That Big Yellow Orb Thing

It's an elusive creature Vermonters rarely have the opportunity to witness, but its powers are mighty and great...

WE GOT SUN!

Thank God. I've been waiting for a day like today for weeks. It's finally starting to get a little nicer weather-wise, and while that means more mud (Vermont has 5 seasons: a short summer, lengthy fall and winter, a very short spring and something we call mud season...) and shedding horses, it also means everyone is feeling a little better and spending some time sunbathing (all the horses were out at the end of their paddocks today napping in the sun. I pulled some blankets off the old, hairy boys and the first thing they did was roll in the snow to relieve the itchies, buck a few times, and go back to napping.) It was really nice to see the horses in better moods than they have been; I think the idea of fresh grass and actual grazing is hitting them hard.

Anyway, I had a GREAT lesson today. It was a make-up from Tuesday, since it was Town Meeting day in Vermont and my trainer is a very opinionated woman who believes voicing said opinion is important. So we rescheduled for today. Could not have picked a better afternoon. It's GORGEOUS, SUNNY, 40 degrees and very little wind. Perfect.

I was a little skeptical because Ernie was kind of a crank this morning. I think he was mad because I took Stella out to begin shedding her winter coat, and obviously I didn't OK it through him first. But under saddle he was AMAZING. We've been working more on counterbend, especially at the trot, to get him a little stronger in his hind end so I can start asking for collected work from him. We did a lot of 20 m circles, spiral in to a 10 m circle on a counterbend, then a change to truebend and sprial out. Same thing at the trot. The point was to get him long and low into my hands, up through his topline, not just curled in like he sometimes wants to do. We then started working on his canter transitions, moving from a 20 m trot circle to 10 m circles sitting, then asking for the canter depart. The transitions were a little sloppy, but I'm not looking for them to be good yet. I just want little fuss and for him to drop his head in the canter and use his butt. I also worked on my form, and FINALLY moved from a half seat to sitting the canter. I thought my abs were in pretty good shape, but the way I've been using them out of the saddle is completely different, so I'll probably be spending a lot of time working on getting a stronger riding core. The canter quality was great, and the down transitions were to die for. Even Lori said it was the best she's seen me ride this year.

It's amazing what a little sun can do. I'm even wearing a yellow shirt, for celebration's sake.