Loads of Lightbulb moments

Friday was better, much better in fact a little of the head tossing crept in but now I have found a lightbulb moment thanks to Tori and her teaching and advice. We didn't have any of the napping,mini bounce rears.

I have a problem with my perception of why he does stuff all coloured by the horse I had that was horrid. As I said before, the mini bounce he does is his reaction to anything difficult challenging or misunderstood. He does it in the field if challenged by his bossy field mate. So the solution is apply more leg and maintain a supporting balance with my body and keep the hands soft. So today with use of that lightbulb moment he was lovely

Saturday, yet again, we worked in the school surprise surprise. I lunged Charlie in the Vienna reins and he was a very good boy. More lightbulbs dropped like snowflakes into my brain. We have been working at changes within the pace slow trot, extend the trot slow again and when he gets it correct its lovely.
However he has times when he throws his head and dives into the trot and then falls in badly. I have to use the yellow lunge whip of the devil to push him back out so he doesn't flatten me.
The horse that was horrid would at times, on the lunge, turn and charge me so charlies behaviour had given me some oops moments. It is now blindingly obvious that Charlie gets unbalanced if i ask for too much and if I ask for the trot extension very gently the result is lovely and soft. The falling in we will work on.

I had decided our plan for the ridden session was to mainly concentrate on me and my hands and contact. It worked no head tossing occurred not one bit. All his transitions into trot were smooth in fact I am damn sure that at one point as we rode through a corner I could feel his inside hind getting into action. He was a bit crooked on the left rein and falling in but we allowed this and went for happy bunny nice hands and use of body for pace control.
It was a lovely session.

Sunday is a day of rest so that is exactly what Charlie and I did. We rested he had a day in the field being a horse albeit an extremely muddy one and I had a day on the sofa, well almost. I did my household accounts, varnished a painting and finished of a lovely e book.
Charlie was passionately grateful for his holiday but just wanted his hay and hotel room.

So there we are lightbulbs and dim owners. He tries so hard to understand hopefully we will get there together if I listen and observe more.