Updating is Necessary

Hey all. It has been a while since I have last updated, and I apologize for that. Things have been going really well with all three of the horses. Here is some of the things I have been working on...
Woody
He has been doing really well with bareback riding. I have been riding him alot, and most of our rides have been either with the bareback pad, or just plain bareback. We also recently bought a sidepull, and I have been riding him mostly in that (he has become really nice and soft in it). A couple days ago we also worked some more on his jumping, and that session went differently then I had planned. I set up a jump, and got him trotting nicely on the circle before I asked for a jump. Then I pointed him toward it, and he hesitated a little bit, but I encouraged him and he jumped it just fine. However, the next time he came around to the jump, he would just stop in front of it at the last second. He did this a couple times, so I figured I would take him away and work on getting a lot of forward momentum going well on the circle. I worked on his canter, and he got some really nice transitions one direction, so I turned him the other direction. When I asked him for the canter this way he picked it up, raced around the bend going down the hill, and he tripped and fell to the ground. I watched him as he picked himself up and then I immediantly rushed over to him to check his legs. He seemed fine, so I asked him to walk and trot towards me, and once again, he appeared fine. I didn't want to push him physically, though, for the rest of the session (just to be careful not to put extra stress on his legs if they were hurt), so we just practiced leading at the trot and over the log jump. Since then his legs have appeared fine with no swelling or lameness.
Teddy
He has mostly been fulfilling his role of the pest. But he has also been learning how to pony with Charlotte ( I initially wanted to pony him on Woody, but when I tried Woody wouldn't stop giving the pony ugly ears and trying to bite him. So we'll have to work up to that). He has been doing pretty well with Charlotte and I even trotted a bit on her and he followed right along. I have also played with him and Woody together some more and they are learning how to put aside their playful banter with each other and focus on me. A couple of my friends have come out and when they did they led Teddy around and I would ride Woody bareback, so his leading is improving, too.
Charlotte
I have been playing with her a good amount as well. Mom has been really busy recently with work and personal matters, so I have been working with Charlotte so she gets attention as well. Mainly I have been riding her. Once I was sure she got over her little bit of lameness in her fornt left leg, I began riding her in the pasture a lot. I mainly have been riding her bareback because I have been really working on improving my seat and being relaxed and soft for the horse I am riding. Plus, she has an especially bouncy trot, so it has been good for me to find the right way to ride it so it is comfortable for both her and I. She has been offering canters left and right, which is pretty cool, especially for her. So, I have gotten to work on riding a canter bareback (I hadn't ridden a canter in a long time, much less bareback). I usually bring a cookie with me when I ride so I can intermittenly give her a bit because she gets SO motivated. I have one time within the last week saddled her up and taken her on a trail ride outside the pasture all over the place. We followed the pasture a bit to get Woods and Teddy ok with it, then we went downt to the chicken coop, down to the pond, around the house, and down the driveway. She did really great and she gave me sevral really nice canters as well. The main challenge with he is to make sure you ask as soft as possible, because she can and does respond to very light pressure if you offer it to her, but if you jerk her around and pull and prod at her she doesn't respond near as well.
Along with working with all these horses, I have spent the day with Terrie following her around to two of her hoof trimming jobs. The first was at a farm I have been to before for an Epona clinic and also before to meet the owner and friend, Joy, and her 17 horses. Terrie trimmed 7 of those horses, and it was neat to start to learn about the anatomy of the hoof and how to listen to each specific horse's feet and trim them accordingly. It was also great to see Joy again and to see all her beautiful horses as well. I am going to come back with Terrie early next month to watch and learn how to trim the rest of them, so that should be fun as well. Joy also told me I am welcome to come out and she would love it if I could work her horses, and especially one of my favorites, Mirage. I am excited about this idea, but I have a lot to play with and work on with my horses so possibly in the future.
We then went to another one of Terrie's clients who had two horses and I watched her trim them as well. It was a fun day and I can't wait to do it again.
Until next time!
~Eden