Short but sweet

Gem, mounted sideways improving! Just sort of rode around and played with isolation of the ends. Had a nice and short warmup on the ground and got some very responsive actions from him. Worked on bridleless riding and only picked up the reins for phase 4. He was quite soft and willing.

Z and I started with the trailer and building her confidence standing in the stall. I did not close the panel but asked her to be where she would need to be for the panel. She's very concerned about getting trapped in the trailer so I've got to help her understand that I appreciate her worries and she can trust me.

Then, I tried a new pad and just did passenger lesson around the barn and playground. She started off wanting to canter, but she quickly settled into a nice trot and we rode around for about 25 minutes. Not the conditioning ride I wanted, but better than nothing. The new pad seemed to do well, so I'll be spending some more time with it to see how it goes.