Getting back on track and setting some tentative goals

Gorgeous sunrise at Derry Meeting.

So the weather has been a bit bipolar to say the least. We've had days where the high was 5 degrees followed two days later by 60 degrees and rain. The conditions at the farm have held up pretty well considering we had a foot of snow on the ground two weeks ago, last week we got 2 inches of rain in an hour, and now the ground is frozen again. According to the farm owner, our property is holding up better than most (she currently boards her horse at a very fancy facility that she said is a complete mud pit). Now that the ground is frozen again the chopped up muddy areas are tough for some of the horses to walk on, but I have to say that Riley is not even a little sore. I'm hoping he doesn't bruise his soles over the next couple of weeks, but so far, so good. So fingers crossed for that. In the meantime, I've been picking up bits and pieces of tack to replace what was stolen. I broke down and ordered Riley a new bridle (though I'll probably reserve it for showing, etc) and it looks lovely. I was inspired by Aimee's post about bridles, so I took the plunge and tried out an Ovation Figure 8. It has just enough fancy stitching, a fancy padded crown piece and it's nicely padded overall without being bulky.

So cute! Thanks Carly for the Happy Mouth bit!

I pulled him out of his paddock to try it on. Obviously, in the picture here it's not adjusted perfectly, I just wanted to get an overall idea of the fit and see if it overwhelmed his face. The stitching looks super cute with his big blaze. So I'll oil it and fit it more accurately next time I'm out there. It came with rubber reins which I assumed would be really stiff and cheap but their actually pretty nice and supple already. I feel so grateful to everyone who sent us tack to use. Emily and I have enough bridles now to get by on all of our horses! She was able to find a replacement for one of her saddles on Ebay already and I'm still saving up until Riley has been in work for a little bit so I can take a wither tracing and go sit in some at Rick's.
As far as goals go, my plan is to start working him in the Pessoa to help build up his fitness. I have a saddle that i can borrow that will fit him well enough to get by and I plan on walking and trotting him up and down the hills in our big riding field and doing some light hacking.  We tested out the Pessoa on Emily's resale horse Kiwi a very fancy chestnut mare with serious athleticism. She, like all of the horses right now was a little feral, but she was a champ once we got her tacked up in the surcingle and got the lines adjusted. We kept it on the easiest setting so as not to freak her out with feeling confined, but she was awesome.

Sadly, it was too muddy to actually lunge her on grass, but she was a champ on the concrete and didn't seem to mind the Pessoa.

Riley's body condition is looking great. I gave him a really good grooming on Saturday when it was pouring outside (I was waiting for it to stop to turn everyone out) and he was quite full of himself getting into everything within reach. For the record he gets a handful of grain am/pm (once a day smartpak with Farrier's Formula and Smart Shine) and 4 flakes of timothy hay at night.

Excuse his "look" from the neck up and his wild mane. Otherwise, he looks like a shiny, happy pony. *Also, caught in the act of trying to remove his blanket. That is his guilty face. 

We're separating Riley and Henry periodically because they've gotten very attached over their vacation. I hoping I don't have to deal with too much silly behavior as a result. I'd love to be able to get right back on him, but I took a spill last week, splitting my forehead open (I'll save you the gruesome photos) and it's temporarily glued together (I should have gotten stitches/gone to the ER, but I had my doctor, neighbor patch me up instead -- yes, I'm a stubborn fool). It just happens to be right where my helmet sits and it's still incredibly painful, not to mention reopening the wound would be a disaster. It's always something, right?

Partners in crime, both with mysterious head wounds (it actually hurt to wear my fluffy hat!)

So, here's to moving forward, albeit slowly. I cannot wait for the days to get longer so I can play with him a few days after work. I'm going to start looking at the Area II calendar to see which schooling shows we can aim for and I'm hoping to get Emily to ride him at least once a week to reinstall some buttons for me. Woo hoo!

Also... we have a few new arrivals at the farm:

Ahhhhhhhh! Lambs!