Boredom

Enthusiastically I take Gally into the arena. He goes well in the warm up, but then seems to totally lose attention in the later work. He is bored. Couple of 20m circles followed by a round or two large, followed by some more 20m circles just doesn't cut it for him. It's boring, and so he switches off.

I change my work to include serpentines, simple serpentines, and various changes of direction. Constantly changing where we go, but focusing on one aspect of riding, such as tempo, rythm, or roundness. All good.

At the end I take him for a canter up the middle ridge. He tenses slightly as the birds take off, then trots easily to the gate.