When horses act like horses

Had another lesson on Jasper Wednesday. Weather was nice, too nice, its gonna be a hot summer. J had been turned out so I went out and grabbed him and did a quick groom as he was barely dusty.

I think there is a big sweetheart
hiding under the grumpy, nippy exterior 

We moseyed down to the outdoor and got to work. WS and her sister were just finishing up jumping the greenies in our barn. So fun to watch. 

Did the usual sitting trot/ posting trot/ kill me with two-point stuff. MUCH better frame than last week. Still have a left foot that can't find the correct spot of a stirrup, and chicken elbows, but I can make the horse look pretty lol.

Then WS and sister left the ring and  J and I worked on two-point at the canter then counter-canter. If I don't get all crazy with shifting my weight, he is super. Thanks to all the bloggers who I read about their work and struggles with body-mechanics all the time. 

Worked on holding the correct lead around a change of direction, counter-cantering then swapping when asked. Came around towards then end of the ring and suddenly he head was up next to mine and we were bunny-hopping around. Pulled him up to a walk because I had NO idea wtf was happening (I don't get a lot of sleep these days) Trainer called out the horses had just tore it up over the hill next to the arena. Thanks. To be fair 5 mares and 1 gelding makes for a rowdy group.

So we worked on the circle. Lots of tiny counter-bent circles alternating with bigger normal bend circles. This was made harder by jumps in the way so I had to really plan ahead, sit up and keep him off the forehand. Like real rider, not passenger stuff. Makes me dizzy but pretty fun and got both our minds back on task.

I'm pretty sure the western dressage people think
I am a major narcissist cause I do this every ride lol

Then trainer made a tiny cross rail, which had guide rails in front as well as the sides because they had been jumping the greenies. 

I trotted J at the babiest of crossrails and as we approached his head flew up and he practically slid to a stop. Without a crop I couldn't convince him to go past so I circled and trainer moved the side rails out a bit so it didn't look like he was jumping into some sort of box of doom. 

I got him to jig his arse over it, laughing at his completely awkward prance-hop-prance-canter away nicely routine. By the second time I was cracking up. The jump was so tiny I just couldn't help but laugh that he jumps 3ft but the tiny cross rail with ground poles was gonna kill him.

I was glad I could laugh at it, but it was a reminder of what triggers my anxiety, and how much muscle I need to regain to be able to properly school green/naughty/ wtf moments. Realistically as a 1-2xs/wk rider, a real greenie isn't a great option unless its one heck of a deal and super calm. Then I could pay for training until its more schooled and I am not such a flabby flabberson. And if I want a greenie, I better prove I can ride them and accept my friends offer to ride her young'n. Make sure I'm up for it before I fall in love with any pretty faces.