Fulfilling

Soo, it makes me feel AMAZING when my horse goes well for someone else.  Even though I'd hoped for the fairy tale version of horse ownership where he came galloping to me in the pasture to lay his head on my shoulder and nicker softly in my ear, that's just not who we are.  I LIKE to share.  It is more of a measure of my success as a rider and trainer when my horse goes equally, or BETTER for someone else than for me.  I have been stingy about his re-training because I wanted to test my abilities and see how I could do with him on my OWN, but now that we've reached the land of lead changes, 3'3 being no big deal, and trucking around the 2'6 at IEA shows, I'm good with sharing:)

On Friday, I didn't plan to ride my boy because the new addition to the family had a vet appt to check everything out, and formally get adopted (if you're going "Huh?" click on the tab at the top of the blog called "10 random facts"), so that meant my cleaning schedule was messed up.  However, I got a phone call late Thursday night letting me know one of my kidlets had a HORRIBLE lesson at the barn for her school's equestrian team, and could I PLEASE restore her confidence on Friday????  Well, I don't teach on Fridays, but I told them if they were willing to come to me, I'd give said kidlet a lesson on Tiki.  They did, and I did.

He was a ROCK STAR.  Plain and simple.  She is a pretty beginner rider, 8th grade.  TALL and skinny, you know the typical Hunter/Jumper type;)  Just learning how to competently negotiate crossrails, and learn how to pilot around an inside/outside type course.  For safety's sake, I put him in the wonder bit (aka, BRAKES), but knowing how quiet he always is at home, did NOT worry.  He was GREAT for her!  Dead quiet, took nice big slow trot steps, never missed a lead, stayed slow and quiet at the canter.  Backed up when I had her try a totf because she used too much hand, but that was not a disobedience, just a "what?"  She did her first leg yield, and I was just bursting with pride.  Trotted a crossrail about 4 times, then jumped it at a canter one time off each lead, and he couldn't have been better.  Friday was more a measure of our success than any of the shows we've done lately, and I am just happy as can be!

Honorary little sis Nicole rode him yesterday, and she promises a full blog report, so when that happens I will link up.  Gave him today off since I put in 24 bags of bedding, but will ride tomorrow.  Full report then.  Thinking I will do trot sets in the pasture because it's been over a month since I've done them, bad girl!