I ended up getting a lot of stuff done today…well, really, it was both me and DH.
Started out with taking the ORELA Multiple Subjects III test…sure was glad I signed up for one test at a time as I took my time getting through it and I didn’t feel the pressure of those taking both tests. An interesting experience, especially since I used a lot of the strategies I tell my students to use during high-stakes testing.
Ahem. They work. ‘Nuff said.
Then met a friend to pick up the ski bag left at school, then joined DH to go up the Mountain and deal with rental stuff. Physical labor, just enough to get a good workout. We did some shopping in Sandy, then went to the barn where I put horsey through her paces.
G thinks it’s too warm for the horses to wear their winter blankets and I forgot Mocha’s spring sheet. That was okay as she had plenty of loft in her hair coat and our work today wasn’t enough to get her sweaty. For one thing, my back is sore and we’re skiing tomorrow. For another, she’s still getting her back muscles in shape after the intermittent riding of the past six weeks. Got to build her topline back up.
But hey, DH got some good pictures, including some incredible rollback shots.
Here, she’s coming into the stop.
And here, she’s rolled back and is heading the other direction. These were done early on, because she was the Queen of Sluggery, and I wanted to wake her up a little.
So, okay, that worked. I got some nice trot work out of her (perfect for my back as posting trot actually helps with the strained ligament).
Eventually we did some good lateral work, I got to the bottom of the tightness she’d been showing, and we had some nice, relaxed loose-rein riding with the head down.
After that we went outside. Mocha had a nice little amble until we reached the corner of the far tree field, where some workers were planting a new set of trees. She had to Get Looky about it, but in true alpha mare fashion, she moved toward the Scary Thing to get a good look at it. Too bad DH didn’t get any pictures of that because I think they would have been good.
Anyway, she looked good and hard, got the situation resolved in her own mind, so we headed back. Spent some time walking over a big fallen tree limb to expose her to natural obstacles, then groomed her and put her up. Did some more shopping on the way home.
A very nice springy winter day in Western Oregon. Lots of bright, clear light. However, we’ve been here before. Things can change very quickly……
