So now after some reflection on the day I have come away with a list of positives and a list of things that need to be worked on and ways we can improve.
Positive one. No bucks or rears. This is pretty par for the course for him, even when he is amped up, but still, lets count our blessings shall we.
Positive two. And this takes a little info. Bacardi is barefoot and has presented fairly sore on our gravel at home. However, at the show farm, he had ZERO issue with the gravel. We take this as a win.
Positive three. We had a new learning experience. And he did show in on of his rounds, even if I didn’t ride. So we will take it.
Now for our improvements.
Improvement one. We need to take LOTS more field trips. Get him out there and learning that being away from “home base” isn’t scary as long as mom is there.
Improvement two. This is an improvement for me. I need to learn to trust myself and be more confident on my horse. I have ridden him through the same kind of behavior before. This is something I need to work on with him.
Other things we should consider in the future for outings would be some sort of calming supplement. Knowing this horse, he likes to really get in his head and over think and that can sometimes lead to his detriment. We need to work on him taking confidence from me as his rider and learning to trust that I will not take him into situations that will harm him.
Overall this was a GREAT learning experience and honestly I had every expectation that it was going to be a disaster. So what we did accomplish was great! And its only schooling. And it was our first BIG outing! So we will go ahead and learn and move forward.
Happy Riding + Learning!
A+B