Trot from Thought

Brett and I were dragging this morning.  Last night we went to a neighbor's house for Friday night pizza and wine.  We ate too much, drank too much, talked too much -- well, not the last part.  You can't talk too much with good friends.  There is a group of seven couples in our neighborhood that regularly get together for pizza or potlucks.  I'm the youngest of the group, at 55, and the oldest couple are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next week -- let's call them 80-something.  I am the only one who isn't retired and they tease me about that.  So, we were in bed late last night and woke up with that fuzzy tired feeling that comes with too much wine.  On our way home from the farmers market this morining, we discussed riding.  We knew we should ride but neither of us had the energy.  Back home, I settled in the garden with a bowl of cherries

while Kersey stole green peaches from the tree.

Brett found me there and convinced me to ride.  I'm glad we did.

As I led Lucy out of the pasture, I felt (but couldn't see) that she might have a slight hitch in her step. She wasn't off, but she was - perhaps- not 100%.  She felt fine when I rode her in the arena; a bit sluggish at first, but even. We worked on walk-trot transitions from feel.  As we walked, I thought about trot (nothing), then I lightened my seat (still nothing), and then a nudge (and off we went).  It didn't take long for her to slide into trot from a light seat and eventually we were doing it from a space somewhere between thought and light seat.  The transitions were seamless, relaxed, prompt and through.  Happiness vibrated in the connection.

Meanwhile, Brett was having an excellent ride on Mufasa.  Their connection and bond just keeps getting stronger.  Brett had put a row of blocks across the front of the dressage court to keep the sand from washing out during the rain last week.  Lucy didn't care about the blocks, walking right through the small opening Brett had made by removing two blocks.

Mufasa wasn't so sure.  It took a bit of convincing to get him to walk in.  After we finished our ride, Brett worked with Mufasa and the blocks.  They walked back and forth, in and out, of the court until Mufasa was relaxed.  Brett was happy with the way that Mufasa trusted him and walked in despite his apprehension.

This afternoon I noticed that Lucy was walking a bit off.  Jackson is very off.

 The rain was just enough to soften their feet, but not the ground.  Jackson got a big dose of bute and a trail boot this morning.  I'll keep an eye on Lucy.  I need to keep her sound so we can enjoy more moments of happiness.