... or lack of.
When i first bought Magic i was told he'd done pony club activities but soon realised he hadn't even seen a pole on the ground before not that it bothered me, i'd never had a riding lesson before. I'd probably ridden 15 times from the time i was 4 until i bought Magic. Bit silly really but i had the money and i'd spent years reading up on everything i could about horse care so even if i couldn't ride very well at least i knew how to look after one.
After a few months i had a couple of awful, pointless lessons on him which consisted mainly of me trying to pull him away from the gate of the school. I haven't had one since although at some point i would like to have some lessons on him.
I didn't canter him for almost a year and when i was finally brave enough and it was a bit of a disaster at first. I'm pretty sure all four legs were doing anything but canter. He then mastered cantering with his front legs while still trotting with his back legs. It was probably another year and a half before i could actually ask him to canter and get it without having to have another horse in front. At this point he still wouldn't canter while being ridden in a school or while lunged. Even when playing in the field he'd extend his trot rather than canter even when other horses were galloping.
He can canter on the lunge ok now, he's still unbalanced and he's better on the left rein than the right. Ridden is pretty much the same. He struggles with right lead canter too. When lunging in his pessoa he finds it easier to stretch over his back and work low on the right rein but after a long warm up he will relax and work over his back on the left rein too. Since using the pessoa he can work long and low pretty consistantly in walk while ridden, trot is more difficult for him. He's spent the last 4 years with his back tensed and his head in the air supported by the huge muscles that are on the underside of his neck. He's a lot better than he was and has moments where he'll work nicely.
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