Over Confident

Thursday was a great day! I rode my friend's horse in the morning in the dressage court, I think riding other horses out there (and in general) makes me feel better about TC in there. Gotta train myself too, dressage court = good rides, have a sugar cube and a kitten cuddle afterward.

TC came out of his stall feeling like he had been declared the Best Horse Ever. He has shoes now (so do a lot of horses). He's a grown up (no he's not). Everyone loves him (do they though?).

I love this picture

He stood in the cross ties and tried to bite me, his tack, and the cross ties themselves. I had gotten him bell boots, since my shoer had recommended he wear them for a while. I tried to stick them on him while he pawed at me.

Then he marched around the ranch like he owned the place. He reminded me of young Rico- over confident and assuming that everyone's default attitude toward him was to worship the ground he walked on. I'll take it though, this TC is confident and not spooky!

This TC bucks like an asshole though. I longed him first in the round pen and he bolted from walk at the beginning each way. I got him under control and then saw his trot. Holy shit. I laughed to myself thinking that if his old owners had put shoes on him, he would have been out of my price range. I've called him baby Totilas in the past when he got all expressive in front and tight in his back. As he lightens in color, it doesn't make as much sense. But baby Totilas was back and wow he can move.

I got all grabby hands and got on him maybe too early. The change in his trot was evident undersaddle too. I think the added weight makes him fling his legs up and out a bit more. And the added stability made his bucks bigger too.

Very annoying. Those bell boots are XL and he
makes them look little

Luckily my trainer came over after our first bucking fit. We worked through it- I just got up in half seat and kicked him until he went forward.

Trainer thinks that the bucks are just him being a powerful young horse (the way my trainer, who works with racehorses, called my horse powerful was slightly unnerving). He's stronger now, more coordinated, and has it in his head that bucking and switching leads at the canter will make it easier, more fun, deliberately more obnoxious for me (much of his behavior seems to be directed at annoying me, which seems fun for him), or what not.

Honestly, as weird as it might be (is it though?), I would rather have this bucking than the bolting. They're not tiny bucks, but his head is up, and even though I'm more likely to come off a buck than a bolt, I don't get that moment of "omg going to die" when he bucks like I do in the bolt. Honestly, I would rather he not do anything bad ever.

These guys are so fun, I'll be sad/happy when they go to their
new home

After the bucking to the right (which only happen in canter, so easily avoidable if my back is hurting or what not), we worked on transitions within the trot- slowing the trot down using my seat, then pushing him forward. He struggled to maintain energy in the downward, and was reluctant to change his hind leg mechanics from carrying to pushing coming out of the pseudo collected trot. It was so much fun. He is so in tune with my seat, I actually way way over aided for the downward and got a walk a few times.

Doing this work is really good for him if he's having an over-confident young horse day. Trainer basically told me to show him what he doesn't know when he's like this, make his work so challenging that he backs off and is like whoa okay hold on. Luckily TC loves work, so making him work harder just puts his mind into his work rather than messing around, vs a horse who messes around to get out of work. We did some tighter figures (8m half circles in trot) and lots of transitions, and TC was right there and focused.

To the left I rode him counter bent. I don't like doing it, but it majorly resets my aids and gets my rogue left hand under control. He didn't like that and more bucking transpired. The bucking is making the canter ugly, and the left lead canter is ugly even without bucking, so it was pretty awful. I'm a little disappointed about that, but he goes through these phases with bucking and always comes out better when the bucking stops.

So cute

After some really great work in the round pen, we headed into the court. We walked out there on a loose rein and got into the court and started walking on a 20m circle. My first thought wasn't oh no what if he's bad or don't let him know you're apprehensive about this. My first thought was what a lazy asshole, walk FORWARD, damnit. And the whole ride was amazing- it was the first one where I felt 100% safe in there, even when TC whinnied to other horses or got a little rigid. Nope, go back to work, do your shit, I know so much more dressage than you do and let me show you all these things you don't know.

And I had a blast. I packed on the pressure and TC stepped up. He felt like a First level horse except when I would assume he knew to turn at the corner and he'd threaten to jump out again. I think as he gets ridden more in there, that will go away. Horses eventually figure out that they need to stay in, right? Or maybe Rico was just so lazy that turning > jumping out of the 12 inch court.

Kittens!

The first exercise we did was just figures- going into the corners and then going across the short diagonal (that is a TIGHT turn), riding figure-8s and serpentines, and tossing in 10m circles because why not. He was great for those, shortening into the corner and lengthening a bit coming out, an exercise I was taught to make the corners look smoother. I sat the trot some, thinking that TC is coming to the end of his 5 year old year and is ready for a little more of that. Also 10m circles are much easier in sitting trot.

After that, we worked on leg yields. They were SO much better after I was reminded yet again about not holding the left rein like my life depended on it. We had some excellent leg yields to the right without him being overbent. The main issue now is just getting him a little more supple in them (and obviously adding steepness and cross over) because he gets a little rigid on the contact in the lateral work, as I've previously noted.

We ended with a few short lengthenings and a really mean exercise where I would have him on a 20m circle right, then turn off on a 10m circle left in sitting trot to really make sure I wasn't holding with the left rein.

Haven't gotten a mirror selfie in a while, I keep
focusing on the dressage court, but the covered is
important too

During walk breaks and at the end of the ride, I would drop the reins to chat with trainer or give TC pats. Just two rides ago, there's no way I would have done that.

I would have stayed out there all day, but TC is still on rehab of course. So he went in. Later in the day I got an email from my vet saying that TC is cleared for turnout pending the result of another ultrasound! Given life circumstances, I'm going to try real hard to get him in over the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed he goes in soon and his leg is magically healed forever and he can go in turnout and finally be a horse again (and stop bolting omg)!