the first seventy-five degree day

It was beautiful outside today and I took full advantage of the weather. Cairo and I spent an hour at the dog park this morning, where she played with some doggie friends and got thoroughly tuckered out. I dropped her off at home and went to the barn, where it seemed like everyone was out enjoying the weather. There were four horses in the outdoor when I got there, and I think that may have been brain overload for Lucy, so I did my barn chores first before riding. By the time I tacked up, the ring had cleared out and I was thrilled to be outside with the warm sun on my face.

Lucy had two weeks off and since we got back into work, we've been doing mostly trail riding. Today was the first time since the thrown shoe/mouth injury debacle that I rode in the ring and really asked something of her. She was quite stiff and riding in the hackamore is so weird to begin with, so the ride wasn't all that wonderful. Plus I got on without working her on the ground and she was a giant wench. I ended up getting off, grabbing the rope halter, and going over some basic ground work with her. When she started listening and thinking instead of just rushing around, I put her bridle back on and we tried again. I had a totally different horse the second time around, and she was very nice to ride.

After about 20 minutes of work, we headed out for a trail ride. We went to the boat launch area, where I had sent her into the water on one of our walks in-hand. She waded around in the water and then we moved on to a neighbourhood that links to the trail system. We walked along the road, past the houses as people soaked up the sun and got working on their yards in preparation for the flowers to start blooming. Little girls squealed in delight to see a horse plodding down the street, and Lucy added a few members to her fan club.

We got back to the barn after exploring the trails for an hour and a half, and had another quick ride in the ring so my friend could get some video:



Then Lucy got the first bath of the season, which she was very good for. She even let me clean her teats, something I've tried to do in the past but I was met with a raised hind foot and pinned ears. Today she was totally cool about it and I'm honestly not sure why she had a change of heart. Maybe the E/Se/Mag supplement making her much less sensitive? No idea, but I am glad I was able to get her squeaky clean because she badly needed it.

I let her graze in one of the grass paddocks for about ten minutes while she dried off. She was so happy:

Tomorrow the vet will be here for spring shots, and he's also going to look at her tongue so we can see if it has healed yet.