Rushing

I've been taking advantage of the time E spends mucking stalls each weekend to actually ride my horse. I know that if she didn't have that commitment, I probably wouldn't be so regular in my riding. (Although it's pouring rain at the moment, so I'm thinking that I won't get a ride in today.)

Ever since we had the chiro out to adjust Zoe's hip, she's been more energetic and even a bit spooky. I don't know if these things are all connected, but the timing of her changed behavior certainly makes me suspicious. Yesterday she was spooking at piles of wood, ATVs speeding along in the distance and our barn owner up on a ladder. Yup, these all must be horse eating monsters!

I'm less afraid of her spooks than I was initially. She doesn't bolt, only jumps and drops sideways a bit and gets a wild look in her eye. And I've found that so far, her spooking is less when I'm actually in the saddle - a good thing, to be sure!

Yesterday was not as smooth a ride as I would have liked. Stopping was atrocious - she had a hard time just standing still for some reason (all those horse eating ATVs?) and would ignore my request to stop. So we got to do it over and over and over again. She was also super rushy in her trot, which is not comfortable to sit at all. I could get her to give me a few strides of her soft, even trot and then she would begin speeding up and get very bouncy.

I look forward to the day I know how to consistently ask and can get Zoe's floaty trot. I hear it's wonderful....