I couldn't help laughing when I saw him like this yesterday, showing off his big belly :D

Luckily, I still have some of Coco's old girths, the shortest of them fits Barokko perfectly now ;)

We had a lesson today, working in-hand again we looked at cantering a bit, also shoulder-in and travers. He was very stable in the top line today. He seemed more comfortable working in the morning, most days the past week I've worked him in the afternoon where it's been warmer. I'll be more aware of putting his training early or late, see if that helps a bit on his forward button.

He doesn't cope too well with the heat, which I understand is a common problem for full Friesians, too. Big volume to surface area ratio (esp right now!!) + mostly black + lots of hair... I've made it a habit to cool his legs and neck with water before and after rides when temps get up around 25C+, which seems to help him a bit.

I had a chat with my trainer about his contact issues, turns out one of her own horses doesn't work on a snaffle bit, she's never been able to get him to accept it. She trained him in a cavesson until he was ready to be put in a curb, which he works well with, and she switches between the two. I'm going to try riding him in the cavesson when we do dressage (I'll keep the bit in his mouth for trail rides for now, but not ask him for contact unless he offers it himself), it'll be interesting to see how that works out, he's working very well in the cavesson in-hand.

She offered to take him in for full training when we're on summer vacation, which I've decided to do :) We went to see her barn today, he'll be outside 24/7, on grass during the day and a not-really grass paddock at night with lots of hay, and she'll work with him daily. I'm really looking forward to getting her impression of him after the 2 weeks :D