Dulce is coming along nicely. I had the chance to take him to the indoor arena a few times, and he did surprisingly well. He is really soft and responsive with his S Hack and Side Pull. He also showed me one day that he does care about taking care of me.
The first time I took him to the indoor, I didn’t even expect to ride him. My plan was to walk him around, do some groundwork, and then come home. That’s kind of what we did. He did so well, and got so calm I decided to get on him. I thought we’d just walk around the arena in as many different ways as we could and go home. Then he wanted to trot, and I decided why not? After trotting for a bit, I could feel that he wanted to go to the canter, but he was waiting for me to give him the go ahead. I thought that the ground seemed soft enough if I came off, so why not? Oh my gosh, he was perfect! He was amazing, and he was so smooth. He never tried to take off with me, and his gait was beautiful. He covered a lot of ground with ease, and not once did I feel uncomfortable or feel worried. We flowed together, and there was not one person around to see it. I thought about pulling out my camera to video it, but I decided against it since it was our first time at the canter.
The next time we went it was a different story. He and I had different agendas. I wanted to canter him in front of someone, and he wanted to play. My friend Jessica and I went together, and he was totally in love with her mare Riser. Never mind how much he wanted to play with Cisco. I was frustrated at first, but then I realized how important this ride was. He learned that being around other horses doesn’t mean it is time to race, and he learned that I was still there much to his chagrin.
The third ride was great yet again. I was by myself, and I took this video the second time I cantered him. The thing I love is there was a man replacing sodas in a machine, and the man slammed the door to the machine shut spooking him. It was a loud metal sound that echoed down the hallway next to the arena. Being on a horse while they are cantering or at a gallop when they spook is challenging to stay on. Instead of overreacting to the man, he took care of me and gently moved to the side as he cantered. They also had a roping event the day before, and he could smell the steers in the cattle chute. He wasn’t too sure of that smell. Again, instead of tossing me or bolting, he took care of me, which gives me a lot of hope for our relationship and future.
The second video shows how amazing he is to ride in my opinion. One thing is for sure, I love him and I love working with him. Let me point out that all of this was bitless. Just because he was a racehorse it doesn’t mean he needs a bit to control him or ride him. I had him on a loose rein, which doesn’t mean it was hanging down to his knees. It means that I wasn’t holding the reins tightly, that I wasn’t all over his face, but I could quickly gather up the slack if I needed to for whatever reason. Thoroughbreds do not need a hard on the mouth bit to be ridden. Since I’ve had Dulce and Chaco, I’ve never ridden them with a bit. It is a great feeling.
Reenchanted Thoroughbreds 