Some Things Are Just Not Going To Happen On Some Days

I rode Fly today. I had been thinking about his canter transitions before I rode him and was planning to work on walk to canter. I know he can do this, we've done it before, but it just wasn't happening today. I tried every which way to get him on my aids enough that he could do the transition (we backed, we did circles in the corners, and he really did feel light enough to do it) but he was growing increasingly frustrated so after several attempts, I quit. I let him trot around the arena long and low for a while, and then we did trot/canter/trot transitions on a twenty meter circle instead. He did a great job and we called it a day. Sometimes, something is just not going to happen and if it isn't a really big deal, it can be left for another day. I don't make this decision lightly because I don't want the horses to think they can get out of work whenever something is hard, but today it seemed like the right thing to do.

I can't publish this entry without saying a little bit about Midnight, the pony who arrived on Saturday. When I had been planning my day I had also decided that I wanted to take advantage of the sun and get some photos of her. I think my lesson for the day was to have flexible plans, because when I went to catch her she was completely caked in mud. It was warm enough for a bath so she got hosed off and then I clipped her face and bridle path. She is such a good pony! She stood quietly on crossties with the halter draped around her neck while I clipped so either she's the mellowest pony in the world or she's done this before. I can't wait to get a kid on her this weekend! I'll post an "after" photo of Midnight from today.