No Problem Tonight

Lesson Canceled

Picked up my messages when I got home from school to find out that my lesson with Gabriel was canceled.

Needed a new plan. I'd fed the Boys, so I had to wait to ride. It had been a bit hot at school, so waiting until sundown was not an issue for me.

Instead, I had dinner, then went out to clean and drag the arena. I should have done it days ago while it was still damp. Today, even though the sand loosened up, I kicked up a lot of dust. I hate doing that to my neighbors, but most of it seemed to drift out to the pasture, so I guess it wasn't too much of a nuisance.

I saddled up Tucker and took him out to the ring for a short school. The plan was to just ride through Test 4 after a quick warmup, asking him to go on the bit, but not at maximum effort. I'm not sure how much to push him as the ulcer medication treatment is just starting, so I took it relatively easy.

He was just fine. He stayed nicely forward, especially on the canter departs which immediately develop into 15 m circles. Sometimes, as I've said, it takes him a while to wind up into a proper canter, but no tonight.

Aside from a fair spook at something in the pasture--lights on the horizon? A groundhog? Absolutely nothing?-- the test was pretty good. While I doubt it would win a class around here, it won my approval.

So, first steps taken. Tuck had his first dose of Ulcergard this morning, so we are beginning the month of treatments. It is going to be very interesting to see if it makes any difference in his work ethic and willingness to go forward.

I'd keep my fingers crossed, but it's hard to type that way and harder still to ride. *G*