I was very surprised to see that Max had lots of 'steam in his engine' so to speak. He was very forward moving. Not nutty, not too much, but a very nice amount of pep in his step. Must mean he is feeling good. He was easy to adjust and was very responsive nonetheless, and after a couple of serpentines, decided that the slow life was much easier than trying to speed through the turns. They're also quite exhausting for a horse that's lost much of his fitness, and has a weak right side. I was tired by the end of it also. Though the forward motion was great, because I experienced a couple of moments where he broke at the pole and softened. Lots of "good boy" and pats. People probably think I am nuts with the amount of "GOOD BOYS!" I blurt out during our rides. But he always responds well to that and knows he has done well.
Back on the subject of the serpentines, I noticed how very grumpy he got when we would bend around and have to really use his right side. He gets a little sassy when I apply more leg, but reluctantly complies with my request. Super happy once we get back to his left side. He'll get there. Unfortunately, my right side is my weaker side too, so we both will have to work extra hard to build that up.
We didn't do a whole lot of canter, but I did try to get the right lead out of him again. So far I've tried stepping into my right stirrup, stepping into my left stirrup, counter-bending, posting on the wrong diagonal immediately before asking, asking over a pole, asking on the straight, asking in a field, asking in the arena...I can't get him to pick it up. It has to be something that I am doing wrong, so I look forward to lessoning soon to see if I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. He did offer me the right lead when landing from a jump, and I have since seen a few of his races and he was always on the right lead in the straightaway. I know some horses are allowed to run on whatever lead makes them happy, especially in the lower class races that he ran, but thankfully he did know his changes and seemed to always get them. It's something I am not asking for correctly, so it will take a little time for me to figure him out.
Max has a great heart. He tries very hard to do just as I ask him. He gets a little bit fussy if it involves bending around his right side, or when I ask him to steer more off my leg than the rein, but what do you expect for a horse not even 60 days off the track? He feels pressure on his (already sensitive) sides and he kind of gets it but kind of wants to question it at the same time.
He will be going on a diet adventure here soon where we test out something new, so I'm very excited to see how he does with that. He has a farrier appointment next week, so I am hoping to hear some good news about his white line disease. The week after the dentist and vet come out, and I'm thinking he's going to have to get a little bit of dental work done in addition to the float, but long term that should benefit him greatly! Fingers crossed!
There's a really neat Track my Hack app that I've been using for about a year now, and recently they updated it and added more features. It works VERY well for trail rides, and thankfully seems to do an okay job for at home workouts as well! The triangles closest to the pond are actually serpentines, so it's accurate, but clearly not 100%.
Happy wet boy after his shower!
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