Tuesday drills

Me and Ida were at it again tonight. We got home at 6.30pm, went right up to the barn and got the horses in from the pasture before saddling up and heading out on a ride. We stayed in the arena tonight as it was way to dark for any trailriding. We worked on some collection drills and Ida & Elton worked on some leadchanges. Pretty cool to break it down for her and have her start with simple changes before progressing to flying. Elton already knows the drill, but I want Ida to know the mechanics behind changes. She did a lot of figure 8:s at the lope and had to bring him down to a trot at the middle of the figure, collect him again and lope off on the new lead. They did great!

Me and Brady worked on a lot of weight shifts, leg placements etc. I have a drill I like that´s really good for keeping him with me and listening to my weight changes. After our regular warmups I drop the reins and trot in figure 8:s, sidepass and move haunches. This keeps him supple and listening. I then speed up by leaning forward and bring him back by exhaling and sinking deep in the saddle. If he keeps speeding up I whoa! him and make him back brisk circles. If need be I lift the mecate a little and get after him with a little more leg. This is usually enough to bring him back to planet earth and pay attention. Then we try it again. Speed up by leaning and getting assertive in the saddle and slowing down by exhaling and sinking deeper, not stopping posture, but getting heavy, if you know what I mean. Steering I do by looking in the direction I want to go and som pressure from outside knee and leg. Really good stuff for us both. It´s really helping him understand the spades signals better, and it´s really beneficial when working a rope and carrying 2 miles of unsorted coils, romal and mecate in your hand.