Jingle, jingle, jingle...

That will be Max tomorrow. I bought him three little bells from the pet shop (the kind you'd put on a cat's collar) and will attach two to his bridle, and one to the back of his saddle, where I have a D-ring. I anticipate he won’t give a flyin’.

Had to get up early on my "sleep in" day to take the Ent to the train station. He had a meeting in London first thing, then his company Christmas lunch, and I told him I'd drive and pick him up so he can have a drink if he wants to. He'll probably only have one pint anyway but it's nice to know he can have TWO if he fancies it.

So, since I was up and out anyway, I went straight to the yard, and shocked Max by having him tacked up and in the school by about quarter past eight!

We did a good 40 minutes of schooling. Riding in the school is our weakest thing, at the moment, no question. Mostly down to me, I think, just not being balanced enough, or clear enough, but it's getting a little better each time. Lots of concentrating for both of us, and Max, bless him, having such a good go at trying to canter! We got a few strides.

Compound young horse and stifle lock with me not being as finely balanced on his back as I should be, and he's got a lot of stuff to contend with trying to canter. He seems to want to, though. Gets fed up with the trotting, gives his head a shake and I say, "Go on Max, try" and he puts in a stride or two, then back to a jog.

Anyway, we're better at that (as a team) on the left rein, and I actually seem to get a few strides where it feels "right" (can't describe it any other way) and Max suddenly feels... different. Like we've been on quite a firm contact and suddenly there is a slackness in the reins because he's kind of tucked himself up into me.

Hmm... I'm not describing that very well. It goes all smooth though, and a couple of times I had to check to see if he was still trotting because it felt more like walking. But it wasn't. Can't maintain it for very long though... and certainly can only get a few strides at a time on the right rein before it all gets a bit jarring.

We had fun though, and I laughed at him quite a bit. When he's losing his concentration, he starts to get a bit bolshy and wants his own way. It's like a mini-hissy fit, but with no malice, just "No! Let's do what I say now!".

Gave him lots of breaks to stretch his neck down low, and he got lots of treats for good work, so he was a happy boy.

Long grooming session when we were done, including the warm cloth of the undercarriage, then off to the post office for me, for last of the international post before settling in back home for a crafty kip curled up with my lovely old cat.