Peanut 4/26 The Crazy Horse Trial

Peanut worked more on the lunge in open space today, now willing to go a little faster, accepting of the "tapping" of his hindquarter with the in-hand whip on a small circle, and was able to go into a slightly bigger circle and even offered to canter when asked without screeching to a halt, stopping, turning in, and backing wildly. I still just used the in-hand whip (no long lash) and reviewed in-hand work with him. He was more willing to work with me, was more flexible than yesterday, and was a little more coordinated in his 4 track shoulder in work. He was more animated and coordinated with his back legs, but showed a clear unwillingness to move as fast or as well on the right rein.

I rode him, and he was very heavy and pulling hard on the reins. His right lead canter has lost much of its former balance and was very heavy on the forehand and "running", though he could sustain it very well and was happy to do so. He was hard to encourage in a frame above a walk and even in walking was heavy and occasionally throwing a 'tude about needing to "give" to the rein. He could not come int o a true frame when gaiting, but was able to sustain a "1-2 3-4" gait (slightly pacey) easily. I took him out on the driveway, which I use as a sounding board for gaited horses. I was able to keep him closer to an even 4-beat gait, but he wanted to go more hollow backed to do it. He was able to really "rack on!" with his head wagging back and forth when I let him come up, but he would often still leave his hindquarters behind after several strides. His poll was not as soft and responsive as I'd like to see it (and had it previously). To summarize, he lost conditioning over the winter but retained his gait and ability to get the right lead. He just needs some targeted strenthening and re-tuning of his gait, along with needing to get more stamina (he was huffing after about 20 minutes of sustained gaiting and cantering).

The good part: he was a ROCK STAR at the end. I rode him down the driveway and Dancer and Aurora (in the front field) were more up than I have ever seen them. When they saw Peanut, they began racing around the field going CRAZY, bucking, farting, rearing and tossing themselves so high I thought they were going to clear the fence. All the while, Peanut just kept walking, relaxed, wondering why they were playing so hard, I'm sure. I took him down the road to the neighbor's driveway, with Dancer and Aurora galloping at full speed, sliding to a stop right behind him and BLOWING alarm blows, neighing, then bucking and tossing themselves around and taking off again to gallop around the field. They did this the WHOLE time while he calmly walked along the fenceline ont the road. I turned him around, and that was the ONLY time he showed any tension, just because he was wondering why we were changing direction. He simply put his head up, stared at the horses for a second, but had no tension in his body. He was just casually watching. He then walked back calmly and then gaited all the way back up the driveway. Peanut made me quite proud of his trial by fire!