Sunday Morning Lesson!

Unfortunately, no media since I was by myself but I had another lesson on Sunday morning. It was getting warm but the bugs are SO much better at the barn where I haul in for lessons than at my own house, Remus and I were both loving it! Let’s call our new trainer SW as I don’t think I came up with an acronym yet. That works!

Speaking of bugs, I may be the MOST well-versed person about Fly Sheets now as I spent hours perusing them trying to find the best ones possible. The Tuff Riders I love but the neck clips break easily (thanks SmartPak for taking the one that didn’t last a week back). Tell me the ones you use. I need necks on them or Remus will be a vampire in a week! I am seriously thinking of buying more.

Anyway onto the lesson. Remus was a star. Okay a lazy, not well-motivated star, but a star nonetheless. As I loaded him at home, the greenheads arrived en masse so after fumigating him once again then I took off like a bat out of hell to get some air moving to get rid of them. I think I can easily say I have killed 200 of those shits this weekend alone. And two or three got in the house and I am lethal inside too. NO HORSE FLIES. UGH.

Anyway Remus traveled well with the wind rustling his mane (it cracks me up as I look into the side mirror to see his mane standing straight up from the breeze). And once we got there, he was like okay, been here before, no worries. I tacked him up (it was getting warmish already but there was a lovely breeze and a few bugs nothing bad so it was refreshing).  And then got on and started to do some warming up. And Remus while lazy was pretty good considering I haven’t ridden him in a week. Like we stretchy trotted around and did some changes across the diagonal and he was pretty good. I still have not found my spurs but had a whip but he was pretty forward for him and for it being hotter already.

We started out in our lesson doing more trotting throwing in some figure eights around the ring. Just moving him forward and getting me to not let him lean on me (hands up, Michele). He was still being good except for a couple glares at a muddy spot (eventing horse doesn’t like to get his feet muddy but then rolls in that shit at home?).

Then the time was nigh for cantering.  No I didn’t vomit but I knew she would make me canter. A lot. She did. But the thing is. We cantered from a walk. REMUS and ME cantered from a walk. Was it gorgeous? Nope. But we did it. A few times it took him a few trot steps but once or twice, he stepped up right into the canter in a lovely frame and I almost fell off in shock. I could sit this canter. Then he would get heavy again so SW came up with a plan. Since my core is so much less fit than Remus, when Remus gets heavy, ask for the trot then the walk, then ask for the canter again. This works. Big time, he doesn’t get to fight with me and I get to work on more transitions (and get a quick breather as needed). We got some lovely canters. I was like. WHOA. Who is this horse? Not perfect. BUT SO MUCH BETTER. I actually didn’t dread asking him to canter.

Meanwhile, SW was setting up some smaller jumps. UGH. Nerves set in again.  She was saying I don’t want it to be all flat work let’s just pop over some little things to keep Remus interested and not bored. We went over the first crossrail and Remus almost stopped. BECAUSE THERE WAS A BIT OF MUD where the sprinker had leaked on the other side of the tiny tiny jump. He got a sharp tap of whip and then the next time was like oh okay.

Then we did some other trot jumps in different directions working on the FORWARD MOTION, then we started cantering just tiny things but he was figuring out his feet again. She set up three smaller jumps going down the long side that she wanted me to start trotting then let him canter out. Ummm, yeah we got a chip. Not surprising or shocking. BUT he did canter and jumped the last one well. She said keep him cantering. So me heaving and trying to breathe had to canter all the way around and get over it again. (We had a small argument earlier with Remus where he thinks he jumps a jump then gets to stop. No you don’t horse. So he did learn we wanted him to keep on moving till I said stop.) Exhausting, horse. But we came around at a nice forward canter and did all three jumps in a row perfect. And SW had mercy on me and let me walk and be done. It was definitely heating up by then and she said she didn’t want to kill me.  Thank you kindly!

I really enjoyed the lesson and really enjoyed having a horse that umm was actually pretty much listening to me most of the time? He seems to have gotten over the sullenness of past times so is SO much more pleasurable to ride. Of course I was already sore from the hay I unloaded the day before so am in pain today.  I look forward to another lesson soon. Maybe one day I won’t fear the canter or the jumps? HA!?