E hasn't had too much time with Monte recently. She took a tumble out of a hammock and got a mild concussion, so there was no riding for her for a bit. I find it ironic that she rides this wild, bucking pony but gets hurt while lying down! A week later and she still has a bit of a headache - poor kid. I let her ride yesterday in the round pen - where Monte spooked and promptly dumped her! Luckily she didn't hit her head again, but she does have a nasty bruise on her arm.
We introduced another friend to Zoe yesterday as well - a foreign exchange student from Portugal. She's going home soon and really wanted to ride a horse before she left. Surprisingly, Zoe was very calm and careful with her novice rider. But after their ride together I decided that we had probably exhausted Zoe's patience so I didn't ride her.
As we were putting her away another barn friend, Angelia, offered to lunge her horse Tantrum for me so that I could get a better feel for posting while trotting. I was plenty nervous (I mean, there has to be a reason the horse was named Tantrum!) but it turned out to be a wonderful ride. I could totally feel the lift telling me when to post out of the saddle - something I've had trouble feeling while riding Zoe because she's so smooth. We'll practice with Tantrum again - and I'll practice on Zoe too, of course.
My mom took us to see the Lipizzaner Stallions last Sunday - what a treat! A sale booth was set up at the entrance of the arena - and I immediately saw and commented on the little Breyer Lipizzaner horse. While talking to the sales guy I told him that my horse is from the Favory line, to which he replied, "They are known for their intelligence." Being the proud mama, I got all smiley and agreed that yes, my Zoe is definitely that. So silly!
The show jumping and dressage rallies scheduled for this weekend were cancelled (darn EHV-1 outbreak!) but E will have the opportunity to ride in a clinic at our barn tomorrow. She plans to do a flat lesson on Zoe and a jumping lesson on Monte. Should be fun!
