Canter work is really coming on

Today was my last riding lesson of the holidays before I go back to school and then will only be riding on Saturdays again but I will be trying to get up on occasional Mondays to help Elaine out. I started off by grooming Gatsby and surprisingly he wasn't that muddy again, is this a sign that spring is around the corner? But just as I was getting used to that idea it started to snow, turning Gatsby's back from black to white, it soon stopped with only occasional flakes of snow. Because he was so clean I decided that I was going to attempt to plait his tail, that didn't last for long and really didn't work so in the end I gave in and just tacked him up, one day I will be able to plait his tail just not today! 

I started off by giving Gatsby a good ten minutes on a long rein allowing him to stretch and warm his muscles up before gradually picking up the contact and bringing him into a nice outline with a forward going walk, although I think that it could still do with a little bit more energy. I did some work on both reins and then moved on to doing some nice trot work, I let him have a bit of a longer rein to allow himself to get his coughing out the system that he tends to do and get his breathing sorted. I then did a fair bit in rising trot, making sure that it had a bounce to it, and that he was really listening to the leg. I then moved on to the sitting trot and this is where I have to be careful because sometimes I lose the impulsion that I have built up. Then I  moved up to doing the canter work, the first one I did on a 20 metre circle, I ended up asking at three different points on the circle because he kept falling out of it. Fiona then said evenutally it would be nice to be able to get him to canter in an outline but that wasn't the aim for today. Then I asked for him to canter and we went down the longside and as if to say 'stuff you' he cantered in an outline down the long side of the school Fiona, my mum and I were like :O WHAT?? We did quite a bit of the canter work building up to being able to do a full lap of the school which was great. I really feel like my canter is coming on in leaps and bounds. Gatsby was soon starting to anticipate what I wanted him to do and was trying to do it before I asked him to, even though I was asking in different areas of the school. So we then switched it up and decided to ask for a canter at either B or E. He wasn't expecting this but picked it up really well I was a bit like wow Gatsby! He's turning out to be such a nice horse, and so well behaved. I then finished by giving him 10 minutes walking on a loose rein allowing him to really stretch and cool his muscles down. He was then being used in the next lesson. 

The last time I had seen the girl that was going to be riding him she was really nervous, but today said that she wasn't feeling as nervous, she looked a bit but also sounded and talked in a more confident way. But it didn't help that the mounting block that we are using is starting to fall apart. When she stood on it and was getting ready to ride Gatsby the mounting block gave way. Now most of you know that Gatsby tends to be inpatient but for once he stood nice and still waiting for her to get on. We then decided that we would use the blocks that we use for the jumps to stand on and then get on that way. Fiona held the block so that it wouldn't move while I held the stirrup and held Gatsby's reins at the same time so that he wouldn't work off.

Until Next Time

A Girl With A Dream