Horse Stories 9

Ormr had a busy last weekend! And hasn’t done much this week, because it’s much too hot to make him work right now.

The stall toys appear to be keeping him somewhat distracted, and there are fewer reports of carnage from the barn owner. He’s now got a Jolly Ball (which is like those things toddlers sit on and bounce—basically a rubber ball with a handle), a corrugated thing to use to scratch his butt (horse butts are notoriously itchy), and a dodecahedron that one can put hay cubes inside, like a treat ball for a dog.

We’ve had two lessons since the last update, and the first one was OBSTACLES! We trotted over low crossrails and a Cavaletti, which is atraining tool that’s basically a pole on x-shaped legs that can be set to different heights. I’m trying to learn to keep my hands soft and shoulders down in all circumstances, which is harder than you might thing. Trainer said my upper body stability has been improving though, so that’s progress!

Second lesson was changes of direction again, spirals and so forth. Hard work, especially since that was the day after Squat Day at the weight rack, and my quadriceps and hip adductors just kind of quit after half an hour. Like, my leg just… gave up on squeezing. Kaput.