Been awhile...

It's been busy and I'm surprised to see just how long it's been since the last post. Plenty of work (mixed blessing)

Still working on the saddle fit but with the help of the Parelli saddlemakers, there are vast improvements. Some subtle changes in the shimming pattern and paying more attention to the way I ride have at least stopped the rubbing and he seems to have more back and shoulder freedom. Saddle still seems to sink in the front and wobble in the back though...but the horse seems happier and I'm not getting many offers to buck anymore.

Yesterday we hit the trail to try avoid the terrible rain we heard was coming today. Ironically, it did not rain today but it poured late yesterday. Laura even forced me to get up early to get a head start to beat the weather. It was pretty cool and we got some sprinkles but we did get pretty lucky with the weather. I don't know if it's the change of seasons or something else, but the wildlife was out in force at Pt Reyes yesterday. We were met in the parking lot by a heron who apparently was looking for the Morgan Horse ranch.

There were also deer hanging around, which didn't used to be unusual but a couple years ago there was a movement to eliminate the non-native white and spotted deer, and since then, deer have been in short supply. They were back yeaterday, though, and we even spotted one of the lucky white deer escapees on our way back at the end of the ride.

We kept our eyes open for bobcats and coyotes, which we have spotted before and always like to see, and hoped we didn't spot any of the larger carnivores that live in the park (here kitty, kitty, kitty...). No sightings though, and it it was an uneventful ride to Horse Camp. Horse Camp closes for camping at the end of October, to Cowboy's relief. During the camping season, it's a bustle of activity and the hubbub gives Cowboy the vapors. Thankfully, all was very quiet and we rode through with a minimum of drama. We did spot a doe napping on a knoll in the middle of camp as we headed toward the restrooms, which we were hoping were open but were padlocked shut. But as I was checking out that situation, Laura spotted a fox lounging about behind the bathrooms. This was a new event--we know there are foxes locally, including some that live in our backyard, but we have never actually spotted one during our rides and in fact, I've never seen one at all. We were very quiet so as not to frighten him (her?), but soon it was obvious that the fox was unconcerned about having us so near, and in fact let me circle him quite closely with my iPhone camera. It seemed pretty healthy so I'm hoping it's placid nature and hanging around in broad daylight wasn't a result of being rabid!

 

We finally left him and got to Five Brooks, where the bathrooms were open, and the fox and deer were both still in their spots when we got back about 15 minutes later. Still unconcerned. Obviously the fox could tell our horses were not into fox hunting. He did finally get up and mosey away.

The sky was getting darker and we trotted a good part of the way back, making the horses grumpy as we usually let them do a lot of grazing along the way. Good thing we hustled, though, because the rain started coming down when we were about 50 feet from the horse trailer. The horses never got disrobed so fast! I actually had Cowboy loaded before we remembered the shipping boots, and I will get no points for safety since I put his boots on him while he was in the trailer, with me crouched under his belly. Good thing we have nice horses! It was a wet ride home but we still managed to get them back in their paddocks and fed before it really started dumping. I did have to go shovel some trenches in the downpour though, to keep their paddocks above water, and actually got a lot of water INSIDE my muck boots. They got to dry out in front of the heater overnight.

On Wednesday we are heading to Gilroy for a Colleen Kelly lesson on rider biomechanics. Colleen Kelly is a dressage judge who lectures and teaches on rider biomechanics and has hooked up with the Parellis. Rider biomechanics is the science of natural riding position and analyzes a riders posture and position to improve performance. I'm hoping that in my 1-hour lesson she can help with getting Cowboy even more comfortable with the saddle, help me keep from getting sore during rides, stop bracing in my stirrups and figure out why I have never ever been able to get a horse to do a correct flying lead change (I've gotten changes in the front legs but not the back so I end up with a crossfiring horse). I guess that's a tall order for one hour but let's see what this gal is made of!

more info at http://colleenkellyriderbiomechanics.com/.

Well, it's late (even later than usual with the time change) so I better call it quits.