Monday, November 5, 2012

School's out for the summer

So the winter blah's have already set in due to an early visit from Sandy. Everyone is going into their downgraded schedules, and sporting heavy winter blankets.

After trying, and unsuccessfully attempting to find a local person to back and break Sincere for 60 to 90 days, I'm resorting to shipping out of state. I like starting horses close to home, I can keep an eye on things and usually expenses can be managed a bit better. But this time, it's different since the person who was initially supposed to take him for backing and breaking, backed out last minute for a trip to Texas leaving me scrambling at the start of baby breaking season trying to find a place.

This was like getting your kid into Montessori. All the obvious choices were taken, even my second picks were too busy with their young green ones and had a wait list till spring. The last thing I want to do is put a three year old behind the eight ball.

Thankfully an opening cropped up and Sincere is being shipped North for the winter (now that sounds backwards) to do 60 days and then will potentially go south to be campaigned and sold.

With his course solidly set at least for two months, it really gives me a chance to start pushing the mares. 

The mares are working great these days. We've taken a step back from the regularly scheduled things to work from the ground.

I really enjoy times like these where all I really have to do is concentrate on the basics, and clean up some other issues that have been shelved from the season. It also serves as little more breathing room try new things, like piaffe and passage work. Which, has been our focus now for the last two weeks. We live in p and p land on the ground. 

God bless those who love working in hand, because those who can make it look easy, do so; and mortals like myself who are armed with a stick and a few basic concepts (tap on the butt = super articulated pretty trot= cookie) tend to look like hell for the first few efforts while being dragged around. 

For Sinari, this is a way to up her normally low score (6.5, 6) in her mediums (go like hell) and extensions (go for broke) through using passage to create more bounce and expression. She really has a lovely tendency for piaffe and finds passage a little more difficult.  What's making her a little stuck in the work is the want to be bargy, in addition to being a little whip shy from her younger years. She's in development. 

For Reba, this is like doing crunches. It's more of a development exercise to put on topline, help bridge some upcoming concepts and transition into really learning to carry herself, refine the half halt and to also create that much more expression. She doesn't last long, but she again puts in a lot of effort into the work. Her canter is coming along too and she's becoming a little bolder every day.