Good for the soul.

I've had one of those mornings that reminds you what life is for. It just felt good, I don't know why as it was pretty ordinary really.

First I schooled George. He was being tense and silly to start with. Then I picked up a whip and for some reason (why would you think???) he decided to walk nicely after that :-) His trot transitions are improving a lot, but I felt the trot itself wasn't genuine. To test it I put him on a circle and stopped holding him together. He went faster and faster and faster, then broke into canter and went faster and faster and faster. I let him carry on, I figured that it wasn't doing much for his schooling but it was keeping him fit :-)

I didn't allow him to drop the bend, so the canter was spiralling in and in and in until it was less than 10m. Still he cantered like the motorcycle wall of death. I was leant right inwards to stop the saddle slipping to the outside. We must have looked very funny between the two of us.

Georeg spiralled out again and suddenly did a huge half halt, without being asked to at all, and dropped into a really super balanced trot. And that was that. Of his own choice, he decided that it was easier to take responsibility and balance himself, and the rest of his trot, on the other rein as well, was really every it as good as a horse with his little length of training could possibly be expected to do. Good boy George!

Then Jazz and I went for a hack. He offered to trot past anything that worried him, and his fitness had been improved remarkably by the one bit of interval training that we did a few days ago. He was as fit as a flea, trotting up an enormous hill without even slowing up. I really enjoyed the ride, and so did he.

That's what they're for, our horses, aren't they - to make us feel good about the world? Well it worked today for me.

C