OTTB - Training To Jog and Retired Racehorse Training Project

I rode Bouffe today for the first time in a week and he and I both enjoyed the session. Now that Bouffe is in a stall he has gained weight just in a few days, probably from the extra feed. He was on his toes, which was a good sign and I never had to ask him to walk on and not plod. 

Teaching Bouffe to do a slow trot (jog), so I can sit the trot, is going to be a long process, for Bouffe is a typical OTTB and only has two speeds - walk and gallop. The trot is just pass through on the way from the walk to a gallop. Even when I did tight circles and serpentines Bouffe kept up his fast trot and would have galloped if I just moved my hands up his neck. So, as much as I tried I could not sit, I just bounced if I didn't post, which you don't do when riding western.

Riding western is still very comfortable for me and doesn't irritate the tightness and numbness in my legs the way riding English did. I figured out a new way to get the saddle, which weighs thirty pounds, closure to where Bouffe is cross tied in the barn. The saddle stand is on wheels that make it easy to push closure to the tack room door right outside of where Bouffe is standing. It keeps me from struggling to carry the saddle the length of the tack room and makes it much easier to tack up and put away. 

Today's session started out good and ended good. A student of Leslie's, Monica, is going to groom, lunge, and ride Bouffe on Saturdays, starting tomorrow, with the goal of boosting his conditioning. If everything works as planned Bouffe and I should be all set for the show on the twenty-seventh.  

Tomorrow I am going to the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium sponsored by the Retire Racehorse Training Project. One of the makeovers was done by a western trainer, who taught his OTTB to be a cutting horse and compete in barrel racing. I am looking forward to tomorrow with hopes of picking up some pointers for training Bouffe.