Life Gets Back to Normal

Our temperatures finally inched up to almost 20F yesterday - it felt like a heat wave - so I finally managed some rides.  The last time I'd ridden Red and Pie was January 4, just short rides to test out the new saddle.  Red had been ridden only one other time this year, briefly, the day the saddle came, and Pie not at all, since December 29.  So Red had had 9 days off out of the past 10, and Pie 10.

One other reason I finally rode yesterday was that the horses finally had a full day of turnout - they had been stuck in their stalls on Monday and Tuesday due to the extreme cold and had only a short day of turnout Wednesday.

I rode both Red and Pie in the new saddle, using a much thinner pad for Red - the saddle still wasn't 100% level but it was much better and he seemed very happy with it.  The pad was a doubled over one, and I think with a single width thin pad things will be just fine.  Pie also seemed to approve of the new saddle.

And this morning - temperatures were in the mid-20s - I rode Dawn - the last time I'd ridden her was December 28 - that means she'd had 12 days off - this was our first ride of the new year!

With all three horses, I didn't do any lungeing or groundwork first - I just got on. All three horses were absolutely fabulous - forward, responsive and soft.  All three seemed happy that we were working together again, and all three rode just like they always do.  Pie even came to the front of his stall and waited for me to get him out to ride, which is unusual for him - usually he's more interested in eating. It sure feels wonderful that things are getting back to normal.

I'm working on a post or posts about the calm horse . . .