My To-Do List

Mort and I had another good ride yesterday. He was fairly relaxed and pushing down into the contact. We worked some on the walk/trot transitions since they've been a struggle lately (always). I did an elongated figure eight and we did a transition in the middle. That way he was theoretically straight for the transitions but asked to bend shortly after. The transitions definitely improved with this exercise. I just need to do about a million more before they're set in stone.

We also worked on canter a little for the first time in four rides. I'm really liking how adjustable it's getting. His right lead is getting straighter and his left lead is feeling less and less like his hind end is skidding out of orbit. I'm able to soften and float my reins at him without losing everything. The transitions back to trot are usually really nice and the upward transitions are getting better (though they still need work for consistency). We're working on counter canter almost every ride. I need to throw in more lengthen and shorten because as I'm writing this post I realize it's definitely something I've neglected.

His trot is always so much better after we canter. He's forward and loose and adjustable. He'll extend into a medium and come right back to a collected trot. It's so much easier to get him even in the reins and keep him uphill in the smaller circles work. His shoulder-in improves with the added impulsion. But, he does lose some of his sideways in the leg yield. When I add the leg cue for sideways he often just kinda falls out and rushes faster. I think I'm going to try some more zig zags and shoulder-in/leg yield exercises to see what I can do about it.

I also need to talk to the farrier about his hind shoes. I think that the weirdness that I randomly feel in his gait is that he's slipping with a hind leg. It's not consistent enough to be something physical (I think). He'll be going around soft and loose and awesome then his hind end disappears for a stride and then we're back to soft and loose and awesome. It probably happens a handful of times over the ride--and more when it's drier. It very rarely happens at the walk and I have yet to have it happen at the canter. We finally have a lesson scheduled this weekend, and I'm excited to see what she sees when we're going around. The vet is still coming out next week for his dental, so if she thinks it's something concerning, I can address it then. But if it's his hind shoes like I suspect, I imagine it'll be an easy fix. We can either try a different style as his are the flatter type with very little grip. Or I can see if he can go back to being barefoot for the winter since the flare that we wanted to fix has disappeared with the shoes.