Breezy

Cooled Off For a Day??

Hard to say, but it was really nice and cool yesterday.

When I went out to feed, I decided to at least lunge the Boys.  I'd poo picked the arena in the morning, so it was ready to go, except for the broken fencepost where the in gate fastened. This one is going to require some thought to fix as I'm pretty sure it had once been concreted in place. The guys who put in my first sets of fencing, were using hand tools and when they hit a rock, rather than try to dig further, they simply cut the fence post short and poured in some cement/concrete to set it in place. Just about every post that was set that way has either pulled out or broken over time. That leaves an "ex-hole full of concrete which either has to be excavated or avoided.  This one is in a tricky spot. I had to rig a piece of baling twine so I could fasten the arena gate closed while I lunged to keep the other two Boys out.

That done, I lunged Tucker first.  I am pretty pleased with both his general attitude and how willing he is to go forward without much urging from me.  He is sound after all that trouble with his foot, so that's good.  He does get a bit silly now and then and thought it was fun to rush around when I had him canter over the little tiny jump I'd set up just to keep the session interesting.  But he is a good boy on the line and while I kept the time short, it was a good session.

I took Chance in next. What a contrast. He needed to be urged to go nearly every stride. Talk about relaxed and nonchalant. His gaits are loose, so he doesn't seem at all sore or stiff, but he just lazes around.  On the plus side, he is the same in both directions at all three gaits, so I don't see any unevenness and his tendency to run out going to the right is completely gone. And, his canter is balanced in both directions as well. He was equally calm about the little jump and just hopped over it nicely.  All in all another good session, although it's really clear I am going to have to instill the concept of "forward" in him for riding.

Toby, as usual, wanted to no part of any work, so I let him indulge in the carrot and apple anyhow.

It's not exactly back to work for the Boys, but at least I did something with them.

Sooner or later the weather should break for good and perhaps I will do more.

Addendum:
And I did. Since it was still cool and breezy after I fed the Boys dinner, I went back out and took Chance out for a trail ride in the woods.  There were NO BUGS!  And we had a really nice ride on the middle distance trail.

Mind you, this is a horse that hasn't been ridden in weeks, and I didn't lunge him at all before I went out.  Talk about a mellow disposition!  What a sweetie.

I thought about perhaps riding Tucker for a bit but decided to opt out. My knees can only take so much at one time, as can my bottom.  I will slowly work my way back into some kind of more regular riding pattern as long as this is really autumn come to stay.

Tomorrow, if it's nice, I may ride Chance around the lake in back. It might be one of the rare opportunities to do that because as soon as it rains again, that trail will get all boggy. The ATV and minibike riders have cut so many ruts out there that they just fill up with water and make for some potentially treacherous footing.

Hoping for another nice day and then some rain on Sunday!