I'm not sure if it's the time off or the never-ending heat wave, but Dee has been a bit of a monster this week. Thursday she was pretty good, with a significant drop in the spooking, broncing and bolting that she had been engaging in the day before. Friday, she was an absolute horror. I rode early, before work, with plans to only ride for a half-hour. It was incredibly hot and humid, even that early, and I didn't want to make her work hard. Well, she came out breathing fire and fought with me for the entire ride. Every inch or the ring had something to spook at, canter transitions were invitations to explode, every few minutes in the trot work, she was trying to take off or be naughty... it was just a disaster. I ended up working her for a solid hour without ever really accomplishing anything other than a halfway decent canter circle (meaning she wasn't leaping, squealing or spooking for one circle) in each direction. It was incredibly discouraging, but I honestly don't think the behavior was caused by any sort of discomfort in her body, because when she settled a little, her gaits felt fantastic. She's completely lost that stiffness, but it seems to have been replaced by feeling TOO good.
Yesterday, I almost gave her the day off, but decided that I needed to see how she felt. I once again was aiming to only do a short ride and thankfully, we accomplished that goal. She was much better, only spooking once and not acting like a wild beast in her canter transitions. She did feel a little free behind in the canter work, and a little hump-backed, but she held it together. I'm going to give her the day off today, and then it's back to work tomorrow!
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to -
"Coin Operated Boy" by The Dresden Dolls
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