Quote

Ain't nuthin like ridin' a fine horse in a new country - Augustus McCrae – Lonesome Dove

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Old Habits Die Hard!

Farah at the Wetland~
Funny how easy it was to get back into my conditioning routine for Farah's Limited Distance debut.  After all - it's what I've done - for a very long time!  Fighting her for the 25-miles was something that I was not used to.   (Khari was such a professional & knew her job so well, that I would set a pace & away we went.)  Farah hasn't yet had the experience to figure out that there are many more miles out there!  :-)  Actually -  I don't want her to find out - at least not at top-ten endurance speed.

So today, we slowed down, we enjoyed the ride, we worked on the basics.  I worked on some of the techniques that I've been trying so hard to learn - the finesse of Light Hands Horsemanship.   I like the idea of a partnership built on trust & reward.  Lightness was certainly a casualty of Bare Bones!
Beautiful yellows~
Once Farah figured out that we weren't going to be blasting around the woods, she settled in - started listening & we had a really Super ride!  She held her collection on a loose rein - moved into the trot without sacrificing that collection & paid attention to where she put her feet.  A large doe crossed our path on the way home - it was one of those quiet, still, cool afternoons that are my favorite of our Washington "Summer"!

2 comments:

  1. Great link- I like the sound of Light Hands Horsemanship. I struggle with the same issues with Cartman. The Bare Bones ride was the first where he didn't get heavy in the bridle even once- praying it wasn't a fluke!

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  2. I'm sure it wasn't a fluke! How many rides has he done now?

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