March has been a slow month for Kai and me. I spent a lot of the sessions hanging out with him and grooming.

One thing that stood out this month was my first group lesson with Kaila!
I was riding with Molly on her horse Ori. We worked on head set and having control of the shoulders. I asked Kai to go on a circle and I would bend his nosto the inside but not let him make the circle smaller.  It took me almost the whole lesson to understand and feel what I need Kai to do. But I was super excited when we finally got it. Kai responded to me because I understood the concept.

What bugs me sometimes about regular lessons is that I don't always get to do my "homework" with Kai. I feel after a lesson that we should practice what I learned before the next lesson and I don't always get the chance because of various reasons. It frustrates me a little because I like to have the first thing down pat so I can build on it next lesson. It is especially true with riding because Kai has been too wet to ride lately so I didn't get a chance to practice the bending since the lesson.

I am happy and excited that our zone 5 driving is going a bit better. I am more confident and Kai is less bracy.  I was right when I thought that we only needed practice with this!

Today I had a group lesson again. I was pleasantly surprised that Kai's girth line was dry, so I only had to curry and then run a hard brush over it and he was clean. Kai was exceptionally connected to me right from the start (he usually needs to play for a little while before he gets connected). I mounted and he was giving very soft lateral flexion and softened right away. Kaila had  us trot on the rail while asking our horses for vertical flexion. Kai was getting the hang of giving to me vertically while trotting. He did his best during transitions and was soft on my leg. Then he offered a super smooth canter step so I softly slowed him down and kept trotting on the rail. At the end of the lesson Kaila asked M. to go in the middle of the arena and told me to keep Kai on the rail. She surprised me by having me ask Kai to canter. I have not cantered on Kai nearly all winter and I was not feeling that confident about it. But Kaila helped me feel more sure of myself and I asked Kai for a few canter steps at a time. Kai probably felt my uncertainty and he kept picking up the wrong lead. I think I was somehow screwing him up because I was a little nervous. At the end Kai cantered a little more than a lap around the arena (correct lead!!)

I was over the moon about having confidently cantered! I gave Kai an apple and cooled him out.

Judging by how last session went and the fact that it has been a while since I played with Kai I guessed that he would be dominant and testy today. It turns out that I was right.

I began our session by grooming Kai and braiding his mane because there was no space for us to play in the arena. When we finally had room in the arena I asked Kai to go on a circle at the walk and he jumped forward striking the air with his front legs and he gave a little crow hop. I backed him up hard and asked him again. Kai trotted instead of walking so I pushed him to canter in a very tight circle with lots of changes of direction. When he decided to connect I played some yoyo game and took him for a ride while he cooled out.

I was prepared for him to be bracy when I asked him for lateral flexion but he surprised me and was super soft. I tied my savvy string around his neck as a cordeo so that I could begin teaching him to be responsive to it. I asked him to yield his HQ and he walked forward so I corrected him and asked again. I persisted until he yielded on both sides lightly. Then we practiced his FQ yields and he got that almost right away. I asked him to back up and to yield his FQ with the neck rope and he did pretty well.

The goal of this ride was to be able to direct him with my legs only without him speeding up. I had my rein ready but completely neutral and we set off on the rail. I had to correct Kai in the beginning but soon I was able to steer him in a tight serpentine with my legs only and my reins hanging down. I slid of his bum when dismounting for fun. I asked him to bow before giving him his apple and putting him back in the paddock. It was a very good and productive session.

Kai and I are doing pretty well at the moment. We are ready to film our level 3 online audition and are now just waiting for the footing in the outdoor arena to be good. We have practiced our routine and I am very happy with what we have however, I still don't have a tape that I want to send in.

While we are waiting, we are playing with ground driving in preparation for our level 4 online audition. I feel we are a bit stuck with this task as Kai always starts out bracy and I am not always coordinated so it is a bit of a struggle.  I think that I just need to do it more and we will figure it out.


Kai's piaffe is progressing very well and he is offering diagonal steps nearly every time. He still swishes his tail when I ask him for more effort but I am sure he will stop when he understands what I want a bit better. I believe that as soon as he is more sure with moving his feet in place I need to move him out of the corner so he doesn't become dependent on it.


He has also been pretty sassy lately. He tosses his head and blocks me with his nose and is resistant. I am not sure why as I have not changed anything that I know of. I feel that I need to correct him very firmly every time he does something like that and move on. I will see how that works and change it if I feel it is necessary. I think he might be just testing me to see what he can get away with.


I knew that I should be asking more of him because I am satisfied with too little, but now I am beginning to understand that I should be a lot less tolerant and to correct faster and harder as Kai is taking advantage of the fact that I am more slow with him. I will definitely try it out and see if it helps him stop head tossing.


Our liberty is going well and I will be teaching him to canter on a circle at liberty and also flying lead changes for our level 4 liberty audition. He is staying connected for longer and I can ask for more things at once without him deciding to leave.