Monday, March 16, 2009

Endurance Ponderings . . .

Arabee had yesterday off after the training ride on Saturday. I intend to get a couple of good workouts on her today and tomorrow, then Wednesday and Thursday off, ride Friday, training ride out on Saturday, then Sunday off again. I think the weather will cooperate.

She was in a good mood yesterday, came up to be haltered, and I groomed her and trotted her out. She'll be ready to ride tonight, and may even be a bit of a handful.

It occurred to me that I didn't use very good etiquette at the training ride Saturday. I didn't clean up after my horse when she left manure while eating hay tied to the trailer. I'm not sure if other people besides horse users use that parking spot, but if they do, I should have cleaned up after her. I hope I learned my lesson and remember to do so from here on out.

I was very pleased with how her feet have been wearing while conditioning totally barefoot. At this point, it is hard for me to imagine booting her for competition, at least for an LD. I feel like it's best to let her wear her feet on her own, rather than me trimming them, so that they wear the way she needs them to be. I took a close look at them yesterday, and so far, they look great. I'll keep a close eye on her, and if things change I do have boots to put on her all around if she's getting too much wear.

My horse has an awesome trot, at least in my opinion! She was really booking it down the trail on Saturday, and I think if I pepper in some cantering to give her trotting muscles a break now and then, and walk the downhills, and if I am able to continue improving her conditioning at the current rate she should be ready for a conservative completion mid-April, which is the goal!

Can't wait til my husband gets home tonight so I can ride! And I certainly can't wait for the first ride in April!

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