4/5/07 Lesson with Sarah, went very well.

3/30/07 Lesson with Sarah, went very well.

3/29/07 Rode Oliver out on the trail to let him get a little moving in. Did some nice trot work and then a good long canter which he really enjoyed. Work on trasitions between and within gaits. Very good.

3/28/07 Warmed up in the arena and then went out and jumped the rail road tie jumps on the path around the property. He was exuberant--very happy to jump, and did a good jump. Much fun. Hacked in on a long rein to cool out.

3/27/07 After a warmup, took him out for a nice hack in the sunshine. Did some walk, trot and canter work and he was delightful.

3/25/07 His back still looked a little tender, so I longed him. He did excellently.

3/20/07 Did some flatwork. He was a lot more settled today. He is the kind of horse who really likes to work, so the more he is ridden the better he becomes. Some tbs are like that and it can be a lot of fun. We did a lot of steady canter work today and leg yielding in trot, which started out jilty, but got very relaxed by the end. Very good.

3/19/07 He was quite fresh today due to having the weekend off. We warmed up with some walk work, asking him to be soft in his poll. Relaxation was a difficulty for him. He wants to work! We moved on to trot and canter work which went really well, and better the more we did of it.

3/16/07 Warmed up with some walk work and he settled nicely. Then trot and canter which went very well. We then jumped over teh 2' vertical which was a little rusty at first, but in a few jumps he relaxed and jumped in stride. We closed with jumping, going a few strides and stopping, turn on haunches and canter a circle and jump back. When we landed, we did the same exercise in the opposite direction. He did very well.

3/14/07 Started out with flat work for warmup. I had him walk with his neck down twice around the arena before I did anything else. This seemed to settle him. Then on to trot and canter work, which went well. Then we jumped a cross rail, which he overjumped on the first attempt, but did not rush or balk. Subsequent attempts were spot on. very good.

3/11/07 Worked in the indoor. He was a little anxious at first, but we got the walk established, then did some trot and canter work to let him get swinging. Then we did transition work from walk to halt and trot to walk to halt, asking him to stay soft through his throatlatch for the transition and we made some nice progress. Very good.

3/6/07 Worked him in the indoor on walk, trot, canter and some lateral work. Some tightness here and there, but improved already. He did very well.

3/5/07 Met Sarah with Oliver and discussed saddle fit and my suggestion for changing his bit to a JP oval. Most horses like it better than a single jointed snaffle, I've found. We put my saddle on, which fit Oliver a little better. Over the next few weeks we will discuss her saddle needs (dressage? XC?) and try to nail that down. I got on and rode him around at a walk, trot and canter. He was a little tight in his neck now and then but improved over yesterday. Then Sarah rode him which went very well. We focused on breathing, soft focusing her eyes and carrying her hands. It was a very good session.

3/4/07 I caught him in the pasture and brought him in. On the way in, we had several discussions about him staying relaxed in his neck and attentive to my wishes. I put him in the crossties and groomed him and he was fine for that and tacking. Then into the arena for short longing, which went fine, other than one minor discussion about going to the right, where he at first wanted to back up and not let me get on his right. Then I longed him over a small crossrail to which he over-reacted at first, but got better. Then I got on and rode him. He wants to lock his poll and resist and go forward, which is not uncommon. I did a lot of slow work, asking him to unlock and be more flexible in his body. He did very well and clearly has some very good training.

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