Cantering and riding Pete

I worked Pete first today and he did really well. It really seems like he needs a day to 'think things over' before he really 'gets' something. I got on him and he got a little stuck, but having John walk around in front of him helped. Which I'm sure was kind of funny to see John trotting around with Pete and I following him! We worked on walk/halt transitions and we did a little trotting. After we felt confident, John just stood in the middle of the pen and Pete was very good, doing whatever I asked. Next time I ride him I think we will go into the paddock and see how he does in a bigger space.

Here is what I wrote in his log for today:

2/1/09 1 hour I warmed Pete up in the round pen and he did well with his cues, as usual. I tacked him up and got on and he was a little stubborn at first and would get stuck, but he was 100% better if he was able to follow John around. He was just as good once John left the pen. I worked on trotting him a little and he was good. He has a very smooth trot.

I also worked Boomer today and he was great too. We warmed up and he was very calm and relaxed. After a few minutes of walking, trotting, and leg yields we went into the paddock to work on cantering. He was very good but kind of racey. He wouldn't bolt or anything, but he got really quick, especially around the corners. He would lean in to the corners really hard which I fixed by sitting heavy on my outside seat bone. He would come under me and really balance himself around the corners, but he didn't slow down much. I think we just need more frequent cantering sessions for him to get a little calmer about it.

After that we took a nice trail ride out in the big pasture. Boomer was really needing that, I think. He was calm and alert and I let him lead the way on a loose rein the whole time. He stopped at the pond and looked across it at a cow for a while. Then he lead us across to the other fence and finially turned back and wandered back to the gate. It was really a relaxing ride and I think we all enjoyed it!