Mara was here today and we went to see the chickens and the horses. Mara and I were able to pet the chickens. I put the horses in their stalls and let the ponies out. Of course Laddie and Scottie were wonderful. We brushed them and I put the western saddle on Laddie. Mara rode all the way to the house with me leading and Carole holding her on. I encouraged her to hold on to the horn. I also told her she would not hear those words come out of my mouth very often, just for the next few months maybe. Mara would reach out and pet Laddie on the neck. She really likes animals. She was having a good time. Her father said she would probably be riding next summer. I agreed with him. I also said “Next summer starts June 22.” I expect it will happen pretty quick. Mara just needs to get in several sessions like today.
It was windy today and I thought it best to wait for calm weather to ride Newt in the arena. I lunged and rode Magic in the round pen. Then we rode to the arena. I just got Jec Aristotle Ballou’s book “101 Dressage Exercises”. I have been riding the 20 meter circle repeatedly and I am very happy to have some new options. I got the 20 meter circle exercise from Lynn Palm. It is good but I just do not think repetition is good for training. My experience is that my horse and I can, and often do, get into a rut doing the same thing over and over. I feel blessed that I have so much space and riding options. The horses I am riding are green and we are not yet doing a lot of trail riding variety. We will in the future. I tried “needlepoint” but a bull courting a heifer kept getting in out path. Then we rode the “oval” exercise. Well, we tried. It may be some time before we ride the exercises well but it is something to look forward to. We rode the trail around the Oak pasture. Magic’s front shoes are clicking and I will tighten them to see how that works.