Cole in the Arena - Part 2

Cole in the Arena - Part 2

Did I really write about how well Cole was on his last arena ride?

Yesterday, I rode a whole different horse, though he looked just like Cole.  He lived up to his registered name, Smokin' Cole Train, that is for sure.

I could feel that his mood was very different after about--20 seconds in the saddle.  He felt like he was a horse twice his size and ready to explode.  Cole was a stick of dynamite.

I have been here, before, with Cole.  To be on the safe side, I decided to start with something simple.  We would just walk 5 laps each way around the arena.  At the scary corner, his head was way up in the air.  He wanted to run.  I jiggled the rein to tell him to drop his head, and he did; for which he got praise and neck rubs.

When it was time to trot, I figured I would just go short distances each time until he calmed down--and I would go in circles for more control.  Upon request, he sprung into the trot.  This is when he really was Smokin' Cole Train.  I can't explain very well how it felt, but if it was physically possible for a horse's back legs to be going twice as fast as his front legs, I swear that's what was happening.  Yes, short distances were enough for me.  I felt like I wouldn't last much past that.

We practiced our walk/trot transitions on a circle, and I started to notice he was settling down.  I wanted to ride at least a half hour, but I was ready to quit after 15 minutes.  He still felt explosive, but at least his back legs were matching his front legs.

We took a walk break, to kill some time to get me to a half hour.  We wandered over to the scary corner--mistake.  He jumped and tried to take off running.  Since we have been practicing this maneuver, lately, I was able to quickly spin him into a small circle on the very first stride.  Sigh.  We went back to the safe end of the arena.

Since he was doing better at a trot, I decided to integrate some shoulder-ins along the wall.  I like them when he is hyper, because his neck is already bent.  If he should try to shoot off, I already have him in position to spin him.

I didn't have to.  He was happy to cooperate-and we were getting closer to the wall this time.  By now, we were nearing the half hour mark, and instead of hopping off, I knew I could do the last 10 minutes safely.  We continued more trotting in circles and shoulder-ins, and then we settled down with doing his lateral tricks that he loves so much.

Nobody else was there to use the arena, so I unsaddled him in there and set him free.  He did a quick roll and took off running!  I grabbed a whip to encourage him to continue to run.  On the first wave of the whip, he reared straight up into the air and kicked up off the ground with his hind legs--such elevation.  He would have put many Lipizzaner's to shame!

He did a lot of running and bucking--around and around and around.  It is then that I decided that he wasn't being such a bad horse on the ride,  Actually, he was being very good.  If he felt he had to do all this running after the ride, and he still did his best to listen and cooperate with me for 40 minutes--well that makes a very good horse to me.

I rode him again this morning--and he was back to his old self, again.  He just needed to run.