Random Five Friday

There were lots of comments and questions this past week (yay!). Fortunately, many of them fell into common themes so I think I can fit them into my random five topics.

1. When will I bring Lucy home? I am keeping her at Sandy's barn until the first of June. I want a month of lessons to ensure that we are steady and working well together before bringing her home. She's a second level horse and I've never ridden beyond first so I have a lot to learn to keep her together. And she has a lot to teach me too. The plan is for me to ride four times (or more) per week -- two lessons plus two days riding her on my own. Sandy will train her one day per week. I had another lesson today which went well, despite the 90F heat. I did wilt at the end but felt like we are figuring each other out. Lucy seemed happy to see me and I think she understands that I am her new mom. I felt a different energy from her today; an interested and invested friendliness. There is a big Hilda Gurney clinic going on at the barn this weekend and there were banners, tables, chairs and pop up tents everywhere. Lucy didn't blink an eye. I promise to get more pictures of her (and a video) soon.

2. A few of you wanted to make sure I had her thoroughly vetted. Lucy had a complete vet check with x-rays of every bone in her legs and feet when her previous owner purchased her this past August. I talked to the vet and she reviewed the films with me. There are a few things that would make her difficult to sell but should not be a problem for me from a soundness issue. For instance, she has a small bone chip in her hock -- that has never bothered her. She has been sound in full time training since she arrived at Sandy's barn.
I don't plan on selling her. If she does develop soundness issues, we will retire her with the rest of the herd.

3. Winston has not been sold. There has been a steady stream of people inquiring about him but Sandy is screening them carefully. His flashy coloring draws people but most of the callers are not strong or experienced enough to handle him. Remember this is Winston with the rock star personality -- he wants to be admired and famous but he doesn't want to do the work to get there. He needs someone who can set the boundaries -- he has been excellent for Sandy and I have no doubt that he could be an awesome horse -- for the right person.

4. When Lucy gets here, she will share a pasture with Pistol. We will have a mare pasture and gelding pasture. I think that Pistol and Lucy will get along great -- neither one of them is a dominant personality.

5. The green grass on the ranch will be brown by summer. We get all of our rain between November and May so the days of green grass are numbered. The final measurement of the snow pack was done today and the news was not good. 18% of normal and the water table is the lowest it has been in a century. I foresee water restrictions intensifying across the State. We need a number of wet winters to replenish the lakes, reservoirs and ground water.

Learning with Lucy

Tuesday, I took a lesson on Lucy -- squeezed in at lunch time, between meetings.

I was honest with Sandy about my concerns. I would like to show; not big triple rated shows, but small schooling shows. I love cantering and I need to feel confident with Lucy at canter; at home; by myself. I needed Lucy to settle and relax for me in my lesson. I needed to have fun.

Sandy said that most of the time Lucy is calm and showing isn't a problem. However, once in awhile she does have a bad day. Fair enough; we all have bad days.

Between Lucy and Sandy, I learned a lot in my lesson. Lucy is a great teacher. She rushes if I lean forward, even a tiny bit. If I sit straight and tall, she relaxes and is soft and fluid. We have trot nailed. She didn't rush once at trot. We did quite a few walk-trot transitions in the beginning to help her focus. Sandy reminded me to keep my elbows soft and my thumbs bent on top of the reins. Lucy and I had a wonderful connection as we floated around the arena.

We worked on canter as soon as she was focused. Again, as long as I sat straight she was relaxed. If I tipped forward -- at all -- she would start to rush. I sat back and she relaxed. Talk about instant feedback. Sandy had me follow the motion of the canter with my shoulders. That was a new one. I'm used to trying to follow with my hands and I'm an epic failure at getting the rhythm right. Moving my shoulders? Easy and, again, instant relaxation from Lucy. So, if I sit straight and tall, shoulders relaxed and following, elbows relaxed and heavy, and give her room with my hands we have a lovely canter. I praised her to death with my voice,wither scratches and neck rubs.

We did some leg yield and then Sandy asked if I wanted to work on haunches-in. I looked at my watch. Five more minutes, I said. I'm having too much fun to go back to work. So we did that and then some shoulder-in. Lucy glides and she does it well even if I don't set her up perfectly. She tries.

I reluctantly finished my lesson and went back to work.

And, today I bought Lucy.