I really don't want to review the whole year. The first one I did at the end of 2011 was kind of fun; the second one I did for 2012 took me days and days to write, so I am not going to do it again. 

Frankly, I just DO too much to report it in a short, monthly summary. Or, at least it feels like I am always doing something newsworthy. For me, there's a story in everything that happens at the barn, even when it's just a regular ride. So instead of the monthly recap, I am just going to give you some year-end totals and stats. 

Here are My 5 Year-in-Review Things: 

First, how much did I spend this year ($18,932) as compared to last year ($21,101)? The good news is, less! I didn't keep my accounting as carefully as in 2012, but it's still pretty accurate. While it appears that I spent less in 2013, it's only because I paid off my horse trailer which means I spent $2,800 less in the Horse Trailer category, but only $2,179 less overall. 

There were a few surprises on the list. Look at my vet costs - barely $700? That's for two horses! They get their teeth done annually, vaccinations, fecal counts, chiropractic work, etc. I guess we were just lucky this year that no one got sick or injured. 

I also think it's interesting that my lesson costs were so much higher than my show costs. I showed at five USDF shows this year; but I obviously spent a lot of time with trainers and clinicians, too.

So how many shows and clinics did I do? I always keep a list on My Show Results tab which you can easily check out, but here's the run down:

With Speedy I did …

• Four, 2-day USDF/USEF/CDS-rated shows
• One, 1-day USDF/USEF/CDS-rated show
• One schooling show
• Two, 2-day clinics with Christian Schacht
• One, 1-day clinic with Christian Schacht
• One Fox Hunt (with Lousiana aboard)

With Sydney I did …

• Three CDS-rated shows
• Three schooling shows
• One, 2-day clinic with Susanne von Dietze
• One, 2-day clinic with Christian Schacht (the same one Speedy did)
• One Ride-a-Test
• One Fox Hunt

To list it another way …

• 16 show days
  
• 9 clinic rides
• 1 Ride-a-Test
• 1 Fox Hunt

I am not sure how helpful this chart is, but I am including it for those who like visual aids. Obviously I ride most of the time with my regular trainer, JL. I also rode with two clinicians this year as well as with two other trainers for a total of 65 lessons.

 JL was on vacation in September which is why I rode with her only once. Most months I ride with her once a week, but in the summer, I tried for twice a week, but with my hectic show schedule, we just couldn't get the intended 8 lessons done. I find it interesting that I got a lot of instruction during the month of December; 8 lessons in total!

I had planned to tally just rides on my own without a trainer, but it got too tedious to itemize so instead, I counted every time that I rode whether it was at a show, with a trainer, or just on my lonesome. With one exception: if I was at a show, I counted it as one ride even though I probably untacked and rode several times during the day.

I work "full time," vacation with my husband, get tired, attend meetings, and have the occasional pedicure. Even with all that craziness, I managed to ride my horses a total of 358 times during 2013. I rode Speedy G 171 times, and Sydney 187 times.

Even more surprising to me was the number of non-riding days: 109! I feel like I ride nearly every day, but in reality, I only rode 70% of the year. What I find even more interesting is that I rode those 358 times on only 256 days; that's a lot of two-a-days!

We went to Central America for 11 days in June which explains the large number of non-riding days in that month. 

Speedy was lame for two weeks in October due to an abscess (?) which explains his limited time under saddle.

Speedy was ridden more at the beginning of the year because I showed him through July, but after that, it was more about Sydney. 

I am sure you're wondering how I know all of this. I keep a calendar at the barn, and before I leave each day, I note what I did, who I rode, where, and any other tidbit that seems interesting. If someone seemed off, bucked like crazy, or was particularly mellow, I note that too. It's an easy way for me to keep track of both horses' health and riding schedules.

I am very disappointed in Sydney's year. Until just now, I didn't realize how many times he left the barn for some kind of field trip. I showed him six times, and while he did show improvement, it was ever-so-slight. I also took him to a Ride-a-Test, two clinics, a fox hunt, and an away trail ride. This means he's left the property in the trailer for activities eleven times this year! Hmmm …

I really don't know what my plans are for him in 2014. Sometimes I think I should cut my losses and sell him, but then I think about how much I am learning by riding him. I know I am a much better rider by struggling with him than I would be without him. Am I having tons of fun doing it? No, not really, but so far it has been worth it.

As disappointed as I am in Sydney's year, I'm very pleased with the year that Speedy had. We started out struggling to crack 60% at Training Level, but ultimately, we rocked it with scores as high as 67% at USDF shows. We finished the show season with a Championship neck ribbon and the confidence to move on to First Level in 2014. 

I am on the verge of one those huge leaps forward in my feel, and I can sense that it's just about to click into place.

It started with that clinic I did with Sydney in October and has continued through my work with JL and Christian Schacht. I am right on the edge of knowing when I am about to pull back instead of letting the horse reach forward.

I had an unbelievably good ride on Speedy the other day. We worked on tear drops, voltes, leg yields, and even some pretty fine extensions. The whole while, I focused on giving with my hands and asking, asking, asking with my inside leg. We finally had some show worthy First Level work.

And then I rode him the next day and it all went to hell in a hand basket. I was pulling back. A lot. 

So we took a walk break, and I refocused and went back to work. Instead of pulling back to get him to slow down, I just did voltes over and over and used the corners of the arena. I finally get what they mean when they say to use the corner to rebalance your horse. I also really focused on resisting with my core to slow him down.

We finished up with some decent work, not as good as the day before, but definitely improved. Yesterday when I rode, Speedy was the most round, softest, and willing that he's ever been. For the first time ever he gave me a loooong stretchy trot with a lifted back. He was perfectly balanced and maintained an even rhythm. It was divine.

Things were a bit more dramatic with Sydney. He had a meltdown at home, which is pretty rare these days. Rather than pulling back, which is what I desperately wanted to do, I planted my left hand at the withers and just let him go. As long as he was going in a circle, I figured that he couldn't run off with me. He did get away once or twice, but it was no big deal.

By planting my left hand, I was free to soften with my right without feeling the need to actually stop him. While tracking left, my planted inside hand maintains the bend; when we track right, I am free to really work the right rein without him grabbing the left and bolting.

When I rode him yesterday, I did more of the same, but I was rewarded with a horse who started really focusing on the rhythm I wanted who then volunteered the right lead canter. And it was a nice canter.

This is all a bunch of rambling, I know, but I can really feel some big puzzle pieces shifting around. I just about have it, and when I do, I know those pieces are going to snap together tightly.

Um … not really. 

I have no idea how to tie a stock tie which is really odd for someone who has shown at more than 30 rated shows! How is that possible you ask? Velcro. Yup. I have two very lovely ties that simply velcro around the neck. One is not so lovely any more as it's been through several show seasons, but the other is quite nice and looks very good under my coat.

See? The tie looks quite nice and no one can even tell that it's the dorky equivalent of a clip on. Until I take my coat off. Then I am missing that lovely splay of folds and fabric that are just so quintessential dressage.

So a few weeks ago I ordered the tie below. Hmm … was my reaction. I ordered a medium, but I think it was too big. It just didn't hang quite right. It could also be that I am a bit of an idiot and can't even make a ready-tied stock tie work.

And then came the Blogger Gift Exchange. I decided that maybe someone else could pick out a stock tie that I might like so I put a tie on my wish list. Many thanks to Appy Does Dressage for picking out a tie that will actually work! (With some practice, I am sure.)

Even though Hubby was hungry and I was supposed to be cooking dinner, I pulled out the tie (it had just been delivered) and the directions and set to work tying my very first big girl tie. Some time later, I realized that hubby already had dinner going and the tie was nowhere near "tied."

I finally gave up and asked Hubby for help. He put the tie on himself (it was really quite funny) and showed me how a man ties a business suit tie (quite sexy to watch in my opinion). Part way through his demonstration, I explained that while the first part looked right, we were missing a step. 

He then proceeded to study the directions and attempted to tie the tie for me. He finally admitted that the directions were screwy and went back to cooking dinner while I got on YouTube to find a tutorial on stock ties. 

There are many videos from which to choose, so I picked one at random and tried to follow along. Hubby was watching over my shoulder offering suggestions. Right away we realized that we had been missing a crucial step; the hole in the center of the tie has a purpose. Oops. Once we figured out how to run the long end through the hole and then back down, the tie started to make a lot more sense!

We rewound the video that shows the first knot at least a dozen times. Hubby finally figured out what the girl was doing and showed me. After that however, we had to rewind over and over to get the next part. I have to give Hubs a ton of credit. He has never, ever in his life seen a stock tie, so he didn't even know what the finished product was supposed to look like, but even so, he was able to figure out the second knot.

I love the tie, and I am thrilled with it, but I need to spend a lot of time practicing that knot. I can't wait to actually wear it this next show season. 

But seriously people, how embarrassing is it to have your husband explain how to tie a stock tie?

I got some really cool horsey gifts this year. Two I asked for, but the rest were just what I needed without knowing that I needed them! 

You already know about the stock tie from Appy Does Dressage. You'll see it on someday when I get better at tying it. I've done some practice and it's getting better, but I hate taking selfies so you'll have to wait for a real photo op!

A new reader, B.C., offered me a nice gift, too. She lives very near to where I grew up, so I think she felt a bit of a kinship with me; it's a lightly populated area. Anyway, she had recently purchased a new helmet from Stateline Tack and received a $10.00 e-card with her purchase. She knew she wasn't going to spend it so she sent it my way.

I had that puppy spent within about 2 minutes. Stateline Tack has excellent prices and while they aren't known for their dressage tack, they do have a fairly decent selection. I ordered Speedy a new dressage pad. With B.C.'s $10.00 e-card and Stateline's 15% discount, the pad only cost me an additional $16.00.  Thanks a ton, B.C.

I gave Hubby a wish list this year like always, but I never know for sure if he's going with my suggestions or if he's going to wing it. He did a little of both this year. We have a door at the cabin that swings shut, so for the past 8 or 9 years we've propped it open with a small waste paper basket. Hubby surprised me with a horsey themed door stopper. Cool!

Hubby stuck to the list for the next two gifts; an Embrazio Curva belt (I wrote about it here) and a pair of Roeckle show gloves - ooh la la! These are the nicest gloves; I school in a black pair but couldn't justify paying that much for a pair that I'll wear only periodically. Since I've ridden the heck out of my black pair, I know the show pair will last me forever.

And finally, my barn owners surprised me with a gift that I had no idea I needed or wanted! For the last two years they've given me a Dover gift card which is a totally awesome gift in and of itself, but this year, they added these blue things...

The cones and meter tape were mine already. The T-Square things and rope are new. I am sure you're wondering for what on Earth I could need those things. Simple: making a dressage court that isn't a (non-right angled) parallelogram!

Well, maybe not that bad, but it is a PAIN to rebuild the court once it's been dismantled for the tractor. My "court" is just a series of poles laid out in a rough rectangle, but I do try and get it as accurately sized as possible. I use my meter tape to get it an official 20-meters wide, if not the required 60-meters long. The entire arena is maybe 60-meters long so I only have about 50 meters for the length.

With the new tools, I got my court VERY square, and it will now take me a fraction of the time to do it. What a clever gift! 

I may only get to see Jaime Osbrink once or twice a year, but when I do, I am reminded of how fantastic he really is.

Jaime recently finished all of his testing and is now a Certified Journeyman Farrier, the highest certification offered by the American Farrier Association. 

Both of my boys adore Jaime and nuzzle him while he works. When he's not dispensing treats, they happily fall asleep. Sydney was so sleepy while having his toes done that his ears drooped almost completely downward, his eyelids hung lazily, and even his lips sagged. Maybe I need Jaime to coach me during shows because he sure knows how to relax that OTTB!

Jaime hot shoes my boys, which is a process that never ceases to amaze me. Neither boy even flicks an ear while the shoe is pressed to their feet. How Jaime isn't covered in burns is beyond me. Not all horses are as quiet as mine.

Jaime shared with me that both boys had very light wear on their front feet, but much more wear on their hinds. This prompted me to ask if it was a case of my boys carrying more weight on their hind ends. Jaime confirmed that this could very likely be the reason for the extra wear on the hind shoes. So yah for us!

I also asked Jaime if Speedy showed any marks (bruises, holes, etc.) on his hoof from the mysterious lameness we had in October. Jaime did notice that it looked as though Speedy had blown a teeny tiny abscess through the front of his hoof at the coronet band - see photo below. He picked the scab off before I got there, but I could clearly see the spot. 

Speedy was lame to sound over a two week period, and I suspected an abscess. I never saw it blow out though, so I wasn't sure. It seems as though I missed the tell-tale sign.

Speedy's feet looked just as handsome as Sydney's when Jaime was finished.

Before Jaime left, he gave me a bag of super delicious treats that his wife had made and this totally awesome coffee mug. It's my new favorite. It's filled with my morning tea right now. Thanks, Jaime, WGF!

I really do have the best trainer. She doesn't know everything; she's the first one to admit that. Like when I talk about my dressage tests, I have to sketch out the arena in the sand so she'll know where A, E, C, and B are located. BUT. She knows what a rider needs in order to have a solid foundation, and even better, she's willing to use what my (albeit infrequent) dressage "trainers" are teaching me to help me be a better rider. She doesn't care where the ideas come from; if they're good, she uses them. And if those ideas paint a clearer picture for me, all the easier for her!

I had a lesson on Monday. Before I could even start, she told me she had read my blog posts about riding Sydney with Christian. Oh, good! was my first reaction followed quickly by great, explain, the parts that I didn't understand! And that's what she did.

First, Do Nothing - she thinks this was Christian's way of showing me the opposite of clutching the reins for fear that Sydney will bolt, rear, spin, etc. By dropping my reins, he was illustrating the point that I didn't die by not pulling back. This also sent Sydney the message that I am not going to fight with him. Instead, I let Sydney pick the fight. Was he going to be a freight train, a balker, a bucker, a bolter, etc? By doing nothing, I only had to eventually work on what Sydney wanted to fuss about instead of everything that I was worried about.

Second, Plant the Outside Hand - In previous lessons with Christian, he had me plant my inside hand to maintain a steady bend. I get that and use that technique with Sydney quite a bit when he's being particularly naughty. It actually helps him to relax because my hand is steady and solid. But when Christian had me plant my outside hand at the withers instead (we actually did both alternately), I didn't understand when it was better to plant the inside or the outside. JL explained that planting the outside hand is like the first half of a pulley halt. It also frees the rider to focus on just one rein at a time. 

In Sydney's case, tracking right is where I encounter the most resistance, especially at the canter departure. When tracking right, Sydney wants to lead with his inside shoulder, push his nose to the outside, roll inward, travel with his haunches in, etc. It can be quite challenging to get all of his "parts" headed in the right direction.

So JL had me do some work softening the inside, right rein. I put my left hand (outside rein) at the withers and grabbed the front of my saddle pad so that my hand wouldn't move. We started the exercise at the walk by halting with the inside rein. We repeated this several times until Sydney was sure of what I wanted him to do. Then we moved on to the trot.

Boy howdy did that reveal some resistance. Right away he tried to bolt, but stopped short when I didn't grab him with reins. The planted outside rein did it for me. He had a seriously, WTF just happened? look on his face. This showed me how to work through his go-to trick of grabbing that outside rein from me so that he can duck to the inside and whirl. AHA!

When he tried to do it again, I sat quietly and did nothing. My firmly planted outside rein told him, no!

Once he was somewhat willing to work with me, I softly bounced or rocked the inside rein to say, let go rather than halt. I kept my outside hand planted at his withers and used a lot of inside leg to push him to the outside rein. Every time he softened to the inside, we gave him an immediate walk break. JL insisted that I try to find a place where I confirmed for him that he had the right answer.

When I rode him the next day, things didn't go quite so smoothly. There was a lot of naughtiness in fact. Sydney tried all kinds of tricks to get me to let go of that outside rein. This showed me how inconsistent I have been with the outside rein when it's in my left hand. I stuck to my guns though, working through the exercises like JL had shown me.

Even though it sort of feels like we're moving backwards in our work, I know that honing in on our weak areas will only build us a more solid foundation. So if I need to spend the next few weeks just halting with the inside rein and then asking him to soften to it, I think it will be time very well spent.

I don't know about you all, but one of my favorite Christmas gifts to myself is riding on Christmas afternoon. And since I am on barn duty for a few days, no one complains when I leave the house for a few hours. After all, I have to clean stalls and check on everybody!

I got an early Christmas gift thanks to Tracy from Fly on Over who orchestrated the Blogger Gift Exchange. And like most of you, I started ripping the box open before I thought to take any pictures. By the way, the gift exchange was a ton of fun, and I hope Tracy will do it again next year.

While Hubby was peering over my shoulder asking who sent it, I quickly recovered my wits and grabbed my camera to document my cool gifts! Many thanks to Appy Does Dressage who writes the blog, Musings from LogDog Acres, for a boxful of awesomeness!

Inside, I found a bag of horse treats (they went into my barn bag immediately for prompt dispensation), a horse pin, a hand made wreath created from the very precious tail hairs of Appy's appaloosa, and a brand new stock tie. The blog post about what happened with the stock tie will come soon. Here's a sneak preview: Imagine Hubby, a Youtube video, an hour later …

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones; the bipeds and the quadrupeds!

During the summer, I came to the conclusion that Blue Truck was getting old and needed to be replaced. After a visit to several truck dealerships and a review of my finances, I decided that Blue Truck was meeting my needs quite nicely and instead of replacing it, I just did some preventative maintenance.

The thing with maintaining a vehicle is that it never stops needing work. So, Blue Truck had another day at Le Salon. Our first stop was Big O Tires. Yet again, the tire guy assured me that I was nowhere near needing my tires balanced and rotated. Since Blue Truck only gets driven a couple of thousand miles a year, it's hard to create any noticeable tire wear.

The serpentine belt on the other hand was in need of replacement, so at least the trip wasn't a total waste of time. I have to admit to being a total girl when it comes to vehicle repairs. I know what the serpentine belt does (sort of), but there is no way I would be able to tell you if it was in good repair or not. I am trusting my "guy" when he said it needed to be replaced. And on a 13 year old truck, replacing everything is probably a good idea!

By the way, the cost for replacing the serpentine belt on a truck large enough to haul a horse trailer, including parts and labor, ran me $130.91. The tire guy kind of likes me so he gave me something like a $50 discount. Thanks, Brian.

Blue Truck's next stop was Branson's Express Lube. I've written about Ryan's shop before. Again, if you need a quick and dependable place to get your vehicle's fluids taken care of, Branson's is the place to go. 

When I pulled in, Ryan knew just what needed to be done and had the work started before I was even out of the garage. For this trip, we repeated the oil change even though I had only driven 2,000 miles since my last visit; I like it done twice a year no matter how few miles I drive.

Next up was to service both differentials and the 4-wheel drive transfer case. While the guys were at it, I also had them replace my wiper blades. Branson's Express Lube is like any other oil change facility in that they also check all other fluids and tire pressure as well as wash the windshield and vacuum the crud off the floor.

While the truck was being serviced, I asked Ryan to check the brand new serpentine belt as I thought I smelled burnt rubber. There was no problem with the belt, but they did think Blue Truck's carrier bearing (part of the driveline) needed to be replaced.

Well, shoot. I guess my truck budget just got a bit bigger for this month. From my limited Googling, this could be about a $450 job. Good thing my Christmas shopping is already taken care of. 

My charge for the differentials, oil change, and wiper blades was a surprising $161.48 and that included a 10% discount that Ryan so generously gave me. I guess it's a good thing the belt came in under budget.

So what does this have to do with horses, anyway? Call it a public service announcement. Having a trailer and a tow vehicle can get expensive, especially if you have a regular car, too. With some careful planning and budgeting, you can make it work, but it's important to know that your spending doesn't just end with the purchase price. Kind of like horse ownership, huh?

By the way, the trailer gets some vents replaced as well as new tires in a few weeks. There goes another $1,000 ...  

I really, really do, but for the first time in a long while, I needed a break. I would get that feeling after an endurance race, especially if it was a multi-day or a hundred miler, but schooling dressage never leaves me feeling burned out. Usually.

After last weekend's clinic with Christian Schacht, I came home knowing that I needed at least a couple of days off. I was physically tired and facing a long week at work. If I didn't work full time, my "recovery" might have been quicker, but given the season (few daylight hours, Christmas errands to run, 30 fifth graders awaiting Santa, a weekend away from home while laundry piled up, etc.), I embraced the notion of a week of no riding.

I didn't last the whole week, as I mentioned on Saturday, but four days out of the saddle is a long time for me. While I puttered at the barn during the week, I mostly just let some new ideas percolate and bubble.

On Friday, my students had a minimum day which meant I was free to leave work at 1:20. Even after doing my grocery shopping, I was home by 2:45 which left me plenty of daylight to get in a light hack on both boys. I knew we were going to the cabin over the weekend and that I wouldn't be able to ride again until Monday, so the short rides would get my boys out and about without really asking anything challenging of them.

Just in case I was still feeling wore out, I saddled Speedy first as he is the most predictable of my two boys and the least likely to be a handful. To my surprise, he was pretty high right out of the gate and did his best airs above the ground impression. His tail was flipped over his little Arabian butt, and he was snorting and dancing all the way down the street. As dramatic as it looks, he's pretty easy to control if you remind him what a pulley halt is. 

Since he was so forward leaving the property, I took a page out of Christian's book and sent him into a big trot down the side of the road where the ground is soft and grassy. We were only able to really trot for about 75 yards, but that was enough to mostly satisfy his need to show off a little.

For the rest of the ride, I just focused on controlling his gait with my seat only, no reins. We also leg yielded back and forth across the road quite successfully. He's getting much better at moving laterally rather than trying to squirt forward with the leg pressure. By the time we finished the loop, I was feeling motivated again and ready to tackle Mr. Hyde … or maybe just Dr. Jekyll.

I quickly unsaddled Speedy and tossed the saddle on Sydney's back. He looked eager to go so I wasted little time with grooming. My barn owners were giving some moldy hay to the neighbor for his alpacas so they were busy loading and chatting at the driveway. Sydney marched past them with hardly a look. Right away my confidence took a leap forward.

As we continued down the road, his head got higher and higher, but I reminded myself to do nothing. I let the reins drape loosely along his neck, and I began to hum a Christmas carol, another Christian suggestion. As we passed by my trainer's barn, Sydney tried to squirt forward in a pseudo bolt, but I bent him into a circle intent on letting him do what he wanted, as long as it didn't involve galloping down the asphalt.

Almost immediately, he stopped and did his giraffe impression. I just sat there with the reins hanging loosely … doing nothing. Eventually he walked on. A few yards later, he came to an abrupt halt, and I again did nothing. 

Doing nothing is extremely hard to do. When a horse halts or balks, I tend to be very proactive by sending them forward, even if it is only one step. With my Arabs, this has been a very effective strategy. They aren't allowed to go backward or to the side, but as long as they make some type of forward progress, I release the pressure, pause, and continue to send them forward. Every Arab I've owned has figured out that if I ask for forward, it's best to do it as it's the quickest way to get home.

Christian had me wait it out with Sydney, explaining that eventually he would get bored and move forward on his own. Trusting that counsel was very hard to do, but it proved to be an excellent piece of advice. Several times during the ride, Sydney halted, but when given just a moment or two, he proceeded forward on his own.

While we were walking along, we heard a large CRACK! A man who was behind a solid fence and out of our sight, had cracked a large stick. Sydney did a classic legs splayed in every direction move, but he did it in place and came to a halt afterwards with no direction from me. I hollered out to the man that I was on a horse and would he give us a moment to pass. I patted Sydney on the neck and asked him to go forward again. After a moment, he walked on as though nothing had happened; I never touched the reins.

From that little spook, we approached the scary "dog hill." Sydney again came to a sudden halt and looked at the chain link fence warily. I called aloud for the dog several times, and after I was pretty sure he wasn't going to charge the fence, I asked Sydney to go up. It took every ounce of courage to let him climb up that hill on a loose rein. To keep myself from grabbing him in the mouth, I tucked my pinkies under his pad and held them there firmly. The reins were still in my hand, but I didn't touch his mouth.

From that moment on, I knew that he was going to listen. Instead of slowing him with the reins when he picked up the trot, I simply resisted with my seat and core, and he obediently returned to a walk. The only time I used my reins was to tip his nose in the right direction. I quit thinking about keeping him in a frame and simply let his head and neck be wherever he needed them to be.

Periodically, he would give a deep sigh and stretch down. I continued to hum my Christmas carol and keep my fingers connected to his saddle pad. As we approached the first turn toward home, I felt his whole body tense as he leaned towards the barn. I used the reins to tip his nose away and pressed him back onto the road with my outside leg. He continued forward, but as we neared the entrance gate to the next property, he quickly whirled back towards home. I picked up the reins and tipped his nose back toward the gate while asking firmly with my outside leg. 

He wasn't happy about it, but he moved ahead. When he tried to get a bit uppity and jiggy through the trees, I again sat and resisted his trot. I was quite impressed with us both. He listened, and I didn't pull back. We walked down the last dirt road and made the turn to home. 

Our immediate neighbor, the one whose property is right next to the arena, has two large labs that love to charge the fence and bark. I always call them out by name before I actually get to the fence. On Friday, the dogs were a little late to my call so we were already passing along the fence line when they came barreling around the corner, barking and running towards us. Sydney swung his to head look at them, and continued walking without a single spooky step. Go figure!

At the corner, I passed by one of our barn owners as she was working amongst the trees. The other owner was approaching with the tractor, but stopped to allow Sydney and I to pass. After we had passed the tractor, some sound spooked Sydney and he dropped a shoulder as he jumped to the side. I just sat quietly and resisted the urge to pull back on the reins. The spook only lasted for a moment, and then we were turning into our driveway, all without any real issue.

During our ride, I also tried a few other Christian suggestions that work with OTTBs. The first is to close your knees when the horse is tense. He doesn't mean to pinch with your knees, just press your upper thighs firmly against the horse to guide and support him. As he relaxes, the rider can relax the pressure. This has some sort of calming effect on horses who have been raced. He also suggested pressing your knuckles into the withers for the same purpose. I tried both of these techniques when I felt tempted to slow Sydney down by pulling back. I am not exactly sure why these tricks work, but they did with Sydney. Christian stresses that these tricks do not work with warmbloods. Probably not with Arabs either!

Doing nothing is very hard to do, but it is something that I will continue to practice. Today begins my return to daily riding. You can bet that we will find several days this week to hit the trail again.

As Friday at 1:20 p.m, I am a free woman for two whole weeks! I know I get a lot more vacation time than the average girl, but I work awfully long hours so the time off is most appreciated.

We're going to the cabin this morning so you won't here from me until Monday. I am sure we'll all be grateful for a day of blogging silence.

As an added note, I didn't ride all week until last night. I never give my boys extended time off except for when we travel. Other than that, I expect them to work for me at least 3 - 4 days each week. I don't work them much more than 30 - 45 minutes, and sometimes it's only 20, so I figure I am not killing anyone.

After such a mentally challenging weekend (the clinic with Christian Schacht), I needed a few days off. I don't think horses sit and ponder their work load, but I imagine they appreciated just standing around and resting. Both boys got turned out and checked over carefully, but other than that, nothing.

Friday's rides were vey interesting, and I plan to write about them on Monday. Until then, have a great weekend!