Cole was doing his dance as soon as I got him in the arena.  We practiced it as I led him around, but then it was time to work.  My goal was to further strengthen his corners.  You see, on one end of the arena, there are no walls.  There is the viewing room, the shavings pile, the barn exit and none of it is in a direct line.  We have to make the corners on our own.  I suppose he wasn’t doing them well, all along, but when I started to practice laterals, he tried all kinds of things on those corners.  He was confused.

Of course, I blame it on me.  I think I was lazy, and never precisely told him how to do the corners.  Sunday, we practiced them at a walk and a little at a trot with lots of clicks and treats.  Yesterday, I expanded on the walking and did much more trotting.  Now, we are at the point that if I am very conscious of my aids, he does fairly well.  I now only click him when he does awesome.  It was time well spent.  Oh, by no coincidence, his circles improved, too.

Once we tackled that, it was time to take some spins around the whole arena.  I suppose it was all the concentration of the training that made him so happy just to go!  He trotted like a dream.  Cole has a large trot with a lot of suspension, and it can be difficult to ride.  Fortunately, I have pretty much figured out how to move with him and hold steady at the same time.  Well, we really connected, and combined with his extra speed, it was the most amazing feeling.  Who would think riding in the arena could be so exhilarating?

Our next project, as the ride wound down, was to work on backing.  I decided to really teach him, this time.  I have done it before, but then I forget to do it the next ride and lose everything.  This week, we are going to solidify backing.  It only took about 10 clicks, and he was doing multiple steps.  Another 10 clicks, and he was better than Cruiser.  Now, I just need to remember to review it until it is perfect on the first request on each ride.

I rode Cruiser, too, but he was coughing too much for me to feel good about doing a lot of trotting.  Though the arena isn’t very dusty, he is sensitive.  We walked circles, serpentines and such.  He didn’t seem to mind.  It was pretty warm, anyway, and I didn’t want to get him sweated up.