Four Feet Ahead and Forward

Fall has flown by! We've been so busy with traveling and family that I had about 3 weeks between lessons.

However, as my trainer foretold: what you teach is what they will remember. 

That is why I'm taking lessons, I want to be very careful about what I'm teaching. It must have been all good, because Tumbleweed took right off in our progress, as if no time had separated lessons.

We are working on two main things: balance and focus. The focus portion, as you might remember from my last post, is the imaginary box around his shoulders, where you want to keep his head. The balance portion is resisting pulling him around in a circle, but allowing to come through obstacles straight, and straight out.

Friday's lesson was doing all of this in saddle, with the added caveat that when I keep his head in the imaginary box, to also make sure his focus is 4' directly ahead, BEFORE I ask him to move forward. Tweed is looking for a way out, so waiting takes a little time right now. Wait, wait, wait, bring him back, bring him back. Finally, forward focus, 4' ahead to where we're going. Ask with legs. In. Over. Off. Stay straight. Stop.

Success! Yay!

Oh, I forgot one important part! Keep my butt down in the saddle. Sit. On. My. Pockets.

We are working on another exercise from the ground, which is moving his head, shoulders, and hind through a series of obstacles on a long lead. 

I'm going to try to embed the video on Facebook by Franco Giani. oops. It didn't work. Here's the link. Beautiful, beautiful work from the ground.

Regina, my trainer, started us on this work by pinpointing the three areas we are working to control: head, shoulder, hind. We worked on a set of straight tracks, asking him to walk between the tracks in a line, then circle out and in front of me, crossing over the tracks. Over to the other side, same pattern, until it was a clover leaf pattern. That was harder than it looks, but Tumbleweed was proud of himself when he finally got it. Next, we rode the same pattern.

The temperatures have been beautiful, but they are soon going to drop. We get a deep freeze Wednesday. We had new sand brought into our arena, and when they close the equestrian area we will start having lessons at home, where I set up a round pen inside the arena. All ready to go!

My husband is still working on the tack room / sitting room in the barn, but it is so hard for him to find the time with everything going on.

A few highlights were...

Our 21st anniversary in Sandpoint, ID

Also, a trip to Iowa/Nebraska for a wedding, and an unexpected pit stop to meet the Freedom Governor, Governor DeSantis. He's our choice for POTUS. 

He was so nice in person, and talked to us for quite a while because he was in shock that people from Washington were in a little bar in Sidney, Iowa! 

In fact, we drove an hour to get there, then an hour back, and barely had time to change into a dress (me) and suits (husband & son).

Quite an adventure!

We even signed his bus.