Living in a Marshmallow World

It's a marshmallow world in the winter
When the snow comes to cover the ground
It's time for play, it's a whipped cream day
I wait for it the whole year round

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts

Take a walk with your favorite girl

It's a sugar date, what if spring is late

In winter it's a marshmallow world

~ Bing Crosby~

Wow, I have been able to work Carmen 3 times in 5 days! 

Sunday was a snowy day - but the nice light and fluffy stuff that is fun to play in. This morning dawned sunny and warm. It was a beautiful, perfect jewel of a winter day. The snow was fluffy, the sky was blue and the sun was warm. I took the blankets off the horses so that they could enjoy the sun. Every time I looked out the window they were basking. 

The dogs were enjoying the beautiful weather as well. 

when did Guinness get so much bigger than d'Arcy? 

Ashley came out to join me for a ride. Carmen had a ton of energy in the ring. She was very forward but I found keeping my seat bones on the saddle helped to regulate her pace.  I have been trying to be very aware of how I'm riding and it's hard to change habits. Especially when you're not in riding shape. 

I asked Ashley how she was doing and she said she felt stiff. I told her that I was feeling mushy.Between the two of us we made a perfect rider.  Honestly, every time I took my attention off my middle I collapsed it.  The good news is that with focus I wasn't too bad. 

We took our time warming up at the walk and then I asked her to trot. She was a bit stiff on the right. I realized that she was looking to be a bit upset by me asking her so I made sure that I was simply supportive and helping and not making it worse. I know it's partly her but it's also me- I am not a flexible on the right and I need to work on that. But hey, awareness is the first step, right? 

We did have one mini-bolt up by troll corner. I could feel her getting stiff and when a clump of snow hit a post she suddenly went sideways very fast. I called 'heads up' to Ashley and steered her into a small circle, brought her back then carried on into the corner like nothing had happened. Not that she wasn't tense but there was no more issues. I think it's because I didn't freeze (yay me) but stayed active with her. I'm finding it easier to not shorten the reins but push her forward. I don't always succeed but it's getting better. 

Since she had so much energy I rode it forward. Fortunately, she's also a marshmallow so maintaining endless energy was not in the cards. Phew.  

The weather was so beautiful I actually built up a sweat. Carmen was a bit out of breath and happy to go back to our quiet ride. We did canter in both ways and I have to say that there is a huge improvement over where we were this time last year. She was so much easier to get straight and keep her there. When she tried to speed up I was able to use my seat to bring her back. We played a little with walk-canter-walk transitions

The forecast for this week is looking great too. This winter has been hard because the weather has been so dreary. So being able to enjoy the weather today was great. 

I may be biased but I think that my home looks very pretty in the snow