Working off the Line

On Wednesday I tacked Milo all up to work, but since I hadnt ridden in a few days, I thought I would longe him first. I had the bridle on while I longed, and nearly as soon as he made his first walk lap I noticed his mouth was really salivating. Globs were falling out and when I opened his mouth there was a lot more saliva in there then normal. Milo does get a wet mouth when we ride, but not normally of his amount nor as quickly into a workout as he did. So I decided to take the bridle off in case something was going on, but still wanted to work him.

So on the ground I practiced our leading sans bridle/halter. This isnt totally new to Milo, we had worked on this kind of stuff in the past, but it had at least been two years since. He was great; lead well, trotted, turned both directions, and even did well on the off side. Then I thought, well, lets test how well I'm riding with my seat and legs and see what we can do under saddle without the bridle. So with it still off and on the saddle horn, reins sort of looped around his neck, I stepped into the stirrup.

I walked him around the arena a few times, but thats easy to follow a wall. So I worked on a few circles, he had a hard time changing directions from one circle to the next, instead when I asked for the change in bend in his body he kept the bend the other direction and yielded his hip. Something to work on in that simple change of direction is not coming totally from my seat. I trotted him a little bit but that was a little tricky. He did do quite well at turarounds:

I'm eager to continue work without the bridle and see how far we can go. Im not sure Im going to be doing much showing this summer so at least this is something new to work on and keep us both a littler more fresh. 

Milo Being Goofy (What Else is New?)

I had no time to ride (sad face) but my boy was definitely in need of some time out of his stall and paddock. So I figured while I did my chores I would toss him in the arena to get some kicks out. Normally, Milo hardly does anything when I put him in an arena for turnout. Especially if I watch him. Which I was. And he did nothing special. So I turned around and walked down the hill to the barn. I started milling around and getting the stall cleaned. I worked out in the paddock and occasionally looked up the drive towards the arena. Each time I saw my horse tearing around the arena, bucking, snorting, and carrying on. Funny how it brought a goofy grin to my face. I wondered if he just thought he would wait until Mom was gone before he could carry on, or that I had rudely left him in the arena all alone while he heard me prepare his dinner. 

Either way, when I was done I headed back up to the arena to fetch him. He did a small show as I neared the arena...

He did the "What? Who Me? I'm not doing anything."

Just sniffing the dirt here...

Scratching an itch there...

Silly boy.