Saturday, July 23, 2011

still making progress

Nina got yesterday off while I taught lessons.  Today we had a minor altercation in the round pen about whether or not she was going to stand still to be released.  She has been thinking a lot about this backing stuff and had some new resistances but it didn't last long. 
And we had a great, although very short ride.  It was over 100, Nina was quite forward and ready to carry on, but in about 15 minutes I started feeling nauseous.   So we quit and I poured cold water down my neck for a while. 
She was cheerful, striking off into a lovely trot immediately with just a touch of leg, letting me keep some contact for more than a minute or two, working smoothing over poles, figure 8s.  And it was the first ride after a day off.
Very horselike. 
Apparently her attitude on the ground carries over into under saddle work far more than any horse I have ever ridden. 
She did get even for having to stand still at the beginning of work.  I unsaddled her and took her to a round pen to roll.  As I took her bridle off she jerked away, ran to the opposite side of the pen and gave me a very defiant look.  HA!   Tomorrow is another day.

4 comments:

  1. What a stinker! But it sounds like a really good day on the whole. The heat really doesn't bother Nina much, does it?! How she can be feisty when it is 100 degrees with energy left over just amazes me. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. If I could bottle her energy I would be rich!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you had a good ride. (You just have to remember who's really in charge) ;)

    Very dedicated of you to brave the heat!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love Nina's personality. Well, I love it since it's entertaining, and rather akin to my own mare's. Glad you had a good ride, and I hope the weather doesn't keep you down too much. Were you able to coach indoors? The shade they provide is so helpful. Then again, some of them can really bake in the summer... especially in 100+degree heat.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...