Offering a good deal.

My ride on Gypsy was good today, or as good as a ride on Gypsy can be. Seriously though, she was a good girl, for the most part. She started off with her normal "I won't stand to let you get on" thing but after letting her walk in circles she realized that maybe standing still was the better deal. I just kept her walking until she was ready to stand still and then when she did I told her how good she was and that's all I wanted. Why work harder if you don't have to, right? I think she's starting to get that. Once I was mounted we walked for a few minutes and then did some trot work. It's kinda hot today so I kept the trotting to a minimum. She kept tossing her head at the trot and offering to buck so I kept turning her in smaller and smaller circles whenever she did that. It seemed to work. She realized that if she threatens to buck, I just make her work a little harder. Again, I'm just trying to offer her a better deal. If she trots nice, then no circles, if not, well, then, she has to work in little circles and work harder. This horse is all about easy. She's learning to take my offers at a better deal as long as it means she doesn't have to work as hard. I try to be fair. I even got a semi-decent canter out of her, when she wasn't offering to buck. Again, more circles and a better deal was offered and she settled right down. All in all, I'm happy with our ride today. As long as I offer her a better deal then what she thinks she's getting, she does alright.

One thing though, Gypsy is getting fatter. Too much green grass I think. So, I've cut down on her beet pulp and she's going to get worked everyday, whether she (or I) like it or not. I can't let her gain too much weight so we are in weight loss mode. I too could use to drop a few pounds so maybe this will be good for both of us. They get hay at night when I lock them in their paddock, which they stay in now that I have the fence fixed. No more midnight munchie wanderings for the marshmallow now.