Merry Christmas, now back to work!

This week has been a busy one, with several church services, lots of delicious food, and a motivating lesson on Tuesday. I was motivated by Henry's progress to look towards the future and some shows, and I was motivated to stimulate the economy thanks to a broken boot zipper!

First off, Merry Christmas to those who celebrated yesterday. My day was full of cookies, chili, and a much appreciated plane ticket so that I can go visit my grandfather in Florida. I am very lucky to have friends, family, and loved ones in my life! I also got a gift certificate to Dover Saddlery, which I will be using for a new bright yellow bucket, some Healthy Hair Care Moisturizer, some Thrush Buster, and a new pair of bell boots. Nothing too glamorous, but there are some things I have my eye on for the future, which will be especially useful if, as my trainer mentioned, I will be going to my first recognized shows this year! She said that her boot zippers have broken TWICE at the same show on two separate occasions, and that it might have been related to the fact that her tack stall was #13. When I asked if she ever brought other horses than her own to those shows, she said that she did and that Henry would definitely be ready this year.

I am SUPER excited at that prospect and so of course have been drooling over new boots (mine are field boots since I like the ability to lace up around the ankles), a new coat (yup, been riding in the same old black HUNT COAT since I was a pre-teen), and white show gloves (although maybe we'll wait on these to make sure I have the hands to do it right!). It is also dangerous to leave me alone with a credit card and a tack catalogue (I would end up with soooo many sets of polo wraps...), so I will keep my purchases under $100 for the time being, and start a piggy bank for the spring.

I had a lesson on Tuesday that I endured with my busted boot zipper (booooooo). It broke right before I got on, unfortunately. I dropped it off at the repair shop on Wednesday, only to be asked for the other (non-broken) boot as well, which my boyfriend dropped off this morning. I guess I should appreciate the dedication of the zipper-repairwoman, who wants to match the zippers on my boots. Unfortunately she said she would probably not be able to finish the job until next week, prompting a mild how-will-I-ride shopping spree this morning. I found paddock boots and half chaps online for a whopping $45 total, and hopefully they will get to me before next Tuesday. If not, I will probably just cancel my lesson and use the extra week for some more practice time, since I did not ride Wednesday or yesterday.

During our lesson, we worked on transitions, and holding my half-halt aids until Henry was *actually* traveling at the pace I wanted. This did a lot to help our trot-halt and canter-walk transitions. We worked more on trot lengthening and he gave me an amazing result across the diagonal towards the end of the lesson. We also introduced haunches-in, asking him to swing his back end in at the walk, and reinforcing it with a couple of steps of turn on the forehand. I think he will pick it up quickly, and he is doing a lot better about listening to my half halts when previously, he would have scooted when introduced to new things.

My trainer is pleased at how easy it is to get things done with Henry. Many horses will just be settling in to work halfway through the lesson, whereas as soon as I shorten the reins, Henry is ready to work. However, this tends to make it easier for him to become mentally tired towards the end of the lesson. At first I was worried that he was really unfit, but this makes a lot of sense. He is a thinker, and after working on things that he has to think about to accomplish, he gets mentally worn out. It definitely doesn't help that the weather keeps us in the arena every time I go to the barn, but at least he has daily turnout with buddies. I can't wait until we can get out on the trails!

So, my homework for this week (and probably next week, too) is to:

• keep working on getting the gaits I want and that I know Henry can give me
• work on lengthening and shortening the stride in trot
• work on shoulder-in and introducing & reinforcing haunches-in
• keep his shoulders up at the canter, especially to the right, as he tends to tip in towards the center going that direction
• trot-halt and canter-walk transitions, including collecting the walk, cantering 3 strides, and walking again
• making sure Henry has mental stimulation as well as breaking up the routine to keep him happy and interested

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season, and I will be working on my New Year's resolutions this weekend. I'm pretty sure those will have something to do with the huge pile of chocolates and cookies at home...