I hope you got to enjoy the nice weather this week!
While the weather has remained a bit on the chillier side compared to the southern part of the state, most of the horses are beginning to shed so that's a welcome sign of warmer weather nearing! With the significant melting we've had this past week (thank goodness!), it was a bit sloppier than expected to be able to work on the lay down with Cactus. We did find that it was time to do a more focused review of our groundwork & lunging, as Cactus wanted to get a bit stiff when responding to the halter on the ground at times. This paired nicely with our ground tying; he was sure glad when I dropped the lead rope on the ground allowing him a little break.
I also did a bit more bit experimentation with Cactus this week. We played with a couple of my bridle bits to see how he would respond to the different feels. These probably won't be something I'd recommend you ride him in once home, as they do require a higher degree of feel, timing, & balance, but the ability to ride the same regardless of what's in his mouth is a good skill to have, especially if you should decide to sell him one day. We spent a lot of time working on our transitions in these bits & staying soft in my hands.
This weekend, we'll load up & head to Pierce before going up to Bloomfield's indoor arena for lessons on Sunday.
Next week, we'll work on the lay down & continue to work on our softness & responsiveness to these new bits. I'm heading down to McCook for a cowhorse clinic at the end of next week, so updates will be posted early before I leave for that.
Next week's update will be posted on Thursday.
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