The Indoor didn't fare to well in the last storm, rain was blowing sideways!
Hello All!
Well everything's going great here. We have slowly settled back into the "out of season" routine. At the moment Lars, Melissa, Caroline (her dad and Lars are partners in the sales horses of Global Dressage) and Tayna (barn manager/head groom) are all on the road. The left Tuesday the 19th at about 11:00 pm headed for a show in Kentucky and from there they were headed to Raleigh in North Carolina for a CDI. They took eight horses with them which left me and one other person with six horses each to take care of. It is amazing how much work it is to ride and handwalk six horses! Right now I usually get done by 6:00 pm but there have been several days where I don't get finished with work until 6:30 or 7:00. We aren't able to take days off while they are away which will mean that I will have worked at least 21 days straight with no days off! Honestly, I'm not complaining but maybe I want you all to feel a little sorry for me :) No, Just kidding... In a way it has been nice having the barn and arena to myself (almost). I can set my own routine and I am getting to ride some really nice horses! I thoroughly enjoy being able to sit on horses that have been trained by Lars! They are all of very nice quality and it has been a lot of fun to play around with them in the arena. I feel like I am getting stronger and stronger and quicker and quicker with the timing of my aids. I also feel like I am getting a better feel of collection and the balance and impulsion that collection requires. Ultimately, the horses are my teachers. They should be home by the 1st or 2nd and I'm looking forward to them getting back. It's a little to quiet and I need to get yelled at by Lars some more! When I'm riding the horses I can hear him in my mind but it's just not the same.
The weather is really starting to change here in Florida! There have been incredible thunder and lightning storms everyday for over a week now! It has taken some getting used to let me tell you! The weather in unpredictable and I have to keep reminding myself that getting hit my lightning kills people! It's almost impossible to get anything done when the storms hit other than get things out of the rain! You usually can hear the boom boom of thunder in the distance and see a black wall coming your way but the tricky part is that you never know exaclty when it's going to hit you or how long. Last week we had a storm hit us that the local news was calling a tropical storm that lasted for three hours! When the storm is on us it literally sounds like a sonic boom. It's totally crazy! Max hates it! He's almost to the point that everytime it rains or the wind picks up he starts shaking in anticipation of the thunder. He really gets freaked out by it and I have had to buy him some herbal calming drops and treats because I don't think it's good for him to be tranq-ed everyday :( But I think he's getting a bit used to it as well. He's learning to trust that when it's gone it's gone and he can carry on enjoying his day.
Vioen is doing super. I am still struggling getting to ride her as much as I would like or as is needed to really get her stronger but I am just going to have to accept that it's going to be like that in a working student situation. Nonetheless she getting better muscling and more and more rideable. I am really happy with where she's at right now. I am starting to focus more on her balance through doing lots of transitions and increasing the difficulty in the lateral movements. She seems to always be proud of herself after every ride but doesn't hesitate to tell me that she thinks it's a bit hard sometimes :)
I have to go now because I am very tired, doing night check every other night sucks! Tonight's my night. I took some videos on my camera of the weather but my computer doesn't recognize the files :( Will see if I can get those uploaded at some point. Hoe everyone at home is well. I am planning to come home for a quick visit in July/Aug. Feel free to ask me any questions on here if there's anything you would like to know about my experiences so far :)
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