Colours in my life

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Quaint Krakow

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We arrived in Krakow on a super short commuter flight from Budapest and spent most of the weekend wandering about the charming town, constantly watching out for rogue trams that want to run us over. Our first afternoon was a delightful stop in the large market square to sit on a terrace, drink local beer, eat a lovely plate of cured sausages and meats with a kickass fresh horseradish purée, and watch the parade go by on National Constitution Day. Somehow, we often arrive in a new city on their national holiday. Krakow town square and basilica In the town square, m any fine carriages and horses are in line, with beautiful women in black hats with white ribbons driving the carriages. Its so unusual to see only women driving so many large carriages, that I took notice. At first, I thought it was because of the parade. Later that day, I watch the carriages circulating with passengers and the pretty lady is up front doing nothing while an old peasant dressed man is driving the carri...
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Walk in the woods

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Being at the barn today was like putting on my favorite old pair of slippers. Chat, groom, chat some more. So wonderful to see my good friends again. Q was a bit aloof, as he usually is after some absence. The best remedy is to just hang out, no pressure, and let him observe me from a comfortable distance. Eventually he comes in for the cuddles and safety. I decided to go for a stroll in the woods and Q was happy to comply after being so sheltered for five weeks. We slowly walked and got back into sync. A tree fell nearby, he spooked then looked at me, dropped his head and sighed. Much licking of lips. Am I not supposed to be in front? Ok, I follow you! Surprisingly still spring with sparse leaves. See you again soon! Trail ride plans coming shortly. For the most part, our walk was quiet and soothing. I met some old friends on the trail, got caught up and made plans for future rides. I also observed the various fungi and looked unsuccessf...
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Water always finds its level

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Boy does it make a difference to ride a few days in a row! Q was an absolute delight today, trotting and cantering on the buckle until ... until I would ask for a walk. He gave me a forward rocking canter and was hoof perfect in some of the less-than-perfect footing. I continue to be amazed at how steady he is with uneven footing. If I were ready to devote more hours I would consider doing some short distance competitive trail rides because his endurance is outstanding. Instead I will just enjoy him for myself. Today was the day before the Noreaster blows in with a “wintery mix” which means we might lose our powdery fluff to treacherous ice. As I have no plans of putting winter shoes, that means we will likely be condemned to the indoor arena for ... maybe a week or two? Fingers crossed that the weather pattern skips right over us. So we had to make the most of today, and that we did. Two hours of mostly trotting and cantering with our buddy B and his awesome TB gelding. The patt...
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Saddle fitting

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I was waiting at the barn for the custom western saddle maker, when the english saddle fitter shows up. Surprised, but delighted to see her, I show her the growing white spots on Qs withers and she says “uh oh”. I told her about some other issues (how everyone tells me the saddle is tipping left, and this weird spongey bump that appears after very long rides), she pokes, prods and measures and tells me that this will be a bigger job than usual (she refits every 6 months on my growing boy). So we got a surprise fitting, she took the saddle and said it would be ready in a week. No problem for me, because I had a very busy work week. Well I picked up the saddle a few days ago, had a magnificent ride and !surprise surprise! my left hip did not hurt afterwards. Huh. So, clearly hindsight is 20/20. But next time I will call saddle fitter sooner. Meanwhile, the custom western saddle maker came to test the tree. A perfect fit. It was cool to see the tree on Q in advance and imagine what is...
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View from the ground

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Annual Trail Rides: 204/200 (Bareback 31/40) Well I was having some thoughts on the way to the barn ... I haven't had my unplanned dismount for 2021 and I only have 3 weeks to go before we leave. And so today, I had my ONE for 2021. Everything was going really well, but I was determined to try a planned canter bareback (as opposed to the involuntary bolting gallop bareback that happened the day before). I trotted some, felt pretty good. And then I hit a spot with a slightly sloping hill and asked. Unfortunately Q didn't think I was very serious (or stable) so he only hit stride towards the top of the hill. The first few strides felt good. As we crested the hill I was leaning forward and on top of his shoulder. Q did a sidestep right leaving me hanging mid air over where his left shoulder was. He then moved more right and I was a goner ... heading straight for a young tree that bisected me in the chest. I saw the tree coming, thinking, oh shit. I was hoping to not crash my head ...
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