I rode Ted again and this time, I did a bit of dressage work with him … lots of circles and serpentines while working on soft contact with the bit and using his hind end. He has a lovely, springy, easy to sit trot. Way more comfortable that Charlie’s (although Charlie’s trot will always feel ‘right’ to me). He is pretty easy to steer and he seems to be better than our last ride. He also seems to remember some of the work we’ve done on stopping because he is responding a lot faster than he did before. What a good boy and quick learner. I wish I had been doing a better job on keeping track of all the work we’ve done, but oh well. At least I have the little that I do have here to remind myself. We did do a little bit of groundwork and he is a very respectful horse, but I think he could probably use a little more work to get to 100% of where he could be. What I’d like to improve is his willingness to do whatever you want him to since he is a tad resistant in the beginning. Not exactly what I’d call stubborn, but just resistant. The good part is that he really does seem to be a fast learner, so even though he’s hardly been ridden he’s actually coming along nicely.
On a really high note, we actually cantered today and Ted seems to know his leads … we didn’t try any flying changes, but he reliably picked up the right lead when we worked on them in moderate sized circles. On top of that, his canter is absolutely yummy! With a little bit of work, he’ll actually have a wonderful dressage canter and it is super balanced and very comfy to ride. I’m amazed that the decrepit, weak horse I bought just a few short months ago has changed so much and that he’s come such a long way.
