mud and all.
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I rode Toby first. He gave me a great ride. Once his muscles were warmed up, he became round and forward. Two things that he's not so great at doing! We had some bending issues but overall he was fantastic! He put a huge grin on my face.
Then it was Ollie's turn. I admit that his pea sized brain makes me a bit nervous when it comes to riding. Especially since he's been nothing but a pasture powder puff for the past couple months. I put on his new dressage bridle and rubber bit. He looked very fancy in his tack. He let me get on him without being overly fidgety at the mounting block. But then when we went around the large arena, he just can't seem to relax. Perhaps he senses my nerves? Probably. Then a lightbulb went off in my head. There are two round pens at our new place. I took Ollie down to the bigger of the two. This was perfect. We marched around in a circle in both directions for a little while. I wasn't too caught up about his form. I just wanted him to relax and for me to relax. Which we did! As soon as he relaxed we called it a day and I took him in, undressed him and took him for a short bite of grass.
Both rides were short since both guys (and their owner) are fairly out of shape. Having said that, I was impressed with Toby's conditioning. He felt strong and didn't get winded. Impressive for my 21 yr old!
The weather is about to turn poor again but I'm so happy to have had my nice rides. It was just good for my soul to spend hours with them. It'll get me through the rest of winter.
Glad you got the chance to ride :)
ReplyDeleteFortunately the longest part of winter is over and regular riding weather is right around the corner. I know I'm looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteGlad the boys did so well!
Glad you got a couple of rides in! (even if they were short...) Maybe Toby has stayed in good condition because of the large turnout they are in? Either way, it sounds like you will be all set to go once the nice weather hits!
ReplyDeleteWhat Laura said ;o)
ReplyDeleteI took my nearly 17-y.o. OTTB to an in-hand class (a fundraising judging event for my dressage chapter) last fall. He was more than a decade older than each of the other three TB geldings, but he looked fantastic. I have not ridden in a year, but he's holding his muscle tone quite well. Wish "his mother" could say the same ;o)
Happy to know that you had a chance to ride. :)
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! And your horses.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited I found one about retraining racehorses, I saw the name and was like woooooo!
Good luck with Ollie, can't wait to read more of your progress :)
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