Small Things Roundup

I am still plugging away, just haven’t felt much like writing.

Tris is now pretty firmly in a 3-4 days of work per week schedule. Usually one of those is a lesson and one is a light longe. I almost never work him two days in a row – mentally more than anything it’s not right for him.

He is pretty darn fit, and still quite sassy. If I ride in the outdoor arena I can count on at least one bucking fit or attempted bolt. Lately, I’ve gotten to a better place about responding to those by saying “okay, work for it, then” and making him use all that energy to really sit.

He got his hocks done in June, and I’ve scheduled his stifles for September 7. Both are in the nature of experiments and I will have more thoughts on them later. Overall, positive, but not transformational.

Our biggest challenge has been managing his allergies; he’s coming down off his second hives blowup of the summer. I hate them – not to deal with necessarily, but because it means we have to do a whole dance of dry lot turnout or stall rest, and then slowly figure out grass turnout again. He loves grass so much and it’s so hard to see how much he wants to go on pasture, but…sigh.

We have no show plans for the fall; just keep poking along at what we’re working on, learning things and keeping him fit and healthy and happy.