Wow! It’s a Sunday diary entry!! It does happen but it’s rare.😊
Sunday’s. My day to relax with Alfie. In the summer – it’s a trail riding day. In the winter, it’s a clean tack kind of day. But today, I wanted to ride my boy.
I got up, put on my now fitting size Large fleeced lined breeches, my 3 shirts, heavy socks plus toe warmers, my boots and I was off.
The weather today – sunny, cold but with less wind so it was a bit more pleasant than yesterday. Although I won’t lie, my fingers are a bit frozen right now while I type this lol.🥶
I get Alfie from his field, he has his hydro hay, and it’s off to the grooming stall to get tacked. The radio playing in the barn today was tuned to a country music station. Alfie likes country music. While I was tacking him up, I could see him relax, and his eyes got heavy – he was starting to fall asleep. I put the bridle on him, gently woke him up and to the mounting block we go.
Alfie stands perfect for me, he doesn’t rush to go into the arena, he patiently waits for me to squeeze him forward. We enter the arena and Alfie sees his field mate Ziggy and decides I must get close to him lol. No Alfie, we are not gonna hang with Ziggy. We have our own stuff to do.
Solo rides with Alfie can go one of two ways. Either he’s obstinate but gives in or he’s obstinate followed by downright rude followed by a hissy fit. Today, he was just obstinate. He tried locking his legs so he wouldn’t move forward. He tried some head tossing which didn’t last long. He then broke out the sideward shuffle as if to scare me – ha – jokes on you Alfie, it didn’t scare me lol. After that, he was ok. We worked on circles, leg yielding and a little bit of trotting but he was stiff in the hind end so I nixed the trotting. By this time, Ziggy had left the arena and it was just us. But we weren’t alone for long. My friend Heidi and her horse Cayman entered the arena.
One of Alfie’s most favorite thing to do is follow the leader. So we followed Cayman around the arena, which was great because I didn’t have to keep him walking, I was able to practice my rein work and leg work. Our ride ended and I couldn’t be more proud of myself.
Alfie’s complaints and mild obstinate behavior are just that, they are mild as compared to most horses. But they are still obstacles I have to overcome. They can still be a bit scary, or nerve wracking for me, but I overcame that today. Today, it was just me and Alfie, and together as team, we did good.❤️🐴
Confessions of an Equestrianoholic 