Nicole did a canter half pass to flying change today (right to left) and of course I didn't get it on film. Maybe tomorrow. The first flying change I messed up, the 2nd attempt the flying change was clean. I had a feeling this morning that we were going to do this exercise, then my trainer suggested it without my input. Somehow I knew that Nicole would get the exercise and that she would do the change cleanly. The more you throw at Nicole the more she does. She rises to the occasion, and I think she just needs to be challenged. I've been getting vibes lately that she's bored and annoyed, mostly with the reoccurance of spooking and she's begun tail-swishing which isn't something she usually does.
Something to remember:
When doing canter half pass to flying change, concentrate on the quality of the canter. Everything else will take care of itself.
Today also marks the first appearance of Nicole's heat cycle for 2009. Guess it will be an early spring? Please??? She is stationed in the paddock next to a stallion, and so far she's kept her panties on, but it's been winter. When spring actually arrives, it may be a very exciting season. Oh, I forgot to mention there's an 8 month old filly in the other paddock, and Nicole is very much in love with the baby. So, a stallion on one side and a baby on the other. Yep, this spring will be interesting.
