Last (but not least) lesson of 2015

Had a great lesson with Julie today, in spite of the rain and "wintery mix" that fell steadily. She would have gone hoarse trying to make herself heard over the din on the metal roof, but her mother's hostess gift at our dressage party was one of those cordless intercom/two-way radio headset thingies. Man, that set-up is slick! It would also work at treat at horse shows.

Anyway, I got all the help I was hoping for without taxing Lance at all. We worked on strengthening his lower back by changing frame rather than loading his hindquarters, making sure to keep him in front of the bit and tracking straight. The struggle to keep him off my right leg disappeared as soon as Julie corrected ME; I just need to keep my right shoulder down and back (tracking right) and my right elbow down by my hip (tracking left).

Julie didn't see any big problems in our partnership; she thinks getting him legged up and ready for a show at the end of February is a reasonable goal. Second Level, here we come! (She says hopefully. ;-)

My Christmas surprise

In spite of getting knocked off balance by Tuesday's sad news, we had a lovely, quiet Christmas. My husband acquiesced to my family's European tradition and we opened gifts Christmas Eve. However, one of my gifts was too big to fit under the tree; in fact it still needed a bit of assembly and wasn't even on the property! So on Christmas day he drove to his clinic to pick up the poles and supports of the cavaletti he built for me and we put them together with lag screws. It was dark by the time we got home from a potluck Christmas dinner with church friends, but I just had to try them out by the light of the full Christmas moon.

They are just perfect. Lance is transformed by cavaletti, and seems to like them, too. I've been using some miscellaneous PVC pipe pieces that move too easily; as soon as he checked these out he knew they were the real deal and picked his feet up accordingly. Rick might make me one more; I never would have complained about getting only three, but he did ask if three was the right number.... ;-)

Tomorrow I'm hauling up to Julie's for a lesson; heehaw! Lance is obviously still legging up from his suspensory strain, so we will take it easy. Still excited, though!

Sadness and joy

It's been a tough 24 hours or so. When I got home from work yesterday, there was an email waiting in my inbox. One of our dressage chapter members was killed in a head-on crash Monday (news report here), just 10 miles from here. She was to retire this week; her husband had just retired on Saturday, and they were looking forward to retirement together. Eight days earlier we were at a Christmas party together, having a lovely time; now she is gone. It's been weighing heavy on my heart, my head; my coping skills are shot.

Blessed with a dry day, I took Lance out for a Christmas Eve ride. We warmed up in the arena, then went down the gravel lane. I thought about Kristy and her two horses, about how unpredictable life is. I look forward to heaven, but feel the loss here and now nonetheless.

“So you must match time's swiftness with your speed in using it, and you must drink quickly as though from a rapid stream that will not always flow.”

—Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

Thankful for Friday

I managed to get another ride in then, and I'm so glad I did. We were gone all day Saturday and Sunday, and today the weather is wild. Strong winds and stronger gusts are whipping the big firs around and sometimes shooting raindrops like little darts. Even if I could get away from homeschooling supervision long enough to do something with Lance, riding would be foolhardy and I think even lunging would be asking for too much self-control on his part. Maybe tonight, after this storm blows through....

Sly, dry dog

Last night, after a discouraging morning homeschooling and a looong drive through heavy traffic to take my MIL to the airport, I needed saddle time. It was dark but it wasn't raining (much) and my guys weren't home, so I had a window of opportunity. I put on my breeches and went to the barn.

I had just placed the saddle on Lance's back and was walking around him to check the pad and girth when he slithered out the mostly open stall door – then crashed past the mostly closed barn door, dropping my saddle in the mud and knocking the lightswitch/outlet box loose! Turkey. I thought some choice hay in front of him (I always give him a snack while grooming and tacking up) would be enough to hold his attention; NOT. Once he realized that it was dark and any green grass along the driveway was covered with leaves, he trotted back in the now-open barn door and back into his stall. I tacked him back up and out to the dark arena we went. I have to admit I kept the reins a little shorter and immediately asked for lateral work at the walk to give him plenty to think about, just in case he still had any wild hairs, but he was a gentleman and we had a good ride.

By bedtime last night the rain was pouring down, and is supposed to continue for days. Good thing we got a ride in when we did!