Catching Up

Sunsets have been really pretty

Very nice, mother nature, very nice.

I know this is not very flattering, but you can see how much muscle he is building along his back and at the base of neck.

He was SO good for this dressage lesson!

So much going on outside farm life right now - our school district is doing hybrid teaching and it is wearing me OUT.  Other than alternating pouring rain and 95 + degrees the farm is at a pause right now.  We got our new frost-free hydrant put in at the well, so no more carrying buckets. And we are taking a bit of a pause.  The cost of lumber has gone up 50% since we started building, and I am going to have to reach out to a few lumber yards and see if we can get it cheaper.  Right now each board is over $15... and only 6 inches wide... which makes for EXPENSIVE walls.  We may push through to 'finish' the standard board on the tall walls, then break until prices decrease.  We are also budgeting for lighting and electric in the barn, and trying to fix the fireplace.

The horses have been great!  Uno is REALLY getting stronger and more fun to flat.  He remains the dudest of dudes to jump.  As long as I leave my hands alone, he is point and shoot.  We went for a real dressage lesson yesterday to work on Training/ First level stuff.  I am going to do T3 in October even though we do not really have a stretchy trot.  Dressage Trainer said that horses are built and move like him (downhill and overly powered behind) will have a long period where they can't really lower the poll and go out until they are almost 'over-muscled' for the level.  We also played with a bit of mediums, and using haunches in during transitions to help him sit and not lunge into the next gait.

It was really apparent how much stronger he was - it was still very hard, but his tucked his pelvis and actually lowered his croup under himself a bit. AND NO BUCKING!! He was happy to try everything I asked - we gave him lots of breaks. We also looked at his leg yeilds, because he tends to get hoppy.  Again it is a strength thing - he only has the strength to hold himself up and cross over for 2 steps right now.  I am supposed to make it easier by starting the leg yeild in the turn and letting him 'drift' into it.  Correctness will come after we build the muscle and co-ordination.

Does no one else ride giraffes? 

Just me?

Meanwhile Dutch has had his best summer since we stopped boarding. NOT ONE COPD episode that required meds or a vet.  He still really struggles with the heat and his appetite, but between midday baths, his fan, and 12 hours of grass - he has kept a really good weight all summer.  We (and by that I mean him - repeatedly) pulled his shoes in favor of hoof casts, which is a long story for another post, and he has been much happier with his feet.  His current work load is one trail ride with me fro 2.5 - 3 miles, and one walk, trot lunge (this week in included jumps he was not supposed to jump - he almost pulled me over getting to them).  I have a good friend who is slowly getting back into horses who comes and trail rides with me, and I think we are going switch her to Dutch and see how they get on.  That would add one day to his schedule.

He is my favorite person in the world.

I am amazed at how good he feels right now.

All in all life is good!