Peace and Quiet

Blondie is finally settling in to her new surroundings and making friends with the other horses! I had a day off from work so of course I spent it at the barn. I cleaned some stalls and watered the horses before grooming and tacking up Blondie for a workout. I tried out the barn owner's close contact saddle and fell in love the minute we started trotting! Unlike my saddle, it's thin and flimsy so I can feel all her movements!! She's still getting use to the idea of being worked on grass, since she always wants to stop and eat. Her canter is super fast and bouncy due to unlevel ground, no martingale, and being in a new place. But I'll just have to work at it until I can get her to canter calmly and collected. We've got a long way to go...

I also gave her a bath out in the open instead of tied in the wash rack. I like the space and I think Blondie likes it more. She's too fixed on the grass to really care about running away anyways.

After about a 45 minute work I took her saddle off and climbed on bareback. I walked her around just to cool her off and she seemed totally okay with it!! IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE!!! It was the first time I rode her bareback and I'll be doing it a lot more now that I know what it's like...it's addicting!! Of course I'd never canter her bareback or try trotting while she's fresh, because we all know how that will end...me in the dirt. But just sitting on her with no saddle is something else!! If you're a horse lover you'd understand :)