Quick Check-in

Hey guys! Long time no chat. Things have been crazy busy for me lately. Work is going great but still very busy, but also rewarding. I have been teaching a lot more this year so far as opposed to last year so that's awesome. I have only been riding Possum about 3 days a week and for 6 days a week I have been running. That's right, you heard me right. I have decided to get fit and maybe lose a few lbs so I have been taking the two bigger dogs out for runs after dark at night. I find that when I ride after dark it seems like you go faster than in the day light, and plus I never get home until after dark most of the time anyways. I have been doing really well with keeping up with it and am up to running 4 miles at a time. I am toning up a lot but have only lose like 4 lbs. I have a feeling that once my muscles are more fit that they will start to burn more off.

Possum has been doing really for the most part. We have been taking this time to really get back to the basics andn work a lot on our flat. We do jump, but our focus has been on the dressage basics and really working on using less noticeable aids. We did have a kinda crappy ride last Friday. He was really stiff and not using his back hardly at all. I just chalked it up to a bad day and tried not to get frustrated with it.

Yesterday I had plans of going out on the trail since it's Sunday and there is no hunting on Sundays in Maine, but my roomie had set up some big jumps in the outdoor and they looked really fun. I decided to have a "goof off" day and not do anything really serious. I didn't even work on collection. I basically let him pick his frame and only asked that he be forward and not behind my leg. Even though he was a little strung out and flat, he felt comfortable and was not rushing and took everything in stride. We did a flat warm-up and then started jumping small jumps. When he felt stretched and warm we decided to approach a large 4ft vertical. I didn't worry about his head and just kept the steady rhythmn. He was even a little slow, but we got a great spot and he hopped right over it. I was thrilled!!! There was no rush to the jump or throwing his head up in anticipation. It was like it wasn't anything and just up and over and onto the next. SO played around with that jump and then there was another 4ft vertical on the diagonal and we hopped right over that one too. Then m,y roomie set up a stone wall (fake ofcourse) it's was about 2 and a half ft in length and 3ft high with no standards or anything, so really the epitome of a skinny. I thought Possum might look at it some because it was kinda strange looking. He cantered right up to it and popped over. He did give it a little look as he was going over it, but cleared it nicely. I really was on cloud 9. He was doing so perfectly. It also really made me proud because my roomie's horse had a hell of a time going over the stone wall. She would spook and stop short or jump off to the side. It just goes to show me that my horse and I have a great relationship based on trust and when I ask him to do something he rarely protests in terms of bravery. I need to remember this o nthe days he is really frustrating me.

SO it was a good boost to the day since I was kinda feeling down. Minnesota guy and I still talk a lot, and I'm really liking him, but I just don't know if anything will come of it and it's kinda making me sad. I've been hanging out with a couple other guys and their nice and all, but I just don't get that feeling. My mind always keeps wandering to MN guy. I guess I just need to have faith that if it' s supposed to happen that it will and I can't always make things happen the way I want them to in my life. Last night I was kinda bored and Nick texted me out of the blue. Yes, remember him, good ole Nick. He wanted to know if I wanted to come over and chill since I told him I was bored. I said what the hell and went to visit for about 2 hrs to pass the time. We laughed a lot as usual and things were cool, strictly on the friend level. I'm willing to let by gones be by gones and turn the page to a new chapter. Anyways, I think that's about all that's new. Staying busy as the weather turns colder and colder. Almost every morning I have a nice layer of frost on my car. That means Possum is in a mid weight blanket until he gets clipped which will then turn into a heavy weight with a hood in about a month.

Next time I post I promise I will have that book review. It's definately a good book to talk about and especially ponder the early stages of hunt seat riding and proper equitation.