Hope

Sometimes you just need one good day to give you hope for the rest of your future, and today was a day filled with hope for Tolo! I lunged him with side reins before getting on him. He stood perfectly still while I got on and walked off great. He is definitely foot sore but at this point there is nothing to nail a shoe onto. His hoof is breaking off where the nails used to be and they just look pretty crappy. Im going to call my farrier and see if he can come out sooner and put glue on shoes on. That way he can actually grow some hoof so next round he can get regular shoes.

Since he was a little sore we kept it short and didnt push him but we did walk/trot/canter at least a little bit. He is hesitant with taking contact and going forward and was definitely expecting me to be hanging on his face. I just tried to keep a light steady contact and just let him be. He will definitely get a much better ride from me once he gets his shoes on and in a better arena but it was very encouraging to see him keep him cool. He did get startled once but all he did was jump then proceeded on like normal. It is really all I could ask of him at this point.

Once I get him going well again and hopefully moved to a barn I am going to focus on dressage with him. Get a solid first level basis on him and work towards showing 2nd for next year. Never thought I would ever ride a 2nd level test let alone have two horses working towards 2nd level! Maybe between the two I will be able to get my bronze medal?! That would be fun!