Two weeks ago, Missy got moved to a new barn. She has more turnout and its a better, calmer environment for her. I went out the day after to see her. She wasnt too crazy, so I hopped on for a short hack, just to feel her out. Other than being looky and energetic, which I expected, she was quite good. It was getting dark so I didn't ride long but I was happy with what we did.
I tried to be an adult for the next two days and do work around the house/catch up on homework, and didn't make it out again till Thursday, when I have my lesson with Lindsey. Since, obviously I wasn't riding Missy, she put me on one of her school horses: a cute dark bay named Fuego. He was very sweet and I enjoyed riding him, but he was a very different experience from Missy. For one, he is just stockier and heavier than she is. He also travels with a much lower headset than either Missy or even Lady does, so that just felt weird to me. Lindsey kept having to remind me not to let him tug the reins through my fingers.
Because of how he travels, I had a hard time with my balance at the trot, both in twopoint and posting. We did a lap of sitting trot and WOW is he smooth! Seriously, I've never sat a more comfortable trot. We did a lot of work on on getting a consistent, balanced canter and it was lovely when we got it right.
Immediately after my lesson on Fuego, I went to ride Missy (the barns are less than ten minutes apart). For whatever reason, Texas decided that February was going to be part-summer and I was sweating while riding in a tank top. It was crazy weather. Anyways, we did a lot of regular work - I've been working on getting my canter aids correct and making a smooth transition out of it. My other focus is getting my two point better and starting some heavy duty no stirrup work.
The next day, I popped out to ride again since the weather was fantastic! One of my favorite things about the new barn is how extremely quiet it is. T, the owner/trainer of the place, currently works during the day, and there are not many boarders at the place. Plus, its in a very quiet area, so it feels relaxed and peaceful out there. I definitely approve.
Missy was extremely laid back. In fact, she was slightly sweaty just coming out of the pasture. We've had very warm weather the past week. I actually wore a tank top to ride in and was still sweaty afterwards. In February, y'all! Its a bit crazy. 😑 Anyways, she was quite sluggish at the trot the entire time, so I didn't put in as much two point work as I usually do, since I have a difficult time keeping her moving in two point. But even just posting was a great work out for my legs and core, so that was good. Since she was being pretty slow, I used the canter for my two point work and did a lot of circles and various geometric shapes to keep her on her toes. We also had a bit of trouble picking up the correct lead.
On Monday evening, I had arranged to meet with the barn owner/new trainer to see how things wouldwork out. While I am very satisfied with Lindsey's teaching and the progress we've been making, I absolutely understand the need to getanother pair of eyes on Missy and I, which is why I plan to also ride with T.
He really liked Missy, which I was not surprised with. Everybody likes Missy!! For thr most part he watched us go around this time and offered a few pointers here and there, such as doing circles randomly to keep her mind engaged and doing some different things to improve my leg, especially at the canter.
Sorry for the text heavy post. Thisis more for my records, I guess.
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