Horses

Like all of you, I have the best intentions about getting stuff done, like updating this blog or listing a bunch of items to sell on eBay, but then I decide to take a nap or go for a run or walk and there's always that trip to the grocery store that I put off until I'm almost out of diet Coke or Brown Cow yogurt, so the blog slides to the back burner. My bad.

Good stuff.
India, Princess of the Universe.
India was not happy to see her summer break over and she made that clear on her first ride with Jenny, when she did a lot of tail wringing and forgot that the right lead existed. Now, after four rides she's doing beautifully! Jenny is asking her to travel more in frame, asking for the soft feel and keeping that contact for several strides. India has been a bit confused as before when she got soft in her mouth and her jaw, Jenny would drop the contact as a reward, but now she's keeping it going and you can watch the light going off in India's brain as she processes this.

I rode her, too, and it was wonderful. Amazing how good she is, especially when I keep my inside shoulder up and back on the turns, which I've got a bad habit of not doing. Jenny's been telling me this for years, but it's like a light bulb went off in my brain and I was able to really remember and apply it this time. India and I had some lovely circles at the trot and some great right lead canters.

Here, more pictures of Jenny and India
Look how nice this turn is above and look how squarely POTU is tracking in the photo below
Want to see them larger? Double click on the image.

It's a shame the days are getting so short as riding her after work is going to be tough. I'm running most mornings and it's pitch dark when I go out. I have this really cool blinkie thing that's got a strobe light. A friend saw me out wearing it one morning and remarked that I could be seen from quite a distance, which is my intent. Get one as they're on sale. The furthest I'm running any morning is 2 miles, but I'll start bumping that up in January. I've got to be able to run 15 miles by next September, which is certainly doable, as long as I don't get hurt. Jann and I plan on entering a Ride and Tie race in Tennessee that's 30 miles long. We've both run a marathon (in her case, she's run more than one; I can only claim the one), but it's been a while. That said, I'm really excited by the thought of doing it and I'm enjoying training for it, although I admit that this morning I had a hard time climbing out of bed as I put the flannel sheets on yesterday and oh, but was the bed warm and soft and wonderful! Thankfully, Georgia Public Broadcasting is in the middle of a fund drive, so the appeals to send money and send it now were enough to get me up and running as an escape.