Ice Mastery

Q has improved tenfold his ability to calmly proceed on icy patches, instead of the panicked scramble that was his signature. I wasn’t feeling very optimistic this day, given the continued rain, cold temperatures and even snow of late. But I really felt the need to get in the saddle and try.

We did a different circuit, almost cutting it short to a 30 minute loop, and got chased by some loose dogs with poor recall. But I was feeling confident, temperatures were rising and even the hardest slickest ice was doable. Most of the ice was soft, but if you listened to the hoof falls you could tell when things were getting dangerous.

One thing for sure, it was definitely wet, as the ice created mini pockets of melt off that Q wanted to stop and slurp at every one. Some sections were devoid of winter and it gave me a sneak peek, and hope, of wonderful things to come.

Tomorrow is my last teaching day for a while, so Im looking forward to more consistent riding and building up my endurance for 4-5 hrs in the saddle before my departure in 7 weeks. After yesterday’s 90 minute walk, I feel like I have a lot of work to do. Epsom bath, alleve and heating pad helped, but my core was sore!

Was listening to a Warwick Schiller podcast with Stevie Delahunt (Mongol derby, gaucho derby, adventurist Barbie) where Stevie said that when you are feeling nervous to imagine you are riding a confident safe horse. You will then communicate that emotion back to your horse. I did it yesterday when things were getting icy dicey and it worked like a charm.