4-day weekend

4-day weekend—heaven…


I rode with my older niece, after work on Wednesday. We had a really nice time, but it was bittersweet. She went back to college, and she won’t be able to ride with me again until next summer. Anyway, I wanted to make sure she cantered Ranger at least once before she left. We rode to a spot that he likes to canter, I explained what to do, and it worked like magic. Ranger cantered and my niece smiled. They both did wonderfully, and she discovered what a terrific canter felt like. She has cantered a few times over the years, but never on Ranger. He is wonderful. On the way home, we turned the horses around and cantered there, again. This time, they went a little faster. She was exhilarated.

Thursday, my sister and I took Cole and Ranger up to the show ring area. We did lots of trotting all about. We ever rode in the front field, which we only did once before. Cole was flawless. I took Cruiser out on a ride by himself.

Friday, we took Cole and Ranger on our 5 mile ride. Once again, we had a flawless ride. We did try to convince Cole to canter with Ranger in our favorite spot, and he got a few strides in. Up to this point, that’s the best he’s done with cantering. We have tried it here, before.

Saturday, my younger niece came out to ride with us. We took all 3 horses on the 5-mile ride. Flawless, again. We did a lot of walking and a little trotting. The older horses were on the slow side, so we changed our plans for Sunday.

Sunday, we took Cruiser and Ranger to the Lagoon. It is a short ride, and we only did a little trotting. They enjoyed the easy ride, and my sister and I just talked and enjoyed the light rain.

I then took Cole on a 4.5 mile ride. at the spot that we have been trying to get him to canter, I asked him—and he did!!! We went about 200 feet and stopped. The rest of the ride to the next river crossing with filled with transitions. He seems to know what the word means—in the first lesson. He isn’t consistent with the vocal command, but he will be, soon. I only clicked him for downward transitions. Once we crossed the river, we stayed at a trot, and though he was excited and trotted fast, he didn’t offer a canter. I think he knows he needs to wait for the command. What a sweetheart. We turned around and walked home.

After such a nice riding weekend, it is sure hard to go back to work!