Good TImes

 It feels like I'm out of practice giving lesson or clinic recaps - probably because I am! The boys are 3 now, which means I've been over here for 3 plus years just biding my time. The time out without any goals was actually super productive and enjoyable, but I'm ready to get back at it.

Quick check in with riding ponies of the past this weekend. I still can't quite believe the small world that has resulted in Stormy and Bridget living a semi retired life together here in our little community (Bridget is still mine, but on long term loan to a friend - Stormy sold out of area 20 years ago and found his way back this spring).

The clinic this past weekend was super fun. It's a really informal series that is organized every summer, and it attracts a really good group of people, all long term horsey friends, some of whom I even grew up with. My young cob boys were definitely the equine outliers, with everyone else bringing their long term riding partners. That's actually a win for me, because the other horses being 'been there done that' setting a good example for the boys.

I didn't camp on site this time, although I had regrets when I saw the 'glamping' set up the ladies made, with a bellini machine and pizza delivery :) Next time!

We trailered Reggie in Saturday morning for a lesson. He was overly excited to start, but settled well and was a good boy. The overly excited part is on me, he was a last minute addition to the schedule as the clinician had space and I thought 'why not?' without actually considering I hadn't taken him anywhere since last summer.  I feel like he's just the kind who likes adventures and new things and isn't ever going to be overly fussed about going new places.

Umm, when did he get so tall? I'm there somewhere behind him, lol

Teaching him to line up and stand at the mounting block felt really exciting to me :) 

And some assorted lateral work on the ground, featuring me hanging on my inside 'rein' just as I do in the saddle ;)

I had a nice 2.5 hour window between lessons, so Reggie went home and G and I went for a pub lunch. Which, in retrospect might not have been a smart choice as far as allowing enough time for Buck. Because, yeah, he didn't want to load and I only left myself 15 minutes to do it. We all know how that story was going to end, so I basically called it right away and texted the ladies to say I'd either just come later or I'd see them the next day. I didn't want the pressure of feeling like I needed to rush. I did end up loading and unloading a few times and then just put him away and drove back over to the campsite  later sans pony for pizza night with the horsey crew. I don't know who this new me is who was zero percent bothered by my plans going sideways, but I'm liking it.

With how the trailering thing went the night before I planned more time Sunday morning and took Buck to the first lesson. He was still more hesitant than I would like about loading. 

I walked around the trailer after loading and G was like "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE!" and it turned out what felt like it wasn't going to leave a mark was actually bleeding and progressed into a fantastic looking black eye as the day went on. I was hanging a hay net and the bungee trailer tie caught in it and rebounded. The metal snap end of the tie and part of the hay net into my eye. Not even directly a horsey incident. I feel like poor Buck got framed because trailer loading issues + me rolling in with a black eye does seem kind of suspicious :D

visual of how my face is always at trailer tie level, even on my tiptoes :D

ANYWAY. Sunglasses on, the day is not lost - Sunday was a planned power outage all day so guess who already had a cooler full of lunch, drinks, and most importantly, ice I could use for my face? Silver linings.

Buck was a bit of a wild child, but I had expected that - he hasn't done much of anything, ever and it's all new to him. He's a smart guy and he wants to be good, so me saying he's wild doesn't mean he's unmanageable or unsafe at any point, more just overstimulated and lacking enough of an attention span. There's way to much to see out in the big wide world. Since Reggie suffers from a busy brain on the regular, I was already feeling a bit familiar with some of the tools. I like this clinician because she's zero percent about the old school 'give them a job/tire them out'. That never works for the spicier horses or overachievers that just bring more energy to the table. She's more about teaching them to self regulate and chill. I'm of an age where I don't find a horse that needs me to give them a job 24/7 overly fun to ride so installing a 'chill' button now is good by me!

Another one I can hide behind

Learning to leg yield on the ground with the aid of the fence

Rather than going home and trading horses again, I opted to stay for the afternoon and explore the trailering situation with Buck. That also set us up for an opportunity to stay in the outdoor stalls like a proper horse show or camping situation. He struggled with that for about half an hour, but then settled and ate and drank well. Trailering lesson time came quickly and I'm so glad I decided to do that. I haven't had my own trailer that long and never had a horse be sticky about the trailer. There were some definite gaps in my knowledge and the majority of recent issues were simply a matter of changing my methods and adding clarity to things. That session was entirely straightforward and stress free, it felt like poor Buck was like "FINALLY! Now I get it!"

Since I'm also feeling totally over the current trailer tie situation, she had me teaching Buck to self load and stand and then I just walk in after, close the divider, and don't bother tying for now. If I do feel I need to, I'll do it from the outside of the trailer via the drop down window. It seems like it's pretty even mix of people that tie or don't tie. The tying isn't so much an issue horse wise, more a me thing where I am not tall and need to reach too high to get to the attachment above the window, meanwhile any hanging trailer ties seem to always be tangled in my hay nets or frustrating to clip/unclip. 

Whew. And...we're doing it all again mid June. Next time I'll camp for the weekend, and I do think I'll bring both boys again. It feels nice to be back to semi regular horsey plans.