Rain Dance

Well, so much for that anti-rain dance yesterday evening. It rained all night, and now it is dark, cloudy, and windy. I'm so glad we got a great ride in yesterday, because I'm not sure if we're going to go out today. I'm waiting for it to get lighter out and see if the clouds are breaking up or not. Rain, and possible thunderstorms, are predicted all day today.

But yesterday's ride was awesome. Sadly, no pictures, as I was fiddling with saddle packs again and didn't rig up something for my camera yet. We did the big, 12-mile loop down at the San Tans, and managed a very respectable (for us) 5mph pace. Might have been slightly faster than that, as we stopped for about 10 minutes or so for a potty break. Part of that includes hand walking for about a mile in the sand wash, too.

Beamer got to try out Mimi's S-Hack yesterday, and I've got a new convert to bitless now. Dad really liked riding with it, and Beamer was super-soft in his face. I knew he would be. Just the 15 minutes in the arena on Tuesday with him told me that. I'm glad he didn't prove me wrong.

Both ponies were feeling very good yesterday. Mimi was so happy to be out again. She bounced her way through the ride, trying to dash up the hills and breathe fire on Beamer's tail when he was trotting too slow. I've been letting her do a controlled trot on the up side of the numerous in-and-out ditches that make up our trails in an effort to be easier on her hocks and give her a little more momentum. How does she thank me? By trying to canter or sprint up the hills when I give her an inch of loose rein.

Methinks she didn't get the memo that she's turning 16 in May.

Based on her enthusiasm, and still consistently low heart rates (horses that are uncomfortable in their hocks don't trot along at 81bpm), we've made the decision to go for the 50 at McDowell. I really want to find out if she's still got "it," and doing a 50 is the best way to find out. I know she'd make it through a 25, but I think it would be too tempting for me to ride faster than would be ideal in a 25. If we do a 50, I know I'll ride a lot more conservative pace, which I think would be a lot better for her. I think a slow 50 would be a lot easier on her than a fast 25.

It's still dark out. It's almost 7a.m., and I don't see a hint of sunrise. That ride might not happen today. *grumble*