Flowing with the wind

First off, I woke up at 3 am the night before because it was thundering SO badly and lightening! I always think of Laz during these storms and how happy I am that he has a stall on those nights. I know it's probably more for my comfort than his, but I do feel better.

Anyway, when I got the barn, I expected him to be a bit sore.  He spins and runs and acts a bit stupid sometimes during high winds, storms etc.  He was actually OK, gimpy yes, but fine.

It was a beautiful summer evening but WINDY!! Ugh.  

Wind + Laz = concerned pony

We walked for about 1-1/2 hours, me leading him on the ground.  I quickly decided that today may not be the best day to jump on his back.

Lazarus was skiddish, spooky and FAST! He wasn't NOT bad though, didn't misbehave, just had a lot of TB energy and with the wind whipping around, he was just unsettled.

I can totally tell that he is trusting me more however.

We walked through the whole obstacle course and it was like it was a new course.

The car wash vertical, our first few times going thru it, proved to be a challenge for him BUT he did it!  He balked at and got smacked in the face and all over with how wildly the tarp curtains were whipping around, but he did it and exhaled and snorted once thru it.  

The caution tape walk thru had him flying thru it a racer's speed a couple times, which was super fun when my sweaty neck grabbed the caution tape around it, choke!

I am feeling so much more confident on the ground with him.  

We maintained a loose lead and when he spooked, he RAN forward and spun to face me, like "WHA...Why aren't you scared??!"

I tried to just remain calm, talk to him, reward him and encourage him that we were OK.

We had a couple of times where I chose to lunge him a bit, and he BUCKED, and kicked OUT at the evil corner monsters hiding in the pine trees and leapt around. trotted and cantered, and played this role of I'm tough (but soo soo scared!) by arching his neck and puffing himself up.

After our couple lunge sessions, he settled a little but his shoulder and leg muscles quivered for the first hour, ready to RUN if need be.

I felt good about my choice to NOT ride him on a day like that.  For what reason? There are some days that it's best to stick to a simple lesson and not put myself in danger, especially if I'm not feeling up to it.

We ended the day, with a tired, loose lipped pony, mouthing at my lead line and being so sweet but it took a while to get there.

I was proud of him, because he did try to be brave in a lot of moments and never refused anything I asked of him.

Needless to say, no pictures/video being I had my hands full! 

I wish I had a little tripod camera to get these days on tape too!