Super Dooper Cooper

week of so many firsts I hardly know where to start.

Last week I had my very first ride on Super Dooper Cooper, translating the cues he has learnt on the ground to the saddle made so much sense to him. His expression was something along the lines of “why didnt you just say you wanted to go riding, I am so good at riding”

We spent most of the week mounting and dismounting from either side and having Cooper stand by my side as I taught lessons. I call this training without intensive training. It builds patience into my horses.

Having different horses and people work around him in the arena will also begin to prepare him for the warm up ring at EQUITANA in November.

The list of firsts

 First pattern - two reins two legs

 First sidestep - rib control under saddle

 First trot - super slow but beautifully comfortable

 First canter- Cooper offered 3 strides and was rewarded with release, then next time I asked hewas more than happy to canter the full length of the arena, on the correct lead.

 First ride out - With the help of Shony and Gyps we rode out in the sunshine around the farm, up and down hills, through creeks, over rocks and logs. No one would have believed it was around Coopers 8th ride under saddle.

 First time bit less - Some of our lessons Cooper was happy to plod around in a halter,demonstrating his halter cues and how they translate to the saddle was his favorite.

 First ride no halter or bridle- This usually is not part of my program at this stage in a young horses training  but Cooper was listening to my seat and legs incredibly well and I was excited to see how he would respond to being ridden without reins or a lead.

The highlight for me is having a happy, healthy, shiny horse even after a solid week of riding. It is incredibly rewarding when I can comfortably say it is all coming together.  Taking our time to make sure there are no gaps in our horses education. Now that Cooper’s condition is coming up thanks to the Low GI cubes backed by Kentucky Equine Research, I would say its almost time to fit Cooper with a real saddle.  A performance brumby needs a performance saddle :)