I love my horse

On Friday, I had the first lesson I have had in weeks thanks to the demands of work, Paula's emergency eye surgery, and general life interferences. The break must have done us all a world of good, since I had a great lesson. I am still getting used to riding in a dressage saddle instead of a treeless endurance saddle. The endurance saddle is so comfortable I could sit in it all day, but it allows me to be lazy with my position, and it makes it hard to keep my legs in the proper place. The dressage saddle requires that I sit up straight or I don't feel well-balanced, and the knee blocks keep my legs from scrunching up and forward. As a result, I get tired and a little sore after about 35 minutes. I can feel my upper thighs, calves, and ankles are in a different position.

But Cleo moves so much better in the dressage saddle. The saddle pad and saddle, itself, are significantly behind her shoulders, and the saddle weighs even less than the 12 pound Bob Marshall. She didn't balk or refuse a single request, and her trot was free and floaty.

After riding, Cleo got new shoes as her 'reward.' We are all set for the next few weeks in terms of shots, footing, food, shoes, and lessons. Soon I need to clean and repair her blankets, and then we will be all set for the onset of winter and the rainy season. This year should be better than the last few now that we have a cover in her paddock. Fewer stalls to muck, dusty air to breathe, and stocked up legs from standing around. Now to figure out how to spend more time with her the semester I teach.

The seasons are changing

Less than one more week until the official end of summer. I have been back to teaching since mid-August, and since that time both this blog and Cleo have been on their vacations, so to speak, since my time is taken up by planning lessons, attending meetings, teaching classes and meeting with students. Cleo doesn't seem to mind. She is enjoying the relatively warm (70 degree) days, lounging in her paddock while I am working away at HSU. But we are enjoying our weekends together riding in the arena, and when Janice is at the barn, riding up and down the lane with Carrie and Artie, with Janice as my 'chaperone.' Cleo has been behaving quite well, but a scare a month ago going down the lane has eroded my fragile confidence. With Janice to calm my nerves, we have been enjoying riding outside in the warm summer weather typical to Humboldt County in September and October, our best weather months before the onset of the rainy season. No one is quite ready for rain this year, since our spring was so wet and cold. Our usual six months of dry weather--as long a you don't count drippy fog--looks like it will be reduced to a maximum of four months this year, and possibly down to three. Depends on when the rain starts coming down.

But this year, Cleo should be happier since a cover was constructed in her paddock. Now she doesn't have to spend drizzly days locked up in her stall to keep her warm and dry. She can hang out under her roof with a blanket on when it gets really cold, and breathe fresh, clean air instead of a barn dust. She would always rather be outside unless she is soaking wet. Last winter, I would find her at dinner time standing at her gate shivering so hard that I could hardly put her halter on to bring her to her stall for the night. But then in the morning, she was in such a hurry to get back outside, she would practically drag me down the lane to her paddock. This winter should be a lot easier on both of us. Less gross bedding to muck out of a stall, and fewer tugs of war to get her from one spot to the next because of the weather. Hopefully, we can keep a year-round routine of inside and outside time, riding, and relaxing without precipitation as the driving force. I don't need to look out my Founders Hall window watching the rain pour down sorry that I didn't put Cleo in for the day.