It's been raining ... a lot, so a good schooling ride was out of the question on Thursday. Actually, so was a trail ride.
Hmmm... a blog post about scraping mud off a horse while standing in the mud is not very interesting. Neither is a post about cleaning poop out of the mud while standing in the mud. So I continued to think about blogging while I scraped mud and scooped poop all while standing in the mud. When I got tired of standing in the mud, I figured Speedy might be tired of it, too.
I dug out my old riding halter and clipped a set of reins to the rings. I grabbed my helmet and step stool and popped up on Speedy G. I haven't ridden him bareback in a few months and I've never ridden him in a halter. The experience was very interesting and quickly became blog worthy and very dressage related. Here is what I discovered.

Rather than let him go, which is what I've done in the past when he fusses, I kept the inside bend steady, rode him forward with my seat, and squeezed the outside rein in small pulses. The instant he softened his head and neck, I let my hands come forward a little to give him some release. When his nose popped back out, I repeated the exercise.



During random moments in the day, I think about stuff to write. Sometimes I have ideas just pouring in and I'll write several blog posts in one day and save them and publish them later in the week. Other times I sit and think ... and I get nothing.
Thursday was one of those days. Try as I might, I had nothing creative to say. And the thing about having a blog is that you have to, well ... BLOG! In order to have something to blog ABOUT, you have to DO things, like ride, or at least have creative and engaging thoughts to share. And since I run a bit short in the creative and engaging thoughts to share category, that forces me into the DO something category. And so I did. All because I knew I had to have something to share with you which is why I love you guys! You helped me learn something pretty cool about riding in a halter. Thanks!