Flat work. Always the flat work.

Sarah and I decided last week to do the grid I did with Bobby awhile back on Monday. Since I've nixed jumping in the indoor, I figured I'd just run through the grid as poles only, do some no stirrup work, and build up the oxer for Sarah. Unfortunately, when we got there, everyone else wanted to be riding in the sun and t-shirt weather and there were four people in the indoor. We both agreed to forgo the jumping and we went up to the outdoor to see if it was at all rideable.

look! we're practicing a water jump!

We warmed up at the walk and stood around for awhile until deciding to suck it up and dive into the crowded indoor to get some real work done. It wasn't much fun. I would hate to hurt delicate feelings (Ha! Yeah fucking right. I just don't want to hear about it.), so I'll just say it was a cluster fuck. Total. Cluster. Fuck.

Bobby was heavy, heavy, heavy in my hands at all three gaits and he was unimpressed with my attempts to lighten him up with transistions. We worked a bit on picking up the counter canter from the walk which he found very hard, but we did manage an entire long side before he was like, "This is wrong, lady! Wrong, I tell you!" He was okay changing direction and holding it, but he didn't like the idea of picking it up on his own. I finished with a canter from the correct lead and some stretchy trot which he was really good about--understandably, since his giant head wanted to trail on the ground the whole time.

watching my puppies.

Today was a rider-free arena that I actually didn't mind doing work in. Bobby was much lighter and more forward in his trot work. We did some turns on the forehand and lots of leg yields at the walk. Leg yields at the trot proved our undoing, furthering my belief that his pathetic little hiney is aching somewhere. I quit on the leg yields as Bobby was locking up his equally pathetic and chronically broken neck. I halted him in the middle and we worked on pressure and release on both sides until he was relaxed and willing to give me his face again.

We finished in the arena with some really nice trotting and several canter circles each direction. Since I'm already pretty burnt out on the indoor, I decided to hack up the track alongside the paddocks. Bobby's never been up this path before so he was looking around, but he pretty much ignored the galloping horses on one side and steady traffic on the other.

The best part about this "trail"? It's BO's property so I can ride it during the week! Take that, hunting season!

skye looking for food, kidd and artie racing up behind him.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to be helping Sarah clip Memphis. She may regret asking me.