A Romp and a Lesson

We had a warm day today with temps in the 30’s. Brian and I figured the barn would be quiet this afternoon so we headed out with a plan. I’m going to attempt to give Brian a ‘real’ lesson once a week. Of course I’m always around to offer advice and lend a hand, but that’s not quite the same thing as setting aside time to make Brian and Bear my sole focus.

The only slight problem with the plan is Steen does not like it when we show up and I don’t bring him inside, so I thought I’d do some groundwork with him while Brian got Bear ready. Steen was in a super easy mood, which surprised me a little since he was quite antsy when I went out mid-week to put antibiotic on Bear’s leg.

After I took Steen’s blanket off we turned the horses out, since they do seem to have the urge to kick their heels up inside when they have chance. It was, again, a pretty entertaining show:

After the romp we got down to business. Steen was so great with his groundwork that I decided to keep him inside while Brian rode Bear. He just hung out with me the whole time, for the most part content to stand next to me and get the occasional pet. He only got pushy when I pulled the camera out. He’s turned into such a prima donna.

Brian and Bear had a really good ride. We kept it quite simple, only exercises at the walk.

Still, between the running around beforehand and 10 minutes of groundwork followed by 40 minutes of riding, Bear did seem a bit tired by the end. He was quite docile and responsive the whole day, so it was an excellent way to get things moving again.