Day 74

I finally got to ride Nina today!!
If every horse went on trail like Nina does, a lot more people would have horses. She's absolutely fantastic on trail. She's so calm and mellow and takes everything in stride. That ride with her today was definitely the most relaxing ride I've had for a longggg time.

Harry is having difficulties going clockwise lunging. I'm pretty sure it's just him being a brat. I don't know how to get over it other than more lunging, but he won't even let me get on his side to push him out, he continues to back up and match my steps. It's so much easier to do when I'm riding him. Should I just work on it riding first and then move to the ground or should I spend an entire day trying to get him to lunge?
He's collecting very nicely. He was almost in Fino a couple of times, but I think that was mostly him being nervous. But as Andre used to say "Hey, if he gives it to me, I'll take it. I won't push him" and that's exactly what I'll do. If he wants to Fino when he's nervous, go for it! It might carry over to when he's not nervous.
I'm so proud of Harry. I took him out on a mini-trail ride for the first time today. Apparently, it was the first time he's even been on trail! He did pretty well, he had a few little "omg omg omg there's a FLY IN MY HAIR" moments, but he was pretty good as long as he knew where Paco was.

Speaking of Paco.
Paco rode Brie today. It was insane.
So I don't know if you remember back when I said that she has to have some time to warm up and what not to stretch out her back legs. Well, I'm convinced of the need for stretching but Paco wasn't buying it. He was convinced that she just does that to see what she can get away with because she doesn't want to work. She stalled out on him a good number of times but he kept on. To say that she was mad has to be the understatement of the year. Her eyes were the wildest I've seen so far and she fought with him right up until the end. He went on the mini-trail ride with us and she did well on the way out, she usually does, and she was crazy (also usual) once she turned back around and saw the barn. There's a little hill in the back of the barn and Paco went up and down it on the way out and was going to go on it the way back. She literally stopped halfway down the hill and refused to move but he got her moving! Stubborn for stubborn. I would've been the same way. I remember I used to have that much energy before we had Harry to train.

But I think that today was good for Brie, as angry as she may have been. There's just one thing I was worried about at the end of the day. After we cooled her and washed her, I noticed as we were leaving that she didn't eat any of her hay. This is very unlike Brie, she always gobbles up every last scrap of food but that hay was untouched and she made no move for it when she went back in the stall. I only hope that she isn't sick and that she was so horrible because she was sick, because if she is sick, there's no way I'll be able to forgive myself for letting her go through all of that today.