Great weekend!

Spent the day at the barn today and it was great!  I rode Bug for quite a while and she did very well -- at least for the first hour or so.  Then I decided to move over into the large paddock.  But she apparently thought when I got off and led her toward the barn that we were done.  Then when we walked PAST the barn and on to the big paddock and I got back on she was NOT happy.  She decided she had had enough and essentially stopped listening to me.  She kept running over to the nearest fence and side passing up to it hoping I would get off.  I DO usually get off by stepping off onto the pipe fence, so when she wants to quit she takes me over to the nearest fence -- or flatbed trailer -- or trailer fender . . . anything she sees that happens to be a height she thinks will work. Unfortunately, I didn't have it in me to force her to behave for nearly long enough to teach her that she can't do that. 

I made her keep going for another half hour, but as soon as I got some semblence of obedience I got off and went to get Lizzie.  I was really anxious to see if she would be able to work without limping.  She did, but she did NOT work well.  "Stop" and "go" still work, but she didn't listen well to my left and right turn directions.  I have a new training bit ordered.  We'll see if that helps at all.  But for now I'm happy that she seems able to move normally.  But I definately do need to spend more time working with her, that's for sure.  If she keeps giving me a hard time after working with her for a couple weeks, I think I may talk to Zoilo about taking her to his place for a month or so and working with her.

All in all, though, it's been a nice day.  I'm home now getting something to eat, then I'll be headed back over to feed them.  I left Lizzie in her stall after I hosed her down so she couldn't go roll in the mud.  Of course, she did immediatey roll in the shavings and getting them out of her tail won't be fun, but at least they won't stick to her coat like the mud would have.

Oh! . . . and the other great thing about today is that Bug got really, really SWEATY!!  Yippee!   Seems odd that she would start sweating again after the temperature dropped like it has.  But on the other hand, her coat is already so heavy that she looks like a stuffed horse so maybe that has something to do with it.  But she has been on One AC for two years now and this is the first time she's gotten as sweaty as a "normal" horse in all that time.  After I started giving her dark ale she did start having small sweaty spots, but she had never sweated all over like she did today.  I am so relieved!  She probably isn't very pleased about it, though, because it means she's going to have to work regularly again.  But I am extremely grateful.  I just hope she continues to sweat into next summer when it gets hot again.