Birthday Boy!!!

How is my baby boy 12 year old today!!!?? TWELVE!!!! 

 

(Birthday butt scratches!)

He got snuggles this morning and then we headed to our lesson with Kelly. Lyric came too. Dan was a happy camper and was actually kind of snuggly. He was even happy for this grooming and tacking up. I'm not sure if it was because he was distracted by Lyric or what, but I'll take it. 

 

We had a great lesson! I love that Kelly and Gerd align. We worked on transitions within the gaits and using my weight aids to cue for them. We worked on the turn on the haunches on a square. And he had to react to the lightest of leg aids.. not me smooshing his skin with my heel or spur! Ha ha.. Whoops. We then talked about how transitions within the gait are great but that transitions between gaits are also helpful. And how this is the next step to get him started towards collection and absolute elevation. So we started with trot to walk to trot. She had us do 5 steps of walk between.. then the next transition we did 4 steps of walk.. then 3 steps.. then 2 steps.. then 1 step. When we did this tracking left, he started to get a little fussy. His tongue didn't come out but he got a bit chompy and started trying to duck behind the vertical. Kelly caught on to it quicker than I did and told me to stop and go back to a nice big forward trot and then a good stretch. She said that we had to be empathatic towards him and while we could push him a little... only a little at a time. So we can go to the "dark space" briefly.. touch it... then go back to his happy place. And to focus on keeping his nose and neck out and straight even when we're pushing him into the dark place. After a break we went the other way and he was much happier that way. Which is interesting as I would have expected otherwise based on his history. So either.. he understood that we heard him and was more willing to try, or today... that was the hard side. We did a bit more work playing with the lightest of aids and having him maintain the gait without me nagging. And he was great! Kelly was very pleased with him and where he was. Me too!

 

When we got home he had a little time to be a horse and I ate lunch. Then Holly Vernon came and gave him a massage. He liked her and enjoyed it. Then I let them eat some clover in the roundpen for a bit as a nice little treat!

   

I think he had a good birthday! And man... I'm just so so grateful that God gave me more time with him. And not just more time, but... more days like this. More rides. More happy. I think Dan is glad to. I love this bugger with all my heart and it makes me so happy to have him back and going again.