Long Weekend

 Last week was absolutely slammed from work/life perspective, so I was looking forward to a long weekend even more than I normally would. I hope to be back to a more relaxed work schedule soon, but that goal post keeps moving back. Maybe by mid fall? On the plus side, I'm banking the extra time worked (and money) for lesson days down at EC's. I will be grateful for this slog when I'm taking the ponies on a ferry cruise mid work week ;)

ANYWAY. I have been riding. I have been doing my homework (somewhat). My truck and trailer hitch were borrowed for the week, so I was trailerless, plus the main arena is super dry and dusty (and busy) so on the days I ride I've been venturing up to the trails in the early morning. I feel like hills done right are going to accomplish similar topline building goals and it's easy enough to do transitions and check in on my riding position out there too. The side effect of consistent trail miles is that my spooky pony is becoming more and more willing to check in and trust my choices in the saddle, plus I'm ever more confident in her ability to think before reacting. 

Yellow trail ears still a bit of a novelty after so many years of fuzzy bay ones.

Last week, but you get the idea.

I did sneak away and spend a few hours at the beach, (and another few at the lake) this weekend.

From a feeding perspective, the ponies have been out grazing for 8-10 hours most days this spring/summer and I've cut their feed right back. Their nighttime hay is pretty poor quality because I was looking through the lens of keeping the weight off.  But, with the lack of rain we've had and the pasture quality degrading, I think I might do well to add some extras back in for S (Bridget, is of course, thriving on it and looking like an ad for a feed company). The trick will be to balance the calories Sophie needs to work with also keeping her energy levels from becoming unmanageable.

Barn updates, you ask? That's what I've been letting slide. I'm a little stressed about it because I really want to move the horses, but much of what's left is dependent on a return of some heavy machinery - everything from the concrete needing a solid base built up first, to the water line, to the ring construction. I know once the machine gets here it will go really fast, so I've been taking a barn reno vacation. I mean, I could dig fence posts in super hard ground, or I could wait for it to rain and get the machine operator to push them in.

Nothing to see here. It's at that state where almost everything is torn apart...but it's only going to be better from here.

I added a tiny xc jump to the back field because I couldn't resist

The blue door found it's new home in the future tack room...ignore the fact nothing else around it is completed ;)