Time Eludes Me

More daylight+cooperating weather+visiting Corey= not a whole lotta extra time to sit down an blog! So here are a few updates.

All the horses seem to be feeling spring coming up, and therefore they have been a little difficult!

Bubbles is coming along quite nicely so I hope before we really get packed with lessons I can start to integrate him into the program. Just trying to get him a little longer and lower in his head carriage so he won't be so tense and will be easier to steer for the kids.

Kaddie has been helping me with Doc and Greyson and they are both doing pretty well. Doc has his up and down days but he seems to be relaxing a little more each day for Kaddie. Greyson's canter is starting to relax as well...I don't think he will ever be a slow canterer but now he's learning to balance himself a little better so he is steerable!

Quigley and Bear have joined fat camp and will be mainly working on losing weight and some low key strength building exercises...I want to see if Bear will pony off of Quigley so I can get the fat camp kids exercised at the same time...I think there is potential for that to work.

Buster had his fifth ride today and his second ride in the big ring! Today I didn't even bother to lunge him first and he did great. He's starting to understand the aids but is still very wobbly, but he seem very brave and not upset by it all. Right now the goal is to just get him forward and straight an accepting the bit, and learning how to steer. I'm going to wait until he is a little more sure footed before asking him to canter again.

Nellie started some round penning yesterday and seems to have calmed down since the last time I round penned her and seems more focused and ready to get to work.

Red started back into work today...he has some major rust to knock off!

As I get to see all the students more often, I am slowly getting the lesson horses and kids into a program to help the horses get fitter and the kids sharper. This spring will be full of grid work, cavaletti work, stirrup less work,h hill work, and flatwork.

Moose continues to b horribly frustrating. She's perfect at Hilltop in tht nice, distraction free indoor. But anywhere else, she is a monster. I feel like I'm riding two different horses! I'm going to try a couple of different bits...she keeps sucking the bit back with her tongue and biting it and fixates on it...then leans into it too hard, but will react violently when I make even a small half halt or correction. So I'm looking for a less distracting bit that she can't fold back to bite...like maybe a myler or a mullen mouth. She's just never been very quiet in her bit but has gotten worse since we started working on a shorter rein. Grrr.

This saturday is sadly the day that I will leave this earth. Sorry everyone :( I am riding in a xc clinic with Moose and they only had Beginner Novice open...so with the way Moose is acting in general plus the fact that she is jumping like a loon or slamming on the breaks at new jumps...well, I am going to die. So it was nice knowing you all. I am glad that our first xc school of the year is with a clinician so I have some eyes on the ground and some fresh suggestions because Moose is just unlike any horse I have ever taught to jump.

Ok gotta do some laundry...been wearing the same breeches several days now...ew.