Enter at A

It has been a fairly relaxed week thus far.

We've had a few short but fun trail rides, a day of easy jumping (a few at 2'6", but mostly 2'3"), and two dressage days.

I started to enact my dressage test ride plan, which has been going smoothly. It has also been addressing exactly what I wanted it to, which is a huge bonus. The first test (Training One) was pretty sloppy--Toler was having a slightly off day, and he hasn't ridden through a test in so long he forgot the expectations and pace of doing one--even one as simple as the first training level. The second ride-through was much improved, though it still pointed towards some training needs.

We had to work through a few halt at X impatience issues, both at the beginning and end, and while doing the trot-canter transitions between K&A and H&C, I realized that lately I do most of our transitions on the straightaway or on a circle; certainly not in/out of crisp dressage corners which I'm being really (read: overly) picky about. So, we had a few goes about that as well. For the most part, however, he's doing the tests well. We're achieving good relaxation, forward movement, precise 20m circles, a very nice and swinging free-walk, and an ever-straightening center-line. There were a few hiccups with maintaining a constant rhythm through some parts, mostly when I ask him to turn onto or off of the center-line, which is a problem I'm going to continue to address.We also needed a few reminder sessions about walking as a movement (i.e. he needs to stay focused so I'm not fussing with him), and I'd like to get a bit tighter about collecting him from a free-walk. He generally collects up within 3-5 strides, but there is always a step of tenseness in his neck and back.

For our next dressage day, I am going to move onto Training Two, and probably progress on through Training Three and Four very quickly after that. There's not really any reason to stretch it out.

In unrelated news, I recently switched Toler's supplemental feeding. I give him a little something after every ride (I also give him his dose of joint supplement and yucca at that time) to really keep his weight on and muscle up. I've been noticing steadily over the last several months that his usual mixed amount of Nutrena Empower and Nutrena LifeDesign Senior just weren't doing the same thing for him anymore. He's not losing weight, but he's not putting on the muscle quite as much as he should be, and for the amount of calories he's getting, his energy level is pretty low. After some research, I discovered Nutrena (and Purina) reformulated their feed last fall and a lot of people have been unhappy with how Empower (in particular) has been performing compared with how it used to.

Rather than continue to increase the amount of food I was giving him, as I'd been doing slowly since winter, I decided it was a time to switch it out. So, he's now getting roasted soy beans (with hulls) and Purina Ultium. I really wanted to stay away from Nutrena/Purina brands, but guess what, if I want to buy from a nearby feed store, that's pretty much all they carry (that isn't grain-grain). I've heard a lot of good things about Ultium, especially from people who have weight/muscle-touchy TB's and TB crosses. So, we'll see how it goes. He was pretty happy with the first feeding of it--there was definitely a higher level of contentment in his licking and munching. He's definitely getting more fat and protein out of this new supplement feed mix, so here's to hoping I see a bit more on his top-line, over his ribs, and some mooscle support. =)