Not a bad week so far.

It's been an interesting week so far. Enjoyed a lazy day on Sunday because it was cold and rainy. Monday, held horses for the vet, and Tiki got his shots and his first ever tooth floating. Actually felt the rough edges on his teeth before she floated them, and they were SO much more smooth afterwards. Gave him Tuesday off since usually the horses are a little punky the day after shots, and was genuinely excited Wednesday to see just how much better he'd be.

Well ... NO better at ALL! Luckily, I can laugh about it. He was such a turd. Fresh, bulging, and very rude with his mouth and head. He was very resistive through his neck, very forceful with his shoulders, and quick with the legs. Trotted him over a low cav oxer, and he was quite good. Cantered in, and he tried to practically yank me over his head afterwards. He was just very frustrated with me; maybe he was still a little stiff, but he was definitely cranky:(

Today he was a different animal. Did some light flatwork, not flexing his neck all the way because I wasn't sure if maybe it was still sore. Tried a bridle of Nicole's with the copper roller D that has a figure 8, so he did feel a little better. Obviously, the gaping mouth is a learned behavior, and not pain related, so now I don't feel bad about strapping his mouth shut. Guess I'll save the regular cavesson for trail rides since I'm sure it's more comfortable. Going back to the Waterford, because he has really been falling in while using the copper roller D. Live and learn; so glad I was able to borrow it instead of actually buying it. Wanted to do one more day of the gymnastic I'd set up last week; a tall crossrail, 1 stride to a "big" jump, 2 strides to a 2'9 vertical. Set the "big" jump to 2'9 to warm up. My friends can laugh with me as I relate this fact; I literally sang "Row, row, row your boat" as I cantered into the gymnastic. He went through BEAUTIFULLY. Came into the 2 to the 1, and again, it was LOVELY. Raised up the "big" jump to 3'3. I actually walked him up to it and showed him so the extra 6 inches didn't surprise him too much. Came into the 1 to the 2 again (still singing), and perfect. Reversed, again, perfect. Before I could second guess myself, got off and raised the "big" jump one more hole to 3'6. Came in left lead, and it felt REALLY good. Again, and I finally missed the distance coming in; so crossrail wasn't great, but he jumped the 3'6 GREAT, and the 2 out over the 2'9 he put in a huge effort:) Decided to break my own rules, and do it One. More. Time. because I was convinced I could nail the distance coming in. Well. Yeah, NO. I missed even worse than the last time ... it was so bad, I grabbed my left rein and yanked him out of the gymnastic for fear of crashing the 3'6. He is such a good boy, he was locked on, so when pulling him out, he actually hit the standard, hit the pole, and knocked the jump down pretty good. STUPID me. I knew the 3'6 was done for the day, so I set the jump as a big crossrail, and came through on the left lead. Bless Tiki's heart, he went right on through without so much as a hiccup (I still missed). Came in one final time off the right lead since I'd already "blown it", and AGAIN I missed coming in. Grrr ... NEVER do it JUST ONE MORE TIME. He was good, though, and went through like a metronome, so I dismounted and ran my stirrups up.

Farrier's coming tomorrow, so I'm going to try and quickly hack the Tiki man lightly tomorrow. Heck, I may actually hack him in the pasture since I haven't done it in forever. He has 2 IEA shows this weekend, and I think he's ready:) LOVE my pony!