Child Genius. Again.

In between the distractions of hunter pacing, and learning to pull a cart, and general shenanigans, I have been slotting some dressage rides in as well.

does jumping a boat in a dressage saddle count as a dressage ride?
PC: Abby Sick
(and i'm aware you can't tell this is a boat, so click here to see it at 4:40)

Opie has been straight up ballin' for these rides.

Actually he's been a complete and total nappy shit, but then he turns into a baller--after we're done discussing how the outside rein is a thing, and by god I can sit here and hold it All. Day. Long. and no amount of head wagging or flailing sideways is going to get him out of that.

It's been taking a good fifteen to twenty minutes of warm up to get that through before we can move on to real work. The upside is that it's easiest done on my part in the sitting trot, and to keep from having to adjust my stirrup length every time I go from posting to sitting (because my sitting length is a hole longer than my posting length, and no I can't work with anything different without my body doing awkward AF things), I just drop my stirrups. My thighs and flabs are burning by the time we're done, but yay for strengthening those bits?

trying to solidify ground tying aka "where them cookies at?"

To get him connected evenly, I mostly do a million serpentines and circles to change the bend and change the rein and yes you can get your butt involved in this party as well and leg yields are the new straight line sad story.

Probably there is a simpler and faster way to go about this, but that's going to have to wait for a lesson. You know, when I stop spending money on useless things like carts instead...

worth it.

Once he's there though! Gushapalooza, my friends. I know he's a midget OTTB and therefore never going to look as flashy as a great big warmblood, but he's the fanciest thing I've ever owned. A lot of that is just because he's doing it correctly, but he finds it so easy once he's there that it makes me swoon in excitement.

Especially at the canter, he's upped his game big time. I'm finally getting a real half halt through to him in that gait and obviously it's done wonders. It understandably only lasts for short spurts right now, but he's really starting to rock back and push up and off his haunches. There's actually lift to it which is something I never rode in all of Bobby's lifetime.

This morning I checked in on the lengthenings at the trot and canter after I'd gotten him really even in the bridle and marching around light and lovely. Ughhhhhh, I couldn't even. I had actual heart eyes when I got off. He doesn't change his rhythm for a beat, he just opens right up and then comes right back.

"plz to have more candy now?"

The flailing and falling and fighting that it takes to get to the next step of progress is nothing on this horse. None of it gets under my skin like it did with a certain other dressage moose horse because he comes out the other side a day or week or even months later so much improved. I'm not working my lady balls off for an ounce of difference. I work my lady balls off and Dopes delivers like a fucking genius unicorn.

BRB better go give him some more cookies.