Progress and a new half-lease

It's interesting to note how Barokko is getting back in shape differently from other horses I ride. Most of the WB's or TB's I've ridden have improved in endurance before strength, but Barokko is the opposite. He's already improved markedly in strength since getting back into work, but his endurance is still considerably below the level he was at before he tied-up.

His improvement in our dressage rides is very steady, each ride is better than the one before. But on trails, where it's his endurance being put to the test, it's much more up and down. Some rides he's frisky and ready to go, others he's almost lazy.

I've read a couple of articles about training Friesians, and although Barokko is only 1/2 bred he shares a lot of their traits. One interesting comment both authors made was about their warm-ups on Friesians compared to other horses. They both limited the amount of time spent on the warm-up trot work on Friesians. They chose to start with considerably more walk time, then a short trot warm-up, and early canter. Then after a short walk break they went "to work" at whatever level the particular horse was training. This pattern works really well on Barokko also, well whaddaya know ;)

Our finances aren't doing too hot right now, so I've decided to find a paying half-lease - I love having M ride him once a week, but she can't pay for it, and I need to really think seriously about how I can make the money side of horse ownership work... So I need to find someone that I can trust completely, who rides with a soft hand, good balance, and no ambitions of anything other than having a good time on trail rides.

I have a good candidate in mind, his wife has a horse at the barn, and they've talked about getting him a half-lease so they could ride out together. He's going to try Barokko on Saturday, and I think it could end up being a really good match. Feels wierd to be letting someone new into Barokko's exclusive club of riders :P