Thou Shalt Ride

It was a miserable day in Texas today. Hovering at 36 degrees and 0.25 mile visibility, the drizzle/mist/fog weighed heavily. I have vowed to get Brego and myself back into work, however, so I dutifully rode. The arena was too wet so I did trot sets in the upper pasture. The footing held up well although I didn't brave much cantering.

So to start conditioning wind, we started with 4 five-minute trot sets with 2 minute intervals. I intentionally pushed Brego into a forward trot to get him going, so this work was not done at a jog. Next time I do sets (as soon as the ground dries early next week), I will drop a trot set and add 2 two-minute canter sets with 3 minute intervals. I think to get Brego "fighting" fit, we need to work up to 4 five minute trot sets and 3 three-minute canter sets, all with 2 minute intervals. Realistically, the big boy is only going Beginner Novice, but he will likely have to do all three phases in a day and I want him to think it's easy. Of course, the more fit he is, the less the likelihood of stress- or fatigue-related injuries. Always a good thing.

I was feeling quite proud of myself for not writing off the day with this horrible weather. Eventer are tough, so I better suck it up if I hope to join their ranks this season.

In other news, Brego made a brief appearance on a Danish horse-related forum. The original reason for the thread is a very impressive Ardennais which caused some really good discussion about the suitability of the "cold-bloods" to compete in the Military (what the rest of the world calls eventing). From what I can translate, there was some good points made weighing in on both sides. Compared to the original horse, though, Brego seems quite small!! I am glad people are talking about these horses, though. The more we learn collectively, the better the future for both the horses and the sport.

And finally, I have made plans to take my very special friend H and her awesome mare, Guinness, to the March 8-9 schooling show at Indian Creek Farms. If anyone has missed the cutest pair on earth at the fall formal dressage show, they will want to check out the pictures from the March show! I know they will be wowing everyone again!