I can see you came to rock

Hey there all =3 this is your nerdy and lovable reporter Sarah, here with your latest update.

...or not. Anyway,

I'm so proud of Garth =) he didn't offer me any trouble, so I was able to stick to my plan for the day. Started off a little lazy but once I started upping the ante with my warnings, he sharpened right up. His jog - lope transition was very, very good by his (lazy xD) standards at home, and he loped around our little indoor arena (too wet to be outside) with his head down and without getting lazy - it's hard for him to collect himself up and work in such a confined space sometimes. His pivot turn could have been better - he almost stepped out, but that was my fault for not cuing properly, I think, but the rest of the ride was good. I walked him a little bit the opposite way and then set up the trail obstacles - a 360 box, a U backup with barrels, and a sidepass with a 90* turn. I first took him to stand in the 360 box. When I first stopped him he went to turn, but as soon as I checked him and told him whoa, he parked himself, dropped his head and started to doze. I love my horse, haha. That time I didn't have him turn, just let him relax and then brought him out. I took him into the box and then had him actually do the turn (which he did pretty much flawlessly) and then let him stand again afterward. Voila!

Next we moved on to the U-back up. He anticipated a little bit more this time, so again I set him up and let him stand. After the first time I just let him settle and then went into the backup. He was great, listening to my cues and calm the whole time.

I moved on to the 90* sidepass next. He didn't anticipate that time, so I started straight into the sidepasses, first a hindquarters-in both ways and then the forequarters in. I can honestly say that I have no complaint about his performance =)

Finally I moved the sidepass over beside the 360 box to make a backup with a 90* turn. Again, he set up and settled right off the bat. At this point I was delerious with pride for him. He was listening to me the whole way through, and we ended on a brilliant note. I'm so proud of my boy =)

While I have no complaints for him, I can't so much say the same for me. I was a little bit tired and not as focused as I could have been, which resulted in me almost steering him into the obstacles a couple of times. In the 90* sidepass, I had to think for a bit to work out my timing for cuing him to pivot, and in the 90* back up, I stopped pulling back to steer him around the corner, resulting in him stopping and turning his butt too far. What I need to do is before each obstacle, while I let him settle, work out my cues before I start the obstacle. When I'm focused I'm actually not too shabby at trail, but today I was just a little out there. On the plus side, Garth was still listening to my cues (even though I messed up a couple of times) and didn't get flustered even when I oversteered and had to hastily correct our path.

When I think back to how we used to be - the brain flying out the back door the moment we did anything other than railwork - I realize how far we've come, and how willing my horse is. I couldn't ask for any more in a horse. He's trusting, smart, willing, kind and patient. He still works himself up sometimes, but the majority of the time I'm incredibly proud of him and his progress. And isn't progress what training is all about?

I may or may not ride tomorrow. I also may not post on Friday, as I'll be going out to the barn early to get Garth ready for a show and then there's a precision practice at 7. Hopefully after the show on Saturday I'll have lots to write about ;)

Ciao,
Sarah