Rain, rain, GO AWAY

These pictures are a little taste of what we have been working on - lead change in picture 1 and coming down on the bit in the others.

Kelsey came out today to video my ride, but we were worried that it was going to rain and we weren't going to be able to do anything. It rained alright, but yesterday and last night. It was lightly misting when we arrived, but the ring was VERY wet. So I had to adjust my goals for the ride/video accordingly. I decided to just focus on continuing to develop her ability for self-carriage.

The issues that we have been having of the pony avoiding the bend were only exacerbated by the fact that she is a princess and wanted to badly to avoid the puddles when she could. She continued to drop her shoulder to avoid them. I wasn't able to practice the smaller circles, I couldn't risk her hurting herself just for a video. I also didn't jump, as it was too wet for me to be confident in the footing.

I was able to get a solid 15 minutes of video of the flat. We worked for a solid 25 with several walk breaks which totaled 5 minutes. She has an easier time of coming down on the bit at the canter, but she is not light and balanced yet, so we will continue to develop those muscles.

The farrier is coming out tomorrow. He is going to put aluminum plates on her front and regular shoes on her back. I am going to trot her for him and discuss what we can do to minimize her knee action, but still maximize traction for the show ring.

I'm scheduled to lesson with Anne in the morning at eight, and I think Sarah is going to come out to video tape it! I also have to go out to ride one of her horses on Friday, lesson with Patrick the dressage coach, and ride Ritter on Friday. AND my parents are coming into town for parent's weekend. Then Saturday is my first IHSA show of the year, at St. Andrews. I still have to decide if I want to drive up to Culpeper on Saturday to watch Lacy compete in the USGPL finals. She hasn't decided if she is going to risk it with the predicted weather, and I can't make my decision until I know if they are going...