Now Wait A Minute

I AM on Vacation

Lest you all think I am that busy...I spend each morning right now, after feeding the Boys and the kitties, sitting around watching the Tour de France. Then I just hang around the house doing mostly nothing.

Today, I did some cleaning in the kitchen. I have vowed to accomplish something every day.

Then I had lunch and thought some more about what I needed to do. Paid some bills. Played some games on the computer. Watched a bit of TV and then sauntered out to the barn.

Here's where the fun comes in. I bought a new lunging surcingle with a big ring on top with four dees to run the reins through. I will take a picture of the thing soon. The idea was to be able to run the reins through the upper rings to better simulate where my hands are when I ride. This is mostly for Tucker who tends to overbend and get too low.

I tried it out on Toby first and it certainly did keep him from dropping his nose behind the vertical and too low as well. We had a nice session. He was not too sure about the surcingle when I took it off and really spooked when he saw the big ring. He is a funny boy and always has been super spooky about things. I never quite know what will set him off, but he truly does seem to honestly get scared of strange looking things. (Those silvery mylar balloons have caused some pretty dramatic moments.) Once I put the ring on the bottom so all he could see was the surcingle straps, he was just fine.

Tucker never really saw the surcingle, so he never got a chance to react to it. Besides, he was totally preoccupied with the strap of the flash noseband I'd put on his bridle. As a matter of fact, he was pretty angry about it, especially after I tightened it to put some pressure on his jaw to keep his mouth from yawing against the bit. Let me put it this way: I am glad I decided to try it out on the long lines before I rode with it on him. Apparently, he had been opening his mouth/jaw against the bit more than I realized. He threw two or three protest plunge/bucky things and cranked his head around a few more times. When he did settle in, both the new rein position and the flash made a nice difference. He did some really fine work with some moments of really pretty trot and canter.

I will be a bit cautious with the flash when I do ride, though.

It did rain in the morning and threatened for most of the day. I don't know if the pool was open so I didn't go. Unfortunately, I don't think the rain helped the humidity. Even though the temperatures were fairly cool--70's--when I did work the Boys, I was still pretty sweated by the time I was done.

I gave Chance the day off this time. I am trying to decide how to schedule the riding. Toby needs the least work, but I do want to keep him fit enough to be a lesson horse if needed. Tucker just needs to keep his muscles developing and Chance needs the hours under saddle. Except in unusual circumstances, I tend to keep my riding sessions to about a half hour each if I ride more than one. It may not seem like much, but I am either trotting or cantering the whole time. Tuck is pretty fit even with that little since he is a Thoroughbred. If I intend to do any competing with Chance, I will have to up his time as he will not get fit as easily.

Guess I will just see how things progress.