Everything had dried out enough for a good workout this morning. Harley came to me willingly, and once dressed, off to the arena we went. Brief longe, and I hopped on. He was moving big, and the dirt looked dry enough for a decent workout.
We found the newly disced arena to be a bit uneven. Some spots are deeper than others. He got one HUGE circle well evened however, moving about in all three gaits. In the ride, he started out incredibly stiff, but that was expected. After a little while, he settled into his trot work on the circle. Still stiff, but at least obedient. I knew the arena ground was still bothering him when I asked for canter, and he hesitated. I didn't want to spur with a lot of effort, so a gentle kiss-kiss, and up he went. Very uphill canter, indeed. Both directions at that. Very Very nice. 40 minutes total, and I promised him a bit more tomorrow. Time to put the trot poles back out in the arena, and measure them out in a few patterns. At least until I run out of poles. :)
note to self: There's an entire short side of arena "fence" missing. Harley didn't dart for "outside the arena dirt" even once. He stayed completely in the dirt, and within the general outline I had in mind. This is starting to make me think we don't even need those posts & tape out there. Maybe.. Just maybe.. I can convince myself that we can "stay in the dirt" - with the pasture fence as our only "hold in". Even if we do part company, he's not going to go far. He'll only get to the barn and hide in his stall... Something to keep thinking about .
Romeo got his turn as well. Worked in the endurance saddle and his snaffle bit. As expected, he was a small cannon waiting to blow up. Picked up the wrong canter lead twice, and tried to be a runaway ninja. Ah well.. Nothing some good canter circles in the whole arena won't fix. He quickly realized there wasn't enough solid dirt under him to be a goofball, and it was better to concentrate on where his hooves were landing. :) Again, the longer we worked, and the more hoofprints he put down, the better the ground got. Another half hr work.
Quickly as the rides ended, the morning humidity was traded in for seriously oppressive heat. Both horses water buckets were scrubbed, fresh hay handed out, and hose down baths for all. Well, I used hot water inside for me, and cool water outside for the boys. I didn't think the neighbors needed to hear me squeal with the cool water. And Harley certainly won't fit in my shower inside!
In other "inside the house" news, Charlie's doing great. He's gotten into digging in the doggy toybox. He pulls out nearly every toy, fiddles with it a minute or two, then pulls something else out. I suspect he's never seen that many squeakies, ropes, and fluffy toys all in one spot except PetSmart. Hmm.. I wonder .. If I can find a way to put a leg tie of some sort (like a hobble) on that bum leg.. Maybe he can get a PetSmart doggy trip. ooh wait.. he's a total moose. How on earth will I get him back in the truck? Uh oh. That reminds me... Charlie's getting neutered this coming Tuesday. Anybody wanna come over & help me load his 56# monster size into my truck?
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