Friday, March 11, 2011

Snow again...Sigh...

I can’t believe we are in the middle of another snowstorm. We got 5 inches overnight, and they are predicting 3-7 more. I am so done with winter. I hope the drive home from work is better than the drive here.


I went riding last night instead of today to avoid the storm. It was still raining when I was trying to ride. (It had been raining for 2 solid says.) The rain on the metal roof is bad enough, but add the water pouring through the gutters, the winds blasting the rain on the side of the metal building and you end up with a very nervous rider.

I really wanted to work on riding the whole arena, but since I was skittish, so was Cole. I ended up getting off after a half hour and leading him in circles on the scary end. He did spook in hand twice, but I don’t care if he does that when I am leading. After about 10 minutes, I got up and rode circles there, and he was fine.

I hope the arena is quiet this weekend and I can tackle this problem. I am basically running out of time. I will soon be working him on the trail. It is silly that I still get nervous over there. I have all the tools to work through it. He has a terrific stop—coming to a halt as soon as he hears the word—from a walk or trot. He bends and turns lovely. When he goes head up and he gets distracted, I can easily coax him back down with a rein vibration and get him to refocus. I can do it, but when the arena is making random noises, or there are other horses riding with us, I don’t even try.

In only led Cruise around because I was in a hurry to get home before the snow started. Another woman was leading her horse, and we had a nice time talking. It did start to snow on my drive home, but it wasn’t sticking on the road, and I had no trouble.

2 comments:

smazourek said...

Popping over for a visit, the horse in your header photo is gorgeous!

Judi said...

Thank you. That is my new horse, Cole. I paid a big price for him, and not in dollars. I lost my Paint, Mingo, to a prolonged and undiagnosed disease. I did my best for him, and it think that Cole was my reward for it.

He has far exceeded my expectations. I bought a pudgy stallion that turned into a lovely gelding with a kind and willing nature.