Nice Butt!

OK, yes, that's a rude title.

But after hearing trainer after trainer go on and on over and over again about making our horses engage their hindquarters, and struggling at every stride to make them do it, isn't it nice to finally see and feel some results?

With J., what I'm feeling is a really nice forward walking stride without having to squeeze, cluck or tap every two seconds, more spring in her canter...and what I'm seeing is a really nice butt. Don't you think?

We had our first lesson in ages with R., who helps us with our jumping. It was great -- surprisingly so, considering what a b-tch J. has been out on our hacks recently. She was listening, picking up her right canter lead without trouble, going from walk to canter without a fuss, extending and collecting...

We didn't do any jumping, we just cantered over a little pole. This is an exercise that can make J. quite nervous, but the more often we do it, the more calmly she takes it. My hope is that one day she'll stop shutting her eyes for the scary bits...