2.74 miles on a humid day! Happy Birthday Gwyn!

Today was crazy humid! It's going to be interesting getting used to the heat AND humidity that Michigan has to offer. In Washington the humidity always accompanied cooler temperatures. If it got warm, it was a dry warm.

Today is also Gwyn's Birthday. She turns 9!  It's crazy to think I've known her for 7.5 years and owned her for 4!

Here is our GPS track for today!

It's fun, you can see the point at which we hit a canter, at 12 mph.

That peak you can see right around 1.25 miles is where we had a nice 12 mph canter. I walked the first mile and did majority trotting for the second and the 3/4 to finish.

When I first got her out in the arena today, however, her behavior left much to be desired. Gwyn tore the lunge line out of my hands and went tearing around the arena bucking like a bronco. So we played the "You want to run? RUN" game and I made her canter around and around and around until I was ready for her to stop, she tried to slow down several times before I gave in.

There's a lunge line trailing behind her. I realize it's not safe, but she was being an idiot and needed the discipline

Then, when I went to set up some ground poles she wouldn't let me catch her. So we played another ground work game, the C game where I didn't let her complete a circle around the arena, she had to stay on the half I designated. This is something I learned in the groundwork clinics at Shadows but was always done on a lead line or in a small round pen. I was in a 100 ft round arena with just a dressage whip. But I did it!  I texted Dani after the ride to tell her because I was so happy it worked and Gwyn was listening to me. Hurray groundwork.

Once I had her listening, I rode her. I had set up some ground poles but they weren't spaced well to be trot poles so I gave up on that and went out for my perimeter rides. It was a hazy, humid day, the kind where it storms in the afternoon.

The hay field looks delicious

I am hot and sweaty, but man those Kerrits IceFil tights were amazing!  The bottom half of me was cool. I decided to order a top in IceFil today to match since the temperature is only going to increase.

Red tailed hawk taking off. I tried to get a picture of him on the ground but we got too close and scared him.

Gwyn's feet. They are white/light with minimal striping compared to the dark rest of her which I always thought looked nifty and not the norm. Bonus, she's barefoot and no chipping so far and no soreness on the small amount of gravel we rode on today!