saddle season

This is the "look" I got when I told Tonka that today was "lesson day" and it was time to get on the trailer!!! I have officially declared it to be spring and riding season once again!!!!

It's a funny thing, though... I still get "butterflies" on this first day of lessons. I ask myself all sorts of silly questions like... "do I remember how to ride?? do I really know how to handle this 1300 lbs. horse? do I know how to drive with my trailer? why do I like to do this?" but the moment my foot hits the stirrup, all the questions melt away, and it's just "me and Tonka" taking a lesson with Laura.

Right now, I feel amazing, our lesson was grand!!! Each year when we begin again, we are further than the year before and practically picked up where we stopped last December. Course tomorrow will be another story, once the old muscles find their place again. I wish that I could do more winter riding, but where the boys live at the moment, there really isn't good riding... that should all be different next winter!!!!

Tonka loaded like a champ... walked right on the trailer... WHAT a difference that is... oh, the first summer I had him.. I would plan at least a three hour time frame for just getting him on the trailer... we even missed a couple of lessons, because he absolutely refused to get on!!!! Hours of "work" have paid off for certain!! I would just spend afternoons, loading and unloading and loading again. I would feed him on the trailer and have all sorts of his favorite treats AFTER he got on.. and one day, it seem to click with him, and now... for the most part... I just tell him to "step on"....

These pictures are little dark, but I assure you.. that's me in that saddle!!!!

The nice thing about the horses being able to come and go as they please, is that Tonka has kept a lot of his muscle tone and suppleness over the winter. He was very "giving" to the bit, and though we did keep this first lesson on the light side, he was hardly warm when we got done... and that's with winter coat!!!!

We rode for about 45 minutes, and it was a good place to stop... you always want to stop on a good note. And for the first day back... trailer loading, tacking up, the lesson itself, and the ride home was more than enough to begin "saddle season".....

And as we pulled back into the yard...

here was the "welcoming committee"......

it is spring!!!!!