Lesson and Shopping

On Thursday night Char was going for another lesson, so I thought I might as well take a horse too.  I went a little early and rode Shasta first, and she was good again although she sure gets distracted easy but not too hard to convince her to focus again.  Then I hooked up the trailer and tacked up Razz and so when Char got there we were ready to go.

We got there and as we were putting our bridles on I asked Char if Doug was laughing at my paint horse yet and she said maybe, but when he come out he wanted to buy her!  I hadn't even gotten on her yet!!  He said he always wanted a black and white paint horse to turnback on.  And she was prettier than Lorne's.  I was quite suprised thats for sure.  Of all this work I been trying to sell every other horse and the one I don't want to sell someone wants.

We warmed up then I did the flag first and he does things a little differently, when the flag stops he wants the horse to stop straight with thier head bent, or at least looking at the flag, and no backing up.  So that took a while to get her over, but it was coming.  And he wants her kinda angled towards the flag the whole time cause she has a bad habit of drifting off (which I knew).  Then Char had a turn and Dude was being a little lazy so Doug had the flag moving really fast to hurry him up.

Then we went again and she was getting better, but I think I was getting better so I was asking her better.  I knew I was a little nervous and so my cues were not as strong or as quick as they should have been.  And with doing something different, I had to think and sometimes when I get to thinking what my hands should do I forget I have legs and vice versa.  But I was pretty happy with her for being in a strange place and me being nervous.

Char went again and then Doug got on Dude and got him moving a little better. Its harder with him cause he knows he  is supposed to follow the flag so he gets lazy and the ends and starts turning before the flag moves.  Again we lots of times practiced backing up after we stopped. But he said the flag isn't moving so we shouldn't be either.  Makes sense when he says it that way.  Sometimes he moved the flag slowly at first so we could back a step or two before turning with it.  His flag is variable speed so it was kinda cool that way.

Then yesterday I got up early (for me anyways) and headed to Calgary with my sister and we went down to the Christmas craft sale in the round up centre and then to Cross Iron Mills mall, and then to Walmart in Airdrie.  I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done (and a couple items for myself, oops!)  and lots more ideas, so it was a long but productive day.  Today is K and K's Christmas party day and so we are heading in there and I have only plans to buy a neoprene and maybe a felt saddle pad if they have one.  But they usually bring a bunch of new stuff out so I guess we will have to see.  I really try not to buy stuff for myself before Christmas but since there are really no other horse people in my family I hardly ever get tack unless I ask for something specific.  And its so much easier when its stuff they know what it it (like halters, lol)