Rolling, rolling, rolling like a river

That's what Stella and I have been doing since my last post. After a few rides, she started offering the right lead canter more often than the left; now they seem equally comfortable to her. And instead of just setting her up and letting her canter when she chooses to, I am now asking with a kiss and/or the word 'canter,' and getting a better and better response.

Our weather turned much cooler for several days, which coincided with less turnout for various reasons, making Stella 'spicier.' Nothing truly naughty or alarming, just some head-tossing and a hop here and there – and there was no trotting of the trot poles. If she thought we were approaching them she would rush and break into the canter, which they are not spaced for. (Fortunately, she's a handy little horse.) As the weather warmed back up some and she and Lance got more turnout (during which she raced around and bucked), she settled back down – and I realized just how much she was restraining herself for me!

I got Lance's hoof boots adjusted for Stella, and tested them out on the gravel lane. She doesn't mind them at all, and didn't take any 'ouchy' steps like she otherwise does on gravel. Unfortunately, even though our riding is pretty much solely in the arena, her feet are still chipping up, especially on the outside of her left fore and rear hooves; I'm sure it's because our ground is so dry and hard. I don't want to start shoeing her but I can't turn her out in the boots; let's hope we start getting some rain!

And now for the BIG news: we had a lesson with Suzan today! It has been years since I've gotten to take a dressage lesson and even longer since I've gotten to ride with my all-time favorite instructor,  so I was excited even though I knew she'd probably have a lot to 'fix.' I'm going to do a separate post noting what we worked on so I can replicate it here at home. Hopefully I can budget a lesson every couple weeks to keep us moving forward – rolling, rolling, rolling like a fast-flowing river!