No wagging allowed.

Hampton's official birthday was yesterday. I'm a bad owner and didn't really do anything special except ride him in the evening. Our ride went pretty well. For some reason he was a little narly in the mouth - wanted to be above the bit, not bending as easily as he usually does, wanting to "wag" his head a little. I'm very careful about this, as I think it looks awful when I rider uses their hands too much and creates the "head wag." I was extra careful with my hands, but he just was stiff and every time I tried to supple him, instead of softening and giving like he usually does - he poked his nose out and wagged. ugh. In his defense, I hadn't rode since Thursday (3 days off for him) and I didn't lunge him as long as I usually do so maybe he just wasn't loosened up well enough.

And he was behind my leg. It got better as the ride went on. We worked mainly on trot to canter transitions. Most were good, a couple were accompanied by a little buck and/or pig root episode. Again, it goes back to the root of the problem - he was behind my leg. This generally never happens when he's quick and sharp off my aids. It was somewhat hot and I wasn't feeling too well, so I'm sure that contributed. All in all he was a good boy and I think today we'll work on more trot to canter and the canter work from T1-2. Maybe throw in some more leg yields, and pick an exercise from 101 Dressage Exercises. Going to take a small trail ride around the hay field too I think ... to keep us both fresh.

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In other news - how many of you horse owners out there are feeding electrolytes to your ponehs? It's been SO hot here, that the horses are sweating just standing in their stalls (with fans). My train of thought is that if they are sweating, they are keeping themselves cool. And Hampton is a VERY good water drinker and doesn't seem affected by the heat (other than the bugs). I was thinking of getting an electrolyte supplement. (maybe just for super hot days). Any recommendations?