8/2/05
Angel
Angel's back at the house to start getting ready for
fox hunting this fall. Her first lesson back under tack went
great. She pulled toward the other horses some, but settled
in quickly and was very obedient. Chrissie tried a few things
and said that she seems quite willing to learn. She bends,
understands leg, and is a fairly uncomplicated ride.
She was out at the kennels last Saturday and let the hounds
lick her nose and was unconcerned when we left her by the kennels
and went riding off in the woods. This weekend we'll see what
she thinks of going off in the woods herself.
I think we're going to have fun.


Trying her out with the side reins on. She was a little hesitant to go forward right off, but listened when Chrissie said it was ok.
 

She gave nicely to the bit and only chewed when she was thinking.
Stretching forward and reaching for the bit.
 
Balancing herself on the corners.
She stood still for mounting and let Chrissie get settled. A little tap to encourage the walk off, but no resistance about the whip. She relaxed almost immediately, although she has a good marching walk.
 
Chrissie asking her to lengthen a little and using the whip to encourage. It's so nice when they understand what the whip is for and aren't bothered if you use it. 
Getting some more reach in the walk.
 
She's steady in the bridle, but did a little grinding.
She shortens her neck more than some, but here she's listening to Chrissie's inside leg for the bend around the corner.
 
Chrissie took her out of the ring to let her stretch out a bit.
She had to work a bit more going uphill.
 
Coming downhill Chrissie did some half halting to remind her to balance. It looks like it worked. She's keeping her weight on her hind quarters pretty well.
We were so pleased to get a steady pace, steady head and calm horse. She was concentrating on Chrissie and had stopped thinking of the other horses in the pasture.
 
Doesn't look like she has any experience with jumping. She was careful and obedient, but a bit confused.
The cavalletti didn't confuse her nearly as much as the trot poles. Walking was ok....
 
But trotting got a few different responses.
It's nice to see how a horse reacts to stress. These aren't pretty pictures, but she got the job done.
It was nice to see how relaxed she was between trot pole sets.
Oh, and Chrissie tested out her bending with a figure eight at one end of the ring. Quite nice.
And the other direction. Angel wasn't completely sure, but she was willing to try.
And one final trot out in the field before letting her cool down. I rode her to cool her down, so no pictures of that....