Training: Lesson day with poles in a circle

*bounce bouncy bounce* Today marks our BEST ride yet! I know I have a post somewhere that says that, but today's ride tops it!!!

*happy dance*

We started out today with very minimal warm-up because of a mis-timing on my part. J was coming by for our lesson in about 10 minutes and that pretty much cut our usual warm up time in half.
Quickly modifying it I kept a free walk for a couple of rounds in both directions then went straight to walk/trot, trot/canter transitions every few strides to get Max thinking forward.

When J came by she set up some poles on the ground in a circle and had us trot over them while making sure he stretched down and kept a good bend. She pointed out I use too much inside reign and should really keep the aids a clear inside leg to outside reign.

After we trotted over the poles she had me give him a big forward aid till I could feel weight in the bit. This helped him move into the bit more instead of shrinking his head towards his chest.

I also really made sure I had my heels down, toes pointed in, and that my lower leg was wrapped around his belly. This helped my knees and hips stay open and my back stay straight.

What a difference! We practically floated!

And...when we moved  on to canter departs it felt like we could grow wings and just take off into the sky!

He was soft,  forward and just a BLAST to ride!

Yeah! I'm feelin' good today!

I was like a kid in a candy store..I couldn't stop grinning and laughing and just having a darn good time! So much so I didn't steer very well and he ended up having to jump over the three poles!! Whoops!

On top of that one of the boarders mentioned he did cross country at a nearby farm and was thinking of bringing his horse over sometime for a lesson, and asked if I'd like to tag along! Um..YEAH! He didn't have to ask me twice!

On top of THAT, Max and Layla have a trail ride date tomorrow. We are trailering out with Layla's mom to a nearby park with gorgeous forest trails and a big field to run and play in.

And on top of THAT....when the hubs gets home we are totally heading over to our favorite sushi buffet to pig out!

Today - ftw!