That Just Doesn't Seem Fair
Did you know it only costs about $200 less to take two classes than it does four at ASU?
It just doesn't seem right, not simply unfair, but just plain not right.
Anyway! Mom, her friend Rachel, and I went out on a trail ride early this morning when the ground was still slightly frosty and it was disturbingly easy to see breath. I took Panda out again. If I'm not careful the boy's going to think I've abandoned him. But Panda needs the miles a lot more than he does and I should be able to start getting some good time on him as well. Panda did well, especially considering the construction at the trail head and a number of bicycles that passed us by. That and the fact that we were riding East to begin with and the sun was thoroughly in all of our eyes for the first half of the ride before we turned around.
Panda is coming along nicely. She's getting less reactive, though the first portion of the ride she was a little jiggy (nothing compared to what most people consider jiggy, but I don't like any jig at all...), but worked out of it into a relaxed, but swinging walk.
I've set up to start going back to Kim's next Friday and I'll start going to a place out in Peoria the end of the month. I'll probably go to the place in Peoria for a few months (and only every other week) due to the distance, but I am curious as to what they have to share. They're the same people with the Arab gelding and the warmblood mare that I checked out back in December.
In other news, the hunt is still on for Natalie and has begun for the siblings (a third one will be joining them in taking lessons next week, actually). I went with Nat and her Mom Saturday morning to look at a Standardbred mare. She was only 800 and I took a look at her and asked if she had been lunged, the lady said "kindof," but never with a whip. So I gave it a shot. Very low-key, just asking her to walk around me at first and WOOSH! hoof flying past my head! The mare tried to kick me THREE TIMES while lungeing her. She settle down into some form of work, but wasn't terribly happy about it. We then watched the lady ride her and I continued to be unimpressed. Well, unimpressed by the training not necessarily by the athleticism of the horse. When asked to trot she did this half-canter, but not really thing, elevating quite impressively as she rocked back and took these huge, exaggerated steps, but she wouldn't really settle into an easy, forward trot.
Now I know the horse was only 800, but I think they could do MUCH better in quality by waiting and possibly finding one that is a little more, but doesn't have the issues. The fact that she tried kicking me in the head (three times) didn't help the mare's case any either.
It just doesn't seem right, not simply unfair, but just plain not right.
Anyway! Mom, her friend Rachel, and I went out on a trail ride early this morning when the ground was still slightly frosty and it was disturbingly easy to see breath. I took Panda out again. If I'm not careful the boy's going to think I've abandoned him. But Panda needs the miles a lot more than he does and I should be able to start getting some good time on him as well. Panda did well, especially considering the construction at the trail head and a number of bicycles that passed us by. That and the fact that we were riding East to begin with and the sun was thoroughly in all of our eyes for the first half of the ride before we turned around.
Panda is coming along nicely. She's getting less reactive, though the first portion of the ride she was a little jiggy (nothing compared to what most people consider jiggy, but I don't like any jig at all...), but worked out of it into a relaxed, but swinging walk.
I've set up to start going back to Kim's next Friday and I'll start going to a place out in Peoria the end of the month. I'll probably go to the place in Peoria for a few months (and only every other week) due to the distance, but I am curious as to what they have to share. They're the same people with the Arab gelding and the warmblood mare that I checked out back in December.
In other news, the hunt is still on for Natalie and has begun for the siblings (a third one will be joining them in taking lessons next week, actually). I went with Nat and her Mom Saturday morning to look at a Standardbred mare. She was only 800 and I took a look at her and asked if she had been lunged, the lady said "kindof," but never with a whip. So I gave it a shot. Very low-key, just asking her to walk around me at first and WOOSH! hoof flying past my head! The mare tried to kick me THREE TIMES while lungeing her. She settle down into some form of work, but wasn't terribly happy about it. We then watched the lady ride her and I continued to be unimpressed. Well, unimpressed by the training not necessarily by the athleticism of the horse. When asked to trot she did this half-canter, but not really thing, elevating quite impressively as she rocked back and took these huge, exaggerated steps, but she wouldn't really settle into an easy, forward trot.
Now I know the horse was only 800, but I think they could do MUCH better in quality by waiting and possibly finding one that is a little more, but doesn't have the issues. The fact that she tried kicking me in the head (three times) didn't help the mare's case any either.