ahhhhhhh..... we both needed that!

 I could tell that Dan was needing a gallop! And he was cranky, just like me. I think that some of it is that he is so tuned in to me, that he gets frustrated when I'm frustrated and he's just as much of a perfectionist as me. But he has also been super frisky. And we haven't done much... nothing really since the Ashland halloween show. And no galloping since FENCE. So... today was a glorious day. The weather was PERFECT! It wasn't humid... sunny, a bit crisp in the shade but a glorious 70 degree sunny day. And I had nothing else to do. No doctor appointments, no vet appointments, no lesson, nothing! So... we loaded up and went to Ashland. We've missed it. I was a little torn on what tack to put on, but decided to put on my jump tack. 

 

We had a nice lovely hack, although he was a bit putzy in the beginning. And he kept sniffing everything. He's like riding a bloodhound. But I let him, because... it's his relaxing ride too. We had some nice trotting and cantering in the fields and woods. And we passed by a handsome buck who didn't seem to mind us too much. We did some hill work and I did two point. Man, we're both a little out of shape. Okay... I'm out of shape. Him, not as much. Then we came back to the XC field and did a little gallop. He almost didn't believe me, but then...he stretched out and flew! We went both ways and had a blast! Ahhhhh.... I thought about jumping, but.. there was no one else there and I was sort of trying to be good since his injections were only a week in. So.. we headed back to the trailer and I swapped tack and we went into the dressage arena. 

He was so good! He always rides much better there than at home. I think my footing makes things super difficult for him. ugh... Now to figure out how to fix that and how to afford to fix that. :( But anyways, we did our lateral work and it took a little bit of reminding him to move his feet but as usual, once we did a canter he was much more animated. We had some good trot half passes and haunches in and shoulders in. Then we did some canter work. And today... today we had a canter half pass both ways! I'm sure it wasn't a 8 or even a 7, but hopefully it was at least a 6. Going left he still falls out of it super easily as we hit the end, but... it's okay. We'll get there. Hopefully. We did that two times each ways and then played with simple changes. Then we went back to trotting and got a lovely trot. And then we quit. Because despite being clipped he's still fluffy and it was hot and he was sweaty. 

We walked back to the lake and splashed!! He was hot! Then we headed back and went by the small lake and saw the heron. Dan freaked a little and spun and tried to bolt. Of course I had one hand on my phone trying to video so I wasn't very good at controlling him. But I did get him turned around and as soon as I did, he bravely marched forward. He's so odd. Brave, but a chicken. :) But we chased the heron off a bit and carried on. It was such a pretty day with the Fall colors too. We had fun. Ahhhhh.... oh, and... he seemed much less cranky. Ha! I'm sure he was saying the same thing about me. Although, today, when I went to go catch him to go ride, he was in the far field. I called and he neighed and came galloping up! I was about halfway up the pasture and thought .... well crud.. he's coming for Funny so he'll fly right by me. And maybe it was the cookie he saw me extend in my hand.... or maybe he does love me, but he came screeching to a halt right by me and got his cookie and his halter. :) Ooooooh that makes my heart so happy!! So yep.. hopefully we'll both be in better moods! 

Tomorrow I've got 12 to do at UGA and with the time change, (which I LOVE by the way) it'll probably be too dark to ride, but... we'll see. We've got a lesson with Rana Thursday, so hopefully we'll have a good ride then too. I'm ready to get some changes in and get this third level goal accomplished!