March Update

So it's been awhile since the last update.  Soonie and I had a couple of rides that were not quite right.  He's looking and feeling great, and he was by no means BAD, but he just felt like he hadn't totally settled in at the new farm, in the new ring, with the new footing, etc.  The rides just didn't really feel like him, so I decided that I'd give him a week or two off and let him just chill for a bit.  So he had about a week and a half of just being a horse, getting muddy and playing with his buddies.  I took that time to get back on the ice and play a lot of hockey.  Everyone was happy with this arrangement!

The mare is still in love

Enjoying spring break!

Since then we've had a couple of hacks around the farm.  There are a couple of huge, flat fields that we can ride around, including a back field where we can actually do flat work in (which will be GREAT when the footing dries!).  We can hack around the perimeter of the paddocks and ride down the powerlines, so once again we're blessed with the opportunity to ride outside the ring. 

In addition to the good hacking, we came off spring break and have had great rides ever since.  He's much more settled and relaxed in the ring, seems much more confident in the footing, and is stretching and swinging like his old self.  We jumped a course last Friday (after him not jumping in a month or more) and he was STELLAR!  Jumped great over all new fences, very confident and happy to be jumping over sticks.  He also had a makeover last night (mane pulled/trimmed and tail banged), so now I just have to debate if I'll actually full body clip him at this point, or just say screw it and let him finish shedding out.

And while thankfully the love affair between him and his mare seems to be quieting down a little and normalizing, things were very hot and heavy for awhile and the barn owner was sure to keep me posted with hilarious updates.  Such as "they're sharing a water bucket" and "OMG they're eating off the same hay pile!"  Love is disgusting, LOL.