First Ride at Home with Alexis

 Highlights in video (including a spook and bolt at 2:38ish).

Things I’m doing:

• 15 to 20  minutes in the cross ties – grooming – tacking up
•   Round pen Lunging before I ride.
•  Mounting and riding in the round pen

Things I need to work on:

• · Hands 
•  Not pulling back when Lexie spooks, she jumps forward when she spooks. I pull back, she slams on breaks then bolts again. I just need to stay out of her mouth and hold on until I can bring her around rather than getting right in her mouth. 
• I need to relax and keep her attention

I rode my Lexie in the round pen today. It was very windy and gusty. I lunged her first. She's not a bucker, but she's 1000 miles an hour around the round pen for the first 10 minutes. After that she starts to settle and listen to voice commands.

I can't believe how nervous I was about getting on her. I had to work very hard not to tense up. I know she's spooky and reactive. Luckily she's not sensitive on her sides, but she's a leaper / bolter. Since it was windy, she was on high alert. It was so windy in fact, that it blew the ladder that one of my cameras was on. It also kept blowing the tripod sideways.

I mounted without issue, she stands very well for mounting. (I'm still so damned tickled to be able to mount like a normal person with a mounting block without having to climb up on a tailgate)  My intention was to keep her at a walk in the round pen. She is very forward and wants to go go go and I'm not used to a bit. Cody is bitless so I've got to school myself to keep light contact without too much pressure on Lexie. It's hard when she bolts forward a lot.

Since it was windy I wanted to keep it short. It was more for me to get used to the feel of her. She feels so different from Cody. He's big slow and solid beneath you. And she's smaller, lighter, and quick. It's like going from driving a Buick Roadmaster to a Rocket.

Only one mishap. The Rocket launched when the next door neighbors tarp blew up off their trailer. My first reaction was to pull back on the reins. And that's bad! Because then she slams on brakes and bolts again -- VERY hard to sit. Also not good trust building. I did pull back instinctively. And that's exactly what happened. She slammed on brakes, bolted again and this time I managed to bring her in slowly to a stop.

She is going to be a fun ride but I've got a lot to learn. I am already learning so much by recording all of my roundpen and paddocks rides with both her and Cody on video and watching them back. I see where my mistakes are and I see what they are doing. It helps a lot in gait training with Cody. I have included the video highlights of my session with Lexie so you can laugh at my poor form :P I know I did.