Lulu suffered a minor eye injury late last week and had to take a few days off to recover. Just a small scratch, probably from itching on a tree or getting something stuck in her eye and rubbing it. Anyways, she is all better now and back to work. On Monday I rode her for over an hour focusing on a consistent jog and collection.
While she was sore on Tuesday, she still gave me another good ride. I rode her during one of Heather's lessons so she could ride with another horse. She was very well behaved and while interested in the other horse, was a perfect angel. I decided today to start her canter. My big concern was after getting such a nice jog out of her that she would try to rush and run out again all the time after letting her have some speed. So I decided to start small, I asked for just a few steps of canter, then brought her back to the jog asking her to stay slow and steady several times around the arena then ask for a few steps of canter again, back to jog. Wash, Rinse, Repeat, and TA DA! She got it. After doing exactly what I was sure would happen (get really excited when I introduced more speed) she learned to quickly come back to me. I gave her big rewards for doing the canter but also rewarded her settling back into the jog after. I can't say enough about this horse. Really a good, smart girl. I had Markie ride her some after I was done so I could get some good pics and video of her....or at least the best you can with your iphone!
Speaking of coming along nicely, Faith has been working hard getting ready for our first show this season on April 23rd. Her and Chip are doing great and have shown lots of improvement the last couple of weeks. They should be a force to be reckoned with this year! She is going to ride again tomorrow and I'm going to try to remember to bring the good camera for good pics and video.
