The rain has temporarily cleared out and things dried out a little so tonight I decided to get in some saddle time with Max, especially since I won't be able to do anything until next Saturday (and even then, they're predicting rain).
Like on Monday, it was very cold and damp but at least there was no wind. Grooming Max was the usual joyous task and it was hard work getting the dried mud off of him- about a half hour's worth of work and there was quite a dust cloud when I was through.
The footing was still a bit muddy and combined with the cold, max was moving a bit on the sluggish side. We did the usual array of exercises and after about 45 minute's worth of work, Max slowly began to fire up. I did a combination of transitions- mostly collected and extended walking along with collected and extended canters. I also did a few side-passes but it was difficult getting him to step right and not fidget in place. At several points I had to get on Max about his lack of cooperation but overall he did what I wanted in a so-so way. Overall, I've had better sessions so I hope if things dry out more, I can get better work from him.
I also made him do some laps around the track- a combination of cantering and trotting so he definately got a bit of a work. As for the more detailed manuevers such as side-passing, we're going to have to put more work into it. It's OK but I'm not happy with it.
We'll see what the weather holds for the rest of the week and especially next Monday since I have the day off from work.
Like on Monday, it was very cold and damp but at least there was no wind. Grooming Max was the usual joyous task and it was hard work getting the dried mud off of him- about a half hour's worth of work and there was quite a dust cloud when I was through.
The footing was still a bit muddy and combined with the cold, max was moving a bit on the sluggish side. We did the usual array of exercises and after about 45 minute's worth of work, Max slowly began to fire up. I did a combination of transitions- mostly collected and extended walking along with collected and extended canters. I also did a few side-passes but it was difficult getting him to step right and not fidget in place. At several points I had to get on Max about his lack of cooperation but overall he did what I wanted in a so-so way. Overall, I've had better sessions so I hope if things dry out more, I can get better work from him.
I also made him do some laps around the track- a combination of cantering and trotting so he definately got a bit of a work. As for the more detailed manuevers such as side-passing, we're going to have to put more work into it. It's OK but I'm not happy with it.
We'll see what the weather holds for the rest of the week and especially next Monday since I have the day off from work.
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