Back in the saddle again

This week is do or die time, I have a cross country lesson on Saturday (pending weather) and I dang well better get in shape for it or I will be paying dearly!  I have successfully ridden twice already this week and am on track to ride every day so I am one step closer to accomplishing this.

Sunday the boarder and I went on a 3 hour trail ride.  We were going to ride on the rails-to-trails trail that is a short ride from my house however first a bridge is out and then when we finally got on the trail a huge tree was blocking the path that I couldn't move and we couldn't easily get around.  As a result we spent most of the ride on the roads but it was fine and we had a good time.  The horses don't mind, the roads are all sparse to medium traveled dirt roads and I had my orange vest on.  The horses handled the trail ride very well with almost no sweating and with the App not being a butthead until the last hour when he really wanted to trot and was denied. We were also successfully able to navigate over a wooden bridge despite being slippery with leaves and neither horse had a problem with it.  Wahoo!  I haven't taken them over bridges in a long while so I am glad they still don't have a problem with it.

Yesterdays ride was fitness for the first time in over 2 months, blech.  Fitness tends to be boring and can be painful.  We start out with a long walk warm up and then work on 5 mins of trot sets in either posting or 2 point and then move up to 3 minute canter sets.  I didn't end up doing the entire exercise but did 2 trot sets and 2 canter sets.  I still need to ride the fitness exercise again to get my stamina back up, maybe on Wednesday I will have the energy for that kind of riding.  Tonight will be some small jumping exercises if I can get someone to come out and be my safety, the boarder is supposed to come out so I should be able to jump but we will see.  I want to get the App to remember to pick his knees up so I am thinking of a 1 stride to an oxer.  Bounces would help too, maybe a one stride to a couple of bounces?  So many possibilities, so few jump poles.  In any case, progress report tomorrow!