Galahad and I have had two very profitable schooling sessions this week. The first one was perhaps nothing spectacular but Galahad was very much listening to me and seemed to be trying hard. It is always very satisfying to finish a session feeling that we both did our best.
We also managed to achieve some fairly good neck reining which is something we have been finding tricky. I am hoping to have a go at trec this winter and neck reining is pretty important for that. Ours is not perfect yet but we are definitely making progress.
Our other notable schooling session came after I had ridden my sister’s pony and put him out in the other field. Not surprisingly Galahad was rather distracted and very tense the whole time. He did feel at times as though he might explode but the important point was that he didn’t. We didn’t necessarily look particularly good but he did everything I asked him to do. It was a good learning experience for both of us – I gained a lot of confidence for riding him when he feels so tense.
When we finished I left him loose in the yard as I thought he would stay by the gate nearest to the other field. Instead he did this.
Which presumably is what he was wanting to do the whole time I was riding. I’m very glad he didn’t!
Gadding About With Galahad 