Explosion

Well, after two weeks of not riding I was so looking forward to riding on Saturday. Jas was riding a young Section D so we took him out of the yard to a safe place to mount. No problems there - a couple of circuits round the circle and he was settled. Back to the yard to get on Santana who had been patiently waiting, already saddled. Up we get and ... suddenly I'm sitting on an exploding horse. Equally as suddenly I'm sitting on the concrete of the yard. Not the best start to a nice quiet hack.

He's never done that before - even when we were breaking him in in the Summer of 2008 he's not given the slightest inclination that he might buck. We checked his tack and there was nothing wrong there. We took him out of the yard to lunge him before I had another attempt (with someone holding him this time). He was a little tense at first but soon relaxed and we were back to 'normal'.

I have no idea what caused him to explode like that, but it has certainly made me wary. I didn't ride on Sunday because my old bones were aching from landing on the concrete and Santana was drenched from the rain. Not a good combination in the circumstances.

I shall definitely be lunging before I get on him this weekend and I'll try not to make excuses not to ride.

One Month On

Over a month since my last post and nothing of much interest to report. I'm not able to ride at all during the week now - its too dark by the time I get home and I'd never be able to find him in the field!

Rode him last Sunday after not riding since the previous Sunday and you could definitely tell. Even though he's turned out 24/7, he was really on his toes. Jas was riding Enzo who was really fresh and Santana picked up his mood completely. We were riding round Livery field as it was empty and Enzo spooked at the hedge and went charging off in the wrong direction then started bucking when Jas pulled him up. She held him well though and stayed on top. Santana thought that all seemed like a good idea and started pulling like a train. We were trying to trot sedately but he wasn't interested.

We split up and rode on opposite sides of the field and Santana calmed down but then Enzo sparked off again and Jas came off this time. Enzo charged for the gate and disappeared over the horizon. Santana was like "Yeah, lets follow him!", but I convinced him to stay put. Jas fine, having landed on her feet and set off to find him. I found out later that Tom had put her back up and did some serious lunging to work off Enzo's excess energy.

Meanwhile we carried on trying to concentrate on trotting like a proper horse. We managed it eventually, had a canter up the hill and called it a day.

I'm just glad I didn't attempt to ride him on Saturday because it was blowing a gale.

Frustration

We have been working hard on the right rein this last couple of weeks, mostly trotting, and Santana seems to be getting the idea that he needs to bend into it.  He's started to become much lighter in my hands and I've been so pleased with his progress.   We've even managed to canter on the right leg without too much persuasion.  Result !

Of course, on the day we take the camera to the farm, he has other ideas.  He's forgotten everything and goes back to the beginning.  Grrrrr... !

I still love him though :D