Flying

I just had to share. Green horses don't stay green forever. Even acknowledging that fact, progress often catches me by surprise.

I went down to the fairgrounds to do a short gallop to loosen up the big boy and get him into a "forward" mindset before tomorrow's show. I went by myself *gasp* so I was a bit nervous. Brego was looky for his mare-friend, but otherwise perfectly behaved.

We got to the big open field and I did some trotting in circles to check the brakes, steering, and balance of my ride. All checked out, suspension felt good, so I asked for the canter and headed out over the 20 acre front field. Brego settled into a nice open canter and I found myself relaxing.

No leg, no pulling, perfect self balance, he kept the same tempo in this steady, glorious canter. There was no squeak from my saddle, no huffing and puffing from either myself or the horse. I am finally strong enough to keep myself up in two point without touching the saddle, letting my legs, hips and back absorb his huge stride. There was silence. No, not quite. I could hear each individual footfall. ba-da-dum ba-da-dum ba-da-dum.

Normally, Brego requires riding in the canter. He requires leg to keep going, or hands to slow him down, seat or chest to balance. It's a lot of work. But today, he required nothing from me but to enjoy the flight.

It was. Flying.