Lesson #1: Relax

E had her first lesson with Ruben on Friday. It was hotter than heck out there (about 100) and she wasn't too motivated to ride in the blazing sun, but the anticipation of riding with Ruben and the occasional little breeze got her out into the dusty round pen with her horse.

Immediately Ruben could tell that Monte has lost some of his softness and responsiveness; the horse was taking advantage of his inexperienced rider and backtracking in his training. First off, E was shown how to make Monte lower his head and tuck his nose - a feat that Ruben made look easy but proved to be a bit more difficult for E.

The main lesson that she walked away with was to be more relaxed. E holds herself somewhat rigid and tight, which is communicated through her hands. The horse is less likely to want to work with her because of this. Several minutes were spent showing her how loosely to she should hold herself and then also how quickly she needs to react and release. Simple ideas - hard to put into practice.

At the end of the lesson, Monte no longer looked like a white horse. He was a muddy mess! Ruben invited E to hose him off before we left - which is where we discovered a new type of super scrubby. It was a plastic thing with soft bristles, attached to the hose. And it worked wonderfully! Gotta get one of these:
(and they're cheap too....Yeah!)