february 2, 2022

Moonflower in the sunrise

Karl was a superstar in groundwork today. Found some really nice lift in the shoulders and did some more shoulder-in ideas. Really keeping that lift and bend. Did some halt work, with noises outside he was a bit braced in the poll flexion to the right. Want to work more on that.

Riding was a bit tough with the snow sliding, it was hard to stay completely relaxed and focused. Still I felt the head tossing without the noseband is his way of communicating that I’m blocking with my right hand, particularly when it is my outside hand. To bend properly, the whole outside of the body expands to fill up the outside rein, and then allow with my hand so he can search for that stretch. Balance the opening outside rein with shaping and softening inside rein. Transitions are getting much smoother as I take my time to think about staying quiet and asking with intention. He really softened at the end <3