Ride No 9

Thurs 4th Feb 2010

Duncan set off quite slowly but, on the main road, there was quite a bit of traffic and he wasn't too keen on a couple of lorries coming up behind him. He tried to turn round to face them - sensible but not desirable. he then got a bit uptight trying to trot off so I was glad I had my CS to block his path! I went alongside M for a while which helped.

Once onto the back roads to Scarletts lake, he settled right down. I got on by myself at the handy bank after a bit of shifting about. D's not got the hang of lining up his bum separately to his front end. He wasn't sure what I wanted and tried to climb the bank at one point. Will spend some time on that from the ground.

Got on and rubbed and then asked him to move forward. He was a bit sticky and I went quietly to a mild ph 4 twice after which he walked on fine. There was a roadworks sign and cone just ahead which D went straight up to investigate - got a treat for that. Throughout the ride he investigated most of the bins & cones he came across!

We went on the original route and I rode all the way off lead apart from going past a building site (better-safe- than-sorry precaution) and on the road going back. D rode a lot straighter today but I did notice he felt a bit footy at times. He didn't seem distressed at all 'though so I stayed on top. Did quite a bit of trotting. He's very sweet, jogs a bit, walks a bit then you ask again and off he goes...for a bit. That suits me fine!! I felt quite happy lagging behind and I got plenty of opportunity to practice transitions.

Later on the unmade road going back, I tried some halting, back-up, flexing and disengaging the HQ. The back-up was not coming and he pushed through a couple of times. I then held the contact a bit firmer and moved my legs rhythmically until he made the tiniest effort then I immediately released. The next time was quicker and, when I tried back at "home" in the driveway, he went back much more easily with a huge lick & chew (rewards!).

I tried to focus on my seat a bit today and didn't hold onto the BB pad handle much (was becoming a habit!). I think the weight in the seat comes from core stability. I have to watch that I don't keep my seat still when trying to find it. Need to watch the fluidity video gathering dust!

Really happy with D's progress and he seemed really happy too. Watching me going about the field with interest, didn't want to go back to the field either which is a good sign! It may be cupboard love but any love's good enough for me!