Check it out! Sunshine! It was a beautiful day for a ride; Tammy, Sharon, and I went out in the hills--it wasn't even too muddy after all the snow and rain on the weekend. It was great. Riyah was very good. She is getting much more confident about water. She actually walked up to one cattle tank and stuck her nose in the water, which she hasn't been willing to do previously. We came to a small pond with boggy mud all around it, and she willingly walked through the little stream and across the bog. (The green spring grass may have been the encouragement she needed!) She also walked through most of the puddles (big ones) and stopped to taste the muddy water in one.

No boots today--she is fine, of course, without them, but she seemed maybe slightly less enthusiastic. Not unenthusiastic by any means; it was just a feeling I had. Or maybe she was just more relaxed since we didn't split her away from her buddies! It's hard to tell with just one ride to compare, but it is something I will be sure to be aware of in the future.

I do need to work on getting Riyah to stand still for me to get on. She tends to move around and worry about the other horses, etc. I want her to stand like a rock! Some days she has done better, but it's totally inconsistent. I can just see us trying to mount up at an endurance ride while another rider's horse is heading off! It wouldn't be fun or easy! Maybe even dang near impossible!

I did spend 15 minutes doing ground work and games before I left to ride. We also played in the trailer--going in, checking things out, turning around, eating a cookie, getting out again, etc. Riyah just walked in when I was ready to go. Way to go, girl!

She will probably have the day off tomorrow, so I can get Keno out, but on Wednesday I will do another solo ride with her.