Weather or Not.....

The lake in the back woods. This used to be a sand mine.

....Saturday was a Washout....

And a chilly one. I just kind of bummed out after I went to the chiropractor and physical therapy. Then I went to the feed store where there was a 20% off sale and stocked up on more grain than I had room for, so that took some work to put away.

So, Sunday dawned with some beautiful weather, but I had to go the church in the morning. I was singing a solo on the introit--opening piece of the service--and the choir number was a favorite. I go every week anyhow, so that's a given, but I was "itching" to do some riding in the sunshine.

But, the local saddle shop, with the 20% off sale was also having the annual drawing for a $1000 spending spree and you had to be there to win, so I knew I had a 2:30 PM deadline to ride and do my horse stuff.

I saddled Tucker up first for his trotting workout. Interesting. When I put my leg on, he laid his ears back, napped and threatened to buck. Now this was after his acupuncture, so I was fairly confident he really wasn't really all that sore. It took some convincing, but I did manage to get him trotting and as we went along his enthusiasm increased. I am suspicious, that when he did hurt his stifle, the pain was sharp and sudden...as it is when my knee "goes out"....and his pain memory was so strong, he just didn't want to do anything. After about 15 minutes, he was really starting to move out, so I added the trotting poles to the work and he was just fine.

After about 20 minutes, I tried a canter and again, I got the ears, the napping and the buck threat. I rode it out, and finally he gave me nice canter on both leads without a fuss. I really think his confidence had been seriously undermined. Hopefully, with some babying and fitness, he will forget about it and be a willing partner again. This is totally different than the napping before the ulcer medication as in this case, he is always willing to walk off in a nice, long relaxed stride. He is just very anxious about trot and canter. Since I forgot to put some linament on his stifle before I rode him, I might also think it took a little work before the muscles started to loosen up as well.

In the end, with about 2 mintues of cantering, we did a good half hour of trotting, adding some lengthening along the long sides on both reins at the end. I kept him in a long frame and did not ask him to rock back on his hind end much at all. I'll save that for about a week of just plain muscle building work.

I long lined Chance for a really nice session. He softened immediately to the bit and worked in a lovely frame with a nice forward trot and a very relaxed, rhythmic canter. He really is a nice youngster. It will be ironic if down the line, he's the one I end up training to Grand Prix. He may have the better mind for the upper levels. Ah, well, we shall see. Tucker is the clever one, perhaps too bright, and the faster learner. But Chance just has such a solid disposition.....

I went to the tack store for the drawing and, as usual, did not win. But, I did get some nice buys on a few essentials and, of course, the grain.

It was still light out when I got home, so I saddled up Toby and took him out for a ride around the lake. He is very cautious on that trail, convinced that all kinds of dangers lurk in the trees, brush and grasses around the lake area. There are also several places where he has to wade through muddy patches of water. While he is OK with the water, if he can see a potential way around, he will try to take that, so in one section, I found myself getting tangled in some thorn bushes. Thankfully, I was well padded with clothes, so no major damage was done.

The ride was a good end to the afternoon and my last day of the short vacation from school.

I spent the last half hour of daylight unwrapping the new arena drag I bought several weeks ago. Everything was wired together for shipping so I only managed to get one 4 ft. section free and attached to the draw bar. I guess I will finish up at my leisure during the rest of the week. If it hadn't been all wired together, it would be ready to go now, but I just got fed up cutting and untwisting all the little pieces and left the second section to wait. I don't need it right away, so it's fine if it waits for a few more days.

Everything I purchase recently seems to be packed within and inch of its life. Plastic wraps need heavy duty scissors, mailing pouches need to be carved apart, and boxes are sealed in yards of packing tape. The area drag was no exception.

I'll just keep trotting Tucker. At least his sheet is easy to get off.