Following my instincts

Sometimes you know when to push it and when to let it be. Today was one of those times. I've been having trouble getting to the barn. Today, finally, I made it out there and planned to stay as long as I needed too. That is exactly what I did. Boo was in dire need of a grooming which he got. He is blowing coat like crazy and I'm pretty sure it felt nice to have the shedding blade taken to him. I took out his braids and rebraided his tail. Left his mane down. It will probably be full of mud when I get there tomorrow, but oh well.

I was feeling a bit under the weather. Think I'm fighting off a cold, and it didn't help that I went to a party last night and had 3 glasses of wine and a glass of champagne. I'm such a lightweight when it comes to drinking. At any rate, I decided to take my time and warm Boo up correctly. He must have decided that was boring because he decided to play spook at the short ends of the arena. Now, I know he's not really afraid of the short ends of the arena. We've been riding past them now for months and he's been just fine. Nothing out of the ordinary today. I think he was just messing with me. Near the end of our ride it did start to rain rather hard, but he didn't spook during any of that and we all know how loud rain can be on a metal roof. Still, something in me told me that today was just not going to be a good day to canter. So we didn't. I came away feeling somewhat defeated by that decision and yet I know it was prudent. I've learned to listen to my gut feelings.

I'm going back out in the morning to longe, but since my Mom will be here from Central Oregon tomorrow I won't get much else done. I did make my riding plans for the week, however, and I will be out there riding on Tuesday and cantering is on the agenda, so I sure hope Boo is in a better place than he was today...or I hope that at least I am up to coping if he isn't.