RAIN! GO!

So much rain we've had! It wasn't too terrible today, so Siaga had the run of the paddock today. I can't wait for the sunshine to become a bit more stable and for the mud to clear up. I'm rearing to ride.

I bought a thin navajo rug, hopefully it will solve the saddle slipping problem. Hopefully.

After that particular problem is dealt with, I have one more itsy bitsy problem... With the sun will come farmers, plowing and planting their fields. They're already way behind schedule, I don't know that the corn will be "Knee high by the Fourth of July" this year, as it usually is.

So... when the farmers start working the fields, I won't have a field to ride in anymore. This year, for the field across the road, is the year for corn, so riding the perimeter of the field will be out of the question. So basically, I'll be riding in my woods (maybe a five minute ride, all in all,) riding the neighbors woods (maybe... 20 minutes?) perfecting technique and equitation in the front yard, or riding the roads. Reflective jacket time? Perhaps. Or a big orange triangle slapped on his butt. lol.

Houston Woods, a nearby state park, which is nearly in our backyard, is really close, and has 18 miles of horse trails, AND an outdoor arena. However, it would be a long ride, and I've got to slowly work Siaga up to being able to manage such long distances.

My friend Jacy also has a horse, and will be home from school this summer. She's two or three miles away and Siaga will be able to manage that soon enough. Riding with Jacy, however, is conditional on whether or not her horse, Taz, has good feet by summer. I looked his feet over a while back, and while I'm not certain, and no farrier or vet to make a diagnosis, it seems to me that he's got a case of white line disease. I told her dad that Taz needs to be in dry, secure ground, his feet need to be bandaged and cleaned every day, and that he needs at least 30 minutes of road-walking every day to increase the circulation in his hooves. I don't know if he'll listen. Hopefully he'll get a real farrier out to look at him. I'm a little tired of his "I think I know it all" attitude about horses. Granted, I kinda act that way sometimes, too, but I know when I really can't trust myself with something and when to turn to someone else for help. Someone like... an expert.

ANYWAYS. If Taz is up to it, I'll be looking forward to riding with Jacy, and also to switching mounts here and there and letting someone else have a go at the Psycho Pony, and getting someone else's opinion on how he's doing. Or rather, how we're doing, since it's kind of a team effort, here.