Jump

Saturday we dropped the boy off for a day long, two movie date, and then headed to run errands and check on Ashke. I got some detangler, because we need to do something about his mane or I'm cutting it all off and then J will leave me and I will be sad. When we got to the barn, I pulled out the body clippers and decided to clip Ashke. It's going to be 75 on Thursday, the lows are now in the upper 30's, he lives inside at night and when it is cold, so it made sense to me. I have a sheet, a light weight and two heavy weight blankets in case I am wrong and spring is not here already. The trees and roses are beginning to leaf out and Ashke has been shedding like a mofo, plus the extended forecast does not have temps lower than 60 with zero precip for at least the next ten days.

And then there is Expo. If I clipped him now, the hair has a chance to grow back a little so the marks and lines are gone by the time Expo comes around.

So, I clipped him. He did pretty good although he really doesn't like having his stomach done. I left his legs and head (did his head tonight) and then gave him a really good grooming when I was done. He seems pretty happy. I washed his mane and tail afterwards, which made me very happy. That was pretty much it, since his face was still swollen.

On Sunday, I rode for maybe half an hour. We did the gate, a jump and the two barrels. Ashke did really good and I was pleased with the result.

I really am not a jumper. I'm pretty sure Ashke does not want to be a jumper either. However, we must be able to easily and without hesitation, jump a 2' fence (think straw bale).

Then we worked the gate again.

Then we put them all together again.

And then we were done, mostly because I didn't want to over do it.

Monday was very brief. I trimmed his face, then got him saddled. We were the only ones at the barn, which normally isn't a big deal, but the wind was gusting hard and one of the garage doors between the arena and the outdoor kept going "wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"  every time the wind blew. I tried to work the slalom, but the turns were too tight for Ashke and he wasn't picking his lead up right away. We may have to continue to trot the slalom for the beginning of this season. I wasn't motivated to keep riding when the wind sounded like it was going to take the roof off.

The good news is the swelling is almost gone. His face is almost back to normal.