Too Bad I Can't Lunge My Kids!

When I arrived at Barnabee I decided that after my tough morning with my kids, I decided that I really didn't want to fight with my horse either, so I was sure to lunge Ben before I got on him. I lunged him for a good 20 minutes and worked on increasing and decreasing the size of the circle to get Ben to reach with his inside hind leg under his body more which in turn allows him to lift his back and carry himself in a more balance frame and strengthens his back muscles in the process. He was doing really well to the left but when we switched to the right he started bucking and jumping all over the place at the canter. I remember him doing this the last time I lunged him so I'm wondering if something must be going on in his right hind leg. Maybe he is experiencing some sort of pain so he's acting out because it hurts? I don't know. I just need to pay more attention to it and do some trail and error and then the next lesson I have with Ulla I need to be sure to bring it up with her and see if she notices anything.

After lunging I rode him for about 25 more minutes and Ben was really relaxed and preformed well for me. He collected very nicely and also stretched very well. I worked a lot on transitions within the gaits of trot and canter from collected to medium. We also did a lot of square turns which helped to engage him as well. While riding his canter in both directions was smooth so I don't know why he exploded like he did on the lunge line. Maybe he was just having a bit of fun?! Hopefully I'm just over analyzing things, since I'd hate to have give him any more time off. Two days a week of riding already seems like nothing at all, but at least it's something. And days like today, it's certainly a breath of fresh air as I'm able to take a break from the kids.