JR Ride 49: A+

Monday, 7/6/09

A-plus for blondie! I worked him in the indoor arena and he was sterling. I did not longe him very long and I did not use the side reins. I mostly worked on transitions. There were people hustling and bustling around the farm and he only spooked once on the longe line.

We spent about 3 minutes doing out mounting block exercise. Stand next to the block, rotate so you’re standing next to the next side, rotate again, again. Turn around, same routine. I have all but extinguished the ears-back behavior at the mounting block… hooray!

I mounted up and rode for about 15 minutes. My ankle is improving but it gets very sore when I ride since I flex it. I could only stand a little bit of trotting so we spent more time working on walking exercises. We walked over ground poles, did changes of direction, and I asked for a leg yield in each direction. Everything was perfect. Good, good blondie. A+ for you.

I jogged Wizard up and down the barn aisle and my friend watched his movement. He is still off in the hind end, but he was an absolute GEM when I groomed him- no fussing or fretting. Even fly spray did not bother him. It made me realize that both Wizard and JR were unusually relaxed. They are docile horses, but they have their silly moments; today they were both alert and relaxed. I mentioned it to a friend and she pointed out that the horses had been outside 24/7 for the past few days. So maybe the turnout was why they were in such a good mood. Seems like the stretch of wonderful New Jersey weather has us all feeling pretty good :^)

The chiropractor is scheduled to work on Wizard next Wednesday. Fingers crossed that we figure out what is bugging him.