Back to School

On a Sunny Day

I went to the Academy to substitute today. Get ready....I was the Chemistry/Physics teacher. I haven't studied either since high school.  Fortunately, I just had to show two videos. One was on Chemical Bonding and the other on Rotational Inertia and Torque.

Now, mind you, I was a fairly good science student in my time, and I am pretty well able to grasp concepts of most basic science. Today was no exception as I learned quite a bit from each video. They were very well presented with some good experiments to demonstrate each concept.

But, I simply do not remember learning anything about either of the topics from my own Chemistry and Physics classes.  So, what do I conclude?  Did I forget everything I'd ever learned?  Or, is this something we never studied back then?  Has the study of these sciences advanced over the last 40+ years so that these are now basics taught routinely?  Is some of it new discovery since my time in the science classroom?

I've put in a call to a friend from high school who has kept up with the sciences but he wasn't home.  I'm hoping I may hear back from him, but if not, I am going to do a bit of research, just to satisfy my own curiosity.

I must say, it was interesting to learn something new like that, not that any of it is particularly practical for my immediate life, but I am always fascinated with how things work and often, more importantly, why things work.

I changed the Boys into lighter blankets for the day, but switched them back into the waterproof midweight ones when I got home. Once again stormy weather is predicted and along the way, temperatures are supposed to drop. Bummer, since I got to use the hose twice today to fill the water trough.  I keep hoping the thaw will be long term, but it looks like we are going to get another Arctic blast this week.

Changing the horses' blankets always reminds me of their individual personalities.  Chance never seems annoyed when I work on him when he's eating. But he doesn't move too much to help me. And, if he wants to walk out of the stall, whether I'm there or not really doesn't matter much. It's not a deliberate effort to interfere with what I'm doing, it's just that what he's doing is clearly more important to him. Yet, when I pull a blanket over his head, he very willingly stops eating to let me do it.

Toby is generally most cooperative. He does not actively acknowledge that I'm there to do something, but he just naturally cooperates, moving over to let me reach a strap, dropping his head to let me slip the blanket over--I didn't undo the front straps.  And, he's very patient about waiting while I fasten buckles and surcingles.

Tucker clearly expresses his annoyance at being bothered. He lays his ears back, swishes his tail, and even lifts a hind leg just to remind me that he could kick if he wanted to.  He bobs his head when I try to pull a blanket over it, and might even snap at the air if my buckling the front straps blocks him from his hay or grain. While he doesn't actively resist, he makes it quite clear that I am interfering with his life and that he is just barely indulging my presence.

Interesting in that the way the Boys behave in the stalls is pretty much how they tend to behave when I ride them..

Once again, it's pretty clear that groundwork really does relate to under saddle training.

So, if you want to know your horse, spend some time handling him/her and paying attention. You might learn a lot.