(no subject)

Kaboose is home again, so I sat on her and really pushed, working to find the buttons I knew she had working last year. It took 30 minutes of steady effort with the focus on bending and lateral movement, until we came from a nice canter to a gorgeous, gorgeous trot, and we got a half dozen lovely trot/canter and canter/trot transitions after that. Once we get going, it feels so lovely, but somehow getting there is such a crap shoot bashing of heads sustained effort that it feels like we are both at the end of our patience and stamina about the time we could start working on really interesting problems.

Ruby got a half hour of effort after. She did pretty well for a baby horse with a rubbery, squirmy body and a brain that hurts. She is getting better at not racing about, but steadying down and going along smoothly and slowly. Canter departs are much more reliable on both sides, although canter speed is madly variable. She still has a tendency to dig into the reins, and to drop her shoulder and skid sideways (it feels like losing control of a bike in sand). She also is quick enough that she anticipates madly - once through a pattern and she'll do it the next time, which is fun on one hand, but on the other hand, I want her to do what I TELL her, and not what she thinks comes next.

onward, as Hannah says

(no subject)

updating financial spreadsheet = virtuous = ice cream