Grid Day: Feeling good

 Today was lesson day with Jacel! We opted to do some grid work because then we could ride with Laura and I figured that he didn't need to jump super big and we always can work on our footwork. It was a good choice. We had fun!

He was FILTHY from yesterday still and added in some orange clay from today, so... I had just enough time to give him a bath before we left for our lesson. I figured I would get him clean, ride, quick rinse, then come home and clip. :) He's SOOOO fuzzy too. Which is making him harder to keep clean. So we did just that. He was still a little damp for our lesson but that's okay. It warmed up enough that it was fine. 

We warmed up and I felt two or three steps of funky warming up. But that was it. And Jacel and Laura didn't see anything. And he was happy to jump and kept trying to break into the canter from the trot, so.. yay! We started off trotting some tight trot poles on the ground. She had me sit on my pockets and really get him to engage his hocks. 

 

Then we did a grid. It was a trot in, bounce to a two stride. But we started with just one single cross rail. Dan does NOT like to trot into fences but he did. Twice! And quite nice. Holy cow! So then she set up the full grid and Dan said "nope, now I canter".  ha ha. Turd! Oh well. He did trot in a time or two, but even when he cheated and cantered in, he still was having to reach for the two stride. Oh well. He made it. And he put in two instead of chipping in a third. 

Then we did that grid but circled around after to a one stride with a placing pole in the middle. Dan was much better to that because we could canter in. But I had to ride my circle well and leg yield him into the turn and support with the outside rein. Good boy!

 

Then we did the first grid again, then went through wider spaced trot poles, then a 90 degree turn to canter an oxer with placing poles on either side. And it was pretty cool because I did push him into my outside rein but I also held/picked on the inside rein. Jacel called me out on and told me to GIVE with my inside hand. And HOLY COW!!! Duh! When I did that, he could lengthen his neck and reach down and out. And his whole topline got soft and lifted. And he could reach with that inside hind leg. His trot got amazingly fancy and he felt super. And he jumped better. Huge difference!! 

So then we did the oxer with placing poles on either side the other way, back to trot over the trot poles, then back to the oxer. And again, when I released with my inside rein, he got so soft and pretty and lovely!

So yay! Great lesson. Mostly I just need to work on keeping him straight and coming but opening that inside rein and giving with it and he's lovely. Ah, it was so nice to be able to ride him. After my week with Lyric, it's nice to know that I can jump and stay with my horse. :) 

Then Laura and I walked to the lake and Dan had a little splashy splashy and then we headed back. I had to do a quick rinse and then bemered him on the way home. He was still a little damp but we managed to get him clipped. I did his whole body and even got his T-rex done. But it is such a bad clip job. The lighting was bad and we were both hungy so tomorrow I'm going to have to fix all the tiny lines! And tidy the edges. And maybe go ahead and do his legs and face too. But he was much better for his poll this time. I started with that and maybe that was the helpful part.