New Plan

Lunging for Everyone

Kelly canceled for tonight as she had to do some extra work for school.

That left me with no excuses. Actually, it was OK, as I really did need to drag/rake the ring. It is drying out nicely already after yesterday's heavy rain, but I am not looking forward to the weekend with a BIG storm predicted. At any rate, I took the tractor and the drag out and groomed it nicely. Kelly plans on coming some time tomorrow, so she will have a nice surface to work on.

Once that was done, I scoped out the fence posts on the pile and I seem to have the three I need to repair the broken fence around the ring. I may try to get a bit of that done in the morning. I am hoping the tractor will help me pull out the broken posts. If so, it's a fairly easy task to clean up the holes and set new posts. Yeah, right. I can see this turning into a marathon of aggravation.....depends on whether any of the broken posts were set in cement. Yeech...the ground is very sandy in places and the guys who did the fence did set some that way. Ya never know until it's too late....

Once I had the posts, I went back out to do some horse stuff. Tonight it was lunging everyone. For any non-horse people, that means putting a halter on the horse's head or a bridle if you are going to be very serious about it, and then, putting the horse on the end of a long line and making him travel around you in a circle at the various gaits. It can be used for training with some extra equipment or exercise without all kinds of extras. Tonight it was exercise.

The order of go was Toby, Chance and Tucker. Toby is showing incredible energy when I work him. I am surprised by his enthusiasm, but also delightfully pleased to see him feeling so good and sound.

Chance poops out pretty quickly. I have to keep this in perspective. I have not had to deal with many non-Thoroughbreds, so this is a new experience. My Thoroughbreds do not get overtly tired. Trying to work off their energy can be a daunting task and they are bred to keep going no matter what--witness poor Barbaro trying to run with a broken leg. Warmbloods, on the other hand have a different temperament and muscle type. It's clear Chance at the moment does not have the stamina to work too hard for too long. If I do decide to really do some serious training with him down the line, I will always have to be aware that his fitness will need a lot more time and work to develop and maintain.

Not so for Tucker. He not only keeps his muscle, but it takes very little to build him up. He is like the Engergizer Bunny who just keeps going and going. He is a bit lazy at the trot, but his canter just rolls along. The only strange thing he does is that darn cross cantering off and on, mostly on the left. I'm not sure if it is a joint weakness, a balance issue, or just a habit. Other than that, he is lovely on the line.

All in all, a nice quiet, productive evening as we try to get into the swing of things.