Oh so not motivated

Uh it's terrible I know, but I'm actually a little sick of horses now the show season is over. I think that Connie and Kate are fairly horrified by the cutting down and withdrawal of their hard feed. Connie hunts Wednesday and Saturday and then I pull her back shoes and turn her out for at least 8 weeks. With the weather closing in and the days getting shorter I need to focus my time better, and right now that focus needs to be on Rascal and Bill. One sad thing about her not hunting is I'm going to have to get her fit for showjumping next season, instead of just carrying her hunting fitness through. Why hunt her at all? I hear you ask. Because she loves it. And it will be really nice for her to get on the truck and travel somewhere to just gallop around with a pack of other horses and be outside of the structure of showing. Hunting will freshen a horse up as well as a break will. That and after all the collect collect collect of showjumping she will just appreciate being able to jump out of a gallop I'm sure.

Opening hunt was last Saturday but it was raining so I passed. I'm a fair weather hunter only. I love the sport but I hate getting wet. At least in showjumping there is a chance of getting some money back :)

I have spent a lot of time pondering the delicious Kate and her recent lack of form. I have also come to a conclusion. I think she is sore. The first ride at HOY when she really ejected me, the ride was a forward five strides and I got there nicely to a good spot but off of a longer stride and she disappeared on me. She is only jumping when there is absolutely no out. The kicker is that one thinking about it I gave her the exact same ride at the start of the season to 1.20m combination (oxer in(I was very scared)) at Te Teko in the amateur and she just ate it up, while this time over a small single upright she didn't want to play ball. She has also been a bit stiff and cranky until she warms up. The other thing that got the old mental cogs whirring was that the stop in the last round we did at HoY, she stopped in a combination after a really good jump in, at a plain oxer. The double was quite long though and it seems she is quitting when she has to take the slightly longer distance- so when she has to jump bigger. Maybe she isn't and I'm just riding her badly but anyway I will take her over to the clinic next week and get her looked over. she is an 11yr old and she isn't exactly low mileage.

Bill is coming along. today I took her out and worked her in a strange paddock for the first time. It's hard by myself. I want to get her out and about more but it's better to take a young horse out with a grown up horse buddy and it's not that often I have someone to ride with. Still I try to have a little goal each ride that is something we haven't done before and we make progress. Rascal doesn't know it yet bu she is going to be my hunter/ possible dressage horse if I can overcome my lack of interest in dressage for the winter. She is pretty unfit and oh so dumb but at least she feels sound and good and she might be trying. On our ride today she freaked out a a road sign and then when I rode her up to the oh so scary sign she walked head first into it (That sort of intelligence puts you off jumping it over wire). Le sigh. Still must be done, she wont get fit by herself. Her first hunt will probably be next next Wednesday, though she wont be fit enough to do much, but it has some very small spars to start with.