This morning Nova and the dogs and I got dressed and headed out for a ride. We hacked around the neighbors and then went into my back fields. She doesn't much enjoy going away from the barn and her friends, but is willing if the dogs go first and I encourage her. It is somewhat a wiggly path we create as we go downhill away from the barn, but we get there in the end.
After a few laps walking, focusing on using her core and maintaining a defined four beat walk, I asked her if she wanted to trot across the bottom of the back field. She was surprised, since so far I've been clear about maintaining a civilized walk, but ultimately decided trotting would be fun and picked up the faster gait. She was very well behaved especially considering we were way out in the fields in the wide open.
As we rounded the top of the hill Nova was still behaving herself so I asked her if she wanted to canter. She easily picked up the right lead and we cantered all along the east fenceline! Before we got to the front of the field I brought her back to the walk, and she seemed quite happy with herself. I gave both her and Pascal cookies for their hard work, and we adjourned to the barn to get hosed off.
What a fun ride, and what a good girl! This is only her fourth ride here at Bit of Honey, though of course she was ridden some before she came to me. I don't know if she had any canter experience under saddle prior to today, but she did really well on the hills and uneven ground. I'm so pleased!
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