Worked on lunging some more yesterday with my trainer. Huge improvements in just a day. Until my trainer leaves for the winter, we're shifting our lesson focus from riding to groundwork so I can work on our bonding and help my daughter work on her own riding from the ground. This is all fairly new to Dal, as he's not used to being exercised outside of sets, but my trainer helped me work on some of my communication to be more confident and clear in what I was asking, and helped me identify things that may be too confusing for him at least for now like changing direction on the fly. Until he really learns my signals, well simply stop, bring him in close, and then send him out the other way. Dal is so eager to learn and my trainer, who also really loves this sweet boy, is thrilled to know that as he ages out of competitive play, he'll have a great transition into his new job, helping me umpire and teaching my daughter how to ride. (First certification for me later this month! Wish me luck!) After our work, he got a nice bath for his sensitive skin, some scratches and praise, and of course his favorite peppermint. Best in all of this, he gets to stay exactly where he is, and where he's happy. Pictured here is the exercise track. Behind us, the main hay fields and miles of wooded trails, and past the barns to the right is the polo field (off limits unless it's game time) and past that are the pastures where he spends most of his day, and the practice field. Have to say, while we sacrifice indoor arenas, round pens, and things that might make life easier for me, for a horse, it doesn't get much better than this!

https://preview.redd.it/cdre2gtrudnd1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19865e1ffe87ee61b7bfbc3fdbe339537bc37def