Front Yard & Monsters

Tacked up Dressage, no warm-up. Decided to concentrate on walk & trot in the front yard. Pasture seemed a little spooky, and with nobody around, I didn't think it'd be a good idea to be out there alone.

Worked on my seat, and tried to get a nice full trot. Chewie was incredibly lazy, probably due to not warming up decent. He was responsive to my aids, just tripping at trot, I'm sure because he was too lazy to pick his feets up.

We just got to a decent trot, when something in the tree overhead rustled. He spooked, I didn't concentrate on pushing forward. A little buck & toss. I landed with no injuries. Looked up at a terrified horse. He immediately walked over to me, eye-wrinkles & all, nuzzling & sniffing me, absolutely horrified. Poor guy thought he'd hurt me, and he was checking me over. It was a pretty tender moment. I wasn't scared, just re-thinking "man, if I'd kept my heels down & pushed him forward, I'd still be up there. Dangit!" I don't blame him one bit for spooking, I might've done the same, what with no warm-up & all. Hand-walked him, hopped back on, and went back to work a little. Still tripping & stumbling, so I hopped off again & free lunged just a few circles each way. Sheer focus on him picking his feets up rather than dragging them around. The entire untack & brush he did nothing but nuzzle & watch me, not letting me get out of his sight. Geez... And to think when this would happen before, I'd be terrified. No wonder he was scared - he was waiting for me to be scared, too, and I wasn't. Too busy consoling him...

Total work - 50 minutes. Damage to me? Bruised ego. Damage to Chewie? none obvious.

Robin mentioned Sunday she might know somebody living nearby with a tractor & perhaps the know-how to disc & drag for an arena in the back pasture. Wow, I hope so. I've probably got enough old T-posts, and could get some white electric fence tape to barrier-off some space for an arena of sorts. It wouldn't be perfect, but on days like today, when the round pen's a puddle, the pasture's too big & daunting, and the front yard is full of distractions (like monsters in the trees & traffic rushing by), I wish I had something even close to an arena.

Countdown to Satori - 4 days