Not a Schoolmaster, But a Teacher None-the-less

Same photo as yesterday.

I posted photos from after Saturday's ride, but I didn't give any riding details.  

Sydney was actually a champ.  We started out in the arena with RM and Bounder who is looking quite good for an old man.  RM had him pleasantly cantering around the arena.  I told her I was a bit jealous.  I am almost ready to start cantering Sydney again, but I want to wait until this upcoming show is behind us. No sense in starting something new.  Wouldn't want to borrow trouble between now and Sunday.

We worked on getting a nice bend and moving off my inside leg.  He wants to be heavy and hang on me, but rocking the inside/outside rein helps lighten him up.  After our arena work, I threw on my reflective vest and repeated our trip around the neighborhood.

We walked past the dogs with only a watchful look.  The dogs obliged me by not barking, but it was good to see that Sydney didn't panic just because they could have barked.  I liked that he just gave them a look, but he kept marching forward.

At the corner where we lose sight of the other horses, we bumped into the woman who owns the property that I've been riding on.  I stopped for a minute to chat with her while her dogs ambled around us.  Sydney ignored the dogs but was anxious to keep walking so I planted my inside hand on my thigh and let him pace around my inside leg switching the bend every few turns.  It helped settle him down, and it gave me a preview of how he might behave on Sunday.

We continued along the gravel road to the neighbor's property and made it down the whoop-de-do with a very free and swinging walk.  Sydney was so relaxed that I kept thinking about asking for a trot.  That calmly forward mentality came as a surprise to me.  Fear is a very powerful emotion.  Has he been nervous, or have I?

The last two times we rode this route, I could feel his tension in my seat which kept me thinking whoa, whoa.  This time, I could feel his back swinging free and loose.  The motion said forward, forward, but in a very relaxed way.  Was I more relaxed?  Is that why he was so free in his extended walk?

He marched forward all the way through the property.  As we approached the end, he did get a little tense as the neighbor dog barked at us through the trees.  I made a very concerted effort to remain relaxed.  I leaned over and patted his neck, without tensing my legs, and gave him a verbal good boy.  The tension left, and we moseyed on our way.  

We passed by the property owner, who was returning from her own walk. She waved good-naturedly, and complimented Sydney's relaxed demeanor. The entire rest of the walk was done with zero tension.  He looked like a dead broke pony - his neck was low and swinging, and his ears flopped lazily.  

We have a long way to go, but I know were are on the right path. Sometimes I wish I had a nice solid schoolmaster, but if I did, I would have missed out on the lessons that Sydney has taught me.  For now, I'll take what he has to teach me.

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