Sorry for being so absentee. I have noticed that quite a few of my posts begin that way. Funnily enough, most of my journals from middle school have entries that begin the exact same way. What can I say? I clearly have not turned over a new leaf as far as prompt documentation of my life goes. The ironic thing is that I check everyone else's blogs that I follow at least once a day, hoping for an update.
The gorgeous Miss Zoey is back in the barn after enjoying several months of leisure in the pasture. I have not measured her but I think that she has grown. She is almost 22 months old and it is time for her to start learning how to be a solid citizen. We have a long way to go-she still throws temper tantrums complete with pawing everything in sight, screaming, and running circles in her stall bucking. Naughty naughty. The funny part is that, once you have her out and are working with her, she is generally stellar. She remembered everything from her previous 2 or 3 longeing sessions. It took exactly two times of me showing her that she needed to stop on the line and wait for me to come to her instead of turning to come to me before she was doing it every single time. Our leading skills are much improved. She has been wearing a surcingle and pad during the day and is being slowly introduced to being tied, much to her displeasure. I even stood on the mounting block next to her today and leaned over her, letting her get used to someone being above her. She was clearly traumatized, as she promptly cocked a hind hoof and went to sleep.
My plan is to introduce a saddle at some point next week and let her wear that around her stall for a few days. I don't anticipate that being a huge deal. Clippers are on the list of things to introduce. I would like to get the leading a little more solid as well as the being tied and (here's the hard part) standing tied quietly. We might even work on the longe line in the arena at a walk and a trot. After that, it is back to the field for her for a few months. I am in no hurry to actually ride her, as her long-term soundness is still the most important thing to me. I do want to get some of this groundwork done before she gets any bigger...the potential is there for her to throw a huge hissy fit and I want to increase my odds of surviving it!
I took lots of pictures on my phone but I have lessons showing up in a little while. I will try to add pictures later this evening.
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