Where is Summer?

Ahh, this chillier weather is not making me very happy. The days are getting shorter, and daylight "savings" is NEVER making me any happier. When it's dark before I leave work, I'm miserable... and it's getting closer. Hopefully it'll stay dry so I can use the outdoor flood lights to get in a few quick rides before it gets too cold at night once it starts! I sound like a brat, I know, but I love sun, warmth, and being outside so winter kills the mood.

Anyways, yesterday, we worked on reinforcing what we learned on Sunday with bending and shoulder in/shoulder out exercises.This was in the side field which is near the barn so I had to work on pushing through a circle. He always sways back to the barn on that side of the circle which is annoying to say the least. I had to push harder to keep the pace with counting to keep the tempo I set. We went around until he was consistent then circled obstacles in the field. We started with the bush, tree, trakehner, roll top, and finally went to the brush box (which he was looky with so we circled that again). We went back to all of the others again to keep our cool since we haven't ridden out there in a while. 

Spyder was the opposite of our lesson where he wanted to go forward and pull. I had to push to keep the speed which is the exact opposite of what I've had to do all along. He kept pulling me for Danny, and yesterday, he had more excitement than he has had in a while, but it was a collected and he listened despite the excitement. There were a lot of deer in that field, and he didn't care to look at them. A few even splashed into the water along the field, and he kept his cool. He didn't flinch which was a relief being that he FREAKED out when I first got him and it was hot so the BO's dogs jumped in. The splashing sound was obviously going to kill him so he did all kinds of crazy moves. I was SO proud of him because he's finally trusting me and listening so his focus is elsewhere. He's ready for a trail? Maybe?

Cooler weather has something to do with it, but since he was so good, I rode to cool out around the barn. We worked on being patient with me on board while they started feeding because I'm sick of him getting so anxious and acting like he will never get to eat. He went in his stall to eat (and was so rough throwing the bucket around like he was angry), and then I helped catch two horses that decided to take off when coming in to eat. 

The take off: They are semi-new so they don't get the routine just yet, and the one is a runner. Normal horses stick to those that are close by, but I guess since they had each other, they went. They ran into the field by the house and took off down the track. I ran through trails on the track to meet up with grain, but they were too busy galloping all over the place. I was so nervous because it was getting dark and hoped they would be smart enough to stay out of the woods or stay clear of the street. I took off into field where the BO had her golf cart and was trying to herd them. The girls that were feeding helped chase them back towards the barn when I caught up to them out of breath (haven't ran like that in a while). We all went in the golf cart after them, and they decided to stop for a bite of grass. I hopped out with the grain and caught the "better" one's attention so he came towards me. The "bad" one followed, but was very cautious knowing I was going to grab him. Since I had one hand, I grabbed the calmer horse and we walked back leaving the one that decided to flea to follow. The girl feeding grabbed him once he gave up, and they got back into their stalls without grain until they cooled out. It was complete chaos for about 20 minutes, but I am thankful nothing bad happened.Oh, and chiggers... they are terrible! When I got home I showered as fast as a I could because I saw a few. Glad I realized to check after running through the woods, fields, and tall grass.

He can't let me go behind him without seeing what I'm up to. New cement!