Update

I haven’t blogged much, lately. It’s the winter blues. I am so ready for spring. I am tired of riding in the arena and walking my dog in the dark after work. The snow is too deep and it is just too cold most of the time. It may be 40 degrees tomorrow, but they are predicting freezing rain.

I am tired of working, too. Oh, I am glad I have a job, but I am ready to retire. I chose a date. January 21, 2025. I have a goal, now. It seems like a long time, but as I get older, time just goes faster. It will be here in no time.

Anyway, Cruiser seems very sound. The farrier is coming out this week and I will have him put shoes on. I will then start riding him at a walk, only, for a few weeks. Well, I may try a trot just to see if he will trot sound while being ridden, but that is all. He is very, very energetic from the limited exercise. I’m sure he will be quite a handful, but I am used to it. He has been a handful for me for the last 21 years—I certainly don’t’ want that to change, now.

My other handful of a horse is settling down, beautifully. I have entirely quit lounging him before I ride him. I just lead him about for a few minutes to make sure he is of the right mind to ride. I figure I could always go back and get a lounge line if necessary.

Anyway, he is starting to transform into a horse I have only dreamed about. In just the last week, he went from a horse that continually goes above the bit—resisting any solid contact to a horse that is reaching for the bit, taking contact and rounding up underneath me. If I ask him for more energy, he is starting to collect and really step under himself. This is just in a week! I don’t think this is normal. I feel it is directly due to clicker. I let him go a few deep, collected strides, and then I click. He stops for his treat, and we do it again. This is completely unreal for me. I only work in the arena a few months out of the year. I think Cruiser started to do this about the age of 12. Cole’s stride gets huge—and it throws me out of the saddle. I need to work on myself.

I never shortened the reins through this. I only use a snaffle bit, too. I just figured if I rode well, did lots of transitions and circles to improve his strength and balance and clicked when he did something outstanding, it would all come in time. I just thought it would be a lot more time than this to start to see him transform.

My sister saw me ride him this weekend, so she confirmed everything I felt. She says he looks magnificent, but I can’t get her to ride him so I could see what he looks like.

Quite the trail horse I have, huh?

I still haven’t figured out a way to gently get him cantering for me. My sister suggests waiting a few weeks before I start trail riding, again, because he will get pretty excited about adding cantering to the mix, and I then may have trouble settling him down to work, again. As usual, I think her advice is good. In the mean time, I will teach him to get very responsive to acceleration requests. Maybe I will be able to accelerate him right into the canter.