Rocky's SECOND Lesson

I shouted that it was only his second lesson because it was SO AWESOME! :)

I again ended up taking Sweetie - I had not had a chance to practice loading with Rocky, and he wasn't bad, just planted his feet and refused at the end of the trailer (how I sometimes miss my ramp!). And as soon as Sweetie was on the trailer, he walked right on.

Once we got there, both horses settled quickly at the side of the trailer for a good grooming, and then we put Sweetie in a run (this time she could see Rocky - and Rocky could see her!) That turned out to be a bad move - so she ended up in the barn in a stall, out of sight again, so Rocky would focus. I'm not yet sure if it was the Sweetie issue, or if watching other horses in the ring canter and jump at different directions (there were 3-4 other horses in the ring) just was too much for his brain at the time. :) I don't think he'd ever seen that before.

I lunged Rocky a second time after we put Sweetie up while most of the riders finished up in the ring - when I hopped back on, there was only one rider left, and Rocky seemed fine.

You know - another thing that Rocky probably felt - I hadn't thought of this until just now - I was riding in Kim's saddle - which isn't a big deal, it is a beautiful, well-fitting saddle. But her stirrups are tiny! :) (She has small feet) and every time I put my feet in them I felt nervous that my feet would end up stuck in them if I fell - and after we switched stirrups (yet another "issue" to deal with today) - I felt so much more comfortable - and Rocky also was significantly calmer. I'll bet he could feel the difference. DUH!!!

He still had quite a bit of energy, and we trotted lots of circles to get his attention, figure 8's, that sort of thing. And then we finally cantered - both ways - at least once around! WOW that was awesome!

Finally, it was time to Jump on Rocky! (Yay! My favorite!) We started off with a little X, but Rocky wasn't really using himself and was pretty lazy - so Kim changed it to a vertical (that means the pole is the same height all the way across) and Rocky picked up his knees and jumped over it! It was only 18" or so - but he did it! :) I was so proud! We did it several times and then Kim asked me if I wanted to do the little "gate". Now, the gate might have been an inch or two higher, but it looked more solid, and it had ground poles at the base of the fence on either side, so he would have to do more than just ho hum over it. I was a little nervous, but not that much, really, and Rocky went right over it and really jumped! Not a huge movement for me in the saddle, but I could feel him pick his knees up over it and really use himself! Kim commented how cute he looked over the fence! (Which hopefully means he has good form over fences!)

We trotted each way over the fence and then Kim said, "Now, next week, I will ask you to canter after the fence - you don't have to today since it is the first time jumping like this, but next week, we'll practice it." Well, I got that in my head and kept my leg on him over the fence, and we cantered after it each way beautifully! WOWZERZ! I had NO idea I would end up doing that today - but I'm so excited that we did it! And it is only our SECOND lesson! :) Yay!

I have other things to work on - little things like keeping his nose turned in slightly so he's not always bent to the outside (he was looking at everything today!) and making sure that I keep asking him to move forward over the fences - I was getting him to the fence and then kindof relaxing to let him do his thing - but I really need to keep my leg on him all the way over the fence - and cantering afterwards requires it!

Although it is a bit of a hassle to trailer him for the lessons, it is a billion times worth it! Look at all that we accomplish! :) I'm so proud!