September 2009
So, I totally didn't update this when we had our mid-September lesson... Whoops!

There's not much that I can remember about it to comment on, other than it definitely wasn't our best lesson ever but he sure looked cute in his new saddle pad! I guess I'll just let the video speak for itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXvgYQdq6Q

August 3, 2009
I've been really busy lately and haven't posted about the last few lessons (they have gone well!), so to make up for it I have have pictures and will have a video clip up soon!

The last couple lessons we've been working Nova in draw reins to help him work on keeping his head down. They have been working well - as in he's keeping his head down and not leaning down on them and instead working on carrying himself. We started off this lesson the same way. The warm up was pretty much the usual - laps around the entire arena, then circles in both ways in the ends. We also added in trotting over some poles as well. Then of course, came the canter. We went left first and he picked it up well and moved nicely for me, listening well. I then asked him from the walk a couple of times, and he did well. A couple of trot strides before picking up the lead nicely. Diane then had me go out and trot him around for awhile because he gets himself so worked up about cantering the other direction right away that he basically goes pogo-stick (more up and down trot than nice forward rhythm) and stops listening. So, I worked him in both directions until he settled down. Diane then had me ask him to canter from the posting trot, and it worked like a charm and he gave me the right lead beautifully. He did well, though he's not quite as balanced as he is to the left. But he's definitely come a looooooooooong way in his canter since we first started!

Then after a quick break, we started to work over the jumps. (We of course took the draw reins off for this.) I can honestly say he was much better this time than the last time we worked this. The other time he was just too wound up to listen and was trying to ditch out on the jump if he was even given the slightest opportunity. This time he felt a LOT more relaxed and was listening to me. It was a great feeling. We started off trotting some x-rails, and he went over those well. He was even picking his feet up over them. We worked on singles, and going over poles on one jump and then over the x-rail on the next. Diane then started to make the x-rails into 18" verticals. Again he was listening. We only had one refusal, and Diane said that I sort of dropped him before the jump (I didn't feel like I did, but she's the expert!). I have found that I really do have to ride him right up to the base of the jump and not give him too much release or he will stop/duck out. We did have two really good lines though, and I'm proud of us for that! I did a terrible job explaining what we did, but I do have a video clip that I will put up that will do a much better job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua9Zo0sWGok

August 12, 2009
It was a good lesson today. (So have the other ones I've been too busy to post about.)

We didn't jump today, but have been the last couple times. Diane even had us doing an entire course, and it went well. I just have to remember to 'make him wait' for the jump, because if I just let him go, he will go long and fast. Other than that, Diane is very pleased with our progress and so am I.

Anyway, today we put the draw reins back on him - just to help him work better. (We haven't been using them since the last lesson I posted about.) At first he was not pleased, and did his pogo-stick trot for me during the warm-up. I really wished I'd brought my whip down to back up my leg with him because he wasn't listening to it as well as he could have been - as a 'go forward you dork' cue. But, we worked it out and he started to move nicely. He still lifts his head anytime I ask for a right bend, so he's not completely comfortable with that yet, though he will give me a nice one after he bring his head back down. (I have been doing some carrot (crunchie) stretches to the right, and he does those just fine, but I'll keep working with them. Maybe see about a chiro visit this fall/winter sometime.)

We then moved on to the canter, and canter we did! I was very happy about this because he never missed his right lead (did his left twice - but he gave me a right lead, so I can't complain too badly), and by the end, we were cantering 20-30 ft circles that actually looked like circles, were balanced, and his canter was sooooo nice! Diane wanted us working off the rail today and sort of picking up the leads away from a corner. We went to the right first, and he definitely didn't completely settle down into it like he did later on, but he was listening and kept a nice steady pace as we went around the arena. Got excited, as I expected about cantering to the left, but it wasn't as bad as it's been before, and we cantered left nicely as well.

Then Diane had us come in and ride circles off of the wall. Nova did really well at this, even though he's never 'really' been asked to do this. Like I said above, he was good at getting his leads (and fantastic transitions), and we got a really nice canter out of him both ways. It feels sooooo good when he gets it right! I'm also starting to ask him more to go from a canter to a walk, not just to a trot. I was doing that before because I didn't want to haul on his face too much, and he really listens to a verbal 'annnnd trot' and comes down on his own nicely. So now I'm upping the anty so to speak and starting to ask him to take only a couple trot strides before walking. I'm sure he'll get it no problem shortly.

Very good morning, all in all. I am very happy that I've been able to take 2-3 lessons on him almost every week - it's definitely been a big help! And he's really going to enjoy his vacation that starts in another week.

August 12, 2009
It was a good lesson today. (So have the other ones I've been too busy to post about.)

We didn't jump today, but have been the last couple times. Diane even had us doing an entire course, and it went well. I just have to remember to 'make him wait' for the jump, because if I just let him go, he will go long and fast. Other than that, Diane is very pleased with our progress and so am I.

Anyway, today we put the draw reins back on him - just to help him work better. (We haven't been using them since the last lesson I posted about.) At first he was not pleased, and did his pogo-stick trot for me during the warm-up. I really wished I'd brought my whip down to back up my leg with him because he wasn't listening to it as well as he could have been - as a 'go forward you dork' cue. But, we worked it out and he started to move nicely. He still lifts his head anytime I ask for a right bend, so he's not completely comfortable with that yet, though he will give me a nice one after he bring his head back down. (I have been doing some carrot (crunchie) stretches to the right, and he does those just fine, but I'll keep working with them. Maybe see about a chiro visit this fall/winter sometime.)

We then moved on to the canter, and canter we did! I was very happy about this because he never missed his right lead (did his left twice - but he gave me a right lead, so I can't complain too badly), and by the end, we were cantering 20-30 ft circles that actually looked like circles, were balanced, and his canter was sooooo nice! Diane wanted us working off the rail today and sort of picking up the leads away from a corner. We went to the right first, and he definitely didn't completely settle down into it like he did later on, but he was listening and kept a nice steady pace as we went around the arena. Got excited, as I expected about cantering to the left, but it wasn't as bad as it's been before, and we cantered left nicely as well.

Then Diane had us come in and ride circles off of the wall. Nova did really well at this, even though he's never 'really' been asked to do this. Like I said above, he was good at getting his leads (and fantastic transitions), and we got a really nice canter out of him both ways. It feels sooooo good when he gets it right! I'm also starting to ask him more to go from a canter to a walk, not just to a trot. I was doing that before because I didn't want to haul on his face too much, and he really listens to a verbal 'annnnd trot' and comes down on his own nicely. So now I'm upping the anty so to speak and starting to ask him to take only a couple trot strides before walking. I'm sure he'll get it no problem shortly.

Very good morning, all in all. I am very happy that I've been able to take 2-3 lessons on him almost every week - it's definitely been a big help! And he's really going to enjoy his vacation that starts in another week.

I think he looks very dashing in yellow.

Anyway, Nova is now on semi-permenant holidays for the next while because I'm going to be away for my practicum. There is a show in October I might see if I can come down for and literally drag him out of the pasture and take him to. I might be able to take him out a few more times before the snow flies, but they don't really count too much. I think he's going to enjoy this break, and I certainly know he really earned it this summer! I've very proud with what we've managed to accomplish, and as I've said before - he's a keeper!


August 29, 2009
Yes, yes - Nova is on vacation... Mostly. He got pulled out of the pasture for a trail ride today though! Poor guy, making him sweat on his holidays.

So I got the call on Friday that Mom and Julie were heading out to Drayton Valley for some riding on Saturday - of course I wanted to go, so I ended up getting home at 10pm!

Nova loaded well, travelled well, and unloaded, looked around, and was like, "Huh." about the whole thing. He's so seasoned now, haha! Though he had to give me the hairy eyeball about the saddlepad. He's been starting to do that of late, so I will be sacking him out with it sometime soon-ish. But, he stood nicely after that. I mounted up first, and he stayed nice and relaxed... Which lasted until we were about 20 feet down the trail. He was leading, and was alert but not nervous... Until Rhythm who was behind us decided that the scary picnic table at the side of the trail was 'horse-eating' and tried to make a new path through the bush! He got a bit jumpy and was super alert after that! But, we kept going and he was pretty okay and settled down.

We came to one of numerous bridges we were going to have to cross, and we let Julie and Trapper go first - and he didn't even blink at it, so that helped Nova go across right behind him a lot nicer. Actually, by the third bridge he walked right over it without blinking! I have pictures of the bridges, and I will say that I'm pretty impressed.

There were areas where there was quite a lot of mud/wet ground. Of course, Nova was not very impressed, but he went through it like he did in the mountains. If he has no choice, he goes through it without any fuss.

Before lunch the horses were all settled down, and Nova was in the middle with quite a big gap between himself and Trapper, and he didn't even get upset. I think I might have figured out part of his issue with that - Rhythm was a little ways behind us at that point, and he was fine. But he got upset when Rhythm would come up close behind us, and would throw a little hissy fit. Hmmm... Something to ponder.

He was good after lunch, and was leading for a ways until we got to the river. That was not so fun. He absolutely refused to go down the bank towards the river (this river was nothing compared to what he did in the mountains). He got very lucky though because Rhythm ended up accidently going first (Mom didn't encourage it), so he got to not be first. I was pretty ticked at that, but oh well. He didn't want to lead across the river either, so I just let him follow Trapper across, and he was totally fine with that.

We went back to leading, and unfortunately not long after that there was a part of the path with two muddy spots on them. (They were small, and he shouldn't have even blinked at them considering what he'd done that morning already.) Well, he stopped dead and there was no blinkin' way he was going to go forward first. So, because he got away with it at the river, there was no way he was going to get away with it here. I won't go into details, but I had to get pretty serious about it before he decided that he could go first.

Thankfully the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, and we ended on a good note - he didn't pull anything else for the rest of the ride. So true to form, he was really good and really bad, but overall it was a pretty nice day.

July 3, 2009
Soooo... Nova's had a whole week off from work... Though I'm sure he doesn't mind that! But it was back into the thick of it with a lesson today.

As before, I led him down so I can use Diane's saddle. I'd love to ride him down but between trying to pony Rhythm while bareback and then having a very dirty tush after, I just walk down.

Diane was a bit late arriving, and Helga had to leave early for a hair appointment, so I got to warm up pretty much on my own while Diane focused on Helga. It was nice - I felt all professional, haha. He was going really nicely for me. It was a nice trot steady trot - and he only felt like he wanted to break into a canter a couple times. Yay! I worked on doing circles on each end, then going across the diagonal, and even attempted some leg yielding (on my own because he was feeling that good). I think he was doing pretty good at it, considering I think we've only ever asked him to do it once before. After taking a break while Diane finished up with Helga, we went out again and did some more of what I had done. He was definitely warmed up! This second time I was asking him to work on dropping his head, and he was doing so nicely. I think in general his head is coming down a lot without asking at the trot, so I was just encouraging him to go a bit further.

After a change across the diagonal Diane asked me to pick up the canter in the corner, and bam! Got it! It was a much, much faster transition than the previous lesson - so he must be getting used to the feel of the english saddle. If was to the left, so of course he got the right lead. And wow, it was an amazing canter. He felt slow and relaxed! The thought that ran through my head was, "Holy moly, this is the kind of canter that show horses do!" I was so proud of him. He did break once, but I think it was hard for him to keep a the slow canter going. I asked him to pick it up again and he did so nicely, and we went across the diagonal. He was pretty straight going across. Just before we reached the rail, I asked him to come down, set him up, and he picked up the right lead!! First try! He wasn't as slow and relaxed going this way, but he was still doing quite well. We did some circles and went along the rail. We then got another break while Diane worked with Rhythm.

Helga left then, and the fun began! Diane has been talking about trying Nova over some trot poles and stuff, and today was the day. We only have one long plastic pole in the arena, so we had to do some figuring to make it work. we do have a lot of smaller ones, so we put those together to make trot poles. And tipped the barrels over to use as standards. Oh man, we really need some real stuff! Anyway, Nova was a bit lazy with his feet at first. Clipped the poles the first time or two across. (I was doing a figure-8 type pattern over the poles.) But after that I could feel him pick his feet up. So then Diane put one end of the pole up on the barrel and we went over it again. Yeah... He could have cared less and it showed. So we had a couple of car tires (yeah, I don't know why either), so she ended up stacking them up on the other side to make it look a bit more like a jump. (Diane said it was probably about 18 inches at the end.) Diane then suggested that I pick up the left lead canter and go over it. So I set him up and asked him at the far end, then turned and headed towards it. The first time I could feel him kind of going, "Uhm!!" but he went over it willingly anyway. He did smack it though. The second time he picked up his front feet, but I think touched it with his hind feet. After that, wow, we got it together. I have no idea how we look (I'm guessing a whole lot less than perfect), but I could feel him really wanting to go towards and over the jump. He was easy to keep settled though. It felt great!! We are going to work on getting him to go on the right lead next time - we just went left today because that's where he's most comfortable. I was pretty much expecting him to be completely klutzy, so this was a nice surprise. We're not going to push him, but I think we'll be working a bit at this often over the rest of the summer.

After we were done, Diane was so nice and did Nova's mane for me today! She has a comb-scissor thingy that gives the pulled look without actually having to pull. I think Nova looks fantastic!! I've been waiting for so long to do it. In fact, I took a couple pictures when we got home.


July 20, 2009
I've been terrible lately - I have not written about one trail ride and two lessons!! To all Nova's adoring fans, I apologize. To make it up, I will discuss today's lesson, and provide some pictures!

The lesson started off just fantastic. During our warm up Nova was perfect. We did what seems to be our usual warm up nowadays - two laps around the whole arena, cross the diagonal, two more laps, then doing three large circles as we work our way down the long side, then three back up the other side, cross the diagonal and repeat. As we were going around it felt amazing because I was doing all these circles and going across the diagonal, all by not even having to move my hands hardly (as in I wasn't having to really work to keep him on track). It felt like we were in tune with each other and he was doing exactly what I wanted, and at a very steady pace. I know his head wasn't down, but I wasn't asking him to put it anywhere, and I think overall he's keeping it a lot lower in general these days.

We then went to work on the canter, and we did a lot of canter today! He had to rush into the left lead the first time, but after that he was much better. When we went to the right Diane had us working on a circle and trying to canter half, trot half. Well, Nova did okay the first couple times but then he got a bit too excited and started throwing the wrong lead at me and just getting upset. We have found that if he gets confused he tries really hard and just starts to do things to try and figure it out. So Diane had us go to the left again and I worked that way. Of course though, he was still upset, so I just trotted him around a few laps making sure he was straight and listening, and when I did finally ask him again, his response was instant and correct. I do have to say that I was getting frustrated with him, because I felt that it was something that he could have easily done, but I realize that obviously that's not true. So if I have time to work with him this week before our next lesson, I will practice that.

We then moved on and worked on something we started yesterday at our lesson. He was much better at it yesterday, but again, I think today he was just a bit hyped up by that point. Anyway, it is where we come up the quarter line, then leg yield them towards the rail, turn their shoulders to the outside, and ask for the canter. I'm not sure Diane realizes that we haven't really ever worked the leg yield with Nova, so he's a bit confused about that - but we're still doing a pretty decent job anyway. I will also try to work with him on this as well. Today though he kept giving me the wrong lead, but that's okay as we just came back, I set him up again and asked and then he'd give it to me.

After that, we got to do the fun part. We got to do some jumping again! It's been a week and a half or so since the last time, and he was just as good if not better than last time. We trotted up and over it a few times, to which he's not all that enthusiastic about putting effort into it. But when we started to canter it, he was really trying. We also only worked with the right lead because of where Helga was working on some stuff made it difficult to go to the left. I will say that the couple times I had to ask him for the lead as he lost it cantering up the side, he was not pleased but he did give it to me correctly the first try. So that sort of made up for all the fuss we had earlier on in the lesson.

Now, I'm going to put up some pictures, but you have to just look at Nova and not at me. I know I don't look all that great, and I'm sure Diane will be all over me shortly about that! You will also have to pardon some of the pictures as Dad didn't use the 'continuous shoot' feature. Oops.

So, he was excellent, he was bad, but overall he was still pretty good. I think when I work with him next, or at our next lesson I will suggest to Diane that we work the canter one way, then go and work the trot doing something else then canter the other way in an effort to stop him from getting worked up. I know there will be a time when we will just have to push through and he'll have to deal with cantering not being a big deal, but that can happen later.

July 22, 2009
Tonight was a gorgeous night for a trail ride!

We headed out through the subdivision behind our place - straight into the sun. Ugh. Nova was very well behaved and was quite relaxed. We rode through another couple subdivisions before turning and heading around towards home. There was a small field we went through that had round bales in it - Nova did not like the round bales!! It was pretty funny, really. He has a couple moves when he wants to use them. We then went along the ditch from a relatively busy road. Every time a vehicle was coming up from behind us, we stopped and waited until it went past. He did really well and didn't get nervous/stupid about any of them! (And there were quite a few on that section of road - probably 6-10.)

We then cut across the road and went through yet another subdivision! Then there's a path through the trees that leads to a different subdivision. On the path was a puddle... Well, all the good puddle work we did in the mountains went out the window. I didn't pick a fight about it because it was just too easy for him escape around it. We then climbed a hill and headed towards the road... Coming from the right is a dog that came out of a yard when it spotted the horses, and on the left is a loose horse! Ack! Well, thankfully the horse wandered into another yard and didn't seem to care about us, so we went towards the dog. I pointed Nova at the dog, and he perked right up when the dog turned and ran away from us. I think he could learn to like dog-chasing.

As we were walking through that subdivision he felt awesome. I relaxed and it just felt so good! Like, most of our rides! Nothing exciting really happened the rest of the way home - he was well behaved and all in all it was a great ride.


July 24, 2009
HOT! Oh so very hot out! But we still had a lesson!

Nova had his shoes pulled and his feet trimmed - he was good. And isn't actually very footsore at all. I was running late because the farrier was a bit behind doing the other two horses at my aunt's, but Diane was so nice and I got to have a lesson after Helga had hers.

Since it was so hot out we kept things pretty low-key and worked on bending/flexing. We started off on about a 15m circle and getting him to bend to the inside. Sort of a pick up and bring the rein across (taking his nose), and when he's relax and give I'd put the rein back to the neutral position (giving his nose back). He was quite good both ways, though to the right was obviously his worse side. We then worked on doing the same thing but to the outside. Again, he was really good. Considering I think we've only worked on this stuff once before (on purpose) he was very good. Diane then had me take his nose to the inside, then to the outside, and back and forth. We then moved it up to the trot, and he got a bit chargey about it at first. I think he was thinking "CANTER!", and then he was thinking that I usually do small circles and ask for his head when he's being stupid about the canter. But it only took a couple minutes and he settled right down and was lovely.

Then she had me start to ask him to bring his haunches slightly to the inside, and then worked on pushing them out. He was not nearly as good at this, but he tried hard. I was happy Diane was there to help me by telling me for sure when he did it. Most of the time I could feel him move his butt over just that fraction, but there were a couple times when she said he did, and I must have been concentrating too much on something else. Anyway, Diane was very happy with how hard he was trying and said that he did more than she was expecting. (Good boy!)

We then worked the canter for a few minutes (left first, right second). She had us working on a 20-ish meter circle which was hard for Nova. He didn't like having to come off the rail in the middle of the arena to start the circle, so we worked that and he started to come around better. When we changed directions and went to the right he got all uptight and dare I say, stupid. So we trotted for a minute and after a few tries he gave me the right lead and we were off. He did pretty good even though this isn't his strong side.

All in all, it was nice to step back and work on this basic stuff. He was really good and listened really well!

Oh, and I also hopped on him bareback and rode him home. It was too darn hot out to walk back up that stinkin' hill! It felt so good to just saunter back home on him - it helps he was pretty much on autopilot.

June 1, 2009
Lesson today, finally! But, I don't have much to report.

First, I switched his bit from a single-jointed, pinchless, D-ring to a loose-ring, french-link, pinchless one. I had bought the bit awhile ago but never got around to trying it on him. I think I'm going to ride him in this one for awhile, as he went really well in it. (Seemed to be chewing a bit less on it. I think I will go buy bit guards for it though, just to be safe.)

I rode him down to the arena, and he was great! He wasn't too sure about the recycle bags that were at the end of a couple driveways, so we gave those a wide berth and kept going. He stood nicely by Diane's Pilot while we chatted - I love that he is relaxed (lazy) most of the time and willing to hang out.

We got into the arena, and I started trotting him around to warm up. After a few laps each way Diane had me start to ask him to drop his head like we worked on last time. Well, he thought that was a terrible idea and was putting his head up higher and ignoring me. So, I got my wish, and Diane hopped on him! She rode him around while giving Helga a lesson at the same time. He was pretty resistant about that whole idea at the beginning. But eventually the light blinked on and he started going nicely. Of course he couldn't hold it for very long, but he was trying hard. Then he'd have to throw it up and be stupid, but once she got him going forward again he'd drop and continue on. Since I've been pretty much the only person to ride him - Diane has ridden him twice before for a short time - I never get to see him go. It's different to watch in person vs. a video clip. It was so nice to see him go! Man, he's really filled out and it looking really good, especially when he was putting his head down and using himself correctly. (He was screaming "I want to be an English poneh!" to me!)

At the end I hopped on him and rode him for a couple minutes. Oh, it felt nice to have him lift his back and use himself properly. He was being pretty speedy, but we can work on that. I hope we can get him going well this year, which will make it so much easier in the future.


June 3, 2009
So, everyone already knows that Nova's awesome, but he just proved it again today!

We had a lesson today, so I tacked him up and rode him down. He seemed to be a bit excited today (why, I have no idea, it was pretty darn warm out!). We had to wait for the guy to finish working the arena (first time in like, ever), and he was a bit unhappy about standing still, but nothing too bad. Of course though, when we get in there, he has to eyeball the scary tire-tracks like they are going to eat him. It was pretty funny, actually. So I rode him around and over them and after about a lap he started to ignore them.

We start off with a trot, letting him warm up. Of course, since he's feeling spunky, he breaks into a canter a couple of times and decides to run through my aids (going to the left, on the open part of the circle), but we got that sorted out and he was slowing down/settling, and turning. So after about 6-7 laps each way Diane had me work on getting him to lower his head again. At first he was pretty inconsistant - head up, down for a few strides, pop head back up, put down for a couple strides, etc. But after a few laps, it was amazing!! He'd start to hold it down on his own and actually search a bit for some contact - and do this for half/three quarters of a circle (lap). Oh, it felt so good. We'll work on refining it later, but for right now, he's lifting his back and powering through. So much so that I had to keep asking him to slow down sometimes because he was just motoring around. Let me tell you, he feels like quite a powerhouse underneath me when he does that!

So we got to take a small break while Helga was working with Tika on the canter, and then it was our turn. We blew the right lead a few times, but once I got it... Oh, it was magic. It was amazing how he'd do his best to keep his head down (without my asking) and round up and carry himself. He wasn't totally consistent, but when he got it, ohhhhhhhhhhhh it felt good!! And for the first time I was allowed to canter the entire arena, and poor Nova had NO idea what to do when I asked him to go straight down the rail. We did a big veer and I had to really open my outside hand to keep him even sort of on it. It was kind of cute. I noticed that he really put himself together on the corners, so that was nice. And he even had his head down, and kept it down for the downward transitions.

So after another quick break, we were off to the left. Of course this is his good side, so no problems with the lead. Again we did one circle at the far end of the arena, then we went off down the long side. He was better this direction because I think he figured out how to go straight! He got speedy going down the side, but I was able to collect him up again and slow down a bit on the corners. Again, he was really trying to put his head down and go nicely.

I just have to say this, and it deserves it's own paragraph! Both directions, there was a point when he felt AMAZING! He felt so round underneath me, his head was low, and his canter slowed to a just fantastic pace - almost like he wanted to stall out, but he never did (he must have been really balanced). Holy moly!!! I have never ridden a canter like that before in my life, and it was just great! In fact, I almost cried a little after our last canter. It was just a ton of improvement from our last lesson (and the last time I cantered him last month). Diane was really impressed I think, as she was quite complimentary about it all! (And of course, you couldn't have gotten the grin off my face if you'd tried.)

Helga and I went on a mini-trail ride after (aka, took the long way home through the bush and new subdivision), and of course, he was excellent. He had to learn though that Tika does not like it when he gets too close to her, so he had to settle with a bit of distance, and he did. Helps that it was warm and he was sweaty and tired. But he was so chill about it - walked on a draped rein the whole way.

Again, I love my horse. He's come sooooo far that I can't really believe it sometimes (especially when I think that I've done almost all the work myself). He's just wonderful. I love him.

June 12, 2009
Tonight I decided to try the saddlebags on Nova for the first time. So, tacked him up, led him down, and threw him on the lunge line after I'd put them on. Well, he did exactly what I expected - nothing! He had his ears back listening to them, but didn't seem overly worried about them. I even asked him to canter - because if I'm going to get any reaction, that will be when! Still nothing. So I think it's safe to say he won't have a problem with them.

After that, I quickly bridled him and hopped on so Mom could take some pictures. Well, she snapped off about 212 pictures in the 15 minutes I was riding! Nova was very good. I only worked in half the arena, and just did some trot and canter work. I let him start off with his nose in the air for a few laps, then asked him to bring it down, then cantered, stopped, chatted for a minute, turned and repeated! So, here's a (big) photo sequence of that. (And please don't mind my humped shoulders - I'm terrible for that, and no one was yelling at me to sit up! And my hands are low because that's how Diane has been asking me to ask Nova - so when he gives, I float them forward and ask him to come down and find the contact which he does sometimes.)

All in all, he was really good. He picked up both leads of his canter first shot, so we only did a few rounds and then I stopped. He seemed to be listening to me and felt good. I know we still have lots of work to do, but we're getting there!


June 15, 2009
The weather was super muggy out - cloudy but very hot. Let's just say that I was very warm by the end of the lesson! Nova seemed a bit nervous on our way down - he didn't do anything, but he also didn't feel 100% relaxed. I just figured it was because Rhythm had 'abandoned' him for the back pasture after he left the pasture. I suppose it was just foreshadowing!

We started to trot, and he was good, but then all of a sudden he got really chargey and wasn't listening to me. He thought he should canter (I swear, sometimes that's the worst thing you can ever teach them!), and he was just not listening to my attempts to get him to slow down. I'll admit there were some less than pretty moments, when I really set him back to get his attention on me. Diane had me doing small circles on him and really asking him to bend and give his head to me. He did settle, eventually.

So Diane had us canter. We went left first, and he was good about picking it up. It felt off though, as he was much more up and down on his front end than usual. He was listening okay though, and it was a decent canter. We tried going to the right, but he was being very stubborn about picking it up. So much so, that Diane hopped on and worked with him. A lot at the trot, but she did get two right lead canters out of him. Have to say, he looks good even when he's being bad!

I hopped on him again and rode him around for a couple of minutes and you could tell he had a 'tune up'. I will say that his knee was very slightly swollen that day - from a scratch - but he was sound on it. He could have been having a bad day, or his knee could have been slightly sore. What little swelling was there did go down during the lesson, but I cold hosed it when I got home.

But, I do have to say, even on a real bad day, Nova really isn't that bad! Just acting his age for a change. (Helga was pleased that Nova was having a bad day finally!)


June 17, 2009
First off, his knee looked 100% today, so I was happy to see that. Diane was going to ride Rhythm today, so I had to tack both of them up. But she was also going to bring her english saddle for me to use on Nova. I'm not really sure why, but he ticked me off a bit on the way down - I think it was because he was walking fast, and Rhythm was walking slow, which is very frustrating. But he was also looking like he had a bit 'extra' in him today, so I was also half dreading the ride (thinking of Monday's lesson).

Helga was nice enough to let me borrow her lunge line, and I threw him on it for probably like 2 minutes. Just enough to trot both ways and canter to the right (not the left, because that's his strong side, and I knew we'd be cantering later on)- and find out that he did not have any extra energy. He started off at a nice trot, and he actually felt pretty darn good. Responsive. we did about five circles each way and Nova did well with passing Rhythm (she was going the opposite way with Diane). He did have a couple moments as we moved to the other end of the arena about not wanting to turn left across the arena. So we had a slight discussion about that, and he was much better about it.

We cantered to the right first, and he was good. Got his lead and was listening pretty good. We were using the whole arena, and he got a bit speedy sometimes (of course) but he did settle and it felt pretty good. Ironically though when after our short break I went to ask for the left lead he gave me the right one two/three times! I did get the left lead, actually on the long side after making an effort to bring his front end off the rail and push his butt towards it - it worked and he got it and off we went. He's going to be a real dream once we get the leads all figured out! It's like he gets so happy about cantering that he mostly just tosses a lead out at you, and not neccessarily the correct one. I was pretty happy actually because Diane complimented me on moving him over to get the lead - and how you don't usually do that with babies but it worked.

Diane then suggested that I switch over to the english saddle. So, Nova stood like a rock while I stripped off the western and fiddled around with the english. It's a wide tree, but it seemed to fit him okay today - so I think it will work okay enough until I can sell mine and buy him his very own. Anyway, I felt so odd because I haven't really ridden english in a year. I walked him around for a couple minutes so we could both get the feel of it, and then we started to trot. Whooo boy! He sure wanted to motor around like a crazy horse. Well, for Nova it was! Perhaps he was loving the lighter saddle, haha. He was going really big, and we actually worked on getting him to slow down (you know, so I didn't end up falling off). It took a little while, but I got him down to a really, really nice slow trot (both ways). Like, show ring worthy! And while I wasn't really asking him to put his head down, I was riding with contact and he was lowering his head and it felt really good!

It was definitely a better lesson from Monday, and I'm looking forward to Friday and riding english again. My big english pony finally gets to be the real deal! At least a bit.


June 19, 2009
My boy is totally an english pony!

As I said in the last post, Diane is being very generous and allowing me to borrow her (super comfy) Lynn Palm english saddle for lessons. It felt good to be riding english again, especially on Nova.

I was expecting him to be kind of quick to start off with, because he was yesterday, and then because he has been getting a bit fast and trying to break into a canter during the warm-up. But, he was good. It was a nice pace, not too slow, but not trying to barrel around the arena like an idiot. He also felt good when I had to pick up my inside rein and add leg and move him back over to the rail. We did five circles each way at the end of the arena, and then down the long side to do a circle in each end before walking.

After our warm-up we moved into the canter. This is the year of the canter, according to Diane! We went left first, and he, I have to say, was terrible at picking it up. I do think it's because of the different saddle, and I'm okay with that, but he was so bad compared to what I'm used too. You know, the add leg and get canter instantly. Today we had to do a bit of running into it, but my dad (who came to watch) said he did really well - so it wasn't even that bad I guess. I must be spoiled. Anyway, he did good, and we cantered around the whole arena, and he was staying a lot straighter on the rail and not even getting too chargey. I also felt really secure in the saddle, so that was nice (I wasn't flopping all around at least, haha).

As you can probably guess, he was bad picking up his right lead. Had our normal wrong lead departures, but we did finally get it. He was also good that way. Very similar to the left lead. Diane then had us do some simple changes across the diagonal (ended up doing one each way). We ended up following Tika, so it wasn't quite as smooth as I could have made them because I didn't want him to get too close to her back end. (I realize now I could have done and extra circle to put some distance between us.) But, it was also not a bad thing because when I went to pick up the other lead, he was a bit quicker about it because Tika was ahead of him and already cantering - but I did have to wait until she started before I asked, so we didn't have and problems. I will say that he felt really good going across the diagonal at the canter - he was straight! We might not have been 100%, but again, I was still trying to keep an eye on Tika and not get in her way.

We then got to chill out and watch Diane canter Rhythm before she made us work a bit on bending and getting them to move their hips out. This was a tough one for Nova, especially to the right because that's his bad side. He likes to just lean and fall into the circle. But, I was getting a bit of response from him (baby steps) to the right, and a better response to the left.

It was a good lesson, and I'm really happy to be riding english on him. Diane said we might start some trot poles/small x-rails with him soon and see how he does.

Dad was also nice enough to bring his camera down, so I got some shots from today. I think he's looking pretty good! But, I'm also pretty biased too.


June 20-26, 2009
Day 1
We left Saturday morning for the mountains! Of course, Nova was more interested in eating the yummy lawn grass than wondering who the strange horse calling from the trailer out at the circle. He loaded well, and was in the last stall of the trailer, as that's the way it worked out. As far as I know he travelled well the whole way down. It was cute the couple times we stopped (once to open all the windows, once to gas up/eat) he would call out. He unloaded well, and didn't even get very excited about the new environment of the campground. He wasn't too sure about the tie-stalls at first (he didn't want to walk all the way in), so I sat on the edge of the manger and just waited. He eventually came in and seemed to relax pretty quickly. He was on one end, beside Trapper. We gave them some hay and let them settle in. After supper we took them for a walk down to the river (which is a pretty decent walk), and he was pretty looky and walking pretty quickly! He didn't react as much as I thought about the river. But it did take him a little while before he decided that it was okay to drink from.

Some time before we took them for water, Nova managed to do the impossible. Or, well, not so impossible I guess. He managed to unclip himself (not untie, unclip the clip on his leadrope), turn around, then turn back around and be standing like an angel when we went back down. I'm thinking he must have managed to catch it on something and pull it open... I'm still not sure how he managed that!

Day 2
This was our first day of riding. It was cloudy and cool out, and had rained most of the night before - I was not pleased. Nova was toasty warm under his blanket, so at least one of us was warm! He stood ok being tied to the trailer. Unfortunately, a couple people were leaving right as we were tacking up, so there was some trailers moving, horses being loaded, and just a bit of action going on. He stood ok for me to tack him up, but I could tell he was pretty 'up' when I got on him. We jigged through camp out to the trail head. Of course, having two dogs come running out of their campsite and attack Shauni was not very helpful. He was very jiggy on the first part of the trail (ugh), but he wasn't out of control. The first ride was basically an old road, so once we got out there, and Julie and Mom let us lead, he did settle down. He still tried to jog, but I was able to get through to him that walking was a better option. There was a lot of puddles on the trail which he was definitely not very pleased about. I let him go around most of them to save myself some hassle. I did get tired of getting wet legs from the branches brushing my pants, so he did have to walk through some of them. He was not happy, but after following Trapper/Rhythm through a few of them, he was doing better. We had to cross a bridge (big enough for cars) across the river, and Nova followed Trapper right across (literally plastered to Trap's butt). I think he didn't even know what he was doing until he was across it. The river was very loud right there because of a big of a rock face, so it was pretty scary.

Our lunch stop was short, just because of the cool weather. Nova was trying to get into trouble with Trapper because the two of them were grooming each other's necks, but then he started to try and bite him playfully... So he got moved away to a tree. Unfortunately when we bridled up again, we left right away and back down the same trail. So he got pretty hot and joggy. (If it's one thing I can't stand, it's a horse that jogs - so he managed to pick up the one bad habit that drives me nuts!) Even out front he wasn't settling down, so Mom had to ride first with Rhythm and keep her doing a slightly slower pace so he would settle down. It did work, and he did calm down and walk most of the way back to camp with very little jogging. On the way back across the river he followed Trapper again, but this time he noticed the water underneath him and got bug-eyed about that, but still walked across pretty nicely considering.

Along the trail there were a few very tiny streams for them to walk through, which was a good introduction for Nova to having to cross water that moves. He followed either Trapper or Rhythm across all of them, but that was ok!

I was frustrated with how joggy and excited he got, but in reality, he handled the ups and downs of the road very sanely. (You know, the cardinal rule is we walk up the hills, and down the hills.)

Day 3
This was Nova's first real river crossing day. It also dawned cloudy and cold. I wanted pictures of this big occasion, so our plan was for Julie to cross the river, then take pictures of Mom and I crossing. Well, that didn't work out as planned. Trapper crossed like a champ, but then Rhythm wanted no part of crossing. After a slight 'discussion' Mom got her across, but I couldn't get Nova in right after her, so we ended up hanging out on the one side by ourselves while they were on the other side. Nova was quite happy to stand there and not get wet. Julie was very nice and came back across to rescue me. She ended up coming over, going back halfway, then turning and coming back to try it again. Nova was not willing to even put his feet in the water, so I had to use the ties on my saddle to slap him a bit to encourage him. He did finally decide to go in, and we crossed right behind Trapper. (Poor Julie got a bit wet from Nova's splashing.) He went across well, and didn't scramble or stumble. A few minutes down the trail we had to cross another river, but it was broken up into three different sections. We followed behind Trapper again, and he did a lot better.

The trail then followed along the river. On our way out I spotted a wild horse (yes, literally wild) in the trees off to the side. Nova wasn't very concerned about it at all. We then turned onto a different trail - and well, it went up. Lots and lots of up! I was really proud of how well he did! He just dropped his head low and picked his way up. The trail wasn't bad at all, but there were points where he did have to watch where he put his feet. Just before we stopped for lunch, we did do some downhill and he did well with that.

Again we had a short lunch (this time because it actually started to rain on us), and again, Nova was pretty up when we started out again. Rhythm got to lead us again, and that did seem to help. It was frustrating when he forgot that we walk up the hills and he wanted to jog up them. But he did finally settle down for the most part. He had one bad moment where Rhythm got out of his zone, and he had a slight meltdown because she got too far away. Ohhh, that ticked me off to no end. Trapper was right behind him, and there was no reason for that. Other than that, he walked nicely down and picked his way when he needed to. It's nice to know he doesn't get excited about stuff like that.

In the same open meadow that I'd seen the wild horse on our way out, there were two standing in when we were on our way back. I don't think Nova got excited about them, but he got jiggy when the other two passed us and so I decided to get off and walk him. He did better crossing the river on the way back - he's getting the hang of that water pushing on his legs!

Day 4
This day was a pretty easy day. We were going to ride up the road to a trailhead (to avoid the part of the trail that is nasty - long and a very steep up). As we were going along, Nova was dogging it pretty bad. So we ended up turning back early thinking he was tired and we didn't want to push him too much. We did have to pass a herd of cows that were on the side of the road, and Nova did really well. We were behind Trapper, who could have cared less about the cattle, so I think Nova took his lead from him. He was alert but wasn't tense. (He has been pastured beside cows at my aunt's house, but that's different than riding beside them.)

Not really anything else to say, as it was sort of a 'lazy' day.

Day 5
This was our unexpectedly big day. Friends from Calgary were supposed to haul out and ride with us, but something happened and they were unable to make it. I'm kind of glad about that because I wasn't looking forward to the chaos that two new horses would add to the group. We were originally just going to ride down a different old road to a different 'camp' and then come back. But, due to some 'errors' that I'm not sure were not intentional, we ended up on the trail that we were thinking about taking. Nova had to cross the river a couple of times, and he was doing much better!

(On our way along the road, we actually saw a herd of wild horses come out of the bush onto the trail a short ways infront of us. There were two foals in the group. Once they spotted us they took off down the trail away from us. Nova got a bit excited, but after about a minute of not being able to see them, he settled right back down again and could have cared less.)

Anyway, the trail after we rode along the valley on the road, then crossed a river, went up. Lots and lots and lots of up. I could tell Nova was a bit more tired as he was willingly stopping on his own for 'puff breaks'. The trail wasn't too bad - the footing was good. At one point we stopped for a picture, and Nova did not want to stand still. So much for being tired!!

We stopped for lunch at a really nice spot with a great view. Of course, Nova was being a brat and pawing and moving around the tree, trying to eat grass, etc. Basically acting not the least bit tired, and nothing like he does at home.

As this was a loop, we continued on after lunch. Nova still got excited (the little button-presser), but managed to stay calm enough that I didn't threaten to send him for dogfood. The trail after lunch got very wet and muddy. The ground is good under the mud, so they were only sinking about fetlock deep in most of it - so nothing very bad. I was proud of how Nova did through it all. I know how much he hates mud, but when I directed him to go through the middle of it (or over enough to get around tree branches) he did and didn't fuss about it (nor did he get any more excited). After doing some trail searching for the unmarked shortcut, we climbed a bit more. He wasn't completely settled, but he was doing okay.

After the climb we came to the downhill. Holy moly. We actually didn't even attempt it, and got off and lead the horses down it. It was very, very steep. Nova did well, but he kept wanting to walk faster than me. At least he didn't walk on me. (I don't blame him, because it was a tough down with some loose rocks/ground.) After the worst of it we fixed my saddle and we got on to ride the rest of the way down. It was much better after that. He felt like he wanted to trot down some of it, but with just a light touch of the reins he was walking and going nicely.

At the bottom we had to cross the river again, and this time he went first! I didn't even have to encourage him much at all. It was a nice crossing, and the river wasn't too deep, but I was still pretty proud of him. We then joined back up with the old road, and had a long hot walk back towards camp.

There was one point when I got very upset about him and his jogging. Trapper was ahead of us and got a bit 'far away' and Nova had a meltdown. After some cussing and some circles, and very seriously threatening to send him for dogfood, Julie put Trapper back behind and Nova was okay. I was not happy about that because it didn't solve anything, it just stopped the problem. It was probably for the best, but I really wanted to have it out and solve the issue, because it really does tick me off. (Especially when the other horse is right behind him, so he's not alone at all.) He was good for the rest of the ride back. He wasn't even nervous of the people on bikes that passed us.

When we got back to the camp, Julie took Trapper along the trail while Mom and I stuck to the road through camp. Nova got excited and started to jog, so I decided to keep him jogging and keep pushing him into it. We went slow, and we jogged almost all the way back to the stalls. He wanted to stop a few times, but I kept him going. When I did ask for a walk he gladly walked. Of course, we were ahead of Rhythm and back at camp, but it made me feel good to have made him do something he didn't want to. Haha.

Day 6
After the 'killer' of a day before, and this was our last day to ride, we kept it easy. I've forgot to mention but after the first day we kept things very low-key as we were leaving camp. I would mount up first and walk around and get Nova paying some attention, or we would all walk for a couple minutes down the road and then get on - it worked well. This day we rode out on the same trail we did on the first day - in a much more respectable way! Calm and nice. We went down the same old road again, and this time we played our 'leaf game'. It's a game we created to ease the boredom of the trail sometimes. We take leaves off of the branches along the trail and then throw them at the other person. It may sound like a terrible game, but I think it's actually a good thing for the horses. They get used to us leaning over to grab branches, moving amongst the group, and having things flying through the air around them. Nova's great at this game, and could care less about leaves flying around him/by his head.

It wasn't very far down the road where we turned off on this other trail. Wow. It went way up in a hurry - complete with switch-backs. This was the most rocky trail we'd been on all week. Nova really did have to pay attention to where he was putting his feet. There were a couple steep downs where he had to step over the roots and rocks and again, he didn't get excited about it. We did turn around and come back (the trail was a dead-end trail anyway), and ended up walking them down the last bit because it was pretty steep. Nova did better about walking behind/beside me and was more willing to be slow.

Back on the old road we once again played around with the leaf game, and we actually got all our horses to walk side by side so we could hold hands. I was so proud of Nova as we were in the middle, and I didn't have my hands on the reins, and he didn't even break into a trot or fall behind.

The wind came up pretty badly just as we were almost back. We'd decided to ride in a different way and come through the people camp and then back into our camp. Nova got a bit excited about the wind blowing up his butt - but I don't blame him as it was pretty wicked. Once we were into the other camp and in the trees it was a lot better. We did just beat the mini-storm that blew up just after we got back and unsaddled - whew.

Day 7
Home day. We had pulled the horses out of their stalls for a final cleaning, and I had Nova tied to the hitching rail with Rhythm and Trapper. For some stupid reason he freaked out (I don't know if he got his head under the rope or what), and pulled back. I expected the rail to break, but it didn't. I was screaming at him, and he finally stopped pulling (and thankfully Rhythm only pulled back once and came forward). Of course, he managed to get the back of his halter over his ear and it was pinned down against his head. It was so tight that Mom and Julie had a hard time slipping the throat piece back so the rest would slide back. (The halter wasn't on loose, but obviously it was just loose enough to do that. I did tighten it up to the last hole after that.) He had made it all week without a single pull-back, and I was hopeful, and then this. He is definitely spending a lot of time tied to the hitching rail with the rope halter on now. Not really sure why at 4 he decided that pulling was okay, but he's going to learn at 4 that it's a really stupid idea.

Nothing else much to say, other than Nova loaded well, travelled well, and then when we stopped for lunch somehow managed to destroy his feed manger. No idea how he did it, but he's not getting one again! I can't afford to keep replacing them.

He got a bit excited when we dropped Trapper off and he had to stay in the trailer, but it was more just slightly impatient pawing than anything. He unloaded well at home, and instead of dropping to roll when we turned him loose at home... He ran down to the grass and started to eat. Silly boy!! As if he hasn't spent most of his time the last week stuffing his face with as much hay as he can handle.

It might have sounded that I wasn't very happy with Nova through this trip, but I actually was. He handled everything that we threw at him with his usual level-headed self. Didn't get worked up about the river crossings or the up and down hills, or anything else. He couldn't have behaved any better that way. He just could have not picked up stupid excited jogging!

May 1, 2009
Nova hasn't been ridden since the last lesson - darn weather!

Anyway, we had another lesson today. As it was on a weekday, I was by myself going down, and because it was also pretty breezy, I decided to walk him down instead of ride. He walked down nicely by himself, so I'm thinking that maybe the couple times with the chain reminded him to act his age. (I haven't used the chain the last few times - it's just been hooked on the bottom ring as a lead just in case.)

I'm so happy with how patient Nova is. I had him bridled and ready to go, and Diane was still chatting with us. I eventually got tired of standing (haha), so I mounted up, and we stood for probably another 5 or so minutes before the lesson started. The most he moved, was to check out Diane's jacket after she threw it over the rail of the fence, but otherwise he chilled out and stood like a rock. Of course, it helps that there's really nothing exciting in the arena to make him want to move.

We started off walking a few laps in half the arena, and of course, he was relaxed and easy going. He felt really nice and was listening well to the reins and legs. Still was a bit iffy on his inside bend to the right, but not bad. We then picked up the trot and after a lap or so Diane asked me to get him moving out a bit more - his fall-back trot is really a lazy trot (where he doesn't really track up or anything). So I started to ask him to pick it up, and he did. Actually, he sort of woke up and after that his trot was almost fast! We then did a couple 20m circles to the left, and he listened well and it felt so good!

Diane also had me work on getting Nova to drive from behind, but also soften a little and drop his head at the trot. (As we can see from the pictures, at the walk he naturally carries his head very level, and we just want that at the trot too.) He was pretty good, but obviously somewhat resistant to my hands were holding the reins firmly. He did drop nicely a few times, so I think he'll soon figure out what we want.

While we were going around, Diane sort of tossed 'pick up the canter at the next corner' at me. Well, of course, we blow it and he picks up the wrong lead. He was doing what he did last year a few times, falling to the inside and picking up the wrong lead. So I got after him and he got thumped on pretty good with my right leg and had to do some tight circles to the right. He picked up the wrong lead once more, but after going another lap, he picked up the right lead beautifully! Like, I was sitting, picked up my inside rein, asked with my left leg and he instantly picked it up. It felt really good. We went around nicely, a little quick, but he listened nicely and we actually ended up doing a smaller circle and he felt good while we went around! He was listening, didn't run through the aids, and neither did he fall in or out of it. As we were coming off the circle and back onto the rail, he slowed down nicely, which also felt so good. As usual, he listened nicely and dropped down to a trot and then a walk calmly.

After we switched directions (to the left), I kept Nova walking for a minute or so while Diane worked with Helga on cantering - I just didn't want to add more confusion or get in the way. So when I picked up the trot, I ended up asking him for a canter in the next corner and he was an allstar and picked it up instantly and smoothly. Have I mentioned before how much I loooooove his canter transitions?! Anyway, he was also a bit quick this way - I think he was feeling spunky today - so Diane had me work on asking him to come 'more together'. Same as we did at the trot, hold and ask him to slow and come down, while keeping my leg and seat on him to keep him going forward. He acted similarly to what he did at the trot, but we did have some success on getting him to slllooooowwww down. We also did some smaller circles and again he felt pretty balanced.

Diane called it a day for us after that, because we ended on a good note. So I pulled him into the middle of the arena to watch while she worked with Helga. I have decided that I absolutely love that Nova is too lazy to be bad! It's much more work to try and get out of doing the work than it is to do it well and stop sooner. And who says all boys are dumb? (Haha, I know I've said it before, but today he was definitely the smarter of the two!)

May 8, 2009
Well, Nova was great to tack up and walk down to the arena. Stood wonderfully while I mounted, and hung out nicely while Diane was chatting with us and we were waiting for Helga to finish lunging. Once we started, we walked around the arena for part way and then we picked up the trot. Well, holy moly! Nova was full of himself! For I think the first time ever, he was actually trying to break into a canter while at the trot. And not just once or twice, but numerous times. Diane was happy with how he was tracking up... Too bad he does that when he's trying to run away with me! Haha. After a bit though he did settle down - he was still quick, but he was happy with just trotting. I think his lungs had a chat with his brain and he decided to do what was being asked. Diane then had us doing big circles in each end, and then start going across the diagonals. I was very pleased with how straight he was! We had a couple semi-wiggley lines, but mostly we were very straight and it just felt amazing.

Diane didn't waste much time, so after we were all warmed up we went into the canter work. Of course, when we were trotting to the right, Nova always broke into a left lead canter... So when we started off with a left lead canter... He gave me the right lead! Bah. Silly boy. But we did get the lead, and he was, as usual, so quick to pick it up. He does it with no running into it at all now! I'll ask and he instantly picks up a lead - maybe not always the right one, but he does give a lead. I think that's the biggest challenge of training, so we have that, once he's 100% on the leads, we'll be golden. Anyway, he was spunky so he was cantering faster than usual, but still not totally out of control. He was also listening well, as we were sort of cantering around and trying to dodge Helga and Tika at the same time. So we did some smaller circles and some bigger circles. He was pretty much the same to the right as well.

All in all, he was good. Not as fantastic as some times, but still very good! We did the most cantering we've ever done, and he was very good about that. I think we'll have it all come together pretty soon!

May 10, 2009
We went for a ride today, and Nova was awesome. (Hmmm... Wonder how often I post that!?)

As we were leaving the yard, he was a bit quick down the driveway, so I stopped him at the end, and he stood well, even when Rhythm went right past us in a hurry. After we decided where to go, we continued up the hill, and I stopped him and turned him to see Tiko running across the pasture. He spotted him, and all was good. Then Dad and Grandma came over the hill in the car and stopped beside us. So Nova poked his nose in the car to say 'hi' to my grandma. We then continued on and decided to go down the lakefront because it was such a nice day.

But before we could get there, we had to brave the big scary, neon orange, cement block sitting in the middle of the trail. It is the first time Nova has had to walk past it, and he was leading. He did some go forward, go back, eyeball it, snort at it, go forward, stop, stare, etc. But he did go all the way up, sniff it and walk past it with no problem. Once we got onto the lakefront there were some people right there, so he got a bit excited, but was still walking nicely - just excited. Then of course, we spot a Canadian goose! Thankfully that goose just wandered away from us. But then we saw two more and they took off away from us. He just lifted his head and watched them. On the point we stopped to discuss where to go from there, and Nova was being a bit fussy about not standing. I backed him up a few times after he tried to walk forward, and he finally decided to just stand. He stood wonderfully until we walked off.

When we went to leave the lakefront, we had to go up this path - on the left is a bunch of trees, on the right is a new house with a retaining wall. Poor Boog was not happy about leading up there. He was very snorty and nervous about it all! But we went, and we did it first. We even walked between the scary big rocks at the end of the path. I was so happy with him! He may be scared, but he has yet to totally refuse to go past something - which is awesome.

We then walked down the road and towards the range road. I stopped and got off of him before we reached the range road, because we were going to ride down it, and I decided to walk him along there just in case he got really excited about all the cars going past him (above him slightly on the road, and going somewhere around 80km/hr). Well, I think he raised his head when the first one passed, and then he totally ignored the rest. So, after a bit further down I decided to get back on. He stood like a rock, and we stood and watched a few vehicles go past before we started off again. He could have cared less about all the vehicles!!! I was so super happy about that, because he'd been so 'scared' of the cars in the village going slowly past him when we first started riding him last year. Anyway, he was really good.

We then turned and went through Spring Hills. Everything there was great, and there wasn't even a single dog that ran out at us! Yay. I pretty much just let him have his head all the way through there. Loose rein, and he just sauntered down the road with his head down and without a care in the world (even when we were second). Actually, now that I think of it, he was pretty much exactly like that the rest of the way home. Nothing exciting happened, and he was nice and relaxed. That's the best feeling ever! To have him be so relaxed and feel so mature. Ahhhh, that's my boy.

May 11, 2009
I know I've said this numerous times before, but Nova is a keeper.

After yesterdays ride, I decided that he was going to be pretty calm today and so I decided to ride him down to the arena. He didn't disappoint - he was awesome. Head down, relaxed walk, coulda cared less about everything (even the big garbage cans that he almost walked my foot into - twice...). Once we got to the arena I was letting him eat some grass outside of it while Helga was inside lunging Tika. I was going to wait for Diane to come and open the gate so I wouldn't have to get off, but then got brave and decided that Nova and I could do the gate ourselves! So I walked him up beside it, stopped, reached over and unlatched it, then slowly swung it open towards us, he turned his haunches away from it nicely and I then pushed it the rest of the way open and we walked through. I then did a circle and had him facing alongside the fence and leaned way over and caught part of the gate to swing it back into place. He stood, but when I asked him to just move up so I could latch it again, he was fussy and wouldn't get near the gate, so I ended up having to do a large circle and come at it from the other direction. He stopped, stood, and I latched the gate. Of course he got a cookie for that! It wouldn't win us any prizes in a trail class, but heck, I didn't have to get off!

We then chilled in the middle watching Helga and Tika while waiting for Diane. Nova pretty much uses any time we stop in the arena for nap time, so he could have cared less. Once Diane showed up and we started the lesson, the clouds had come up and a bit of windy, but it was still really warm out. We started off by walking approximately a 20m circle and worked on having him bend. First to the inside, then to the outside. He did really well. He'd fuss with his head, chew on the bit, and do everything but nicely give me his eye and nostril... But then suddenly he'd relax and give it to me. What I was impressed with is how well he actually could bend to the outside, and still keep a (semi) circle going! We went both ways and he was the same - fuss a bit, then go 'ok' and give me a nice bend.

We had just started trotting, when the wind really picked up. So he got a bit worked up over that - and he did not like the plastic Safeway bag that blew past the arena. He stopped, stared, and was tense, but didn't spook. After we continued on he kept gawking outside the arena at that corner. So I kept cutting it slightly (my choice) to get his attention back and get an inside bend. In all honesty I don't remember much of what I was doing and what he was doing, other than I was trying to keep a bend and he wasn't doing too badly. This is because the wind had really come up and it even started to rain slightly. The wind kept getting worse until Nova finally spooked slightly turned so he was in line with the wind, and planted his feet! I don't blame him because it was really ugly out. I did get off and talked with Diane and Helga for a minute. Then the wind died down somewhat, and we got back on... And then the wind gusted again, so we got off and decided to call it a lesson. (Of course, by the time we were out of the arena the sun had come out, and it's still shining right now. Boo.) I walked him home just because I was already off and I wasn't sure what the weather was going to do, so he got off lucky.

Diane was complimenting Nova and I and how we had some super awesome moments during the lesson, so while I might not remember it right now, I suppose we were doing something right during it!

May 15, 2009
Another successful lesson.

I suppose I can skip over how great Nova is to tack up and lead down (this time because I brought Rhythm along for Diane to ride). So, I'll skip it!

We started off walking both horses around the whole arena, and Nova was his usual self - head down just motoring along. After a few rounds we picked up the trot... And the race began. Well, he seemed to think he was in a race or something. Again, he kept trying to break into a canter and was just so fast and not really listening. He did slow down and start to listen, after a little while. We then cantered both ways. He was fast, leaning, and just wasn't as good as I know he can be. But that said, we did finish off the canter on a good note and it felt as if he was slowing and carrying himself a bit better. (I think I'm going to ask Diane if for the next lesson if we can not canter, just so he doesn't get so racey - unless he's being fantastic and we can just flow into it. He's just getting to worked up over it now.)

We did end the lesson on a really good note though. We worked first at the walk and then at a trot (jog really) about getting him to drop his head and start to come up through his back. It took awhile, and as Diane said, they all do the 'let's toss our head up, down, to the side, chew on the bit like a maniac, and repeat' before finally starting to come down and realize that my hands are a lot softer when he brings his head down. I had a hard time keeping him actually moving forward because he really wanted to just slow right down and go more up and down than forward, with his head in the air. But, I perservered and we got it! He was really starting to come down, and I could totally feel it in the way he moved. Obviously he's not very steady at it, but I was getting more than a couple strides out of him before he had to pop up and hollow out again - it was more like a quarter to a half of the circle. Diane was very proud of us, and told us to call it a day. I have hopes that he'll pick this up and be able to hold himself better as he gets stronger because he naturally walks with his head nice and level - so hopefully we can get him to trot and canter like that as well!

So, I was frustrated with him at the start, but we ended up on a good note. And Diane didn't even have to hop on (though, I would have loved if she had hopped on him and ridden him around) to get him to work through that.


May 23, 2009
Today we hauled Nova and Rhythm to the Blackfoot Grazing Reserve to go for a ride! For the record, this is Nova's first time being hauled away from home for a ride.

He loaded well this morning - though Mom gave him a light tap with her hand to speed up the process (otherwise he'd gladly hang with his head in the trailer for 5 minutes before casually hopping up). Mom said they rode well on the way (about an hour and a half trip), but we did notice that one/both of them didn't like going under the overpasses.

He was last horse in, so the first to unload. He backed out so nice and calm - slow even. He looked around at first but stayed relaxed. (There were a few other trailers around, and other horses still there as well.) We tied them to the hitching rail and he was still pretty chill. It was when a guy came into the parking lot with his team of horses pulling a wagon that got Nova going. They were on the other side, but once he spotted them he became anxious. I'm not sure if it's because he's never seen a wagon before, or because he realized that there were other horses around. The wagon left again a few minutes later, but he still stayed a bit hyped up. (He seemed to get more nervous when he couldn't see one of us, even though Rhythm was tied right beside him - she of course, was totally relaxed.)

We saddled him together - Mom put the pad on, then I put the saddle on. He danced a little bit while I was fussing with the pad and stuff, but once I got it done up he was okay. Then while Mom was packing the saddle bags, I untied him and let him walk out from behind the trailer to look around a bit, hoping he'd relax. We brought them over to the trailer tackroom door to bridle, and I sort of expected a bit of fuss because it's not his favourite thing and because he was distracted - but he was good! Good as he was at home usually (or even better).

When I went to mount, Mom came and just stood near his head, and he stood like a rock for me. We then stood before I asked him to walk off. We followed Mom over so she could mount from a stump, and he stood nicely while she was mounting. I was very happy about this! We then had to walk through the parking lot, and between a truck and a gate before we were on the trail (road). He did well and was only a little looky. Literally 20 feet out of the parking lot, he put his head down and was the Nova I know and love!

We had a lot of ditch riding between the pastures for the first half of the ride, and he was great. He followed the little trail on the side of the road, and was great about being second horse. We had a couple little spooks - you know the scary culverts or ROCKS! But they were just eyeballing the scary object, or if it surprised him, a small jump sideways. But for probably 95% of the time, I had my hand on the buckle and was just so relaxed.

We then stopped for lunch, and because of where it was, we had to tie them to the fence and then go through the gate to eat (no horses on the other side because of a non-equestrian trail there). Nova was good, and was being his goofy rope-chewing self for the most part. But then something freaked him out and he jumped back, and pulled a little, so we jumped up and started to go around to do something. But before we could do that, he pulled again and the clamp on the lead gave and he got loose. Rhythm also pulled a bit, but came forward when we yelled. So I went and grabbed Nova and we tied the rope onto the clip and tied him back up and he was ok for the rest of the meal (though we didn't take too much longer to finish).

We then did a saddle pad adjustment on Nova, rebridled, and then walked them just a bit down the trail because we knew we had to go through a gate, so we saved ourselves a bit of hassle. Just before we got to the gate, a gentleman came through the gate (his horse has done that at time or two!) and rode past us. Of course Nova got all big and excited about that! So we go through the gate and then mount up and pose for a picture (to prove I left the parking lot for sure). He was a bit antsy because he could still see the horse going down the road.

Then true to form, he settled right down again when we started off. Because back on the road we'd done a bit of trotting and I'd asked and let him canter up a couple gentle slopes (he was being so good, so he got to canter), he kind of thought he should try and trot up the hills on the trail. He didn't get away with it of course. I'm very happy with how well he went down every hill! He slowed and went nicely on a loose rein (only I think twice did he think about trying to trot). I'd definitely rather him try to run up the hill than down it! And like on the road, I was riding him on a loose rein the entire time except for hills when I'd take up a bit just so I could stop him from going up too fast.

We ended up passing two small groups (three horses each) of people on our way back. The minute he spotted these horses he grew a few inches and got all prancey. The first group we were a short ways behind Rhythm, and I figured for sure he was going to just dance into the other horses (as in, ignoring me), but he didn't. He stayed on his side of the trail and did his best to look impressive, haha. The second group we were right up with Rhythm, so he was a little better and less of a chance to be so silly. Of course after they passed he settled down immediately.

This next picture shows a part of the trail where the trail goes between two ponds/sloughs. There's one small part that's slightly narrower and Nova eyeballed it but kept walking. Mom hung back for a picture of us going across it.

This is me on the other side looking back to make sure Mom is coming. The thought running through my head at this point is, "Oh shoot, she still has the camera out!" As you can tell, Nova is a wild man and I have concentrate a lot on him!

The rest of the ride was very nice and uneventful. We went off the big trail at one point and followed this single trail out onto a 'ridge' by a pond and rode around it. He stepped over the logs on the trail! I was happy about that because he didn't even think about fussing about having to pick up his feet. And again, when we came down the hill, he walked down slowly and on a totally loose rein! Woot! We ended up having to come back a little ways on the road we went in on, and by then Nova was tired. He wasn't putting any extra effort into his walk (but was still listening to me if I gave him a direction) - but I don't blame him! It was a warm day and a long ride for him.

He was so much more relaxed when we got back to the trailer (probably tired!). We untacked, I brushed him, let him go crazy rubbing head head on the brush, and gave him some cookies. We then led them over to where the tap was and got some water for them. At first Nova didn't want to put his head in the bucket, but of course he really wanted to after Rhythm had her head in it. But when we filled it again, he dove in and had a good drink.

Then as we were resting a bit before loading them up to come home, a lady was walking past with three little girls. I asked if they wanted to pet the horses because I heard one of them get excited about seeing them. The girls were very good and Nova made some new friends. He's always so good about standing for people to pet him. (He was even good with the tiny, tiny little girl the mom was holding [she was probably 1-2 yrs old].)

He loaded up better, no encouragement needed and rode home nicely as well. I think he was happy to get out back at home and go for a big drink when we put him back in the pasture!

ETA: Looking at the pictures, if I'd known his back cinch was that loose, I'd have tightened it - but I know it was tigher when I did it up initially!

So, I am SO PROUD of him!! As Mom said, no one would have known it was his first time 'off the farm' for a ride. He was truly a champ. I was expecting him to be good, but he was actually even better than I planned on! I love him.


May 29, 2009
Nope, no lesson. Haven't had one in awhile because of scheduling conflicts! I really hope we can get one or two in next week.

But today was still a big day for Nova. He has his first set of shoes put on!! He officially all grown up now. Haha. He was better behaved about it than I thought he would be. I figured he'd get pretty fussy when the farrier started to hammer the shoes on. But he did well. Not 100% perfect, but well enough that the farrier commented on how he was pretty good. He did manage to yank his foot away, twice, JUST as the farrier was done nailing, so of course we had to have a discussion and he'd pick the foot back up and fuss with it a bit more. The farrier also said that he's got a brain in his head - I think he doubted me when I said Nova could be better than Rhythm for the shoes because he only sees the ADD side of Nova that comes out for trims, and not the absolutely wonderful side that's out for most everything else! So I think Nova surprised him with how well he actually did do. (I might have practiced some, but I also thought I'd have more time before the shoes went on, but the farrier is leaving for work for the month of June so it was now or never.)


May 31, 2009
We went for a ride today and tried out Nova's new shoes!

I will admit that I didn't really want to go, and went because Mom really wanted to. Mostly because it was crazy windy out. But, I put my big-girl panties on and told myself that Nova doesn't get stupid in the wind (as I witnessed in one of our previous lessons with the storm that blew in) and went out.

All in all, he was really well behaved for the whole ride. He had a few moments of excitement, of course, but they were short lived. We went through Spring Hills and into the field out back and tried the trail through the trees. Unfortunately we had to turn back around because of a tree that was down too far for the horses to go under it, and too much brush and deadfall to go around it. But, Nova has proved that he can step over tall logs! He went over one that was higher than my knees - and he did it without hesitation. I'd gotten off while we were trying to find a way around the tree, so I asked him to come back across it while leading him. He was so careful about it and didn't get upset with how high it was, even when he brushed his legs against it. So proud! He also went over numerous other logs of various heights without problem. We also got to practice some hill work. He did well on the downhills (woot, he's learning that going slow is good), and on the uphills as well (he's using his bum!). He still has to work on going through/over ground that isn't dry. There was one spot that was barely damp and he was like, "OMG!" about it - but did go through with just slight encouragement.

We then went through the rest of Spring Hills, and he was very chill about it. We then went down the ditch to get back to our entrance, and he was good. A bit excited, and he did 'scoot' a bit when a couple vehicles passed us from behind, but it didn't escalate and all was good. He was fine the rest of the way home, and we even had a nice canter up the hill towards our driveway (I asked for it).

As a treat, he got to graze on the lawn for over an hour when we got back. I think that makes having to work worth it!

April 7, 2009
Nova walks on water!!! .... Wait, I mean, through water. Though I'm sure he'd rather walk on it...

Anyway, back to the beginning. He seemed pretty spunky tonight as I was leading him up from the pasture, so I was doubting my idea to ride him down to the arena. But, he stood like a dream to tack up, and mount, and actually on the way down there he was my good boy. Head down, just sauntering down the road like the Nova I know and love.

Got to the arena, and his reaction was sort of like, 'oh gross, mud...' There's still a layer of snow (slush) over most of it, and the footing is really wet, but still not that bad considering. So we spent our time wandering around down there making tracks all over. I wasn't asking him of too much - mostly just to go where I pointed him and not asking for any bending. He was very good, nice and relaxed. I did ask him to walk through the corner of the arena that has a huge puddle in it. He was not very pleased about that decision! He wasn't scared of it, but more like, 'I'm going to be passive resistant about this and hopefully you'll give up.' (Which for him is, I can thump on him all I want and he really could care less. I did gently 'slap' him with the ties on the back of the saddle to encourage him - which seemed to unstick his feet and he'd go forward.) But I did get him over/through it about five times.

After some more wandering around we decided to head home, and he was of course, absolutely wonderful on the way back. I was commenting to Mom how much I hope that with some training that I'll be able to keep his head and neck as level at the trot/canter as he naturally holds it when he's walking.

It's days like this that I am just so totally in love with him. Makes up for the last few times when he's decided to 'act his age' when I'm on him. Which I can't say is even that bad at all, but when he's perfect most of the time it just seems worse.

April 12, 2009
Well, as it is gorgeous outside today - now that spring is here, we decided to go out for a ride. I decided to take Nova, and was hoping for a very nice relaxing ride........ As it turns out, parts of it were relaxing, and parts were pretty adrenaline filled!

Things started off quite well, as he was awesome as always for tacking up. I'm getting my english reins lengthened so I had to use my trail riding reins today. I also put on a new running martingale on him (one of those cheap rope ones), which I think made him look pretty snazzy. Mounted and walked down the driveway and up the hill very relaxed, which made me happy. Last year he liked to try and race up the hill and got kind of excited.

When we got to the path out to the lakefront, we had an unexpected surprise. Rhythm had been ahead of us and had stopped and looked in the direction of the trail with her ears pricked, but I didn't see anything so let Nova just pass her. Well, about four steps after passing her I look over, and just down the trail are two random dogs standing on it. Not sure what happened, but about a split second after that Nova is doing some fancy moves to get the heck outta there! He leapt forward and sideways and spun and who knows what else. But thankfully neither him or Rhythm got away on us, and I got him stopped and turned around to face the dogs, who were now standing at the end of the trail by the road. Nova still thinks they're monsters, so when they walked onto the road he did a jump sideways and was watching them with buggy eyes. After a few moments, Mom rode Rhythm up to I think try and see if the dogs would move off and leave Shauni (my dog) alone. They didn't move off, but weren't aggressive either. Nova then got brave and walked up to one to sniff at it, before we turned and continued on our way. I have to admit my heart was still beating pretty quickly.

So just down the road and around the corner is a dog we knew was there. She's on a cable and can run back and forth. It worked out well, because we walked up so they could see her, and she started to bark at them so they knew what she was before she moved (because the cable makes noise on the rope when she moves) and Nova wasn't even that worried about her. Which is great considering we had quite the scare not even 5 minutes before that.

He did well after that, did stop and take a look at some other dogs that were in a pen barking at us, but passed by them without issue. The next thing we see a little ways down the road are two young boys on pedal bikes. They were great and stopped when Mom asked them, and waited before quietly riding off after we were past. But of course at the same time as Nova's kind of eyeing up the bikes and these kids, there's another dog that's barking and coming through some trees at us. Thankfully that dog was barking a lot so they weren't scared of her (and as Rhythm was between him and the dog). So he didn't even react to the dog or the bikes.

Then, of course we come to the range road and had to stop and wait while some vehicles went past us. I was so happy when he didn't get nervous as they drove past (at probably 80km/hr) - as he had gotten very excited and nervous during the winter (though I think it was because of the noise of the tires on the snow/slush). We crossed the road and continued on into Spring Hills. He did really great and was walking with his head down and was nice and relaxed - it felt AWESOME! If he went along like that all the time, I could die a happy, happy girl. He truly felt like an old packer gelding just goin' along.

Today Nova got to meet the two mini's that live in Spring Hills. It's highly amusing to me that every one of our horses thinks the mini's are the scariest things! Nova was standing on the road watching these two little ones trot up to the fence and poke their heads between the boards. Just watching. Then Mom rode Rhythm up (who has seen and sniffed them before), and Nova wanted to go up, but was pretty unsure. Did the 'head up, three steps forward, stop, stare, two steps, stop stare, and repeat', but he did go right up and sniff at them. They are just adorable and very friendly, though one was being a bit saucy and tried to nip Nova's nose once. I was happy that when we turned to leave (Mom did hang back for an extra couple moments) that Nova didn't try to race away like they were going to eat him.

After that, he ended up falling behind Rhythm as we continued on, and he didn't even care, which was great!! Means he's not totally set on being first horse. He actually walked behind her the rest of the way back to the range road, and was nice and relaxed the entire way. We again had to wait while about 4 vehicles drove past us again, and he did very well. Got a bit tense once, but didn't jump or do anything, and when we went across the road he walked calmly across. Of course Stewie the mini donkey was watching us from his pasture, so Nova and Rhythm had to stare at him for a minute, but he walked on nicely after.

Different people have moved into Stewie's old home (he's at a different house now), and they have three great danes. It was kind of amusing when they came running, Nova stopped, looked at them and let out a very loud snort. We then were watching the dogs, and their people came over to the gate, so when the people showed up Nova wanted to walk over and see them. So I just let him, as the people were friendly and chatty. The lady then lifted a young boy up to pet Nova, and he was all over that. And I was so happy when he just ignored the one dane that was barking and snarling at him as we got up to the gate. He stood like a dream for the lady to pet him and was very cute and friendly. After a few more minutes we said goodbye and continued on our way. There's one straight stretch of road, so we did a bit of a trot. I did a sitting trot the whole way, with a nice loose rein and he kept a nice relaxed pace. The rest of the ride went perfectly and he was just the nice, loose-rein, head down, relaxed walk. Again, I can't say enough how much I love it when he walks like that.

I do have to say that this ride today has completely restored my faith that Nova is really a good boy, and those few rides where he was a bit stupid (but no where near dangerous or anything) were just because he's young and was feeling frisky. He really and truly is an awesome horse! He was totally worth the 2+ year wait to ride him. I was on cloud nine when I got home and he got lots of cookies for being so good!

April 18, 2009
Today was the first lesson of the year! And of course, Nova was awesome.

I have a video clip of the lesson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAYmovwAFpU

At the start I was walking Nova in an 'oval' shape while Diane was talking to me about stuff. Well, after a few minutes, Tika got loose from being lunged and took off like a lunatic across the arena. I stopped Nova, and as Tika was running towards us, I kept hoping that she wouldn't try to kick us on her way past. She ran past fine, and Nova stood, but he did shuffle sideways because the line she was dragging behind her went past us. After I did get off, just to stay safe. He was completely fine when I mounted back up a minute later and we continued on.

After that, we moved to the other end of the arena so I could start to trot. Diane made a comment about how it would be okay if he goes fast (excited) at the trot, but to try and keep a steady pace... Well, after about a lap, she was suggesting 'kicking him up' to a faster pace. Haha, yep, that's my Nova! He's a wee bit on the lazy side. We worked mainly on getting him to take an inside bend on the corners, and he was actually doing not bad. We'd just barely started doing that last fall, so I was happy with how he was going - even to his bad side (right).

After about 5 laps in each direction, we went and started to do figure-eights in that half of the arena. Working on getting him to turn lightly, and with a bit of a bend, of course. Well, that was the best he's ever turned for me!! What you can't really see in the video is how well he was listening to the rein aids and was going really nicely. He was truly a rockstar.

Then, Diane asked if I wanted to leave him on that good note, or canter him. Well, duh, I wanted to canter! So off we went to the left. When I sat and asked for it, he sucked back but gave me a few strides, then broke. I asked again, and he did the same thing. So we went one more round at the trot and then I asked again, and I got it and he continued on. After a couple of laps we broke to a trot, then walked, then Diane suggested we go again. So we picked up our trot and I asked again, he was still a bit hesitant, so I gently tapped him with the ties on the saddle (as you can see in the video) and he picked it up right away. He felt nice and relaxed that way - much like he did last fall. To the right, he was egar to pick it up (he must have remembered that cantering was fun!) and did well. He wasn't as relaxed this way, but I think he was excited from cantering the other way, and it's not his better side, so he might not be quite as comfortable going this way. But if felt good, was just faster than to the left.

So all in all, he was as awesome! I'm looking forward to working with him a lot over the summer. I think we'll make a lot of progress.