I'm glad you're excited, but just chill!

My horse was awesome yesterday. I got on him and he started walking really fast, swinging his head around and up and down, anxious to get going. He felt very even, so I asked for the trot. He was really moving out, and kind of blowing through my half-halts. Since he felt so good I thought okay, if that's how you're going to be, lets really work then.

We schooled everything, even though we were in the snaffle. First canter half-passes, then back to the trot for half passes and extensions. His extensions at the trot were so huge I couldn't stay with him. He got a little uneven, but that used to happen all the time before the surgery when he would get a little faster up front than he should. He was getting more and more excited with each movement we would school, so I decided to slow things down a little with some pirouettes. I started out with a little piaffe to get his haunches well under him. Then I asked for 1/4 turns, then went for 1/2 turns, but he was willing to do full pirouettes. I didn't let him, and had to keep stopping him half way around. He was totally obedient and really excited.

Then I thought we'd school flying changes. We started with a change every 4th stride, then every 3rd stride. He was so good at those that I asked for changes every other stride. He did a clean line of those and at the end I told him "Good boy!" and, still at the canter, he put his head down and kicked out with one of his hind legs. I just cracked me up that he was so excited to be doing training-type work and not just circles and straight lines.

Today is just going to be a walk day. I hope he's not sore, or worse, lame.