It's Just Cold

Not much going on these days, it's been too cold for riding. And, when the weather went down below -20º C, the arena got really dusty as the heaters tend to dry it out. E&J uses canola oil/hulls as a sand additive but it only works well for a couple of weeks.

I did hook up the surcingle and do some ground driving last night. I'm trying to get him more comfortable with having people behind him, and also working on relaxation/slowing down, which I've found easier to do from the ground than from the saddle.

In other news, the second saddle I was bidding on came last Saturday. It was much cheaper than the other one - less than $100 for the saddle and a pair of flexi-stirrups. But, it's a good brand (Barnsby) and a real hoot to ride in - it's either a saddleseat type of saddle or an English cob show saddle. It's a monoflap with a long flat seat and nothing at all in the way of knee rolls. You get a really neat feel for the horse when you're riding, kind of like being bareback with stirrups. He didn't toss me off the first time I rode in it but let's just say it's a good thing there's a nice cushion of snow on the ground right now, ha ha!