Saturday, October 02, 2010

Fall antics and our long-awaited trip to Slide


Last night, Bar was in what has become an unusual humor for him--wild and crazy. I'd say he was acting like a Thoroughbred, except Lena was in the same mood and one of the other boarders said her normally staid QH mare had been in that same mood the other night.

Something in the air? Fall weather? The mountain lion down for its annual visit? Who knows.

Whatever was going on, he raced around the round pen at a 45-degree angle (both directions) for quite some time before settling down. A few months ago, I wouldn't have gotten on after that demonstration, but I decided I could handle whatever horse he had decided to be and saddled him up anyway.

And he was awesome. We worked past his "Aren't we done, now?" grumpiness and finally got his faster walk back WITH softness and collection. Woo hoo! Our canter was also fabulous--smooth, easy, relaxed. Then there's the trot. It needs a lot of work. Sitting, rising, all of it. He really has little reason to be patient with me bouncing up there like a stiff sack of potatoes, but he is. And sometimes we get the trot where we want it for maybe 5 strides before I mess it up again.

Sigh.

On the plus side of that, it gives me at least one thing to work on with Ike and Cheri when we go to Slide on Friday for our very first ever horse vacation. We've been up there several times without them, of course, but this will be Bar's first time there and Lena's first time back since we got her. It will be all of our first overnight away from home as a group.

I can't think of a better place to try this out, though. Well, besides the backyard, and that runs the risk of horse noses poking through the bedroom screen door. Not good.

I wonder what Bar will think of the mechanical cow?

Adventures await!

1 comment:

Dave (aka Buckskins Rule) said...

Can't wait to hear about the mechanical cow.

As to the antics, the horses in our neck of the woods have been a bit froggy, too. With the rains starting, the grass is popping up green, long, and full of nutrients and sugars. I think it's getting them all a bit amped up.