Independence

I spent this morning debating with myself. I knew that I could go play with Gambler for several hours (which is something we both need), but only if I drove myself to the barn. There are two problems here. First, I hate driving. It freaks me out. Second, as a rule of thumb, I prefer to do horse-related activities with at least one other person. Horses are dangerous and it's good to have two minds/pairs of hands on deck in case things get unpredictable. That being said, normally when I am out with Gambler Mom is doing something in the barn out of earshot. So I decided that the benefit was worth the risks.

I'm glad I did. Gambler and I got a lot done today. We did a little bit of everything from starting on the side-pass (Gambler prefers half-passes), to liberty circles at the walk, to mounting prep. Gambler was good considering that we haven't done any serious work since Sunday and I was out there for three hours today. There were a few moments of ear-pinning, many moments of walking over me, and two baby rears. Still, he did well. During mounting prep there were several times when I was holding him on a loose lead and he let me lean on his back without negative reaction. It's not much in the light of horses that can be ridden, but it's a huge improvement for Gambler. He also stood ground-tied while I picked out both his front feet. He kicked with the right, but let me pick out and tap on the left without complaint. 

I didn't get any pictures of any of that, because it was just little ol' me by myself. Plus the camera gets cantankerous when it's cold. I did get a few pictures before and after.

I love this picture so much, the color is amazing. If only it had focused.