Melting

The heat has been nearly unbearable for the last two weeks. Aidyn comes in sweaty every single night, and for the last few nights we haven't even been able to ride because of the heat and humidity. Luckily for Aidyn, I take pity on him and bring him in each day for a shower and for dinner. His dinner is even more fun now....he gets a half scoop of sweet feed mixed with the "organic mix", which is alfalfa pellets/beet pulp/oats. He thinks it's quite delicious.

He also enjoys his showers, although he won't admit it. He then goes straight to the dirtiest part of his pasture and rolls. The aftermath:



















Gross. Back to work for him tomorrow evening, weather permitting. A light ride in the paddock to get him ready for a weekend full of riding :D

Also thought Aidyn wouldn't mind sharing his blog with the four geldings I am caring for for a very kind lady. The gang consists of Bailey, a gray Rocky Mountain Horse; Undertaker, a black RMH; Rusty, a chestnut QH; and Otto, a Friesian who is obviously black. Today was so hot that I felt baths were in order for all of them. Bailey was a bit unsure of the hose and the way water just spurts out of it at random intervals...he stood like a statue though. I think he secretly enjoyed getting all clean and shiny. Undertaker was a bit more antsy but he seemed happy to be getting the attention. Rusty is the king of Seperation Anxiety Issues, so when he was taken away from Otto to get his bath I had to keep his attention on me at all times so he wouldn't call for Otto or dance around. He was a good boy...that is, until I had to take Otto away for his bath. He screamed the entire time, tried to tear the stall door off (literally....) and generally acted a fool. Otto stood quietly and ignored him like a good man. When they were reunited, Otto was like "Um yeah dude...enough." We're going to be working on being seperated a bit more each time, I think...after all, how am I going to ride Otto if Rusty has to be with him?

Undertaker after his bath, feeling pretty sexy:



















Silly boys. Can't wait to get back on my Baby TB tomorrow.
God Bless!

Engaging the inside hind...

...is hard. Really, really hard. Especially for a Baby Thoroughbred who frequently forgets that his hind end exists. We are constantly in an uphill battle for that hind end to swing-swing-swing (like the rhythm of my heart)...and not fall to the inside, and not collapse, etc. This is especially the case tracking right. Especially in the corners of the arena. Sometimes I feel like his entire body splits up into two separate horses...the one in front of his hips and the one behind them. The one in front is moving forward, seeking contact and attempting an inside flexion. The one behind is either running or barely shuffling, and likes to dive inside at even the mention of a turn. The trick, it would seem, is to find a way to "speak" to both ends.

Transitions help, in more ways than one. After a few trot/walk/trot transitions, he is starting to push from behind and is generally straighter in his body. Our nemesis, Mr. Outside Rein, is always mocking us and reminding us that we can't truly have anything without him. This is a hard concept for me, because I tend to want to either throw away my outside contact entirely and ride off my inside rein (BAD BAD BAD) or throw away my inside rein and hang on my outside rein (BAD BAD BAD). I have to remember that the outside contact should be steady, but my inside bend isn't truly going to be there unless I use both reins...and my legs, which I sometimes genuinely forget are attached to my body.

I wish we could just ride stretchy trot all the time. Life would be so much more simple. Baby Thoroughbreds love to stretchy trot...it feels gooooood and it is so swingy and lovely. I like to use stretchy trot after a canter, not only to relax him (preventing an asthma attack) but also to encourage a more lofty trot rather than a quick, runny one (which is what we tend to get if I come back to trot and put him "together" right away). The problem with stretchy trot, then, is that after doing a lap of it, Aidyn's brain refuses to let him come back up and work for a few more minutes. That's when we start curling and running. Naturally, half halts would come into play here, but when you're me and forget you have legs (not to mention an outside rein), sometimes you...forget.

Nevertheless, I'm happy with the kid right now. He's really coming along the way I want and slowly reminding me how to ride. And I can't even blame the racetrack for my intense desire to perch up there, because I did that LONG before I started exercise riding. I guess I could blame it more on my hunter background than anything...I was darned good at perching then. ;) Have to continually remind myself to try and sit back...even if it's just a millimeter back at a time. No one wants to be perchy on cross-country, if we ever get there.

WHEN we ever get there.