Collection, cantering, and sidepassing

Well, we officially know now that Lic CAN canter in an arena... the problem is, she doesn't want to. I took her to my trainers arena... our first day of cantering, she was great... no resistance or anything. We cantered one whole lap, and I praised her, and she got to be done. Good day, right?

The next two days, she seemed to realize that she was being tricked into being a good girl, and wanted none of it. She had to be worked into the ground... she was awful, bucking, balking, etc. She got lunged, she got smacked with a crop, she got spurred... these are not new aids to her, and were not used indiscriminately or carelessly. She really and truly wanted to fight.

We had a bit of an "ah-ha!" moment the next day. She bucked, and I pushed her through it, and was able to put her right back into the canter. Woohoo! My trainer noticed right after that though that she was acting still on her right hind, so we ended it there.

A few days later, we were trail riding, and she cantered nice as could be on the trail. *sigh*

We have also been working on collection and lateral work... Lic can now sidepass both ways under saddle- yay! It's harder for her to the left, but every time, we get a bit more out of her. Her head is coming down and nose is tucking in better at the jog, and she will jog around endlessly without complaint. We still have to work on consistent speed... or I should say, I have to work on it... my trainre can get a consistent trot all day long.

But overall, we are making progress with every ride. It is very encouraging. :)