I’m currently making pizza. Thin crust pizza.  As requested by my husband.  One mushroom, one tomato and kalamata olive.  I’m getting hungry!

So this morning I rode early – still haven’t made much of an attempt to run this week or do any non-equestrian exercising.  Tia was really clean this morning and I let her graze her way into the barn this morning.  For a horse that eats so much she is still looking thin.  This is both disappointing and worrisome.  We’ve followed the vet’s first round of suggestions which include 1.  Questplus (after the results of the fecal test – she had one roundworm egg) 2. vitamin/mineral supplement (thank you SmartPak for the supplements) 3.  Aloevera juice (in case she has stomach ulcers) and 4. Rice bran oil.

At first she gained some weight but she still looks just slightly ribby.  The Vet should be back soon and I’m hoping she will take another look at Tia and hopefully make another recommendation.  Tia is working hard and I’m sure that is part of the reason why it’s hard for her to gain weight.  She felt really fantastic on the flat.  We did some serpentines, roll backs, and lots of walk-trot trot-canter transitions.  Her downward transitions are improving, she marches forward without looking like she is throwing her legs way out in front of herself.  I have kept my stirrups during my entire ride for the past two days, I won’t be riding with them much tomorrow however.

We are gearing up for the horse trials in two weeks.  I am going to bring the clippers to the barn and start working on cleaning up Tia’s long hairs.  I won’t do her muzzle or ears completely until right before the event.  The fences most likely won’t be above 18″ so I’m focusing more on our flat work for the dressage test.  The test is pretty simple but when I practiced the other day Tia ran right through my outside aids and during the canter on the 20 meter circle.  That’s why we practiced a lot of roll backs in that direction at the trot and canter.  She is very attentive to my outside aids when tracking to the left.  Right – not so much.

She was really supple and is taking up contact at the trot and canter.  Oh we also did some shoulder in at the walk and trot, as well as haunches in at the walk.  That’s still a difficult move for us.  The aids are so close to “canter” that she gets confused.  I’ve been using my seat a lot to push her on at the walk.  It will just take time for her to pay more attention to my seat than legs and hands.  I realize now that I should have been using my seat aids the whole time.  Oops.

As I’m writing this post, Michael is reading it over my shoulder and complaining that I don’t talk about him enough on my blog.  He says I should have an entire section devoted to him.

Oh really, a whole section huh?

Let me explain to you what Michael does every day.  He goes to work early in the morning.  Gets home in the evening. Falls asleep on the couch while I make dinner.  Wakes up to eat dinner and feed the animals.  Then he goes to bed.  On the weekends he “fixes” our neighbors truck.  Sometimes he drinks a few beers and listens to country music really, really loud.  There you have it.  That is what Michael does.

He can actually be really helpful too and will come to the barn with me and fix fences or brush Tia.  Sometimes he even rides her.  Sometimes we go to the beach with the dogs.  But you know all of that because I tell you about these things.  My point is that Michael does not need a section on my blog.