A break in the heat!

Wow!  The last 3-4 weeks has been SO hot!  Every single day has gotten to at least 95 degrees with at least 5 days getting above 100!  We also have high humidity, of course.  At first I felt guilty about not riding much (or at all!) but it didn't take long for me to just relax and be happy to give Boomer a little vacation until the heat wave ended.  

This weekend was the first time I have been able to go outside without immediately breaking a sweat and I (and everyone else in the midwest) breathed in a huge sigh of relief!  

Looking back at my training log, I rode Boomer exactly 3 times since our last endurance ride a month ago.  I half expected him to look neglected and in poor condition from the month off.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  That pony got FAT!  He looks great!  His coat is sleek and shiny, his mane and tail grew!  The first time I went out to get him from the pasture he snorted at the halter and acted half wild while I groomed him.  I just pulled his shoes that day and didn't work him.  It was still hot that day.  

Yesterday, I was able to ride him and John came out to hang out with us also!  Boomer was pretty good, but I was a little tense as I hadn't ridden in two weeks.  I wasn't sure how he would react but he really did fine.  

Today I rode him again.  I couldn't resist, it rained all morning and the high today was 77!!!  Boomer greeted me cheerfully and was a prince the whole day.  The ride was actually VERY good and I was so happy with him!  I expected to lose ground as far as our training goes, but he continually surprises me with his smarts.  Boomer went right back into our training mindset and was great.  His fitness is a little less than it was,but the effort was there.  

We worked on the canter-trot transition quite a bit.  That is probably our biggest issue.  The trot after the canter is just not where I want it to be.  He tries to drop inside and I have to keep a strong inside leg on him as well as a lifted inside rein to keep him from diving in towards the inside of the circle.  He also simultaneously anticipates walking and the next canter depart.  If I squeeze him forward he wants to jump into canter, but if I don't stay on him he wants to hollow his back and wiggle-worm into the trot.  Now, from the outside, it doesn't really look that bad.  This is not a huge issue, just what we are trying to improve on.  We did a number of transitions today and he was very much improved by the end.  We also did a few walk-trot-walk transitions to test his acceptance of the rein contact (would he raise his head?) and he did very well!  I am so pleased with my little pony!  

Hopefully my blogging will return to normal since the weather is much more conducive to riding this week!