Monday, July 6, 2015

And we work.

Digby has been perfect lately! I rode with a friend on Saturday and he was great. As an odd note, he did try to lay down when we were done in the ring? He wasn't colicking, as he had pooped while I was riding and was otherwise chipper. The only thing I can think of is his girth was a hair tighter than normal. He's been putting weight on (whooooo!!!) and he's in between holes on my girth. If I leave it at one hole, it feels like a hair too loose but the hole up is a hair too tight. Well, I was nervous because we were going to walk around the property (aka mini trail) so I put it to the tighter one. That's the only thing I can think of. If he ever does it again, I'll definitely have the vet or my chiro come out and look.

We've been sticking to the mostly walking plan, although I had some trotting thrown in there to make sure he was thinking about going forward. I've been doing a lot of reading as of late, both online and via actual books. I'm working on fitness, as part of my July goals, and a lot of that is developing muscle in his topline. He is very much lacking after his time off and weight loss issues this winter. We worked in the ring and then followed my friend and her horse out for a stroll around the property. The hony was pretty well behaved! Some jigging, lots of super forward walking and no near death experiences. Win!

On Sunday, I lunged for about 15 minutes. I don't typically lunge much, especially not twice in a week, but I have lunged him in a chambon before and it tends to make him go well. It's a good reminder on how I want him to be thinking. He really focuses on stretching down and out and coming over his back. I like that it's effective, I can keep the session short and he gets to stretch out and build some muscle without me flailing around on his back.

"Something smells funny..."

4 comments:

  1. lol my friend's gelding LOVES rolling in the arena sand - she's actually had to work really hard to break him of the habit

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    1. Hmm, actually, he hasn't been ridden in a sand arena in probably a year. Maybe he just wanted a roll?

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