Weather Blues

May I just complain about the weather for a minute? Last week we were finally getting dry again and I was able to ride consistently for like a whole week. Mort and I were getting back into the swing of things and feeling great. I even had time to work Blue a couple times. Things felt good if I ignored the extended forecast. Unfortunately, I stopped being able to ignore it when it started dumping buckets of rain. We even had a tornado and flash flood warning last Friday. That never happens in January in Missouri. WTF, weather? After the sky stopped drenching us with water, it changed to ice, followed by an inch or so of snow. For those of you unfamiliar, snow makes the ground even more wet than rain because it soaks in as it melts. It's basically the difference of taking a shower versus a bath--only one of those gives you wrinkly fingers. Thankfully, the snow mostly melted yesterday as it got to about 40 degrees. But the ground is basically just a mud puddle at this point. We're supposed to get more rain tomorrow, followed by more snow on Friday. Then it stays pretty cold for the foreseeable future. We'll have lows in the single digits with highs hitting 40 if we're lucky. So we're basically going to be bouncing back and forth between frozen mud and mud for a long, long time. Here's to hoping that the weatherperson is wrong. My last ride on Mort was 6 days ago. Blue was worked 5 days ago. I'm actually hoping for some frozen ground this weekend so that we can at least do walk rides and the boys can go out in the pasture. I'll ride on the road a little bit as well, but Mort isn't confident out there yet so they're short adventures. I'm sure the boys are going to be tired of being stuck in the lot. I'm going to be tired of not riding. We'll make it through though. Next winter I'll have an arena that should be a little easier to navigate the wet ground with. We'll add even more rock to the lot so the boys have more of an area to stretch their legs without having to deal with mud. Here's to second winter and just taking it day-to-day.

Lesson Recap

Mort and I started off the year by taking a short trip to where my instructor teaches. It was our first field trip since the show in August (other than moving him home), and it was our first single day field trip since the last time we took a lesson there at the beginning of August. If you remember, that trip didn't go exactly as planned. He was pretty good for our lesson but it took a LONG time and some drama to get him back on the trailer. So, needless to say, I hoped this trip was a little easier on both of us. Mort and I have been hitting the trailer loading practice hard. I hook up every other week or so. He's gotten so comfortable that he just quietly follows me right up. To add some challenge to that, I've practiced in some less than ideal conditions (think noisy neighbors, high wind, etc.). We've had some set-backs, but overall he's gotten more and more confident. I felt like we were ready for an adventure, and I was certainly ready for a heated indoor arena. We set out Saturday morning. Mort followed me right up like a good boy. He was a bit up when we unloaded, but nothing dramatic or scary. He settled in his stall eating his alfalfa while Steven and I unloaded all his gear. Side bar: it's ridiculous how much stuff one horse needs for a one hour lesson off site. He tacked up quietly and we headed to the arena. He's been to this facility several times now, so he's fairly relaxed as long as it's quiet. Thankfully it was just us in there so we were able to warm-up and let him take in the sites on a loose rein. I slowly started to pick him up and play with suppleness and relaxation. The whole goal right now is to keep him relaxed through everything--especially when we leave home. So when he's happy, relaxed, and on the aids, I get to ask for more. If he stays relaxed, I get to ask for even more, but if he gets tense, we drop back down a level of difficultness. This will be my winter/spring training plan since we don't get to ride as consistently with the weather and footing. So we worked our way up slowly. Mort was overall in a great and learning mood. I actually asked if we could call it quits after some great trot leg yield into canter and my instructor agreed. We ended with some stretchy trot and called it a day. It wasn't my full time allotted for the lesson, but I am really trying to focus on his experience more than the training on these field trips. I can train at home for now and it'll all be there as he gets more and more confident in new places. I'm hoping that I can get out at least once more before our first schooling show of the year. We'll see. Mort happily munched on his alfalfa again as we loaded up the trailer. I started to get a bit nervous. Finally it was time to see how Mort would load for me. I walked up, he hesitated. I gave him a second to think and relax. I asked for a step forward and he gave me a couple. I gave him another second. I asked for more forward and he walked right on. Good boy! I was so, so happy with my boy. I can only hope his happy mood for both our lesson and the loading is a good sign on what we can accomplish this coming year. Blue handled being left home alone like a champ. I did lock him in the lot as I've been using the lot as their "safe space". It's where I lock them when I'm riding the other horse and they seem to handle that well. I also gave him a flake of alfalfa to ease his mind and his tummy if he had any nerves. But he never ran or paced that I saw and ate his hay, so I think he was happy enough. This is great since it's likely he'll be left alone when I take Mort to shows/clinics/etc. I'm not above borrowing a horse if needed, but if Blue continues to handle it well that's even better. A good start to the year. Mort was calm and happy for both our lesson and trailering. Blue wasn't worried about being left alone for several hours. The weather has been as nice as you can ask for in January in Missouri. I've got homework and a plan for the rest of winter and into spring. Here's to keeping it all up.

2020 Goals

Horse Show Related: Qualify for Regionals at First Level Show at Regionals at First Level A stretch goal. I'd like to if timing and finances work. Show Second Level Establish half-pass in trot and canter Master walking turn-on-haunches Clean up the walk-to-canter and canter-to-walk transitions Attend 3 shows Rider Related: Continue to work on getting a more even seat and hands Have my instructor out for 6 (or more) lessons Attend 2 clinics Horse Related: Finish the arena Fence in the third pasture Haul out for a trail ride Non-Horse Related: Run 1-2 half-marathons Run a marathon Very much a stretch goal depending on the time commitment and how my physical and mental health handle it Finish the house and move in Continue to work-out 3-4 times/week

2019 Goals

Checking in on my goals now that we're wrapping up the year. Riding-Related: Show 2nd Level This could go either way but I'm putting it out there for the universe to know about it This did not happen. The house and property took up a lot of time, stress/focus, and money. It was a stretch goal anyway. Establish half-pass in trot and canter Within this is haunches-in in trot and canter as well We have it at the walk, and I've started playing with it in the trot. Haunches-in is a hard concept for him. Be able to pick Mort up from a loose rein walk and have him "there" for me This is so much better than where we were at the beginning of the year. I've learned how to do it better and Mort has learned that it's not the end of the world most of the time. Develop Mort's medium/extended trot and canter I feel really good about these at home. We don't have the relaxation at shows to really give his best yet, but they're in there somewhere. Develop a more relaxed "back-up" I'd say we have this now. Establish a walking turn-on-haunches We've played with some really big ones, but I want to actually tackle them under the eye of my instructor Develop a more even seat Forever a work in progress of course, but definitely better than where I was at the beginning of the year. Have more control over which seat bone carries more weight AKA: don't allow Mort's body to dictate my seat as much Yes! Much more aware and quicker about fixing it. Probably won't ever be easy. Develop more consistent hands AKA: an even feel of his mouth on both sides, not allowing one hand to become lazy Much better than where I was at the beginning of the year. Get better about the release of aids so that Mort can become lighter off of them All these rider goals are going to continue to be works in progress, but as long as I'm working on them that's what counts I'd say he's lighter off the aids. It's a combination of things, but I'll give this some of the credit. I was probably only slightly above mediocre at really improving this. Don't allow myself to get frustrated I was really good about this--only having a few rides where my frustration was present. Being aware of this is a big part of why I backed off this fall. There was too much stress in my life outside of horses that I knew it would bleed into my rides if I tried for anything beyond basics. I'm proud of myself for recognizing that and backing off. Have my instructor out for 6 (or more) lessons I think I got 5 lessons in this year. Attend 2 clinics Ideally as a rider, but auditor will also be acceptable I signed up for a couple and they both ended up being cancelled! Hopefully I do better this next year. I did audit one in December. Attend 2 shows Well we went to one recognized show and that was it. I went as a groom to a couple though. Horse-Related: Get Mort consistent about loading with a ramp I want Mort to calmly walk onto all three trailers that I have access to Several of my other goals will rely upon this one We took a few field trips. He's gotten more and more confident about loading. And I've figured out a method that works for us when he doesn't want to load. I plan to practice every couple weeks at home to keep him sharp. Get our property horse They moved out there October 19th! Best feeling ever. The arena is still a work-in-progress, but it's coming along. Non Horse-Related: Run 2 half-marathons I got in two--one in June and one in September. The one in September was my fastest one yet. Run 6-8 miles/day 3-4 times/week Definitely didn't do this. But I ran 3-4 times/week. Now that I'm back in the gym I've also added some weight training. Lose 5lbs And learn how to maintain that weight Oh, this went up and down unfortunately (like it always does). I lose weight then get overconfident about what I need to do to maintain that and it creeps back on. Oh well. I'm healthy and fit and that's what actually matters (or at least that's what I try to tell myself). Work hard on getting our house built and working on our property Still working hard on it. We've got a house and roof and plumbing and duct work and electrical. Interior things are well underway. Hopefully we'll be in sometime in the spring or summer. Plant a small vegetable garden It was planted. And grew a few things. And was severely neglected. I think I need to wait until we're more settled into our lives at the house before I tackle this again.