Our first two rides were okay, but the last two were primo. Jaz seemed to know exactly what I was trying to do, which is get used to a bit more speed. Although we did not canter, he gave me a gorgeous extended trot that was easy and fun to ride, and may even have been pretty. Jaz seemed to enjoy himself as well.
We set up ground poles and barrels on the inside of the arena, leaving the rail free. We set the barrels up in a straight line, so we could circle around them or weave in and out of them, like pole bending. And, of course, we could also hairpin through the ground poles, which was great for flexing. We had hoped to be able to ride the pasture, but the cracks are so bad a horse — Jazu — could hurt himself or his hapless rider. He is a lot of things, but sure-footed is not one of them.
Jaz has developed an annoying habit in the past couple months of chewing on his bit, which was a D-ring snaffle with a rather large (never seen one that big), flat, rectangular plate. I'm not talking about idly rolling it around in his mouth, but chomping down on it HARD. Jaz's teeth are not that great to start with, so surely this was not a good thing.
And today, I rode Poko for the first time since my trade with Heather. Even if I never ride him again, I had to do it, just to prove to myself that I could. He was as well behaved as Poko gets. His gaits were smooth as silk, just as I remember them. I thought I might feel sorry or sad, or have a case of the coulda-shoulda-wouldas, but I didn't. In fact, it only served to remind me of how sweet, kind and wonderful my Jaz is, and why he's a much better fit for me. I sure wish Jaz had Poko's gaits, but I'll take my sweet, trustworthy boy every time. Yup. I'm over the bad boy.
My holiday was so busy, I didn't spend much time poking 'round the blogosphere, so I'll be catching up with everyone this week. Carry on.
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