I attempted to do a conditioning ride on Friday. It was raining and thundering, but I figured I was about to be a hard-core eventer so while the hunter lesson went on in the indoor, I did my sets in the rain. Sometimes, it is simply my smugness that gets me through the day. :)
Anyway, while it was raining, we did well. Then the sun came out and sauna began. Steam rising off the ground and off of Brego's back. It was hot and sticky and we were miserable. With my new, shorter stirrups, I was having a lot of problems catching my balance. And my legs were tired. I couldn't get myself out of the saddle. I managed just two 2 minute canter sets after our three 5 minute trots sets and we were done. I have never felt so sapped.
Brego felt very hot after the ride and took a long time to recover. I checked his pulse at 10 minutes and it was just under 60. His whole body just radiated heat. It was one of those days were you can't catch a breeze and you just bake inside your own wet, sticky skin. He never stopped asking for cookies though, the ever-faithful Brego-barometer. So I let him stand with some water and he was totally normal after 20 minutes.
On Saturday, we will both rest, because we have a very exciting Stuart Pittman clinic on Sunday. If I can't stay out of the saddle on Sunday for more than two minutes, it will be a waste of all of our times.
I am not going to read too much into this performance. I don't think Brego is backsliding that much in a week. We had a full week of riding, including two dressage days and a jumping lesson all after two very hard days last weekend. We're tired. And the humidity was the knockout punch. More rest and we'll be fine.
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