Progress In-Hand

Had a good in-hand lesson yesterday, trainer was quite impressed by his progress which is always nice to hear ;)

We worked on getting him to relax forward-down-out, shoulder-in, and haunches-in. Practiced shifting my position and my grip on the longe to be able to make more flowing transitions between the exercises. Worked on giving more effective half-halts through the cavesson.

Found a sore/tense spot on his back, on the right side behind the saddle area. It doesn't seem riding related due to placement (and the fact that I don't ride very much :P ), but he has also been running around a lot more than usual these past few days, plus a new herd etc, so most likely it's a wrong step or overexertion (he was also really tired). He wasn't affected by it when I worked him in-hand, so I'll keep working with him, just stay off his back until it's gone.

Trainer will be coming out to work with him while we're on vacation which is awesome, I'd hate to lose 2 weeks of training now.