Feeling Like My Old Self

It's been four (nearly five) years since the last time I did it, but this week I rode my horse five days in a row. The last time I did that was in 2011, during my first trimester. It's funny how a little thing like that seems like a big deal to me now. Having a kid really does change everything. JR is finally at the age that things are really getting easier and we are starting to be able to do the things we used to do again, and in somewhat the same way we used to do them. Hooray!

Back to the riding. Last Thursday was day 1. EB rode with us. The ride was okay, nothing great. Both Gentry and I are out of shape and he generally has a case of the Mondays on day 1.

Day 2 was a great ride. Solo Ride. Gentry got his front shoes put on that morning. Hugo for some reason didn't call at all when we rode out. Gentry was rusty on all things bending, suppeling, and stretching, but he was willing, and we made a lot of progress. By the end of our ride he was completely covered in sweat, so I pulled his tack and let him graze in the arena for a while. Then Hugo called. Gentry called back, jumped straight up in the air, bucked, farted, and proceeded to gallop around the arena five or six times. Apparently, regardless of the frothy sweat, he was not all that tired.

Galloping Fool

Day 3 was terrible. Solo ride. I shouldn't have even ridden, as we hauled and put up four-tons of hay in our barn that morning through mid-day. However, the weather was once again amazing, so I couldn't resist. Seriously, it's been in the 70's and sunny all week. In Montana. You know with weather like that I am going to ride my horse, no matter how tired I am. Well, Hugo called the entire time, so our ride was more or less pointless. I just dealt with trying to calm down Gentry's anxiety issues for an hour and fifteen minutes. The ride would have been much shorter, but darn it, I was ending on a good note and on my terms. We got there eventually.

Day 4 was awesome. EB rode with us and Gentry appeared to have actually learned something from our previous rides. We had the best shoulder in, haunches in, free walk, and canter transitions to date. I also ran him through Training Level Test 1 for the first time. It was pretty good for a first attempt. I feel confident that we will be ready to show training level this summer.

Day 5, yesterday, was equally great. AJ rode with us, and despite Hugo losing his mind being left at home alone and calling non-stop, Gentry didn't care. He may have also been very tired and/or sore. When he saw me walk to the paddock with his halter he turned around and walked away from me. That was a first. I gather it was his attempt at communicating that he did not want to work five days in a row. Regardless, I caught him easy enough and we had a great ride. We ran through Training 1 again, and although not much improved, I am feeling even more confident about it.

Selfie attempt. I have no idea how you gals make these look so good. I am at a loss.
The sun flair greatly helped us out I think.

Today I tortured Gentry with grooming, treats, and half a pulled mane. No riding though, he gets a day off because tonight is date night (speaking of things we used to do). Regardless, G-Love definitely deserves some down time for the next couple of days, then we are back to it on Friday. I put a call in to my trainer today to start up lessons again. I am very excited about that. I haven't had a lesson since I sold Rose, which was just about 3 years ago. The first schooling show is in May and darn it we will be ready for Training Level!