[allo vera]

9/6/2015

My friend, Rebecca, called this morning, so she was going to come over and ride with me today. She's a decent rider, but doesn't have much practice. She takes lessons, but only once a week, and on experienced lesson horses. Because of this, I got Storm Man out and rode him for about thirty minutes today, getting all his wiggles out. I also got Danny in the round-pen, so I could gauge his mood and burn off any super excess energy. Both boys were good though, and after lunch, when Rebecca arrived, they were ready to go.

We rode in the arena, Rebecca on Storm Man and of course me on Danny. We played around with some jumps, doing them with no stirrups, one handed, no handed, etc. It was fun, but also good practice for Danny, who was actually very cool about it all. Storm Man got a little fast sometimes, but Rebecca handled him very well.

[allo vera]

9/7/2015

Unfortunately, I was covered up with school work today. That, on top of a dentist visit, meant I only got to go out for less than an hour to see the horses today. I did what I could in that time, hacking Danny bareback, and lunging Storm Man in the round pen. Both horses were very well behaved, making me sad that I couldn't have done more with them today.

[allo vera]

9/8/2015

As the instructor was coming tomorrow, I had to find a balance between getting Danny to not be tired, but also to behave tomorrow. I settled on riding him once, in the afternoon. I did jump him some, and we worked on lead changes, bending, and relaxing. He did pretty well, but I'll be interested to see what the instructor thinks about him tomorrow.

[allo vera]

9/9/2015

I got Danny out and warmed him up about 10 minutes before the trainer got to my house at 12. She was a very nice lady, tall, and with a good reputation with horses. She had us start with some big circles, bending and loosening up. She liked the way my mustang moved, but told me that he needed more connection. Apparently I have a habit to ride him on a too loose rein, and not require enough connection with him. I'll work on that.

The next thing she progressed us to was trotting poles. Danny was very careful over them, and I could tell the difference shortening my reins made. I felt more synced up with him, and he was listening better. The instructor had us do several more exercises, including a small jump. Danny did it very well, and the instructor said she was surprised at how good he was.

[allo vera]

9/10/2015

I worked Danny some, but not a lot today. We did some jumping in the morning (he was lazy but obedient), and trail-riding in the afternoon (he was very nice about that).

I also had to ride Storm Man (who was exuberant and fiesty).

It was too hot, so I didn't do that much. But still a good day.

[allo vera]

9/11/2015

Today was just too stinking hot to do much of anything. I really hope it cools off tomorrow so riding with friends won't be miserable. I got Danny out, but only sponged him off and put him in a stall before escaping inside to the air conditioning.

[allo vera]

9/12/2015

Luckily for me, it was much cooler today.
I had a total of four friends coming out: Kath, with her bay roan Jenny, Katrine with her black pony Argo, Sam with his paint mare Rose, and Vera, with her gray gelding Fortune.

They all arrived about the same time. Danny was curious and nervous, but not insane. He would pace the pasture, but that's it. I got him out and rode him around while my friends tacked up.

We started in the big arena; walking, trotting and cantering our horses. Fortune was very excited, and made Danny a bit upset, but all the other horses behaved very well. We set up a jump, and took turns jumping it, although Vera had to skip it once or twice when Fortune was too wild. They were all very impressed with Danny's skill.

When we were done in the arena, my friends tied their horses to the trailers or put them in the barn, and we went in for lunch. Afterwards, we took the horses on a big trail ride. When we came upon an absolutely terrifying bunny rabbit, Danny and Argo were the only horses who didn't spook.

[allo vera]

9/13/2015

Since today was going to be a big day for Danny, and he'd had a lot of excitement yesterday, I left him out in his pasture all day. I did go out to pet him and feed him treats, but that was it. Instead, I started packing for our trip tomorrow. I got the trailer ready, outfitting it with a hay net, water bucket, Danny's tack, and extra halter, his food, and all sorts of other supplies.

I also gave Storm Man a quick ride today. He was feeling ornery and very effectively bucked me off. I landed on my feet though, and we continued on with his riding.

[allo vera]

9/14/2015

Got Danny in the trailer easily enough this morning. He was expecting those sweet oats again, and wasn't disappointed. I have Vera coming in the morning to take care of and ride Storm Man, so I'm not too worried about him. The trip was pretty long, but Danny did well. He's a pro at this whole trailering thing.

When we arrived at the barn, I got him out and groomed the mustang well. We were about 30 minutes early to the lesson, as I had left us a lot of time to get here in case Danny freaked out or something. So I led him around the barn a little, getting him accustomed to things. I got several complements on his coloring (all the horses here were bay or gray warmbloods, it seemed like). When we had 15 minutes before the lesson, I tacked Danny up and led him down to the ring.

The lesson went well. The instructor was still just as complementary on his movement, and she said I had improved greatly with keeping a connection with him. We focused mainly on jumping, working on keeping Danny from slowing down and blanking out, which he sometimes has a problem with. The instructor's fix was to give me a small crop. If I felt my mustang faltering before a jump, I would cluck to him slightly and give him a light tap. It worked wonders, that lady really knows what she's doing.

I left Danny at the barn, getting him set up in a stall. He was right next to two other horses who would stay in over the night. They were both mares, and seemed very sweet. He'll be fine.

[allo vera]

9/15/2015

I went to the barn early in the morning, checking to make sure that Danny was doing ok. He freaked out when he saw me, and was the most affectionate I've ever seen him. No riding today, but I groomed him good.

He was sad to see me go again, but he was with the two mares again. It's nice to know he missed me though.