“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
― H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You
I have decided in this new year that nothing is going to keep me from achieving all of my dreams. I have been doing better with the horses this past month then I have in a long time! I have been riding consistently, both Rayna and Penny. They are both doing fabulously!! Penny still isn't 100% sound, I'm hoping she'll get there once she's consistently on joint supplements, she's in shape and she gets front shoes on. If after all of that she's still just a little bit off I will have the vet come out to make sure there's nothing underlying going on. But out in the fields she's sound, she's getting stronger, I can definitely tell that she's starting to get into shape, there's definitely a difference between how she looks now and how she looked when I first got her a month ago. I still have hopes and dreams of showing her a little later in the year, but if she just ends up being a trail pony I'm totally fine with that. She has helped me with my confidence and love of horses so much, I don't know how I could ever repay her, and she will stay with me until the end of her days.
As for Rayna I really couldn't be happier with her right now! She's getting in shape (thank you hot walker) she's much more willing to work and move forward, and listen, The new bit I got for her has made a world of difference, unfortunately it's not legal for dressage so I will eventually have have to either switch back to her old one or find a legal alternative that's somewhat close to what I have on her now. For now, though, I will continue schooling her in this bit because she's going so well in it, We've been working a lot on collection, extension, and bending. I haven't cantered her since she tried to buck me off at the canter a couple of weeks ago, I need to get myself into better shape before cantering her again. She's never going to learn to canter properly if I am too out of shape to ride the canter effectively. It's a big, difficult canter and if I'm too unbalanced to ride it, it's going to unbalance her and we'll never get anywhere. So it's walk/trot work for us, in the arena, in the fields, over poles and over small jumps. There are a few dressage shows coming up in the next few months and I really think we'll be ready to do into A and /or into B, I just need to figure out a way to get to the shows! And I really hope Rayna will be good in a show situation, she has never been in one before!
Sabrina is starting her professional training this coming week, I am really excited and curious to see how it goes. We agreed that we will do 2 months of training max with her and see where she is after that. Hopefully she works out and ends up being a good, solid trail animal. I would hate to sell her but I can't afford an animal that is just a pasture pet right now.
