That Trot Though

I love Lex, as you know if you've read this blog at all. But you also know that sometimes she challenges me. I welcome this challenge because it's interesting and making me a better rider, but Lex has never been dangerous. I also welcome days that she is not a challenge, and yesterday was one of those days. And lucky for us, Tracy was there to catch it on film! (Well, on iPhone, but whatever.)

Before I get into that: MAJOR shout-out to Sprinkler Bandit right here: she proofread my entire dissertation and as thanks has a box of goodies headed her way. Seriously, y'all--if you need an editor, call her. She's hilarious and very good at it.

Anyway! I'm not sure I can entirely explain why Lex was a Good Witch yesterday, but here are my theories:

1. A little more turnout over the last couple of days.

2. We got to ride in the outdoor for the first time all week.

3. Her Auntie Tracy was there to admire her. 

4. I didn't lunge her first, and I think she's getting really sick of lunging.

5. Sometimes progress happens?

We walked for awhile and did a lot of direction changes, circles, walking over a pole, etc. I didn't even pick up the reins for about ten minutes. Then when I started trotting, I kept the reins long and the contact light because she hadn't warmed up on the lunge line yet. I think this might have been helpful to her, because within a circle or two, I had this:

Look at that suspension!

And then once she felt more stretched out, this:

Plenty of swing happening over her back here.

She was pretty awesome the whole ride, really. One time she cantered away from a trot pole, but it was a nice, even canter, not a frantic "HOLY SHIT RUN AWAY!!!" canter, so I was cool with it. We just stayed in a rhythm and I let her canter until she broke to the trot, just a minute or so. It was fun. She will have a nice canter when it's developed.

The trot work improved over the course of the ride, even if I wasn't perfect. Witness:

My right leg is whack, but the horse still trots fancy.

The more she warmed up, the cuter she got. It was very windy yesterday and there were horses loose all over the place. A piece of paper was blowing around the ring, and Tracy said it was fluttering around her back legs for awhile. I didn't even notice, because my horse didn't care. Aces.

Favorite.

Today, of course, it's raining and so she's probably been in all day and we won't be able to ride outside, but at least we've had one good ride to tuck under our pillows. For those who like video, I've posted some here. She always goes better to the left, so stay tuned for the second half when she has a few strides here and there that show some genuine quality. In my humble opinion. I just hope I can keep up with her when she really figures it out!