Roman Week 1

July 10, 2017

7/1/17
Started out on day one of the lease with a 9am lesson. I've never been too keen about waking up prior to 11am on the weekends. Roman was . . . well, Roman. Took an effort to get him going, but we had some fantastic trot work. When we went to canter, he got the right lead just fine. His issues from over the winter actually had to do with a bad saddle fit and not his on physiology. He'll probably still be weaker on his right side for a while, but not to the point where picking up the right lead becomes nearly impossible.

When we went to the left, that's when the disagreements started. I only do trot to canter transitions with him for the time being. I was trying to establish a nice trot, he was too behind my leg, so I added some whip, aaaaaaand he took offense. We cantered, then I guess you could say we galloped, then we got back to a nice canter, then I couldn't get him to trot again. May have also exited the ring. In my defense, the reins on his bridle are slippery when wet to say the least. I sweat a lot, and it's the summer time, so I had 0 grip and couldn't use my hands as a back up when the closed leg did not work. In any case, horse knows what forward means!

i stick m'leggy out real far

7/5/17
First ride on my lonesome, and he decided to chill. I worked out beforehand because Wednesday is arm day, and lifting a saddle isn't quite the same as concentrated curls. I filmed on my phone, but putting it on a hay rack didn't offer the best views.

"Good luck lifting my back"

He was really good. Like really good. I didn't even plan to canter because I want to perfect the trot, but he was moving off of my leg so well that I did some canter circles in each direction. I did get gloves; actually, I replaced my Noble Outfitters gloves that I lost, like, two years ago. I don't like wearing gloves because if my hands are too heavy I'd prefer to get blisters and know that I need to be softer. In this case, however, they were easier than getting new reins.

You can watch the video and see the flaws for yourself, but I'm going to do an outline of my goals for Roro in another post.

7/6/17
Guess who did polework for the first time in forever?!??! I was super excited, and Roman put in a good effort. He straight up refused to go over the two trot poles at first, which was hilarious. Poles are very scary for large, baby horses. Canter was actually very nice as well. In general, it was the same issues from the previous day.

7/7/17
Decided to take it easy on him because he had two days of work after not working for quite some time. I hopped on bareback and just let him walk around the jump field. He kept walking up to the jumps and biting the tall grass because what better time to eat than when someone is on your back trying to make you not eat???

We went into the arena for a bit, and I just worked on pushing him from the quarter line back to the rail. Basically a baby leg yield. Our problem right now is that he's not straight in the leg yield, so I want my trainer to help me figure that out before I ask ruin it early on.

HE ROLLS EVERY TIME I HOSE HIM DOWN

7/8/17
Very unsuccessfully tried to beat the heat. I rode in the morning and decided to keep it quick and simple. It was by far our best ride yet mainly because I kept thinking "We have no time" and really got on him and myself about things. I was probably on him for 20 mins or so, but he was actually fantastic. Nice to see what happens when I hold myself accountable for things.