Everlasting Light

(i'm having to sell my camera so i've gone on a picture and video binge at the barn here lately!)

Our weekly hacks.

I try to keep a semi-regular schedule, which usually falls apart somehow on me nearly every week. It's supposed to be simple. Monday off. Tuesday and Wednesday on. Thursday off. Friday hack. Saturday and Sunday on (depending on my work schedule).

I love our hack day we're still working our way up in intensity with this humidity that seems to be here to stay! For the moment we are just walking around (up and down hills, through wooded sections of the pasture, around the ring/barn area) on a super loose rein so he can just stretch all the way out. In the next hack or two we'll start adding some trotting bit by bit. Who knows when we'll get to cantering - he tends to loose his mind when cantering in open spaces :).

Anywho I just like having a day to just empty our collective working minds and take a break. Poncho seems to like it too.

Although it doesn't seem to be the "norm" for people at our new barn. Today was the first time someone actually asked me out. It made me chuckle quite a bit (to myself I didn't want to be rude). They had asked if there was something wrong with Poncho since we were just walking. Of course I assured them there was nothing wrong and explained that it was his "hack" day and that I just like to give him a mental breather day. I still got a very perplexed look. Oh well, it works for us that's all that matters.

When I almost lost my ninja skills!

Last week I had several nice flat rides. Nothing spectacular. Nothing horrible. Nothing worth noting.

Yesterday however was all around an amazing ride, and I even almost ate dirt! I'll start off with Poncho had 4 days in a row off. Which means he's ready to rock and roll. He's a horse who doesn't handle the heat well but it makes him mega hyper. We warmed up on a nice loose rein. I couldn't get him to stretch down at the trot even though I was practically riding him on the buckle. We did some figure eights to try and get his head in the game. No dice. So I decided to just let him canter it out. 7 laps in a row! Now this is a really big ring. At least 200 x 350 I'd say. And it wasn't a slow canter, he was booking it.

After he had that out of his system he was in more of a yes ma'am kind of mood. We did some nice trot work then I let him walk for a couple minutes on the buckle before we did any jumping.

I'm proud to say we have officially conquered the flowers. Absolutely no hesitation approaching them today!!!!

the oh so scary flowers!

 After that I was feeling a little gutsy so we decided to tackle this....

The first time approaching it from each direction he refused it (not too surprising from him). The second time we soared over it!!!!! I was on top of the world until mid-air I hear my mom in the distance yell woo-hoo and start clapping. The second Poncho landed he bolted and started bucking the whole way down the arena! I narrowly missed flying in a gate. Somehow I managed to stay on! Of course we had to try the jump again so he realized it wasn't the jump that was scary. Luckily no theatrics the second time around. What a goober.

After that I just cooled him, hosed him off, and let him graze for a minute.

I just love my Poncho man so much!

Hotter than Hell!

And no I don't mean the village in the Cayman Islands.

It has been unbearably hot here these last couple of days. Yesterday I even went out to ride late in the evening and Poncho was completely drenched in sweat just from being turned out for about an hour. So instead I just hosed him off. Which I had to do outside because a SKUNK decided to hide out in the nice cool barn. I mean of course that's what you'd expect to find in a barn. Although Poncho was not to pleased, until he realized that meant he got to graze on the yummmy grass!

We also had a very exciting ride this morning that I'll have to post about later. (I need to snap a couple of reference pictures out at the barn this evening!)

Why my horse always makes me laugh!

If you've read this blog long enough you'd know that Poncho tends to have gigantic spooks at almost nothing from time to time. It's no secret.

Well yesterday after a horrible day at work I wasn't even sure if I felt like riding. But when I got to the barn the field that he doesn't think is going to eat him was open to hack in! So of course I decided that I'd just hop on for a few minutes. We're walking calmly around the field, I'm barely holding on the reins, there's a lovely (slightly strong) breeze blowing...then I hear a crack and whoosh. Holy moly a tree branch just fell from the tippy top of one of the trees in the field.

(I can guarantee you won't guess what happened next!)

He just shuffled a few steps sideways and kept on going.

This from the horse who's determined the flowers are going to eat him alive.

Evening at the barn

Happy Mouth = happy horse?!

Friday was my day to work at the barn in the afternoon so I went out later (whilst hoping that my new bit would come in before I left - it did not). With all the storms we had on Thursday it was still quite windy when I got out there. The initial plan was to hack Poncho out in the fields but he was little up so we didn't make it too far. So we just did whatever in the ring for a little.

Saturday I was working the morning shift AND I finally got to use the new bit, which came in right after I left the house yesterday. Everyone was starting to file in right as I was getting on...so we w/t/c in the ring for a little and then got to hack out in the fields. He was still figuring out the bit but seemed very pleased with it so far.

Today I didn't get out in time to beat the heat but still had a lovely ride. He really, really likes the happy mouth bit. He was drooling all over the place and going nice and round! I tried tossing my spurs back on to try and refine my aids more, but he wasn't feeling it so I took them off quickly. Tracking right we were pretty spot on with everything. His w/t/c were all really nice and connected. Tracking left we were pretty disconnected so I  never even asked for that canter. I just worked on trying to get him straight and forward. To make everything fun though we popped over a couple of the jumps. A crossrail that he thought was going to kill him the first couple times (but then he jumped it like a champ!). Then a little vertical that is finally starting to make sense to him (he's been having a heck of a time judging it's height here lately, goober).