Rain Delay

I had planned originally to give Carmen Monday off but the weather was too nice. Cynthia joined me and we had a nice ride. Carmen was tuned in and we were able to practice our learnings from the clinic. Tuesday it rained so I let her rest but Wednesday was lovely so Cynthia joined us again.

someone doesn't care about the rain, he has toys and
is ready to go

Carmen was more spooky and energized. Cynthia observed that a day off is not always a good thing for Carmen. She is right- Carmen is a horse that gets better the more she is worked. But I cannot ride her every day so we will adjust our training accordingly. Also, missy is becoming quite fit and is willing to trot and canter for a long time without getting out of breath.

It wasn't a bad ride by any standards. I had to be a bit more firm in her spooky spots because there is no way that I'm going backwards. I refuse to avoid any parts of the ring. The biggest struggle was not in getting her to Troll Corner but to not rush. I was walking her out and it was becoming an issue. I finally ended up doing a 'wedding march': walk, stop, walk,stop until she finally decided that she should actually walk slowly. I've introduced a wee bit of counter canter- just the most shallow of loops. She finds it easy- until she stiffens worrying about the corner- then she loses her balance and breaks to trot. I don't worry about it- it will come.

I had booked a lesson for Thursday. Next week is not looking good for riding with work commitments. I had Carmen up in the ring doing some lunging and groundwork when it started to rain. It didn't look like a sprinkle so I quickly called Shanea and she said that it was pouring where she was so we decided to rebook. So it was a short session but still a good one.

Today was my day off and also a day of torrential rain. To be honest I was okay with it. I was feeling a little under the weather and I believe that my body is telling me to slow down. I can get a bit intense and my body will shut me down if I don't listen to it. So I spent the day puttering and reading. I think I needed it.

I can return to work refreshed and ready to get back in the saddle.