Progression in Trot

Here's Izzy a month or so after I got her. She's 5, fat, and never had any muscle tone to speak of. This picture is sans tack and rider because she hadn't yet learned to carry any of those things.

Six months later, she was sort of going under saddle.

That fall (October 2009) she was going reasonably well under saddle. Steering was sketchy on a good day.

May of 2010 Izzy and I tried out XC for the first time. She's shiny and well behaved, but we aren't really jumping anything.

September 2010. Izzy is a lean, mean racing machine, sporting ulcers and a crazy brain. She's fast and flighty, but not so fun to ride. She's also lost all her baby fat.

October 2010. We moved, medicated, and tack-changed as necessary to facilitate a quiet pony brain.

March 2011. After an uneventful winter, we're riding outside.

June 2011. Lots of work and elbow grease later, Izzy is looking muscular and fit. She's about to get a long layoff, though.

September 2011. I've been back in the saddle for just over a month and correct work is doing wonders for both of us. She doesn't even look like the same horse, does she?