Back in the Saddle

Cupid's break ended last week, and though I'm sure he was a little disappointed he's been a very good boy going back to work.  We did ground driving and lunging the first few days to gently ease back into it, but since he was turned out every day there were no fireworks. 

The first day ground driving we were doing a bit of the drunken sailor walk, wiggly lines and cutting corners.  I'm still not experienced with the lines and find it harder to steer compared to riding, but I'm guessing the answer is still the same: if you're not straight you're not forward enough.

Cupid looked pretty good on the lunge line.  At first I thought he still looked a little tight, but he has gotten all his leads correct each time.  It's hard for me to look objectively when it's in the back of my mind that his left shoulder may be tight then that's all I see.  He seems good, though I am having the body worker come out just in case. 

I got a Myler level 2 bit during the Black Friday sale, something my trainer and I had discussed trying.  It doesn't look very different from the level 1 I was using previously (except I got an eggbutt instead of a D-ring.)  I haven't ridden in it enough yet to see if there's an improvement but at the least Cupid doesn't mind it.

Myler level 2 Comfort Snaffle

I was very happy to get back in the saddle, and our first few rides have gone well.  I've been riding early in the morning, and have had to keep my rides to about 30 minutes to get back home to the baby.  So it's been forcing me to really make the minutes count and not just loaf around.  My main focus has been towards improving responsiveness, and I try to pick one or two things and execute them well.  We've done transitions within and between gaits; halts; square turns, leg yields, bending.  We haven't done much canter work (so far just a short bit on the right lead), he's not clipped and I don't want to get him too sweaty and not have enough time to cool him out.