At Least I Tried

After my ride on Thursday I was feeling very good about my plans for the weekend. I had arranged for Cynthia and I to take Carmen and Irish to my friends to go on a hack. I was so excited because I felt were ready and I was looking forward to leaving the sandbox.

Don't get me wrong- I love dressage and all that it entails. But I when I am out in the woods or in a field on horseback I feel my heart expand and my soul give a sigh. It just feels perfect.

But the weather had other ideas. Friday and Saturday were rainy. Today was blustery. Like really really blustery.  Things blowing in the wind is one of Carmen's triggers. So I decided that our first hack off property should not be on a day like today. You can think that I'm gutless but I've worked very hard on establishing a trust relationship with Carmen and I wasn't going to screw it up because I wanted something.

Cynthia came anyway and I figured that a day schooling in the wind would not be a bad idea. When we went out to get the horses Carmen let me come close and then moved off. I shooed her off with the lead line and she immediately stopped and turned to face me.

In the ring I worked her on the lunge for a bit. She was definitely on alert and scooted a few times up in troll corner. However, she was always flicking an ear at me and settled into work. I mounted and we started walking. I was pleased that she felt the same when I was sitting on her as she did when I was lunging her. In the past she would be far far worse. AS we we were working our way around the ring it started to rain.

Me: It's just a shower. It should pass. 
The wind blew harder.
Carmen:  um, you know it's raining right? 
Me: it will pass. 
It began to rain harder. With the wind we were getting pelted by small raindrop sized missiles.
Carmen:  this is impinging on my inner serenity. 
Me: Look, there's clear sky coming...*wind whips rain into my face and Carmen's ears flatten protectively* oh hell. Never mind. 

I bring her to a halt and she immediately moves to put her haunches to the driving rain. I hop off.
Carmen: Thank heavens you came to your senses. 
Irish: if she's done then why am I still working?!

We took the horses back to the barn and untacked them. We had been about 30 minutes. However, it wasn't a total waste of time.

Cynthia and I decided to go to a nearby trail and go for a walk. It was raining off and on but we had jackets and were protected by the wind by the trees. We even encountered a grouse. I was surprised at how friendly it was- someone must have been feeding it. It followed us for a bit chirping. I felt bad that I had nothing for it.

you can see how her markings are excellent camouflage 

excuse me ma'am but do you happen to have any seeds? 

she was very pretty. 

I am not sure if we'll be able to fit the hack in- hunting season starts next weekend and I won't go in the woods. I have to adjust that with the fall weather I may not be able to ride as much. It's this time of year that I start daydreaming about building an indoor arena.