Summer Break

 Cinder's had a little summer break the past two weeks. We've been riding and lessoning, but have dialed it back a notch or two. 

She melts

We've added spurs to the mix in the past few weeks as well. Cinder is much more of a push ride and I only have some much leg to push with. Especially when it's hot. Cin is a true PNW resident and believes that any temp over 80* is just offensively hot. I had one lesson two weeks ago where I nearly died trying to keep her going around a little course and asked A if I could have spurs. I've been using just tiny nubby spurs, but they've been a big help. Cin was a little offended the first time I used them, but the worst thing she did was toss her head. 

The barn has gotten a few new horses in this month, and they were all mares. When it was only 3 or 4 of them, the girls used to be turned out in the smaller group field, but now since there's 5 to 6 (one currently on stall rest for an injury) the mares got switched to the big group field and the three geldings are in the smaller field. There were a few days when the girls were playing favorites and trying to work out pecking order, but so far it seems that Cinder has come out on top. One of the other new girls (who just turned 3) can be pushy but she seems to like Cinder and defer to her. It helps that Cin is biggest one out there and that she's not possessive of any of the others. 

We've had a heat wave this week and since I had Tuesday off from work, we moved my regular Monday evening lesson to Tuesday morning. Why ride when it's going to be 90* after working all day when you could ride in the morning at a nice 70*? As I was driving up, A texted asking if I wanted to go on a trial ride for my lesson. She had some things she wanted to talk through with me, and everyone knows trail ride talk therapy is good for the soul. I said it sounded perfect, and it was. 

Cinder's downfall

We were out on the trial for about an hour, going up the steepest hills and looping around the far field to avoid the water truck watering the grapes. Cinder was in the Equibands and thought those combined with hill work was abuse. Then we tried going down one of the smaller side trials only to find it had been taken over by berries. Cinder was even more offended and at one point tried to jump out? jump ahead? jump in rage? but ended up doing a sort of bunny hop thing. She wants everyone to know she is a show hunter, not a field hunter. She did end up losing a hind shoe at some point during the ride, and I'm pretty sure it was here during her bonny hop thing. A and I went back to try and find the shoe, but it's long gone.