Yes. It was cold today.

Really, really cold:( The wind was just BITING, ugh. Can't wait for the end of this week to get here; it will be about 20 degrees warmer. Yay! Tiki was much better today. Still not GREAT, but all 4 feet stayed on the ground:) Footing wasn't too bad, but you could feel how hard the ground was, so we didn't appproach anything resembling a jump. Started with some bending to my knee. I've been watching some video clips from the George Morris Horsemastership Clinic this week, and one of the things he laments on is how people ride with their hands way too low. So, I REALLY focused on keeping my hands UP. He just does NOT love contact. His mouth is really soft, and he's really soft in his neck, but he gets jiggy and ornery when he is so behind the bit. For a while, he was WAY better in the waterford bit, but now he feels pretty much like he did in every other bit I've tried him in. About to try a new one tomorrow; just to see if he will accept contact and not open his mouth so much. It's a simple D-ring with copper rollers all along the mouthpiece. We'll see!

His main problem right now is his butt doesn't connect to his front end. He'll go around a turn, but then let the butt just drift. I've been working on BENDING his BODY, not just his neck, and using my legs to keep his haunches on the correct track. He wasn't bad today. Not as good as a few weeks ago, but the weather hasn't cooperated as much as it could have. I plan to ride him every day this week, and we have the postponed show from Sunday coming up this Saturday. I feel confident by then he'll feel really, really nice.:) I'll hop over a few small jumps tomorrow since I'm sure the ground will still be pretty hard, and jump height on Thursday. Friday we'll be back to flatwork, and then show on Saturday. Sunday off of course. Will post an update tomorrow!:)