Meh...

Foggy fall mornings outside my office are so pretty.

I rode last night and it was just... meh. I didn't lunge, just got on and rode. Abbey wasn't super focused, and neither was I. Our trot work went pretty well, but she was tense about cantering. Trainer said that the big lump on her right rear ankle (from the show three weeks ago) is probably a hematoma, which I assumed since that is what happened to the rest of her leg, is probably bothering her enough to make loping a little uncomfortable.

I am not super worried about it, and neither is she. Sweating it didn't seem to help, neither did DMSO, so unless we have the vet drain it off (not interested in more bills) I don't think that there is much we can do. She's not lame, just a little quick and stiff.

I wish we could have worked through the stiffness and distraction a little better last night, but not every ride is going to be great. I am just happy that I went and that we tried our best to sort it out. We had a few okay lope overs with one log both directions, and I was able to get her to collect a little riding one-handed both ways, and be balanced and have a fairly even cadence. I am wondering if asking her to move out a little will help, and then we can work on slowing things down. I may try that tonight. Also some more 2 point practice - think I need to shorten my stirrups on my work saddle, which is hard because someone royally effed up with the leather punch on a lot of the holes. A small drawback to buying used equipment.

Looking forward to the weekend, and hopefully some nice riding time.

Sunrise on the way in to work.

More misty morning shots.

Cute shot of me and the pony with my little Polaroid camera.

Best beast ever. So patient to hang out in the Jeep while I ride. (No dogs allowed in the barn)