After a difficult day at work it is very sweet to wrestle the barn door open to a welcoming Mocha nicker. Because the atmospheric river is aimed right at the Northwet right now, it’s kind of damp in our indoor…dripping from minor roof leaks, flooding from saturated ground around the barn. That leads to a slick footing (dry with wet underneath) that argues against fast work. But hey, it’s lit and it’s mostly dry, which is more than what I can say about conditions outside. Just about need a boat to get around today.
We don’t need fast conditioning work these days. While Mocha and I did a few laps of a careful canter on the rail, the rest of work was (some) walk and mostly trot. Random walk changes in direction at walk and trot, and more work at sitting the extended jog (though I venture to say it’s getting to be more of her big extended trot, not jog). At one time I couldn’t do that.
Ended with two-track at walk and trot. Then loose rein cooldown, added in with work on turns primarily from seat with a little bit of rein. Mocha likes doing this with her head very low and I let her do it as it’s clear she’s stretching out her back and neck when she does so. The relaxed swinging back is its own reward for the light work focusing on balance and suppling.
Snaffle work. And then a chat with G about training stuff. He’s big on her and Trail class right now. He really liked the way she did it at the show. Well, hey…that’s a good winter’s practice there. I foresee lots of ground pole obstacles in our future (working on sharp, precise transitions). And it’s work she likes to do if she can’t practice thundering around the arena. Neither one of us are particularly fond of tearing around when it’s wet enough for her to start slipping on a sharp turn. Best to save that work when it’s less slick. No need to focus on that now. Just winter maintenance and tuning work. Fine enough for a wet winter’s evening.
