Blizzard

I have a hard time accepting weather warnings. They say, "blizzard". I say, "winter". That being said, I almost didn't make it out of my parking lot through the crazy 3-5 feet high snow drifts, and I was pretty sure I was never going to make it back in. Luckily, I left at the perfect time. I arrived at the barn when the plow did and I got back to my apartment shortly after the plow arrived there too.

Although Walker only had one day off, I decided to lunge him because crazy wind has a tendency to make crazy horses. He was pretty excitable on the lunge line, but not nearly as crazy as Wednesday.

There also happens to be windows at the top of our arena, and so when I arrived, half of the arena was covered in snow. Luckily, another kid arrived at the same time I did and her father was kind enough to spread the snow around the arena for us.

Today, Walker and I did a lot of canter work. I did a lot of figure eights at the canter. I would mostly halt in the middle of the figure eight and ask him to pick up the correct lead on the bend, but every so often I'd try to coax a flying lead change out of him. Not surprisingly, he was bad at picking up his stiff side from the halt, but he was much better at doing a flying lead change to his stiff lead, for whatever reason. It's good practice for me, because it really forces me to reach up underneath him. He's so smart and I'm such a creature of habit that when I ask him to canter large, I have a tendency to ask for the transition in the same spots (horrible habit!). So he picks up the canter just find because he knows what I want. I need to actually practice getting the correct position - a nice bend, good leg position, etc. - instead of relying too heavily on my horse's attention to detail. 

After that, I rode bareback for a little while and I felt like a limp noodle. It's been a while since I've ridden bareback, and Walker just felt soooo boney today. It actually hurt to canter, and it especially hurt to halt. He's always been a bit boney, but I guess I just felt particularly sensitive today. Anyway, it's a great alternative to stirrupless riding because you get the best of both worlds - no stirrups AND better balance. Well. I'm sure it does with most people, but I'm pretty sure I just looked like a hot  mess.  Note to self: pull it together when riding bareback. I'm glad I didn't videotape myself because I'm pretty sure I was flopping all over the place, legs and arms included! I guess that's what I get for taking a break from riding bareback for so long.

Anyway, Walker was in good cheer, and I also got great news yesterday. The vet says he's as fit as a fiddle. The bump on his nose will just go down with time (and already looks better), and the vet suspects that the bald spots are simply the remains of bites/scratches he acquired while playing with his friends. I'm not entirely convinced about that last one, but if the vet isn't worried, then I'm not either! According to the email I got from my barn owner though, Walker was in a "fine goofy mood" during his checkup and kept them entertained. Never a boring day!