Reboot

Carmen and I ended our riding vacation today. It was interesting- this is the first time that I have taken so much time off while I'm home.

On Monday when I opened the stall doors to let them out Carmen came running out beating it to the field. Normally when I open the doors they stroll out quietly, have a stretch and meander off to the field. If this was a habit I would fix it but I figured she was just in a hurry to get to the grass that she had been deprived of all weekend. For the rest of the day she ignored me and spent a lot of time grinding dirt into herself.

I let her be and didn't fuss with her. By Wednesday she started following me around in her field. On Thursday I brought her out and gave her a good groom. She enjoyed it thoroughly. 

I stuck to the plan to not ride until Sunday. And by Sunday I was ready to get back in the saddle. I figured that a lunge first might be a  good idea. 

This was her mood in the barn getting ready: 

I rather be napping

As a ride it was pretty not-exciting. Which is nice. Our lunge work was quiet and when she was 100% I mounted. I wore my new spurs and I think that these are really helpful. Not that she really tried anything but there were some tests. I find that by having them as back up I am able to ride with less tension. When she couldn't evade the corner by running in she did break from canter to trot but I would much rather be fixing that then the steering. 

The focus of the ride was on using my seat to influence her stride. It was fun to feel how that works and I was able to get her to do transitions within and between gaits.  Playing with this allowed me to feel how much a tense seat can block the forward motion. 

I am sure that at some point Carmen will really test my resolve with the spurs. But I was happy with our first ride back to work.  The weather is getting cooler and it's my favourite time to ride. I love that there are no flies. And that there is no pressure to get to a certain level of training. There are no shows to get ready for. It feels like we can take a step back and play. 

Later that day I took the dogs to the lake for a swim. I leave you this video of Guinness. I told him that he couldn't get in the car until he shook. So, because he didn't want to leave, he refused to shake. 

Sigh. Save me from smart dogs and horses.