Windy Day

So yesterday I headed down to the barn to ride baby horse! It was really windy up where I live and I had high hopes that maybe the wind wouldn't be as bad at the barn but the opposite was true... I had to dodge several tumbleweeds on the freeway on the way down and by the time I was at the barn, I was sick of the wind.

Also, nothing is more irritating than young horses in wind, right? Ugh. But I was determined. 

TC was in his pasture when I got there and Ali said she had ridden his pasture-mate earlier and that TC had actively walked away from her! Luckily he came right up to me when I got there, I was not interested in chasing him around.

His face is getting pretty gray

I tacked him up and he was very wiggly. It wasn't that windy in the barn but it was howling so he seemed a bit concerned, he kept curling his neck so his nose would be close to his chest, I think to brace for the wind that couldn't get into the barn. But other than moving around, he was great to tack up. 

I opted to longe him. There was a bunch of teenagers in the arena galloping around, over a small jump and around a pole (used in gymkhana I guess). Ali had them stop momentarily while I longed. 

TC was surprisingly great to longe. He never pulled on me once and was actually a tad lazy. But he picked up both leads and his downward transitions were excellent. Ali and I were pleasantly surprised that he was so focused and obedient given that it had been a bit since he was ridden and that it was so windy. 

He has the tail from hell- we brush it a
little each time

I hopped on him and immediately the arena energy picked up as the girls went back to galloping around. Ali kept having to yell "remember that TC is three!! Give them some space!" The girls were pretty good about it but more than once I was cut off, goosed, or stopped in front of. 

You'd think that a three year old who hadn't been ridden in four days amidst all this crazy would have been impossible (and I thought that too) but he was PERFECT considering. 

We did have some extra steering issues as he saw that jump and really wanted to get to the other side. Steering issues also arose when trying to coordinate passing other horses, but honestly, it was amazing how good he was. 

We did end up hopping over the fence! It was maybe a foot tall and Ali said she had longed him over it once and he was fine. It didn't phase him, he was really excited about it but just trotted over it (like lifting his legs up) but he never said no.

The cutest

Soon the girls all left and the arena was cleared so I got some real work done. Once again, he's perfectly on the bit at the walk. He even did some little lateral movements at the walk (just playing, nothing that could be defined as a leg yield or shoulder-in or anything). I want him used to me moving him around while he's walking so that when we introduce leg yield and such at the trot, he knows the cue. 

The trot was MUCH better. He needs to be convinced to focus and he needs to be going quite forward, but there are these amazing moments (which came closer together and more consistently yesterday than my previous ride) where I could really feel him come over his back. He really feels like a dressage horse sometimes! And then we go careening around like crazy. 

I did canter, just a lap in each direction. Once again to the left he has a great transition, although I feel myself wanting to do it for him, I need to not do that. And to the right we picked up the wrong lead twice before getting the correct one. His right lead actually is better than his left though, which feels slightly lateral and galumphing rather than light and bounding like his right. 

When I was done, I let him stand for a bit, then I opened the gate while I was on him and walked to the barn on his back! He was good, a bit cautious, walking slow and snorting a bit because of the wind, but nothing major.

From a week ago or something- his pasture is
dry now

Can I just say that I'm MAJORLY impressed with this horse. He's three years old, had maybe 20-30 arena rides at this point, and he's not only NOT insane in the wind or with people all around him, but downright obedient amidst all of the crazy. He never got unnerved or spooky, just did his job to the best of his capabilities (which are still not well developed of course). In a few years, I can just see him being a completely solid citizen in the show ring for a nervous amateur who needs a decent moving confidence building horse to get their bronze on. Sounds like a pretty okay project for me! Now just need to get a job and graduate... but I don't think he'll be sold any time soon so that's good for me. 

I stopped in at my parents' ranch to get my saddle and drop it off so I saw Rico. My mom has been sick and my dad doesn't know much about feet so all I heard when I asked "how are Rico's back feet?" was "well, they're still attached, right?" So I looked at them myself. They look perfect! Just as perfect as when he had shoes on. I'm giving him a bit to get used to them, and then I'll take him on a ride in a week or two to see how sound he is.

Cooper greeted me with this dead squirrel the other day, ahhh