Even with the first signs of winter hair, Bouffe's coat shone brightly after I groomed him, which is a good sign of how much better he is doing and feeling. After all the rain we have had, the sun is still a rare sight in the sky and today was no different with overcast skies and a cool breeze. But it was still good to get back in the western saddle, which my body still seems to appreciate when I throw my right leg over the cantle and ease down into the seat.
In our session today I had two things I wanted to accomplish : practice neck reining and sit to the trot. The last time I rode, Bouffe and I worked for almost the entire thirty minutes on neck reining and I expected to practice some more today. Wrong! Bouffe remembered. He wasn't perfect but still showed that in just one session he had learned the basics. With just a little snag of the direct rein first I then placed the neck rein over his opposite shoulder and he turned. After several times I stopped using the direct rein and he had gotten the hang of it, much better to the right than the left, but still a big improvement from last week. Bouffe continues to amaze me. He is an excellent example of how smart OTTBS are and how willing they are to learn.
The same thing happened when we worked on a sitting trot. It has been over a week since we practiced but from that session Bouffe had gotten the idea that if he slows down his trot just a little I can sit comfortably on his back and stop bouncing up and down. I shouldn't have been surprised that he had figured this out. He is such a remarkable horse that I put nothing out of reach as to what he can learn.
After many treatment of iodine wash and Furicin the cracked heel Bouffe has had for awhile is finally clearing up. I treated it one more time and fed Bouffe his carrots before putting him back in his stall. All is well.
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