A New Year

Well, a fall has come and gone and winter has arrived.

Admittedly, I am not a good blogger, and I hope to change that in the new year. I'm also not so good at planning my rides right now, and am kind of in a rut. Obnoxiously, it's freezing right now - not like... below freezing. I mean negative double digits. I plan to head out and check the horses tomorrow - carefully. It's going to be so cold and windy I have to worry about damaging any exposed skin after about 5 minutes outside. I already have some frostbite damage from previous years riding outside, so I have to be extra careful. However, this doesn't bode well for my training plans (or lack thereof?).

Bailey thinks coats are pretty rad.

Right now, Bailey is getting worked pretty regularly. Her flatwork is so-so - moments of nice hock action and giving in the base of her neck followed by spooking and satellite ears.Her jumping is also so-so - sometimes she gives 100% and is brilliant and other times she turns out and schlumps over the fence like so:

My plan for her (once we thaw out) is to continue to hit the dressage work hard, emphasizing lateral work and transitions to engage her brain and her body, and also making sure she's booted up in front of my leg, as she tends to like to sit back against my aids like a hammock and just swing along not working very hard at all. I also plan to get her working over fences more - while the barn's gymnastic and course days have gotten off to a rough start, I am aiming for 3 or so jumping lessons a month. With the ice and snow making it hard to get off the farm or even trail ride safely, we have to build up our trust (and her knowledge and body) in anticipation of an activity-packed spring and summer. 

Foxie is also not working very hard - it's hard to take off her blanket when she's been struggling to stay warm so much this winter! We have also been struggling with her soundness in her feet, and general stiffness in her body. My plans for her are to slowly get her back into work. Watching old videos of her from last winter, I am guessing that some of her discomfort is coming from not being worked, and I am to blame for that. Its time to get some muscle back and work off some of that fat (which is probably not helping, either) and I'm tentatively planning to do some walk/trot work later this week once things warm up. 

Fox on a good day earlier in the fall

It's hard to ride her as the footing in the indoor is quite deep and outside is quite icy - neither of which is good footing for a sore horse and a bad suspensory. I think walk and less that 5 minutes of trot will be our new game plan, even though she prefers to canter and canter and canter. I also plan to start using both her Back on Track sheet and her hock boots as prep and cool down from our rides as a way to support her comfort. If she is still uncomfortable, I may start looking at joint supplements or a course of Adequan to give her a chance at getting back to being her old self. It's hard to watch her age! 

So here is to blogging, a new year, and a lot of work to do!

Ash, Fox & Bays