First Day of "Work"

MEGAN: Though waking up was a bit rough, the day got off to a great start. After feeding Simba, I helped with turnouts and swept out the walkways in the arena. An hour later, Simba’s stall was clean and he had gotten out of his stall for some grass and to stretch his legs. I tacked up Brasil and lightly worked him, appreciating his enormous amount of energy for a twenty-something year old horse. Then, after yet another load of never-ending laundry, I was supposed to hack Luke, a little chestnut pony over hills- but, someone neglected to tell the weatherman about these plans. It poured, so we ended up lightly working in the arena instead. He was so much fun! I was able to use my core more effectively and bring my elbows in (something I really need to fix) to get Luke really nice and round. Then I rode Simba for the first time. He was good in that he felt very sound, but he was lazy! It had just rained, and the humidity was horrible, so he got all hot and sweaty after a very small amount of work. The guys started working out behind the arena, throwing stuff into dumpsters, and going by the back door Simba spooked, wheeling off the track and quite nearly dumping me off his shoulder. Being the good boy that he is, however, I was able to work him through it and eventually finish with some nice trot work, though I still wanted it to be more forward. I was especially pleased with the good work at the end because after the spook, when we trotted again, Simba felt a little funny in front. He scared me half to death, but was just fine after a minute or two of walk. So, I hosed him down after a good cool-down, and then helped grain and close the barn up for the night. Nikki drove me home and I quickly changed and zoomed off to Mass, walking in about a minute late. Mass was much shorter than at home, about 45 minutes, so I got a little quiet time in the church to myself which was very much needed and appreciated after the craziness of the last few days. I then was able to enjoy a quick tempo run to town and back a few times, with plenty of strides at the end. One trip to the store later, I enjoyed a caser salad and pretzels for dinner, with a granola bar to top it all off. What a great day! I got a lot accomplished and still didn’t feel super rushed, which was one of the nicest parts.

SIMBA: Argh! Not only did Mom work me, but the weather was rainy and downcast all day. To top it all off, there were scary people out behind the arena the whole time I was in there! Making lots of noise, talking loudly, and banging things against the side of the arena- yeesh! You’d think that they would understand that a horse was trying to work in there! But, on the bright side, Mom handwalked me and let me graze, and she cleaned my stall so the straw was fluffy and soft. That trip really tired me out. I have been lying down to sleep on the last two nights in a row, which is not typical of me. Other than that, it was a pretty boring day. I am off to finish my dinner; talk to you again tomorrow!