Mud, Showoff, Forward, Rolex, Shopping!

How's that for a title? So now that all the snow has finally melted and it's not a muddy mess everywhere, I can actually work with my horse! Fancy that. Though... I did have to deal with this first:

Lovely, ain't it?

Yesterday I lunged and rode, we were sharing the arena initially with another rider who was on this super sweet little QH mare named Ladybug.  Well, everytime Cash would pass Lady while on the lunge he would puff himself up, arch his neck, and start prancing about.  He was being such a goof!! What a ham.

It did help in that it got him going a bit more forward.  Under saddle he was just very very stuck.  I think part of it is that he needs shoes for the summer, when the ground gets hard you can tell he is just a bit uncomfortable. But man, he just needs to learn to go forward!! I've started riding him in spurs which has helped, but wow he takes a lot of leg and core strength to ride. I also tried a new noseband/bit combo, I pulled out my figure 8 and tried a Herm Sprenger Klaus Balkenhol brigdoon that used to be Pie's bit (a bit I've always been fond of, I like the shape of it, nice n simple and most horses seem to really like it). He seemed to do a little better in, he wasn't biting at the bit so much, we'll keep on it for a bit and see how it goes.

Mom, taking pictures is boring!

Otherwise, I spent several hours yesterday glued to my computer watching the live feed from Rolex.  Buck's ride on Reggie just gave me goosebumps, and it was just a thrill to see him so excited, fist pumping, after crossing the finish line!

The baby helped me watch too, though she was
more interested in banging on the keyboard!

A new farrier is coming out a week from tomorrow to put shoes on Cash, nothing against my old farrier at all, I really liked him, but I didn't feel he was quite clicking with my horse.  I'm also hoping to secure some regular riding lessons this summer and get to some shows!  Then, I've got a decent bit of extra $$ burning a hole in my pocket so I think I'm going to go on a spending spree and pick up some things from my Wish List, such as the helmet, XC vest, and maybe a dressage bridle (if I can decide on one I like).

In short, my horsie life is looking up right now :)