Sunday, October 5, 2014

Floridians...

Most keep their A/C set at 68 degrees but wear jackets when it's cooler than 72 degrees outside. I keep mine set at 78 and wear a jacket when it's under 75, lol.  Brrr!

Yesterday, I round-penned Ruby.  The plan is to use the round pen to start building muscle and endurance until I get myself more evened-out.  This is hard to explain, but basically I'm hoping to start increasing her fitness while not adding too much mileage or speed during our rides - at least until I can get myself straightened out some.  Speaking of which, Marie still gives lessons in this area a few times a month so I'm trying to see if she can squeeze me in sometime soon.  Claudia is a great instructor but she's an hour away and charges nearly twice what Marie does, and even more if she comes to you ($75 + travel time, ouch).  And Marie and I just click, so hopefully we can get something going.  Marie is no shabby instructor either - she was on the short list for the 1984(?) Olympics in Eventing before her horse bowed a tendon.  She also has a masters in teaching, and it shows in her instruction.  But she's not one to brag - I found all of this out from her mother during a show last year, when I'd already been her student for several months. 

Anyway, about Ruby and the round-pen.  When I let her have her first walk break, she decided to crop some grass...and took off at a gallop before I even took a step in her direction.  Crazy Mare proceeded to zoom around the round pen at Mach 10, leaned over like a motorcycle racer, for 7-8 laps before she'd calmed down enough to trot when I asked.  We proceeded with her workout for another 10 minutes or so.  I would imagine she's just a little sore after her melodramatic stunt or I would have saddled her up for a short ride this morning.  Instead, I groomed and loved on her a little then let her dive into her hay. 

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