Somehow I’ve managed to fill up December with article assignments, copywriting gigs, tack shop inventory, and retail commitments. Tis the season. But I’m exceptionally grateful for the freedom to (for the most part) make my own schedule, since I’ve now got 3 riding horses. Just FYI horse gods, that is not a complaint, I am enjoying having 3 in the rotation, please don’t curse me. I ordered a calendar white board to help me keep everything straight so I’m basically just waiting to be smited at this point.

Presto is back to his full-time schedule now. I need to find a day this week to get him out to gallop, but we’ve got a jump lesson today and he’s been giving me some REALLY good work on the flat. I’ve been trying to ask him for more – more quality in the gaits, more prompt responses to aids, harder movements, more accuracy. He is, after all, about to be 7, and he’s feeling so incredibly strong now. The difference in his physical maturity over the last year is just incredible. Now my job is 1) keep it up 2) make sure to keep directing all of that ability into something good. That horse is clever, and juuuust lazy enough to where he’d easily become a large, heavy, dull, gallump of a horse if I didn’t always hold him to a high standard. He requires a lot of mental and physical strength on my part, but he remains one of the most rewarding horses I’ve ever ridden. When I raise the bar, he meets it. I’ve never had one quite as capable as he is. It’s fun. It’s work, but it’s fun.

Soon we’ll start looking at some jumper rounds for him and get back out to XC schooling. We had a nice little break, but it’s time to crack on.

I’m also really enjoying getting to know Argo. He’s a genuine, sweet, good boy. Lazy, yes. Not always the sharpest tool in the shed, perhaps. But he’s just an easy horse to have around, he catches on fast, and he’s low drama. For a 1k facebook purchase, I’m really pleased with him.

We hit the December 1st RRP mark (horses aimed for 2024 RRP can’t have had more than 15 rides before December 1) with 9 rides under his girth, and it really just gave me a good idea of what we’ll need to work on and what he might be best at. Those rides mostly helped me make a plan for him, and now we can hit the ground running, so to speak.

Priority number one is to really continue to focus on resolving all the body tightness he came with from the track. Racing consistently for 5 years will take some kind of toll on even the most sound horses, and with him it shows up in his musculature. When he came he could barely bend his neck around to touch his sides, and his walk step was very short. His neck, shoulders, and lower lumbar were just absolutely rock hard. Between the chiro and the bodywork and daily stretching and riding him in a purposeful, targeted way, there has already been a ton of improvement. He can now reach around and touch his stifles easily and I’m seeing an increased range of motion in his shoulders. Every time I get on him I feel a liiiitttle bit more swing and suppleness in his body. Slowly but surely making progress, and it’s fun to tailor his schedule and rides around goals like that… seeing and feeling the progress is always rewarding.

I’ve also been making sure to ride Henry every other day, with the goal of keeping him loose and strong. Kind of a mixture between Presto and Argo. He does lots of lateral work, transitions, and long and low, and he’s been feeling really good.

I’ve also been working a bit with Michelle’s 2yo filly Pippa, just doing some Baby School basics with voice commands, intro to lunging, and some basic desensitizing. She’ll learn to wear tack and then go back out for winter, but so far she’s been really good.

Some of the fun Black Friday spoils started to arrive too, including new sheepskin girths from Engel. Well… I ordered the black one, and Hillary ordered the brown one, but I like them so much that I’m gonna order a brown one for myself too. They have a sale all the way through December that makes them only $100, which I think is a steal. They’re really similar to the Mattes but significantly cheaper and the horses all seem to love them. Y’all know I’m a sheepskin fan. Cover everything in it, let’s go.

I noticed too that Presto and I managed to cling to the USEA leaderboards for Training and Modified, despite a) not having run Training since April, b) missing the fall season. We only ran 4 Modifieds. There are perks to being in the old lady “Master” division I suppose, even though I feel like that’s rude to do to someone at age 39. I am the Master of nothing. I’m not even a real adult most days.

But hey, I’ve never found myself on a year end USEA leaderboard before, so I’ll take it. Thanks Presto, you’re the sauce.