Red Light, Green Light

I had my second ride on Stretch tonight. I got brave (or stupid) and decided to ride solo with no ground assistance. Actually, it was past 9pm and there was no one at the barn at all. Probably stupid. But honestly, I prefer to ride with no one around. No distractions. I can control the horse's entire world. Plus I love the quiet and peace of nighttime at the barn.

After mounting, my suspicions that the ground person that Stretch is so used to always having is more like a crutch were solidified. He seemed completely lost and did not want to move away from the mounting block. After nagging him with my legs and getting a few steps here and there, more nagging, and a few more steps, he finally seemed to get it.

We got a good forward walk going and after a lap around the arena, I decided that we needed to work on teh "go" cue. So I began whoa/walk/whoa transitions. Lots of them. He picked up the idea fairly quickly, and after maybe 5 minutes, it was old hat. I could get a walk with just a small bump pf the heel.

Interestingly, for the first half of our ride, the walk cue was met with lots of head tossing before he would take a step. By the second half of the ride, he was still very interested in the bit, but he was seeking it, playing with it, "testing" it. I sensed that he felt way more comfortable and confident when he knew where my hands were and what they were doing. Towards the end of the ride, he was very heavy in the bridle and seemed to like it. Silly horse. Note to self: Stretch likes lots of contact. For now.