I've also decided to rename Brian...I like the name Brian, but again, I know three people off the top of my head named Brian, and although it's fun to joke around with my husband about my new boyfriend, I think it may be getting old. I've decided on the name Jasper. I've always been partial to the name, and also like that it's a semiprecious stone that's a reddish-brown color. I think his name needs to be more fancy that just Jasper, so there will likely be additional components added at a later date, when I get the idea.
On Monday I headed out with the idea of doing some groundwork, and then I'd get on and we'd just walk around the indoor arena. At this point, I'm trying to make everything as positive as possible. He was perfect, as usual, and we just poked around for about 20 minutes of walking. Then on Tuesday, I decided I'd likely need a push into the next gear, and so asked Lacey (the barn manager and an amazing horsewoman) to give me a lesson. Since Wayne isn't coming until Thursday with my Jasper-gear, I had to borrow a bridle and bit, and the bridle was quite large. The bit was a loose-ring, and it was obvious he had likely been ridden in the same eggbutt snaffle for his entire life. He was very confused by the new bit, and kept getting his tongue over it. We worked on him giving to the bit with an immediate release, and he didn't really "get" the whole releasing bit. Lacey said she could see him trying to figure it out. He would break at the poll, I'd release, and then he'd typically shake his head a little and then lean down to get contact on the bit. So we'll work with him on that. We did some trotting, and Lacey had us canter, but we picked it up going to the left and he seems to like dropping his left shoulder around the turns, so it was a disorganized, unbalanced sort of canter that made me a little afraid.
My problem on new horses is that I tend to ride really defensively and almost in a 2-point position. My saddle, a Specialized, is definitely built for endurance, and puts me in a more "active" riding position than I or Lacey would prefer at this point. She's going to let me borrow a dressage saddle for tomorrow's lesson so I can practice putting my tooshy in the saddle. I also tend to react to him getting forward by almost going forward into the fetal position. Not effective for sending clear messages to a horse that's trying to speed up to get under me. I also have a tendency to tense up really bad, which goes with the new horse/bad experiences on Cricket thing. This is part of the reason I decided to enlist a lot of help early in our relationship--Lacey can help me remember to relax by constantly reminding me to do so. I just need to remember to BREATHE. I should probably get back to practicing meditation again, I imagine that would help a lot.
After my lesson, Lilly, the daughter of the barn owner, was hanging around and I could tell she really wanted to go riding (she's not allowed to ride alone). I have always enjoyed the company of kids, and Lilly is an especially fun kid. She loves science and enjoys hearing about all my "gross" vet school stuff. So I asked her if she was looking for someone to ride with and offered to go get Callie. She was ecstatic, and we headed out to the field with our horses. We did a couple rounds of trotting and practiced our cantering, and headed back after about a half hour. It felt good to get both horses ridden! And I noticed I have no problem sitting on my butt on Callie--it's just the insecure feeling of a new horse, and the constant fear that they'll bolt with me. Thanks, Cricket.
That's all for now. Lacey, Wayne and I are planning to trailer to Moscow Mountain on Friday afternoon for a little trail ride. I'm anxious to get Jasper out on the trail and to see how he handles it, and it'll be fun to go riding with Wayne.
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