Thankyou cup cake fairy...

I would like to thank the cupcake Fairy that arrived Saturday night. The cupcakes were yummy. Rob had the chocolate one and I had the cream cheese icing one.

Is it odd that I assume random food left in the barn is 1) meant  for me, and 2) safe?

I am just surprised the kitten didn't find them...

Speaking of the kitten, last week Clare and I were discussing how much she resembles the girl cat in the Pepe Le Pew cartoon...the black cat that gets a paint stripe down her back so Pepe thinks she is a girl skunk? Well, in a moment of real life imitating art, it seems that little black kitten HAS actually managed to get a stripe down her tail (albeit it is light green paint), and last night Rob found a SKUNK hanging around our deck...

This week in lessons we are working on building leg strength, and on keeping horses straight both on the flat and in between jumps.

A big area of concern for straightness is the corners; if you look at the track that gets worn into the ends, they are rounded, with very little straightness, which tells me that riders are letting the wall to the work of their legs and outside rein, and the horse is taking the easier way to corner rather than using its inside hind to create a tidy turn.

We want the horse straight, meaning its hind end follows the path of its shoulders, as this helps the horse stay evenly engaged allowing for more powerful and correct take off spots, lengthening, and transitions. As part of this we will also work on assessing rider straightness and even balance between left and right sides. Having a rider that is crooked or unbalanced will require the horse to compensate by being crooked themselves!

We are also going to do some work on lateral suppleness, as a horse cannot be straight if it has tension in its body and is not supple through its pole and back. Lateral suppleness means side to side suppleness, and should not be confused with bend; suppleness is much more simple and just means the horse gives to the side with whichever part of the body you are working to supple...bend requires the horse to be evenly supple from nose to tail.

The fall schedule is more or less final; I would like to ask that boarders/lease riders try to avoid the 6:30 on Tuesday time slot, as well as the 5:30 on Wednesday time. If you do ride during these times you MUST stay out of the way of the lessons and ride in an appropriate manner to not disrupt the lesson or intimidate the lesson students.

Please check the bulletin board for other updates and information as I will be posting a few things throughout the week. Also be sure to read the Health Warning that Laureen kindly brought to the barn!

Karen