What a big week of firsts for Cricket!
This week, she received her first handful of rides in the round pen & in the arena.
Her first ride in the round pen with a helper went quite well. While she had a few tense moments, as you'll see in the video, they were very manageable & have continued to improve with each ride. We started by flexing, yielding the hindquarters & then walked, trotted, & loped in both directions with inside & outside turns. Having the helper for the first ride (sometimes two) allows me to be a passenger for that first time on their back, with the helper doing a lot of the directing.
Her second & third rides in the round pen without a helper both went quite well. We followed the same structure as the first ride, just without the helper & receiving all of the direction from me as the rider.
We wrapped up the week with her first rides in the arena. She did so well, with very few little tense moments while walking & trotting figure-eights & even loping fairly decent circles (something that doesn't always happen at this stage). She wants to be quite soft, taking direction nicely from the reins.
We are going to have a lot of fun over the next couple of months!
Next week, we'll continue to work on our gas pedal, brake, & cruise control in the arena.
- Lexy Nuesch
Next week's update will be posted on Friday.
I do my best to get these updates posted in a timely manner, but it's not uncommon for me to be outside until after dark, depending on the weather, my schedule, & who gets worked when so updates will sometimes be posted quite late in the evening. Don't be alarmed if you don't see your update right away. In rare cases, I may have to push them until the next morning, but I'll reach out & let you know if so.
Comments