The rain thing is getting old but since I went the previous 7 months having only seen rain about 5 times, I'm a little biased. I didn't get to ride on Thurs because I had to go to the vet to pick up some drugs. Nothing is wrong with Charlie but I figure if I have banamine and Ace on-hand, there will continue to be nothing wrong with Charlie. That's my karma logic for the universe. I thought the rain was going to hold off long enough for me to hack him yesterday but it was a no-go. The sky started to open up about 3 PM and got progressively worse.
I did ride on Wed (just didn't write about it because I wrote about my super important goals) and he was really good. **NEWSFLASH** when I ride his hind end, he goes is a lovely frame and stays pretty darn supple. Who knew? I did carry a whip and gave him a few taps when he was ignoring my leg and after those reminders, he very politely moved off my leg for some lovely shoulder-ins, and leg yielding. I was very happy with him. I kept him in a fairly small space - I did a figure-8 with about 30 meter long sides and 15 to 18 meter short sides. Sometimes we would change direction in the middle and sometimes I would use the middle long side for shoulder-in and he was very happy. He was forward without running and he maintained his rhythm going up and down the little hill in the ring. I only worked on the trot as the ring was pretty wet and I thought cantering would tear it up too much. I put the walk-trot transitions on the back burner until I can get a lesson. I'm doing something wrong and need some help figuring out what.
It's supposed to rain pretty much all day today, tomorrow, and Monday morning. Hopefully I'll be able to ride on Monday afternoon - I won't be able to do much because it will be too wet but I can at least hack around the property. Until then, he'll have to suffer through some beauty days. I clipped his whiskers and beard yesterday - unfortunately, he moved a few times so he has a couple of bald spots. I'm not used to blades being sharp (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). He's so good - he just stood there, not tied or anything. I love my horse!
Because of all the rain, I'm on the hunt for some high waterproof boots. I have really good hiking shoes that are waterproof but the bottom of my pants get wet. I need something that I can tuck my pants into - today's a good day for internet shopping!
We ride in the rain... went out hacking in it yesterday, which was super. Of course, you practically need a snorkel to get in the arena right now.
ReplyDeleteStay dry!
Hard core SB, hard core! You guys have been hit pretty hard up there but the summer makes it all worth it. I loved living in the PNW.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to your comment on my shopping post:
ReplyDelete"I only buy things off of eBay that either I know will work or it is such a good bargain that I know I can resell and make money on. I know there are return policies, but I choose not to mess with them. I buy brands I'm familiar with and big name items (Horsewares, Weatherbeeta, that sort of thing). It does narrow the selection, but it also makes the search process easier.
I'll post this to your blog so you're more likely to see it."
I dunno if you're cool enough to check back for comment replies, but I frequently forget. ;-)