I didn't think I'd make it out to the barn until today since Tuesday, but I ended up making it out on Thursday. I had to go home for a funeral, and because I had to be home by suppertime on Thursday, I decided to skip my last class to pack. The minute I got in the door I realized that it wouldn't take me that long to pack and if I played my cards right, I could go see the little darling.
When I got to the barn, there was a lady there with her daughter cleaning stalls in the afternoon. Usually it's my trainer who does that but she's on vacation in Florida this week, so this lady is doing it instead. Her daughter is homeschooled so she could help her. Anyway, apparently the paddocks were dangerously muddy and none of the horses were put out even though it was sunny - except Walker and his crew because they have a grass paddock with minimal mud. Just as I was tacking up Walker, the daughter decided to put her horse out in the outdoor arena for 30 minutes or so to let him run around, and when she came back down, she asked which arena I was going to ride in. Of course, I wanted to ride in the outdoor arena but I felt bad for her because her horse is so energetic so I just rode inside instead.
Weirdly enough, Walker wasn't picking up his good lead again. He was ok on his bad side, and I was able to push him around several circles successfully (even in my tiny English spurs). However, no matter what I tried on his good side, he kept picking up the wrong lead. I made sure that he was bent the correct way, I tried exaggerating the bend, trying to lope him out of a tight circle, etc. I even counter cantered him for a circle or two to see if he would get aggravated with me and pick up the correct lead on his own. Nothing! It's really not like him, but I assume it's a byproduct of this week - not being ridden a lot and only being ridden in the indoor arena. I shudder to think what awaits me in the Winter. Hopefully, I'll be able to ride him outside this weekend where I suspect that he won't have that problem.
That being said, my instructor once told me that sometimes horses switch which lead is their good lead back and forth as you continue to work on mastering their bad lead. When I first got Walker, I always found that his current bad lead was his better lead, at least when I was riding him (my trainer swears it was always the same side). I've been working for months on cantering frantic corner and getting a handle on him on his bad side that maybe I ended up overdoing it. Now, I have no doubt that he will go back to his tendencies in the outdoor arena, but the days of the outdoor arena are coming to a close. I worry that when we're cooped up in that small space, I'll have a whole new problem on my hands.
In other news, as Winter comes to a close, I find myself more and more irrationally wanting to take Walker on a trail ride. In fact, I really just want to canter him across a field. I ended up cutting my trail rides days short once Fall hit because frankly we have a lot of different hunting seasons here, the arena where the barn is is very wooded and secluded, and Walker looks like a giant moose without antlers. I'm still not comfortable taking him down the trails, but the more I read blogs of other riders who have the opportunity to school their horses cross-country, or even just take him on trails that they can canter/gallop on, I want to do that too. Unfortunately, as I've said, the area where my barn is is mostly wooded and I know of no fields in the area that I could even ride him to to canter across. I also think that it would probably be a disaster, but I'm sure it is just the Winter blues - that inevitable feeling that you'll soon be cooped up indoors for 6 months, dreading going to the barn because everyday you do, you risk hypothermia! Well, I'm a little dramatic, but Winter is definitely hard. The only thing I'm excited for is that I bought myself a nice new pair of riding gloves - although I could stand to wait another month or so before I use them!
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