I can't get away with doing as much as I used to. Today I got out to the barn around 7 and rode Serena for about 45 minutes. Then I cleaned the nine paddocks; made up two weeks' worth of supplement packets for Boo; and tidied up the barn aisle.
After that I got Boo out and groomed him and spent some quality time in the arena with him doing groundwork. Boy, does he ever hate being led from the right! Doesn't even like to stand there with me leaning on him on that side. So of course, that's what we did, with lots of praise and breaks and so on. I find with Boo that forward motion is a great reward/stress relief for him, so after he succeeds in something hard like leading from the right or standing still for a count of ten with me leaning (gently - more like resting my hand there) on his right hip, I switch back to his left and we take a brisk walk to let him relax and release his tension. Seems to work well so far.
But - and here's what I was getting at in the first line - by the time I left the barn six hours later (WHERE does the time go???) I was hobbling like an old, old woman! *sigh* Guess I need to get in better shape, or something. That, or start taking MSM like my horse and my dog do.
Oh, and not to totally bury the lead, but... I got my act together and notified the Jockey Club of Boo's transfer of ownership today. So whether they knew it before or not, now they know "unnamed 2006 foal out of Golden Gazelle" is mine!!! :-)
Next step... officially naming him. I hope they don't deny my name choice (a prude might find a reason to consider it inappropriate....)
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