Chief Thundercloud. Not

It is confirmed: Champagne is a wuss about thunder.

Last night as I was warming up for my lesson, suddenly he didn’t want to go near one end of the ring. Next he spooked ten feet away from a bush. Then it was real work to keep him near the rail. And all the time he was popping his neck way up, moving sideways, looking at things that weren’t there, and being completely unresponsive to the aids. Then he began to trot really fast . . . maybe the fastest he’s ever gone. Very out of character.

Finally we heard a distant roll of thunder. Champagne had probably been hearing it through his feet. He wouldn’t have been a safe ride for Ken, but I had a horse with lots of undirected energy. Cath had me work on doing a lot of change ups to focus his mind back inside the ring, and paying attention to me. Walk/stop transition, walk/trot transitions, 20 meter circles, and finally canter/trot transitions. By the end of the hour, I was really tired. I haven’t been riding that much with all the other stuff going on, and haven’t even been to the gym since last week on Wednesday.

Once again, and especially with a jumpy horse, riding proved its value as therapy. There is no room for sadness or anything else unrelated to the ride. I was also working at staying calm to help him feel calm. Then too, it is helpful to get physically tired to match my emotional exhaustion. The combination helped me sleep fairly well last night.

After my lesson, Ken rode in the indoor. The thunder had vanished and there were no visual distractions, so Champagne went back to sleep, testing Ken and making him work at getting some impulsion. Still, Ken has come a long way in just a few short months (riding just half an hour a week!) I hope by Wyoming we’ll both be strong enough to enjoy hours in the saddle.

A stuck horse

Monday, in horrid heat and humidity, I rode again for the first time since coming off three weeks ago. My back is much improved, but the break in activity had not left Champagne much improved.

Because it was so hot and sticky, I decided to just ride at a walk on the grassy areas around the barn, not in the baking outdoor or the incredibly stuffy indoor. He was, best I can say, cranky. Normally he is a sweetie, although he can be stubborn and opinionated. But the flies were the worst, he seemed to mind the heat, and his ears were flattened back sometimes. Plus, he would not walk along the track between two marshy areas. There was no actual bucking, but lots of refusing and turning in circles and pretty strong attempts to go back to the barn. I tried lots of strategies, including backing up and circling, but finally I was just too hot to argue any more. I know that was not a good decision because I am setting myself up for other refusals, but also I was feeling light headed and sick from the heat. I did lead him through the problem area at least.

During last night’s lesson, with much cooler weather, he was much more willing. I got some nice energetic walking, some decent trots, and canter left as much as my sore back could tolerate, but no canter right. When I asked for a canter transition, Champagne threw up his head, hollowed out his back, and actually came to a stop!

I asked Cath to get on, which she did, and said he is “stuck in his neck”. We know that due to his crookedness it is easier for him to bend to the left and hard for him to bend to the right. She did a lot of cantering on a 20 meter circle going right, with the right rein lifted way up to get him to bend his neck and loosen his body. After that I was able to get back on and get a canter right on a completely loose rein. Something to work on. Yet again something to work on. Still, it was great to have my sweet boy back.

This weekend is supposed to be very hot and humid again. I don’t know if a ride will be in the cards.