Plateaus....

This week's been one of highs and lows.  Tucker displays moments of pure genius in the ring -- light, airy trots, collected work over cavaletti, forward circles, and a willingness to loosen his back and be round.  And then he decides "to hell with this, I'm outta here!" and bolts out of the arena and down the stall aisle! He's been crabby in the cross-ties this week, despite the regular smoochie ambushes and even the occasional snack.

Trying to ease whatever seems to be bugging him, we got him a fly mask so the nasty little things stay out of his eyes.  His new shoes seem to fit really well still and he's got no visible saddle rubs. But that doesn't stop him from being grumpy.  I wanted to make last week's trail ride really fun, so I didn't even tack him up.  I skipped a visit to the cross-ties and didn't get near him with a brush.  We went directly from his pasture to the trails, and all along the way I picked black berries for him.  By the end of the ride the sides of his mouth were purple and my hands were covered in sticky dirt!  But I was focused to keep him moving forward on a long rein, not asking anything of him except to go where I directed. We walked down to the pond and he had a drink, we cantered across a sandy area on a loose rein, we explored a neighborhood and even got patted by kids. He seemed relieved to just have a mindless ride without demands and requests, and the berries (not to mention the bareback pad) were a definite score!

We've also considered the fact that his human Mama just gave birth to twins last week, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's feeling that vibe.  Tucker no doubt loves and misses Beth, but it wasn't until the day after the babies were born that it occurred to us that maybe he's just a little "off" as a result.  We're reminding him that all is well at home with his real family, and that maybe soon his Mama and little sisters might come visit him.  And that they'd be so proud of him for all the learning he's accomplished here at Camp this summer!

So today's lesson with Jordan went pretty well after Tucker's multiple days off.  Shanna only rode once last week while I was gone, and my only ride was the leisurely trail ride.  Last weekend we worked over cavaletti at the trot in a straight line.  He had some really lovely extended trots over the poles, and he's learning to half halt.  Kind of. So I had high hopes for His Highness' happiness under the watchful eye of our teacher.  In all it went pretty well.  We worked on round 20m circles, walk and trot leg yielding from the quarter line to the rail, trot/canter/trot transitions, and submission (not his strong suit).  The lateral work went really well and he's learning to get underneath himself from the trot to canter. He still likes to lift his nose like a giraffe and trot like mad into a flat canter, but he's clever and we'll get there.

Meanwhile, we're curious to see if we can discover the source of his seeming frustration.  If his teeth check out and the body worker/chiropractor doesn't find anything major subluxated or needing to be exorcised, I think maybe an afternoon of cross-country jumping will be just what the doctor ordered!

So the plateaus are okay.  They're teaching me patience, Shanna consistence and Tucker confidence. We're all making progress over time and sometimes a big, deep breath is in order.