Gearing Up

Literally! With New Gear! 

I got a nice little bonus a few weeks ago, and decided to spend it on some legit XC boots for the pony. While our bargain-bin neoprene splints were working ok, I really wanted Dino to have a boot that was a bit sturdier and offered more protection. Plus the velcro straps on the splint boots are starting to shred already. Classy.

Placemats made by my sister-in-law. Cute, no?!

I went for the new Woof Pro Event boots - a nice mid-price boot that looked like it would offer the protection I wanted without breaking the bank. Even though the price tag is pretty friendly, I could still only afford to get one pair at a time, so I got the fronts.

What I love about Woof boots is the HUGE range of sizes they offer! Trying to find equipment that fits a large pony can be tough, and these boots come in every size imaginable, including a 'wide' option for cobby legs, with a handy size guide to go along with them. I bought Dino the Small front boots, and will purchase him Mediums for his hind legs.

I tried them on the pony yesterday, and they fit perfectly. Yay!

Looking legit! And hairy...

Plz don't judge the muddy feets. 

Perfectly pony-sized

They had a great test run in a nice sloppy, wet, puddly arena yesterday and performed well. They stayed put perfectly and didn't get heavy or hold a ton of water even though we spent a lot of time splashing through puddles. I'm excited to get to use them out on XC this year!

We had a good ride yesterday despite Dino starting it off by being an absolute brat. I was hopeful he'd be good since his tantrums were becoming less and less severe with each ride, but the second I asked him to trot for the first time he slammed on the brakes and pinned his ears, even though he had been just lovely for the walk warm-up. We had to have a few pretty serious conversations about that kind of behavior - turning him in a tight circle and/or swatting him on the shoulder with the bight of the reins when he said "No" instead of going forward, and giving him a solid thump with both legs. I made a big effort to release the contact a bit and take my leg completely off when he listened and trotted off, and after a few minutes of walk/trot transitions I had a willing pony again.

Once we got to cantering, Dino was fabulous! It seemed to loosen up his whole body, and he was happy to go forward and back and listen to my leg like the broke pony I know him to be.

THEN I let WonderPony JUMP and he was SO HAPPY. He was downright attacking the little crossrail I had set up, and was merrily galloping off and motorcycling around the turns upon landing. Then I let him jump a little 2'3" ish brush box thing and he thought that was GREAT but also was landing in a complete heap on his forehand. Even so, I was doing this crazy thing wherein I was keeping my eye up and not looking at the jump and staying out of my pony's face and riding a forward canter to a medium distance. Weird.  I made a mental note to include lots of landing poles and bounces in Dino's future, and moved on to some more canter work, lengthening down the long sides of the arena and putting him together for a nice circle on the short sides. It was tough work, but he made a good effort. We ended with some lovely, balanced, forward trot work before calling it a day.

Dino was great, but being competition-fit still seems so far off!