Getting There....

I've been riding Possum on a fairly consistent basis. Friday I went to the barn and watched my roomie have a lesson and relaxed on the swing by the arena while munching on a roast beef sandwich (on wheat bread and light mayo). After her ride I was leisurely going to get Possum and then found out that the barn owner was taking a client out for a trail ride to the pond. I only had to think for 2 seconds and decided to forego a borning arena ride and hit the trails with them. They were ready before me, I still had to put britches on, tie Phin up and put on Possum's bridle so they went ahead. Note that Molly did not watch which way they went to the pond. There is a short way which is mucky and has a steep hill and then there is a longer way which is basically riding on the road. Possum and I geared up and then trotted through the field, walked down the mucky hill, cantered down the county trail, walked to cross the ditch and water and then cantered up a rocky hill to another field. I thought that it was funny that I hadn't caught up to them. I also wasn't noticing any fresh tracks in the trail, although both the other horses were barefoot so they blend in better with older tracks. When I finally got to the part where we cross the road and take the trail that heads to the pond I decided to follow back the longer way and see if I would meet up with them head on. Sure enough I meet up with them a few minutes later. Both the barn owner and I conceded that the extra mileage was good for Possum, I was also thinking in the back of my mind that it was also good for me to burn of a few extra calories. We had fun at the pond, didn't get too wet cause we had all our tack on, but enough to cool off and enjoy the scenery. When we got back to the farm I decided to have Possum go around some jump courses for a few minutes just to stay sharp. He was already plenty warmed up sp we trotted a few and then went right into cantering. The trail had taken him down a couple notches energy wise and he was pretty quiet and we ended on a good note.

Saturday I didn't ride. It was all rainy and yucky and cold so I opted to be lazy and stayed home for most of the day. Yesterday was perfect weather wise. The air was dry and the sun was shining but it wasn;t too hot. I got to the barn late afternoon, I had to watch the Red Sox game first ofcourse haha. It was too nice to just do work in the arena so we had a long warm-up and flatted some. We brushed up on some flying changes which he did well with and did lots of serpentines and softening work. He was doing so well, like butter in my hands. I literally had ounces of weight in each hand, even on his bad side. I decided not to push my luck so we turned for the trail. It was Beautiful! We just buzzed along. Trotted when the footing was iffy and cantered when it was good. SOmetimes I just really like trail riding by myself. It's when I do my best thinking and relaxing. I Don't even talk out loud but I feel like Possum is knowing all that I'm thinking. Either I'm really in tune with my horse, or I'm just a wackadoo, I'
ll leave that one up in the air for now. It was nice to just get out. But like most of my trail rides I do like to work on things, We worked on shortening andn lengthening strides at the canter. ALso worked on some flying changes which he did awesome with. He was soft and responsive and really working through his back at the trot. I was really happy with how he was going. We got back to the barn about dusk. I gave him a quick grooming and then he had his grain since his paddock had already been fed. I then turned him out and fed hay to the guys in his paddock. It was just starting to sprinkle when I left.

Not sure if I'm riding tonight. If I don't I'll atleast find the time to have 2-3 serious ring rides this week and then a trail ride or two as well. I Like to mix things up. Possum is a little like me and can get bored easy and when he gets bored he finds things to do that are fun, Like galloping around an entire jump course. I want to keep him on his toes and working on things, but also want him to think it's fun and stay in tune with me. I'm finding that it's a hard balance. As long as we have our regular trail rides and gallop sessions he seems to be pretty happy.

Didn;t do much socially this weekend like I said I stayed home most of Saturday and Sunday went to the barn. But I did manage to rustle up some fun on Friday night and ended up hanging with an ex......giggle giggle....and no it wasn't Nick. It was actually quite comical and trust me nothing came of it. I won't get into details since this blog has become quite popular as of late so I'll leave it up to your imaginations. Well that's about it for now. Work is getting real crazy again since school has just started and I've been moving my office to another room in the building. Now I need to make up some posters to hang in the schools. Have a great day!