Braiding Practice!

These last two times at the barn,  after doing my usual chores of feeding and grooming, I began learning how to braid.  I have wanted braid for a while now, and since I got a wonderful braiding kit a couple of weeks ago, I decided to watch a few videos and practice.

The amen after being pulled.  Trust me, it was much longer before.

The first day I worked on braiding Lucky.  Lucky's mane was extremely long, wild, and unruly: it went almost all the way done her neck in some places. Before braiding her, I pulled her mane, but did not shorten it nearly enough, I soon found.  Even though it is much shorter, it is still quite long.  when I braided it, the braids ended up out being about an inch long instead of the desired bauble.  Nevertheless, they turned out better than I expected.

Round one of braiding 

The second time I worked on Moxie, the big black dressage mule.  His mane is the perfect length for braiding.  My braids were much rounder this time around, although they could have been just a bit tighter.  I'm pleased with how they turned out.

Princess Lucky poses to show off her braids.

I also went for a quick ride on Lucky.  Like I had done when I first started riding with Laura, I rode a pole exercises in which I made a figure eight with the pole at the center.  My accuracy had improved since the last time I did this exercises.  I was able to keep Lucky in between my legs,  ride her to the exact center of the pole, and turn her using my legs.  Furthermore, my upward transitions were succinct and smooth.  Before making them, I asked Lucky to be round to prepare her for a smooth transition.

Round two is much improved.

Finally, I cantered on Lucky for a few minutes.  My canter transitions come much more readily now than they did in the past, because have fill confidence that they will happen, and that they will go smoothly.  Unfortunately, I have been falling forward when Lucky stops.  I really need to remember to keep my legs on, especially when riding without stirrups, so I can prevent this from happening.