Back At It

Just a quick note: I'm sure that by now everyone has heard about the completely unfair hand life has dealt Lauren. If you'd like to lend some support, here's the link to the charity Lauren has chosen in lieu of flowers. I think it would be wonderful if we could all donate a little in her husband Tim's name and maybe make a little bit of good happen. Alternately, Tracy at Fly on Over has set up an account for a gift for Lauren as well. Go here for that link.

After that, the following post seems very trivial, so I encourage you to hug your loved ones and click the above links now. Come back here if and when you feel like it.

 I snuck out on my lunch break yesterday to be there for Bridget's arrival at the barn. Pretty much the best lunch hour ever, right?

She travelled OK. Apparently she kicked up a bit of a fuss near the end of the ferry ride and had everyone a little worried. That's maybe a bit on me...I don't own a trailer and have been getting rides with others so I bet she expects to get off and do something pretty soon after that trailer stops moving! In typical Bridget fashion, the drama was minor and she managed to eat an entire hay bag during her "tantrum". Mares.

No idea why pics are so blurry. That's Bridget in her temporary paddock, I promise :)

She hopped off the trailer like she owns the place and settled right into her private paddock with zero fuss. Her future paddock mates just said a quiet hello over the fence and that was that - I think we probably could have just put her right in with them! I hid some carrots in her paddock to keep her busy for a bit and went back to work for the longest afternoon ever. 

After work, I had planned on getting her tidied up - she's looking a little neglected grooming wise. (She is also way too fat and lost a lot of muscle over her back and hindquarters, but that's a bit of a longer term project) I got a good start on the grooming, but she was so laid back about everything in the new barn I couldn't resist and pulled out her saddle and rode for a while too.

Best place to be

Short version of my ride: She was stiff, heavy, and really counter bent - straightness and self carriage not happening much today. As a result, my right canter lead has disappeared. I didn't push it at all, just tested the buttons and did a lot of walking and trotting on a loose rein just to get her moving around. We have a lesson Tuesday to work on the more serious kind of stuff! I still give her a 10/10 for the ride because new barn, new arena, she's coming back after a month off and she still cooperated, kept most of her brain in her head, and tried to be a good pony. What more can I ask for than that?

Trying to give you an idea of the arena lay out - there's about an 80x100 section under cover and a similar size area uncovered.