Massage and Lesson

No, not a lesson for me.  My trainer's 8yr old daughter Nik is just starting to ride, and she's using Buddy.  He's a good for kids because he's bombproof, has a smooth trot, and can put up with kids kicking and pulling on his mouth.  He does take advantage of beginners because he's lazy and can have questionable steering.  Nik has to really work to keep him on the rail without him trying to stop or come into the middle.  She got him to trot tonight, with only a minimum amount of help from Jen and I.  Since he's so lazy we've been trotting along side to keep him going, but tonight Nik got him to go with Jen just waving a dressage whip at him.

She's riding in a western saddle for now, but soon she'll switch to an English.  For now, she feels more comfortable in the western. 

Rachael was able to make it out today to work on Bud.  She said he was sore in his hind end, but not too bad.  He also has a rib out but she was able to get it back in. She worked on him for about 45 minutes, and he seemed a lot more relaxed after.