on his shoulder and I need to remember that) and then the loop to the quarterline from the Novice test. He nailed it to the left.

It was hard the first try. The mounting block did not help and the standards in the back corner makes it hard to get to the rail and back out to the quarterline, so we tried it the other direction in the arena, which made a huge difference.

I certainly love how far he has come and how well he is doing. It was awesome to have Amanda riding Cody in the arena at the same time, since she acts as a calming blanket for both of us. I also checked most of my anxiety at the door before I came into the barn.