Through the Woods

I never ride with a specific plan in mind; this is especially true of my relationship with Lucy. Sure, I have ideas in the back of my mind; things I'd like to work on; aids that need to be sharpened (or dialed back). But I always ride the horse I have and that means that I don't always do what I thought we were going to work on.

Today is a case in point. When I went out to get Lucy, the mid-morning sun was just warm enough to make me think of laying down in a sunny spot, laying my head on my hands and dozing. Lucy was one step ahead of me; sound asleep in her run-in shed with Pistol standing guard. She raised her head and looked at me but she didn't make any attempt to rise until she realized that I had cookies in my pocket and Pistol was getting all of them.

While I tacked her up she tried to chew on the tie rail, shifted from left to right, and lifted her tail repeatedly. So, I knew she was in heat and would be sluggish. We walked out to the dressage court, I mounted and she ambled into the arena. She couldn't seem to find forward and I wasn't in the mood to insist. Instead, we rode back out of the court and into the "woods" that surround the arena. We worked on Lucy's trail skills -- going under trees, through dry stream beds, and close to the road. For some reason, cars coming down the gravel road worry her something fierce. When she got too worried to think, we went back in the arena and did some light stretching work. Then it was back to the woods.

Although it wasn't the ride I had in mind, it was a good ride, Lucy worked on being brave and we had fun. And, really, these days I'm all about having fun.