Snowmageddon the Second

We are snowed in...again. For the umpteenth time this year. Had my first "real" snow day however, took the whole day for homework. Naturally, about halfway the day I decided I really needed to go check on Fader. So right when the blizzard started to really pick up, my bundled up self headed out to the barn. Luckily the barn is incredibly warm and cozy, even on nights like this...Fader had just gotten a mountain of hay and was pigging out. Nice and warm under her two light layers. Decided to throw her on the lunge to give her some exercise after our less than purposeful ride yesterday. Borrowed a lunge whip and worked on keeping her on the end of line and not falling in on the circle. She warmed up nicely and is really doing well with her voice commands. Needed the exercise...I am pretty sure she is using her turnout time for eating, not playing...so I let her get a little bit silly as long as she continued to go forward. It was fun being down at the barn with just me and the horses...after she cooled out I gave her a little extra snack (Calf Manna and alfalfa cubes) and she chowed down. I'm hoping the three meals a day will help her add the weight she recently lost (due to work increase). She is getting 1 scoop of 12% sweet feed in the morning and again in the evening, with about 2 flakes of hay in the morning and 3-4 flakes at night, and now a lunch/late night (depending on my schedule) of Calf Manna (protein) and alfalfa cubes.

Whoever adopts this horse is going to learn quickly that she thrives on consistency. Her mind loves a challenge but she needs to understand the purpose behind everything. Days off equal lack of consistency which equal a backtracking process to remind her of what we're doing. Most of the time she's quick to remember, other times her excess energy blocks out the learning process ;) I think from now on we will be incorporating lunging into our rides as much as possible, just to get her warmed up and forward before I get on and start asking for more advanced stuff.

So tomorrow looks like another snow day, but we will see...I only have one class, though, so even if we're not snowed in, I should have plenty of time to ride. Hopefully we can work more on the canter tomorrow! It's getting there!

God Bless,
Ryan