Dee's been a bit of a cranky lady lately! Luckily, she's only been cranky on the ground. Under saddle, she's been lovely. We had a break from the heat (thank goodness!), and she's positively LIT UP with the cooler weather. Once upon a time, this would have meant explosive spooking and gross misbehavior at the canter. These days she sneaks in one or two spooks, but they aren't a big deal. Instead, she uses all her energy to actually go forward. Yesterday, she came out breathing a little fire, but after a tight warm-up, she really settled in and put her excess energy to good use. The best part? I actually felt like I could still push at her to create a really positive, forward gait. She was wanting to get a bit crooked on the long sides in the canter work, so we did a few steps of leg yield. This worked wonders in getting her to say "Oops! Got to travel in a straight line to stay balanced!" I've never done that sort of stuff with her before, but it did a lot to help Sitka's canter, so I figure it will probably help Dee, too. It also helped to keep her up in front a little more, because she likes to get on her head a little.
Quick post, but she's doing very well!
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