Monty Monday!

Mom rode Monty this weekend and it was swell! I didn't tell her he had a week off until after she got on. She was much more relaxed which helped him as well. I taught her "spaghetti circles" aka changes of bend randomly at the walk all over the arena. I also showed her the feel of a proper long and low and to not be afraid of it.

For the first time I made her do everything on her own. She tacked up and asked me if I would be riding first and I said no. Then she asked if we were lunging. I had to walk her through a lot of steps but I wasn't babysitting her anymore. I could tell she was nervous because she delayed getting on. However, once she realized how chill he was she immediately fell into sync with him. They had a lot of great moments. Shes slowly getting back into riding so her stamina isn't the best.

One thing I've always struggled with is open fingers. It's humorous and enlightening to have to tell my mom to close her fingers because she used to chastise me a lot for that as a kid (and I still suck at it). 

Overall, they are forming a great partnership and hes been incredibly important to me as Ries is hurt. Best purchase ever.