October has been unseasonably warm this year. Which has been lovely in some ways (if you ignore the whole climate change risk).
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| there have been some fabulous skies |
I normally love riding in October. This year the flies have still been bad which limits the overall enjoyment. Riding in the morning helps because they are less active. We had our first frost this week so that should help.
Carmen and I continue to work on moving forward into contact and me not micromanaging. It's definitely coming.
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| Carmen: eek my feet will get wet |
There's nothing earth shattering but things are feeling better each lesson and I see improvement between rides.
Quaid is settling well into work. Our ground driving is coming along really well. I think I've sorted out his bit fussiness. I couldn't figure out what was causing the fussiness. It's a really mild bit and I didn't want to fall into the rabbit hole of bit searches (almost as frustrating as saddle searches). I was working with him one day and I figured it out. You see I was putting on his halter and the bridle over top (without a nose band). I think that the halter was pushing on the bit and making him fuss. I've been putting on the bridle and halter over top and the fussiness seems to have ended.
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| Quaid: pretty sure it's my turn |
The nice thing about riding in the fall is that the pressure to advance eases up. I know that that pressure is self-induced but it's nice to have it ease up. I got this screen shot from my last lesson and I just love it.
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| it looks like Carmen, Dottie and Guinness are having a whole separate conversation |
I know that snow will be coming and probably sooner than I'd like. But it's nice to enjoy a mild fall and I plan to make the most of it. Do you have plans for this fall?
i feel ya on being grateful to be going into winter and not feeling that self-induced pressure of "we should be doing things!" fall really is my favorite tho, glad you're getting to enjoy the mild weather with both ponies!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is such a great time of year to ride.
DeleteWe had lovely days, until we didn’t. 😂 Now, it’s super cold and snowing and it’s not even November. I’m glad you’re able to relax and enjoy some fall lessons and riding. It is a good feeling to move through them with no real goal except growth. That’s the story of my life. My friends are always asking me, are you doing this or that yet? I feel a little judged for my slow pace. But at my age, I don’t really care anymore. That’s exciting about getting Quaid into training. You’ve done a lot with him!
ReplyDeleteI have been fortunate to have friends who don’t ask those questions. I used to be around others who were like you described.
DeleteIt's so green and beautiful there! Fall is my favorite time of year.
ReplyDeleteAfter all the rain we are so green.
DeleteOur flies are SUPER bad now. I am not a fan of riding in October... especially since we'll be experiencing a 30 degree temp drop on Sunday (yikes)
ReplyDeleteThat’s too large a drop to cope with !
DeleteYour pasture looks great! Happy horses, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteHope you don't get ant severe winter storms for a while.
My fall turned to winter, so I'm just letting Ruby be a mom-in-waiting pretty much until next summer. The older I get, the more important it is to just be in tune with my horses instead of feeling obliged to ride. I thought about hauling her to an indoor arena, but pretty sure I might have saddle fit problems, she's getting pretty round! And I enjoy the routine of caring for my horses more than I enjoy riding in the cold.
I have had offers of trailering to indoors. It always seemed like too much work to ride in the cold?
DeleteThe mild fall has been lovely! Though it seems to have come to an end as of today. Brrrr!
ReplyDeleteGlad you've had some nice rides. I agree about the pressure release in fall. Time to learn at your own pace and enjoy some quiet time with your horses. Hopefully winter won't be too harsh this year. Fingers crossed!