Trail Ride

 Went on a 3 hr. trail ride today on Giz. He was wonderful. We walked, trotted, loped, and galloped. He was well behaved and slowed down and stopped with the energy in my body. The galloping wasn't by choice though. If I asked for the lope and he was behind the other horses it went into a gallop until he was caught up. Will have to work on that! Once he got to the front he would slow way down and kind of go a little sideways to make sure everyone was still coming. It was kind of interesting how obvious it was that he wanted to be in the herd and not to far in front or behind them. He went after the dog on some occasions like he'd be after a cow. When we were loping, I wasn't in favor of this. I kept telling the dog to get out of the way and trying to steer Gizmo in opposite direction. It was all a a great experience for him. I just don't think he has ever been in this situation before. The weather was very warm and after about 2-1/2 hrs I think Gizmo was done. He got more introverted which, to be honest, bothered me a little. All in all I was pleased with him. Our big test comes this weekend at Brushy Creek. Me and a couple of lady friends will be going horse camping. I'll keep you posted!

Cooperation!

Whoo Hoo! I'm not sure why, but my last two rides on Gizmo were very cooperative. Today, I got on in the arena and I asked for lateral flexion and there it was. I asked for some turns and there they were. We only walked because things went so well that I got off before I screwed something up. He got a little sticky on indirect turns, but then gave me a 180 degree turn on the forehand like he finally understood what I've been asking for so long. We were on the fence. One of his sides were stuck, but when he got it I jumped off. It was amazing! Just think when we are really going somewhere. I will be besides myself. I've been working on this all summer at a steady pace. He has been such a punk about following my suggestions and going where I want him to go. I'm hoping all of this is not a fluke!

Stuck in the System

I haven't been riding lately due to some family issues. Also, both of my Parelli horses have been limping, go figure. I played a little online just asking for simply stuff, like backing by tail, sideways, etc. They were very obedient with this. Maurice's clinic is approaching fast and I feel like I'm in the exact same spot as 6 mos. ago. What's up with that? I worked so hard this summer trying to improve on what I learned in March. I'm feeling stuck!