Ahhh, good day! I spent the morning adjusting Dan and Lyric because... they both needed it! Dan even kind of enjoyed it. He was kind of snuggly in a sweet T-rexy kind of way. :) He had soft eyes and was chewing on me and nudging me. Awwww... I love you too buddy. He definitely needed an adjustment but... his stifles weren't stuck!!! Yay!!! And his pelvis was different than usual but better in many ways. I even was able to get him to stretch out his left hind hip and more than usual on his right hip! He did have a hot spot that was tight in his left lumbars but he let me do a good bit of work on it and I think I made some good progress.
After lunch and giving Dan a breather, we loaded up and headed to Ashland. We met Sharon and Baylor for a hack before my lesson. Dan likes Baylor! He walks fast too. Dan led a good chunk of the ride but let Baylor lead some too. And... despite being barefoot behind... Dan was pretty forward. He wasn't thrilled about the rocky spots, but... fair enough. He seemed happy elsewhere though. Sharon was test riding a saddle so I offered to take some video of her cantering so she could see her leg. Ha ha. I should have known better. Dan started okay but then he wanted to canter too. I was in the middle of the tall hay field so it was a bit crazy for a minute. Hee hee. But he's a good kid and it wasn't that bad. We did trot side by side for a little bit too and they were good!
We headed to the lake for a tiny drink and some splashing and then it was time for my lesson. Sharon walked to the XC field with us and then left us. Dan kept looking for Baylor. Like I said, he likes him.
We had scheduled a XC lesson since we're heading to Chatt this weekend. Although he schooled beautifully last week, I wanted some refreshing for me. :) Plus, we didn't have the "sprinkler effect" still.
Jacel met us there and set us to work. We warmed up over the tiny log on hill. Then the baby bank... then the smaller bank to the hogsback and then back down. He was super and so happy! I just had to remember to keep my elbows at my side and to keep my leg on and not take it for granted.
So then she told me to take him over the novice ramp. It's novice... but.. it's the ramp! She laughed at my face and told me I did NOT have a poker face. Ha ha. Off we went. He was great and jumped it but I sort of got slack at the base so he popped over it, but not with as much gusto as we'd like. And it was fine... he jumped it safely and we got over it, but... If I ride like that too much, he'll start backing off. So we did it again for confidence for me and this time I rode and he was lovely! I "rode his hocks".
So then we did the water. She had us canter in and then canter out the bank. Then we did the ditch and then the coffin. She then had me do the skinny chevron (with standard wings) from the coffin... just took the C element off and angled to the chevron. Our first try he landed in a cross canter and he cross cantered to the chevron so was underpowered but I "RODE HIS HOCKS" so he was able to get over it without too much trouble. He never thought about stopping.. just didn't quite have the right energy and tapped it behind. So we came again (just to the chevron) and this time we had a proper canter and I rode better and braver and he soared over it! Yahooo!!!! So we quit with that. :) Dan was quite proud of himself and quite happy. And not at all winded or tired. We were laughing at him because Jacel had parked her tahoe up at the top of the field and her kids kept getting out and walking around and she called them "gremlins" and then Dan was very concerned. He kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't come get us! Or turn the sprinklers on!! hee hee.. GOOD PONY!!!
After that we hacked back in, despite desperately wanting to go splash in the lake and play more. I had a birthday party to get to. In fact, ha ha... Laura was going to the same party and as Dan and I were hightailing it home in the trailer, she passed us and was like "I guess Holly's going to be late". But I wasn't! I was stinky... but not late :) Ha ha!!
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