06/27/2025
Another hot one today...but I was able to squeeze in a great ride mid morning before it got too sweaty and gross out! We went through our typical warm up of playing with connection and mobility to all the parts and legs. Moving the hips a little away from the bend and then a little in the direction of bend, a little shoulder in and a little counter shoulder in, a little leg yield... everything is feeling really good, and all of those muscle groups for moving and driving, but also balancing and stabilizing are getting easier and easier! I decided to challenge him a little and test his understanding of the aids... and it turns out that he has all of the lateral work at a walk. We did leg yields and half passes, travers and renvers, the start of a baby walk pirouette, reverse pirouette, and of course shoulder in. I cannot tell you how good a horse starts to feel when they understand these things and learn to get organized in their body and legs, moving with diagnol balance and stepping under from behind. This will all sound pretty technical to some, but I assure you these are things every horse can do, and they are a lot more fun to ride when you can cause them to happen! I read recently that lateral work is like your horse going to the gym, and I feel such a difference in Enero's strength from this work. He felt like a stick figure with 4 legs going in different directions our first few rides, but now he's comfortable and has so much more body awareness. His topline is filling in and the muscle in his hip is really changing.
We "cooled out" 😅 with a ride down and then up our hill trail and it was the first time I rode him through the whole thing. Downhill is so good for him, using those "deceleration" muscles and things. He steps out on the trail with great energy and might even keep up with the gaited crowd! He pricks those cute ears and I think he really enjoys seeing the world and moving out.
Our next required video is already coming up soon so I promise some good footage is coming...
