Just a little pink across the loin area. I got to thinking about this and where it is exactly the saddle and pad were not even touching. What was touching in the spare easyboot in my cantle pack. I think it is flopping back and forth and wearing the hair off so I'm going to have fix that with some bungie ties or something? The other area of concern was behind her withers on either side. It was cleared up. I rode a little over ten miles this afternoon after work and sponged off her back post ride to remove salts from sweat. I'll see how she looks at night feeding time. She was wearing the clean newer SKITO with the wool back on it and I applied Monkey Butt powder on her loin area "just in case" to reduce friction.
Journey is slowly (and I mean slowly) getting stronger. She is developing a better trot for short distances of a third mile or so at a time. Doing a few short canters thrown in each time. Most of this work we do on the flat in a place that she feels secure. It seems that when I get up much of a head of speed elsewhere, things tend to unravel somewhat. This evening I ended up somewhere near her ears at one point because of a clump of dry hay someone had dropped on the trail...you'd have thought it was Big Foot after her. But we survived, and I made her do several repetitions past it until she quit goobering at it. Next was some unseen demon of death on a little short uphill along a field. She acts up in some way every, single, time we do this uphill. There is nothing of note there. Previously it has been big bucking fits. Today she was tired enough that she wasn't feelign inspired to buck, instead, lofty sideways nearly airborne spooking. Ya gotta love it. *sigh* Our average time was perking close to 5 mph even with lots of grass munching until the end and the behavioral corrections ate into our time and shoved us back down to 4. 3, however I'd rather have a horse with a brain than a fast finish, so trying not to totally sweat it, yet.
Decided to throw a crupper on her expecting that to really get her worked up. Phebes absolutely went nuts when you put a crupper on her. Never did get her worked through it. Journey could have cared less really.
Rain is moving in yet again, we are really facing some challenges trying to get ready in time. ~ E.G.
Yeah, that's why I don't use cantle packs. I had one of those Stowaways rub my first mare's back BLOODY in about an hour of riding. Never again!
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