dancing horses

dancing horses

Friday, May 26, 2017

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.


23 comments:

  1. Rest is a key component in almost everything.
    You 2 are looking good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. the older I get the more I value my rest. :)

      Delete
  2. Guinness is such a beautiful solid-looking pup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He is! He sometimes loses track of where all his limbs are. It's kinda adorable.

      Delete
  3. Self care and rest are important parts of the schedule :) sometimes your body will handle that if you won't schedule it for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes - my body has a way of making me stop if I don't pay attention.

      Delete
  4. Good ride!! I don't mind a horse being a bit up as long as they are willing to work. Sounds like she's making steady progress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm like you. Having us agree on how that energy should be channeled is a whole new kettle of fish!

      Delete
  5. Puttering is good. Grace was one that needed more work than I could do with the Grandkids. Not one who could sit idle four days a week for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It will likely come as she matures - now she's young and fit and opinionated.

      Delete
  6. Everyone needs a day of puttering and reading every once in a while, except for maybe Carmen. Wait a minute... you gave yourself a day off. Maybe next time you go down to the barn you should jump around and spook at everything in front of Carmen. Be like... Oh, so sorry, I can't bring your hay to you right now because there's a troll in the haystack. Hee hee.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lazy days are just as important. It's been non stop raining down here. I've had my fair share of lazy days and now I just want to be active outside again

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's always good to take a day off. We all need that sometimes. Love Guinness, so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We do but they are hard to get sometimes.

      Delete
  9. I've had my own schedule disrupted a bit in the last couple weeks by various factors like work or other responsibilities or weather or whatever. And... Yea it kinda just is what it is. I honestly don't mind too much either bc for some reason this spring feels exhausting to me lol

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good to recharge your batteries every once in a while :) Look how HUGE Guinness is getting!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Its hard to take a day off when everything is going good. We had 2 miserable days here where I was stuck inside most of them and I was sure ready to get out and do something again

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The occasional rainy day to keep us inside is fine. When it gets to be many days it becomes tiresome.

      Delete
  12. Guinness is such striking shepherd.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. I love the feedback.