Saturday, May 21, 2011

Slip n' slide!

Took advantage of the sunshine today. I was going to work Siaga on the road a little at walk and trot, but it became soon clear that he had far too much energy for me to trust him going at a trot down a road with nothing to stop him. So down into the field we went.

It wasn't as muddy as I had thought it would be. I guessed all the wind (which normally makes him spooky) would flip him out, but it didn't bother him too much. Nor did the semi's, tractors, and heavy trucks speeding along at 40-60mph on the main road while we walked the edge of the field, maybe 20 feet away or so.

And though it nearly scared the poop out of me, it also didn't phase him when we both nearly took a tumble. There are a few spots in the field that I've been avoiding because it's been muddy and these places collected water. This wasn't one of them, and I wasn't expecting it to be muddy and the surface looked dry and secure. However, when he stepped out on it, it held, but as his weight shifted all to that foot as he walked on over, it gave way and Siaga slid a couple inches into the mud and nearly fell to his knees. Not sure how I managed to stay on. I grabbed at the saddle horn with my right hand, turned him to the left with the other, and quickly got him on more firm ground. We stopped and I looked back to see if it was like a quick sand patch that I hadn't been aware of, but it just appeared to be a patch of mud in which the top had dried well before the rest of it.

And Siaga? Completely unphased. And then, unphased as we crossed the ditch, too. Overall, a nice ride. Complete with lots of sweat. And sun shine. :D

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