September Wrap Up

Sorry not sorry for the repost. Conquering the corner on this dude and having it captured by Lisa Madren was the highlight of the month

	Ben	Goggles	Butterball
Training rides	0	0	3 - flat
Lessons	0	0	6 – 2 bareback, 1 dressage, 3 jump
Hacks	2 – 1 ponied from BB	1	6
Ground work, lunge, long line	1 – lunge with equiband	3 – lunge with equiband	0
Flat rides	4	3 – 1 at MO	2
Conditioning rides	0	0	3 – 2 aquatred, 1 trot set and canter sets
XC school	0	0	1
Shows	0	0	2- LCT jumpers, POP 3 phase

Ben: Much to his dismay, Ben continued to (slowly) return to work this month. He lost his wraps during the second week of the month and then got them put back on about four days later. He was sore for a few days after that trim/application, but then went back to work. Between Goggles' cut and all the excitement of a new pony, he didn't work as consistently as he could have, but we know that he appreciates the slow, careful approach anyways. October I hope to bring more consistency and aim for 3-4 work sessions per week. 

Goggles: Unfortunately he spent most of the month not working due to a cut. I did utilize the equiband belly band on the lunge while bringing him back into work and it did WONDERFUL things to his softness and back. We had one of the best rides we've ever had the day after an equiband lunge session. He was just soft, lifting, and supple the whole time, so I only rode for about 15 minutes. October will bring a few trials and more time with AT. We're planning on usually having him tag along with BB when I got to JT's so that he an have a training ride. If he's still mine at the end of the month, he'll probably go to the POP schooling show on the 27th. 

Is large labrador. Likes to play tug with the grooming tools. 

Butterball: Obviously the NEW pony was the star of the month and all the posts were devoted to him. He and I had a great month getting to know each other. I had THE BEST time hacking out on him bareback. Ever since I lost Zinger, I have been searching for *my* perfect combination of horse - something athletic, smart, and not spooky (and within my budget... likely the largest part of the problem). And those bareback hacks felt like I'd found it. The horses I've had along the way have all had pieces of it. Yoshi was certainly brave and dependable, but he was the least sweet on the ground horse ever (to the point that I was worried about him biting or kicking Ms. GY more than once). Ben is the sweetest and lovely and athletic, but is the biggest chicken. Goggles is brave and definitely developing into quite a reliable dude, but is more of a man's horse than anything else I've ridden. Anyways, my love affair with Butterball just continued to grow during September. 

We started the month with our first show together at POP and then three weeks later went back for our novice debut. Both times he was just an incredibly good boy. We also threw in a few XC trips and multiple jump lessons. 

October will be the first month he's at my home barn. I want to find the right rhythm of fun adventures off property, lessons, and hacks from home. I also am sorting out managing a PONY on grass and have plans to test an insulin level again to decide how much he needs to be muzzled.