Not Every Day Can Be Perfect

...Yeah, that's what I learned today. Gambler and I have been having a solid block of awesome rides, and I think I've been putting too much expectation on us both. He used to be horribly behaved, and I got used to it to the point where I went to the barn expecting nothing. Now I've gotten into the habit expecting him to be perfect and amazing, and, well, it was a real downer when he wasn't today.

Isn't he a cutie? ;) 

Anyhow, today sucked for the most part. Pretty much the highlight of my time with Gambler today was when I went out into the field, he was lying down napping! I thought he was going to get up, but he didn't! So, I sat down on the ground next to him and had some quality time with God. :) It was perfect! I love how peaceful the barn is... I feel like my connection with the Lord is so strong when I am there! Praying is one of my favorite past times. No joke, every silent moment (and even some louder moments!) I have, I spend talking to Jesus. It's super awesome.

Unfortunately, the good part of working with Gambler ended right there. I took him into the barn and groomed him, which he was okay with, but he was being just horrible when it came to ground manners. My goodness! He was being so pushy, trying to run me over, etc. He hasn't been like this in a while, so it was a real downer. Trying to tack him up was an epic fail. He wouldn't freaking stop moving. I eventually gave up after my saddle almost fell off and got stepped on.

I took him down to the ring and did some lunge work. He was such a sassy jerk going clockwise, he kept trying to just move his hindquarters and he would get really pissy when I went after him and made him actually move. I got some nice trot and canter sets out of him going counter clockwise and we worked on vocal cues.

Then, I decided to do some join up work with him. We've actually been making so much progress on that front. I haven't done free lunging with him in a while... But anyways, I could hear Jill starting to pour feed and I didn't want him to escape like last time, so I turned away... and he actually stopped and took a few steps towards me! Oh, my heart! It made me quite proud. :)

After helping with feeding, I rode Auggie in the field! It was a blast! First of all, I rode in a different saddle that actually fit me, so hooray! but anyhow, I had such a blast! I went out with Jill, and I always very much enjoy talking with her. We walked around part of the field, then did some trotting before some gallops up the hill! I've only ridden Auggie in the field once before, and it was just doing some trot and canter circles to work on bending, and that was a while ago. So, I had never actually galloped him! Oh my word... Unless you've galloped up a hill, there's really no way to explain it... But it is an amazing feeling! Auggie has a really powerful hind end, and I could just feel the strength and majesty coursing through him! It was such a blast... I am so blessed for this barn and all of the awesome rides I get as a result... So thankful. 

I work out with Dylan tomorrow, so Sarah is going to ride Gambler. Hopefully their session is much more successful than today. xD 

Opportunities!?

I'm so over this wind. Agh. Seriously. Go away!!!!! The wind was blowing in huge gusts today, so I didn't end up riding. I also managed to forget my girth and saddle pads at home after washing them last night, so I wouldn't have ridden Gambler anyway. I wanted to ride Lyric, but her sanity is limited as it is, so I wasn't sure that our ride would go very well.

Lyric... a true dork ;)

Oh! I meant to share this picture in my blog yesterday... She's such a dweeb. She literally stood with the bit in her mouth like this for a good ten minutes before letting go of it when I was untacking her. :D

Well, today was pretty boring as far as stuff at the barn goes. I gave Gambler his UlcerGuard, which he put up a huge fuss about again. He's been getting three flakes of hay with his feed since he has dropped some weight, and obviously in his mind hay > disgusting past mom has been forcing down my throat for the past three weeks. So, my horse finds it necessary to put up a major fight. Argh. UlcerGuard will be done Friday, and I think both of us will be rather relieved.

While on the topic of meds - good news! Gambler's fecal came back with extraordinarily low counts! I was pleasantly surprised and relieved... I have a toooooon of ivermectin that I bought on sale from Dover last summer, but it won't need to be used for the time being! Thank God for everything He has blessed Gambler and I with, including generally good health!

Some of the other horses aren't so lucky and are starting a heavy worming regime. Today Lyric, Riley, Sarah and Lucy were wormed. So, I helped with that, turned horses out, groomed Gambler until he shone, cleaned my tack and swept the barn.

My big piece of news though is, well, frankly just awesome. It comes with a bit of a story though, so some background; my barn owner has two horses, Petey and Duchessa. She was given Petey a number of years ago because he's an incredibly difficult horse to ride, and would rear and flip over when he didn't want to do something. Yeah. Kinda crazy. Anyhow, he's an imported Warmblood dripping talent, so of course Heather snatched him up and was doing great things with him, including Prix St George last summer. However, he wouldn't canter for some really odd reason, so she had him fully vetted down at Morven Park. Found out his suspensory's were pretty much dissolving. He's been just on field rest ever since then but every few months, she gets on him to see how he's doing. Anyhow, she is going to ride him tomorrow! Not only that... but... She said perhaps I can ride him! Assuming that Petey is sound and behaving well, she wants to see how he does with a less advanced rider, and I am her guinea pig of choice! I don't know if this will even happen, but I was so beyond honored to even be asked! Pure awesomeness... I'm so blessed.

Oh, and one last thing before I go finish reading my Bible for the evening and heading off to get some shut eye. I saw the most amazing scene this evening as I was waiting for my mom to come get me. I heard hoof beats and turned around just in time to watch the horses streak across the field! So gorgeous. They galloped all the way from the far end of the field (which is far... the field is 40 acres!) over to the fence and then ran some hot laps up and down the hill. Not only that, but Gambler was leading them! Man, that horse is FAST. It was just such an amazing, amazing view. I love watching horses run. It is so amazing, beautiful, there's just something so special. I don't know how people can look at animals like horses and not believe there's a God.

Well, that's it for now, cyberspace. I have a post about riding as a form of worship that I'm hoping to write soon, as well as a prayer request/medical post and a few others. :D