Fun Stuff

Licorice now has an older female role model- an 18 year-old QH mare named Honey. She belongs to my neighbor, and we have been riding together a few times now. Honey is pretty damn bombproof, which is great for building Lic's confidence so we don't spook at every little thing. Anyway, the weather was great, and we went out for about an hour and a half. We were disappointed to find that someone had locked the gate to the BLM land, so we rode the dirt roads. (That really pisses me off, BTW- that's not any one person's land, so don't put a fucking lock on it! We all have a right to enjoy that land.)

Anyway, Lic was pretty good, a little pissy about picking up on a canter when cued- until she saw Honey canter, then she was all too happy to canter along. The way she acts when I cue her, I would suspect a pain issue, because she throws her head up and hollows her back out to avoid the cue... but why, if it is pain related, can she pop into a beautiful, smooth canter when she feels like it? I think it's a training/respect/attitude thing... but the good news is, I have a lesson scheduled tomorrow with a new instructor- fingers crossed, I hope it's better than the last lesson I had.

Lic did have a couple of bucking snit fits- the pad for the Aussie saddle got kind of bunched, so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt there. But with my trusty Syd Hill Aussie and my all-terrain half-chaps, I was glued in the saddle. I just got my new pad for that saddle anyway, and I'm excited to try it out. I'm going to check with this new trainer on my saddles and how they fit her. And the trainer is bringing some of her saddles too. I'm going to start taking English lessons eventually, if everything works out with this new lady. I am so not a preppy person, but for some reason the prim little English outfits appeal to me, and damn if jumping doesn't look like a blast.

Oh, and Lic is in heat- amazingly, she was sweet and wanting to get all cuddly. I expected mean and pissy. Dutch has been very studdish, walking around with a hard-on and talking at her. And even though Lic has put on her "come-fuck-me" stance, I have yet to witness any real action between the two... hopefully this is over in a couple days, because it's really annoying.