3/1/2020. Western saddle, curb bit, pasture ride.
Still bouncing back from being sick. But today was the first hot date of the season with the shedding blade, and the attempt to answer the eternal question…”is it a Quarter Horse or a big Shetland Pony?”
I got two big piles of hair off of Mocha, enough to make up two rabbits worth–and American Standard-sized rabbits, no MiniLops or Holland Lops. She enjoyed the scratching of the blade with half-lowered, blissed out eyes. Although at one point the mare on layup decided that the PIGS had done something snort-worthy, which set Mocha off as well.
All the same, after I shed the jacket because hey, today it’s spring, we set out through the mud in quest for some decent footing. Spring mud is not a novelty; the old barn had a drippy roof with slick spots so we’re both used to it. But it’s easier to deal with in the Western saddle, at least right now. We did a lot of serpentines at all three gaits–first time at the lope for a while. But hey, we had flying changes (kinda sorta a couple of times) and no irregular weirdnesses on either lead.
Mostly, though, we worked at a jog. Mocha’s back to being pretty catty in tight turns at the jog so the shoulder appears to have gotten through the worst of the winter without flaring too badly. We also worked in the bowtie at the jog, did two-track at walk and trot, and the forehand haunches turn lines. We also worked on transitions, and ow, ow, ow. They need work. Both of us need tuning up when it comes to that. OTOH, that seems to be a common March issue, so…I’m figuring things will improve as we work. They did as we went through the ride.
I’m still not pushing myself real hard with the recovery part. But it felt good to be breathing fresh mountain air, in the shadow of snow-covered peaks. Mocha is settling nicely into regular work again, which is nice to see. I’m very happy that we’re back to the type of work she was doing before the white line disease. Maybe I should have asked for it from her sooner, but somehow I just don’t think she was really ready until last year. Well, she was sick for a while, there, and had joints fusing. It makes sense.
In any case, it was a lovely spring ride and at the end of it I decided that she was more Quarter Horse than Shetland. Which works for me.
