Category: Horses

I celebrated the start of April by riding Lily in my dressage saddle today. (I had been riding her in her Western saddle, which is comfortable as far as Western saddles go, but is not nearly as comfortable for me as the dressage saddle.) Lily seems to have rediscovered her work ethic, lost during the weather caused layoff in December and January. She never did anything particularly exciting while I was waiting for her to find her misplaced training, but there were a few days when I rode her for three minutes and called it good. It is so disconcerting when the horse doesn’t feel like she is quite touching the ground.

Afterward I helped my trainer by giving a beginner a longe line lesson while she worked with the beginner’s older sister, who is starting to jump cross rails. I was baffled by my inability to get my beginner to sit up straight as the horse trotted, until I finally asked her to put the reins in her outside hand and start patting the top of her helmet with her inside hand. She stopped collapsing, and remembered what it was supposed to feel like when she took the reins back, so I was pleased. As always, I was astonished that anybody sticks out riding instruction during the initial phases because it just looks so painful. However, she had a big smile on her face much of the time, and I think she had fun.

The great Thoroughbred, John Henry, just celebrated his 32nd birthday. His caretakers report that he is just as mean and nasty as ever. (via matociquala)

Rags and Magic are at my trainer’s place tonight. Jack and I decided we could not render the old field horse safe in a reasonable amount of time before letting them back in. In addition, it will be much easier getting in and out of the old field for cleanup with the horses gone since the drive to the old field leads through the new field.

Rags was quite worried when I haltered him and Magic. He may have felt that we were going to take another herd mate from him, since he has occasionally observed that herd mates vanish after the trailer gets hooked up to the truck. Magic is the archetype of the easy to load horse: we used to joke that you didn’t want to get between Magic and an open horse trailer. I loaded Magic first, and Jack had a bit of a fight to hold Rags from immediately following. Magic and Rags will spend the nights together in the mare field, and Rags will come out during the day into a private paddock. He shouldn’t be there long enough to worry about re-introducing him into the gelding field. Rags used to live at my trainer’s barn almost a decade ago, and has gone back for occasional short stays. Magic lived there for over half her life, so this is old home week for her.