Holy Hell

It's not like I should be surprised that it is STILL the temperature of the sun here in Bakersfield - and believe me, we get the joke: BAKEersfield; but I am. Surprised is probably not the right word; frustrated is more like it. It has been in the low 90s every day this week. I did a quick weather search to find someplace place, ANYPLACE, hotter than it has been here. Know I found? NOTHING! Even Baghdad is only a few degrees warmer. Thankfully, today should be our last hot day of 2022. We will still have some warm days, but the arrival of Halloween usually marks the end of the real heat.

Since we had a show last weekend, I gave Izzy Monday and Tuesday off. On Wednesday, I did a short ride - some quick walk, trot, canter in each direction. As sweat was pouring down my face yesterday, I looked over at my winter-coated big brown horse and knew that it just wasn't fair to ask him to work hard in the heat. I made the quick decision to just hack around the ranch instead. There are lots of trees, so the ride is partly shaded, and frankly, he could use more hacks anyway.

Izzy is happy to trail ride with a buddy, but alone, not so much. Even though we're walking around all of the dry pastures and he can see his friends, he still acts as though there are boogeymen behind each tree and stump. I made the entire circle, poking him with my spur and giving small (and sometimes big) jerks on the rein to get his attention back on me. The second time we started the loop, he was much better behaved but there was the occasional lapse in judgement. By the third time, he still held some tension in his body, but he agreed to get to work. I cut off the last half of the loop and praised the heck out of him.

If it is just as warm today when I get out there, we just might do it all again.