To ride dressage is to dance with your horse, equal partners in the delicate and sometimes difficult work of creating harmony and beauty.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Just what the psychiatrist ordered

We've changed from cold and clear to warm and WET. I emptied three inches from our rain gauge on Sunday, and it's collected four more inches since then. The weather and family obligations have kept me from riding for the past week, and my stress levels have been rising. This morning I watched the weather impatiently; the dry spells between showers didn't last long enough to get Lance tacked up, much less ride. But after lunch the clouds parted and the sun smiled weakly, raising my hopes. I left Brian to finish his last subject and headed out.
I put Lance's Renegade boots on the front and stuck to the gravel lane; all the rain we've had makes the arena footing too soupy and any other footing slicker 'n' snot.

 No, this isn't the Olympic rain forest, but does resemble it in places!

Lance got a little squirrelly in one spot when he spotted an ATV parked in the woods, but mostly he just plodded along. Sometimes I wish he was a higher-energy horse, but there's a lot to be said for "solid."

Thankful for a dose of sun, scenic beauty, and my sanity-saving steed!

4 comments:

C-ingspots said...

You are so blessed Michelle, to have those little gravel lanes in the woods to ride on!!! Nothing like that around our home...

Mary said...

Michelle, those photos are spectacular...I am thrilled that the Northwest is getting rain and I commiserate with you about finding riding time. I miss riding in the snow :-)

Cynthia said...

Nice job getting the crook out of your pony's neck and achieving soft flexion! How did you get those shots?

Michelle said...

I AM thankful to have them available, Lorie, even though they are short and the rocks are hard on my unshod horse.

Thank-you, Mary! Can't say I miss riding in the snow, though.

I just shot them from the saddle, Cynthia; I almost always carry my camera and phone. He was looking at something in the first photo, hence the crook and tension. I wasn't riding him on the bit in either one.