JJ has been sick the last three days; he never got a fever and it didn't really knock him down but he has a wet cough and is as stuffed up as can be. Because of that his breathing has sounded more like a chainsaw motor during the night, which makes it a little hard to sleep. One night I had to go out to the sofa because he was so loud, I literally could not drown him out enough to fall asleep. And then last night even though it was a bit better, he went to bed late, I went to bed even later, and he woke up early, way too early, so I told him to lay back down and close his eyes. So he wiggled and squirmed for a LOT longer before he fell back asleep, so being as dog tired and still sick as I was, it made me quite cranky. A couple of times he reached over and kissed me, so even though my body was screaming at me how much more sleep I needed, my heart felt warm and fuzzy. So we snuggled until he fell back alseep again and when I awoke later, I did not feel quite as bad.
Since I had not been able to sleep until about 1:30am, I worked on the computer some, and put together a list of upcoming shows from all the different organizations we have shown with before. It got me going a little crazy looking at all the opportunities we have ahead of us. I also realized that I practically need another part-time job just to pay for entry fees, memberships and stall fees when I start getting involved in competition again for myself. The FL Horse Park in Ocala has some 3-phase schooling shows that I am particularly excited about for Sammy.
I rode BB first, he has had the last four days off, which does him no good. I am convinced more and more that he doesn't need, or want, any time off. So my new experiment is to ride him 7 days a week until I can detect that he'd like a day off. I can always tell when the other horses are asking for time, but not him! And today we really had a good ride. We didn't ride for long, but he was being pretty relaxed at the trot and was in a good state of mind, so I asked for the canter first on the right lead, which he responded to promptly, and we cantered several very large circles with a great amount of relaxation, a soft rein, and a lot of good energy! He made me smile because I haven't really had a on-purpose canter that was this good before. Gosh I love that horse. I then tried for the left lead but didn't get it in the first two attempts, and not desiring to make a issue over the lead, wanting him just to enjoy a controlled canter which I already got, we ended and went back to the barn for a bath. He is so fun!
The girls had a lesson next, Magdalene looked really, really good with Gallery today. She was very round and engaged, her canter was very nice quality, you could see her using a lot of strength from her behind and back that has not yet been there. And with that came a more consistent willingness to drop a little more deeply into the bit. It really looked great.
Ansley and Starbucks still working on canter departs and correct leads. Starbucks gets them right when Ansley makes him bend correctly prior to depart, but when she doesn't, he just throws out guesses as to which lead he thinks she wants. His sidepassing is looking good. He doesn't always get his fore and hind ends moving together at the same time, but every once and a while they come together and he can take a few steps with absolute coordination.
With Drama we worked on a consistent walk, with consistent contact on the bit. He is more hollow at the walk because it's easier for him to be than the trot. I think that is probably true for most horses, anyhow. But his trot work was good and his leg yeilds were really good.
Kendall had her lesson on Abbey tonight, her first time cantering on her own, off the longe. She was really scared to canter for the first time, I spent weeks and weeks, probably months, prepping her, and last week was the first time she cantered on the longe... as soon as Abbey picked up the canter, Kendall pretty much threw herself off. I have seen kids sabotage themselves before but this was pretty funny. We ended up successfully cantering after I picked her up and put her back on... and then after that she grew exponentially in confidence to the point where she did her all by herself today with a huge smile. She is such a cute kid.
James took JJ out to buy a wireless router tonight, I had some time alone for a while. Nice.
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