Keeping on

Nothing terribly dramatic going on. On Monday we inched up to two 10 minute trots. Saying he's struggling with them sounds far too dramatic, but he's definitely feeling it - tired at about the 8 minute mark. I'm not pushing him overly hard, but I am trying to push him juuuuust beyond the tired point, and 10 minutes seems to suit us fine right now.

Last night we were in the ring with a green mare getting her fourth ride, who did great while we trotted around. Tris is good with green horses, because he does not care a whit what else is going on in the ring. He's too focused on his own trauma - oh god NO don't make me trot FORWARD, mom!

But on the other hand, that slow&steady character means that last night when I had to take a 20 minute work call in the middle of our ride I walked him up to the outdoor ring and he just walked around steadily the whole time, chilling. Maybe not the smartest or safest thing I've ever done, but it needed to be done and I didn't want to/didn't have time to get off, untack, and then take the call.

Last night I also asked him for a very short little canter on the right lead, down the long side. He picked it up nicely, got the correct lead, and didn't need urging to keep it. It felt good to canter again - first time in probably about 9 months now, and his first canter in almost 11 months. Given how he's adjusting to the longer trots we may hold off a bit on cantering, but it's good to know it's in there without difficulty!

I'm working at the barn semi-regularly - usually a day or two a week. I had held off on buying muck boots because I didn't want to do too much searching, but I think I'm going to need to make a wider circle and buy some after all. It is still ark-like here, although we might finally start to ease into the weekend. I'm tired of everything being sticky and damp and smelly.