New Shoes

Daniel and I ran out to the barn last night while Nancy was there. She didn't have a riding partner so she was just going to hand walk Cody down the road, which would be his first trip down the road this spring alone. So we went along for the walk. It was a good decision to not ride cuz wow was it windy! Cody got to try out his new boots and pastern wraps that Nancy got him. His old ones were still usable but getting to be on their last legs. They'll be good to have as spares or if we need any for his hind feet ever. After the walk Daniel and I watched for a few minutes while Nancy rode in the arena. It's funny to watch versus ride. When I ride and ask for a canter Cody seems to get all strung out and excited and it's really hard to calm him down and get a nice trot after that. But on the ground watching, he looks so lazy and slow. Apparently my perception of "strung out" is not quite accurate. Heh guess I better spend some more time in the saddle.

I snuck out to the barn at lunch again. I made another attempt to ride Cody western style. It went okay for the most part I just really need practice and I need to figure out how to get Cody moving some body parts. We did get one decent canter though. When I brought him back outside Axel was napping so I pestered him for a while ;)

Getting on Cody's Good Side

I made it back out to the barn over lunch last week and went for another ride on Cody. This time I threw on the western saddle to inspire me and I concentrated on riding with a loose rein. Cody was very happy about that. Things went really well. He did offer some cantering when I asked for a trot and he still can't get that left lead. Frankly he just doesn't like left at all, even bending on the circle to the left he's not happy about. And he still gets pretty amped up if you do ask him for a canter. I lunged him after I got off, to the left, to try and get that lead. It took him a while first picking up the wrong lead, then disuniting, before finally getting it correct. We'll have to keep working on the left. I'd really like to have a trainer/instructor come out, ride him and figure out his buttons and then give me a handful of lessons at neck reining. I think we'd both really benefit from it. Maybe that's where my bonus from work will go if I can find someone good.

I brought Axel in for a while as well and got his legs all clipped up. He has a bit of scratches already but it's not too horrible. I *think* it won't be too bad this year since there's no snow. Hopefully the paddock will dry up quickly.

Poor Cody

Yeah, poor Cody. I ran out to the barn at lunch today and actually rode. I don't think Cody is terribly thrilled with that. He and I just have a hard time with each other. Cody wants to mosey along on a very loose rein and I want to practice dressage. Now that Axel is officially retired (I even brought his saddle home from the barn - boo hoo) Cody is the only one left for me to practice dressage on and he's not happy about it. I try and give him as much rein as possible but I tend to gather my reins up bit by bit until he's mad and yanking them back. So far I have not found a way I can get him to bend and listen and "work" without having more contact on the bit. I really think I have to put the western saddle back on and teach myself how to neck rein and get him to bend and listen and "work" western style. Maybe I should take some western lessons to get motivated.

It would be really nice to have Axel back undersaddle so I could work on my dressage, boo. Anyways. My new tall boots came on Wednesday (the day after my last riding lesson go figure) so I wanted to give them a try. Of course I wore my muck boots out to the paddock and back so I didn't get my new boots too dirty. They worked pretty well. It'll be a few more rides before I'm totally used to them but they are really nice. The leather is soft so there really isn't a breaking in period. Cody and I worked on a bit of trot and he offered some canter. He still couldn't get the left lead but when I dismounted and lunged him he picked it up alright. We might have to just lunge and lunge and lunge til he's comfortable on that left lead. He gets so excited after he canters and it's hard to bring him back to earth. We tried a little turn on the forehand so I could get him moving off my leg. At the trot if I put my leg on to keep his rear end in on a bend he thinks I'm asking for a canter so I thought doing some turns would help. In the end he was a bit sweaty but the good part about working at lunch is that it's 40 degrees and sunny out so he was able to go right outside instead of waiting ages until he was dry (which is next to impossible since he gets nervous inside by himself sometimes).

Last Lesson

Here's the videos from my last lesson. Sadly my new tall boots arrived the day after. Also this video I spend most of my time on the far side of the arena so the other gal could get some "camera time." If you watch it big you can see me better ;)