This morning I rode Lucy before we fed and did barn chores. I know you must all be sick of me saying how much I love this horse. But I do. I adore Princess Lucy. Despite the fact that I was carrying her halter and not her morning bucket of supplements and carrots, Lucy met me at the gate. She's no longer in heat and was relaxed at the tie rail, nudging her head into the space between my arms and body while I was getting the saddle settled. She holds her face in the cradle of my arms for a minute or so, eyes closed. We stand like that, quiet, still and connected until she lifts her head.
Kersey, aka Sugar Thief, stole the sugar cube I placed next to my helmet on the bench in front of the tie rail. Kersey has also been sneaking into the feed room if my back is turned (and I forgot to close the door); she eats the cat's food.
Lucy and I had a lovely ride in the cool of early morning. I tried
Carol's new exercise for getting Rogo to stretch down and it worked very well with Lucy. Carol clinics with some amazing people and shares her lessons learned -- I applied this lesson she recently learned from Arthur Kottas. On the circle, I used a soft half-halt (light squeeze of my index finger) on the inside rein. Lucy took a stronger connection with the outside rein and stretched her head down and forward, taking the bit with her. We did this at walk first and then at trot. While we were walking, Lucy was making those raspberry-blowing-breathy sounds that horses often make at canter, in rhythm with their strides. Lucy was doing it at walk, her ears happy, relaxation coursing through her body. In a nutshell, her walk was lovely, her trot was lovely and her canter was... you guessed, lovely.
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| Lucy and her BFF, Pistol. These two are never more than a few feet apart all day long. |
