First Week of Regular Work!

YAY! Finally we have had some consistant and regular work. The sun has been shining, and Goblin hasn't had any appointments with the chiro, so we have been able to work all week! Last weekend Goblin and I had our first un planned dismount...and even after all the rain, the ground is still damn hard! Poor Goblin I think got more of a fright from my waving arms and legs coming off the side of him, then what ever spooked him in the first place! I dont exactly know what spooked him, but his feet went out from under him and I rolled, not so stylish, off the front of him. He turned and looked at me as if to say, how did you end up there? So with the help of Dad, I got back on, and Goblin worked super! That was the beginning of getting him to stretch down at the walk. Yay! Progess! So with a sore hip and bruised leg, I hobbled around for a day or 2, and decided not to ride Goblin, so lunging over poles it was. He is really starting to get the hang of what I'm asking, and has started to really lift his hind quarters and starting to stretch forward.
I decided to ride Gamble first, to make sure I could get on and I wasn't totally useless once up there. I was fine, and Gamble went easy on me :)
Tuesday morning both Gamble and Goblin had a sports massage. Gamble has had enough to know that when he see's Kirsty, it's going to be a good day! It didn't take Goblin long to learn this either - happy to rest his chin on the fence while Kirsty worked her magic! So Wednesday evening I got back on Goblin. He seemed to have forgotten all about the little episode from Sunday, and stood like nothing had happened. That was what I needed, as I was a tad nervous, but didn't need to be. That, I think, is what impresses me so much about Goblin's attitude. He just gets over it, and does the task at hand. No dwelling on what had happened, negative and all. So we stayed in the paddock for a couple of days, and concentrated on getting him to lower and stretch. It didn't take long for him to discover how nice it was down there! The walk is coming along nicely, just need to convince him that it's even better at the trot. Yesterday he was beginning to lower at the trot, so that's a start. It's quite amazing how much we have achieved in just 2 days. The plan for the next few weeks will be to concentrate on lowering at walk and trot, lunging and riding over poles. All this will help build up his back and hind quarters, which he needs.