Schedules

Throughout our journey, Gambler and I have been confronted with a lack of time.

Green horses need time. Hours of groundwork, hours with the saddle, and then, eventually, hours and hours of riding. Hours and hours that I have to scrounge up between sunrise and sunset, around work and school and friends and church and many other aspects of life.

These last few weeks I have been losing the fight against time. I finally got a job. I love the job and I need it, for multiple reasons. Working nights, however, has spun my whole Gambler schedule in chaos. This week I have slowly been collecting the pieces and reconstructing it.

I can't make any promises, but I hope to post regularly on this blog again. I haven't written because there isn't anything to write about. Once Gambler and I are making consistent progress I will begin writing regularly again.

We spent several hours together on Tuesday, but I don't have any pictures because I was at the barn by myself. I didn't ride for the same reason. There is no good reason to take unnecessary risks.

The smile says it all. 

The pictures in this post are from Sunday. I didn't ride then either, because I had a limited amount of time. On top of that, Gambler was spooking at the windy day. In our time apart, our relationship has weakened, resulting in a lack of confidence on both parts. I decided to focus on a tree that was blowing in the wind. At the beginning of our session Gambler couldn't walk past the tree without cantering away in fear. First, I asked him to circle at the walk closer and closer to the tree. Then, I asked him to slow down or stop next to the tree. After a few tries, he was standing directly beneath the tree, licking and chewing.

Directly under the tree, head down, fully relaxed.

See the licking, chewing, and floppy ears?

Playing the friendly game under the tree.