For the past week or two, I've been groundworking both horses then riding Scarlett. No one has been around for me to ride Indy (I trust and know Scarlett, but Indy is simply too athletic for me to be alone should something go wrong).
Sharon invited me over for a ride last Thursday, so I jumped at the chance to take Indy out. I did a spot of groundwork with Scarlett then with Indy as we walked over to the float. She was looking at dad's tractor (he was filling the sprayer) and an old mouldy bale of hay that had been thrown out into the paddock and split open. Once we worked past those she walked calmly up the drive & loaded straight away.
She spent a little time in the round pen to get used to the surroundings, then I gave her a quick brush and tacked her up. Her mane & forelock don't look all *that* bad... ;)
I did a few minutes of groundwork in the round pen then got on and walked around for a few minutes while Sharon tacked Ozzie up. Then we led them out into the front paddock.
Indy was really good: some circles, trot poles at walk, changes of direction. I even trotted her in both directions before I hopped off. The traffic behind the hedge is a big distraction which she coped with perfectly. Riding in such a large paddock can be quite scary so I was really pleased with our ride.
Mentally, she tires very quickly so I have to be consistent in asking for something of quality before I lose her attention. I was being very concious of owning my elbows, keeping a good contact, wiggling and suction-ing my legs to bring her attention back. I forgot my extreme rotations, save for a few tries.
She then chilled out in the round pen while Ozzie got worked, we had a coffee & then loaded up to go home.
Must be time for me to remember the camera, one of these days........
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