Non Bloghop post :D Of pictures!

There's a light off the barn pointing toward the arena and then two in the corners shown. It gets lit sufficiently well to ride and lunge! The black lines are where I set up the trot poles. Not to scale (Obvs)

Tonight I got the kids in bed early (thank you fall rollback!) and decided that I was going to lunge. I lunged Gwyn on Sunday after the thunderstorm but since I have my lesson on Thursday and I've been super inspired by watching these video blogs from a trainer in Ireland, that I was going to commit with Gwyn.

Sunday was kind of hilarious. I got most of it on camera, but suffice to say that Gwyn was NOT careful over the trot poles I was lunging her over. She was stepping on them, skipping them, it was a disaster. A hilarious disaster.

Tonight I resolved to lunge her on the flat, since it was dark out. I do have some flood lights to light the arena. See the diagram! I figured it might not be lit well enough to do pole work.

She worked pretty well for it being cold and dark. I focused on rating her trot back from the giraffe zoomies down to a forward trot with impulsion that had her really use her back. She was moving really well so I thought, what the heck, let's see how well she does with the poles. 

Saffron was racing around us with super donkey zoomies, which was hilarious and I REALLY wish I'd been able to catch it on video or in a picture. She was joining in on the lunging!

Anyway, we got closer to the trot poles and I sent her over them with a nice forward, but not giraffe zoomy trot and she. just. floated. Her back lifted her, she was careful, her feet went exactly where I wanted them to be. In disbelief, I sent her through again. Perfect feet, great lift through her back, again.

We did it a couple more times, she never touched a pole. I praised her and walked over and gave her scritches. We switched sides and boom, a repeat going the other direction.

The only thing I changed before I left the previous session was changing the poles to alternate raised ends. That's it. I didn't change distance at all. I think she just has to actually think about her feet when there's an added challenge level and it was too boring and easy for her to do on Sunday.  We took selfies at night and I resolved that this was not so bad and maybe I'll start riding at night during week. I walked back to the house a bit cold but elated that it worked so well.

Selfie with the phone flash.

Selfie in 'natural' light, far from the floodlights.

Selfie in the floodlight. It's a nice bright white, solar powered! I only turn them on when I want them on so they stay well charged.

Also a bonus for winter riding, the happy mouth bit is not super cold, LOL. I feel no guilt when I put her bridle on.

The trot poles that she was better at night over than in the day time. Dork.