About a month ago, I started taking dressage lesson. I had four on a lovely OTTB mare, then moved Shaker to the dressage barn. I've had one lesson with him there so far.
Saturday
Last Saturday, Shaker moved to the new barn. He lives out in the pasture now, and I'm responsible for giving him his grain every day. It's a bit of a pain at times, but it saves a ton of money, and makes it affordable for him to be out there.
He got on the trailer immediately with no fuss, which I was extremely happy about. He hadn't been in a trailer in many years, and he'd only been off the property twice in that time. He trailered well, and was just a little bit looky when he got off. We only had one minor spook on the way to his new pasture.
Once in the pasture, he and the other horses chased each other around a bit, then settled in to eat. I left him alone for a bit while I went to buy a bucket and something to store grain in. When I got back, I took him up to the barn to eat. He is a very messy eater.
Sunday
When I went to get him from the pasture, he came trotting up to me. He was a little spooky on the way back up, acting like he'd never seen a pony before. We had a nice ride, though he was pretty distracted in the new arena. Didn't do much since he was still getting used to the arena.
Monday
Monday he decided he wanted to leave the arena. There's 7 different openings and no gates. Picked up a dressage whip and suddenly he decided to cooperate. Was a bit spooky with the longer whip, but he figured it out ok.
Tuesday
He behaved better. Borrowed a dressage whip from a friend just to get him used to it.
Wednesday
First lesson with dressage trainer. She really liked him, and thinks he's a really cute mover. I thought he needed to work on bending, but she disagreed, and said he needed to work on straightness. We tried, and he seemed to really be getting it. He started to go more forward, and even started to seek contact. I'm really excited to see how he improves over time.
