Pretty Much the First Day of Spring

Connor and I had a terrible, horrible, no good very bad lesson on Tuesday.  We found out at the very end of the lesson it was due to an adjustment I made to his bridle that he did NOT like - once I figured it out and put it back he was back to his old self.

One way or another - after his regularly scheduled off day on Wednesday I figured I owed him one on Thursday.  We hit the green, green grass in a t-shirt and summer tights and enjoyed the first really warm springlike day I think we've had so far:

We wandered the farm.

We did two hill climbs on the really long steep hill in the turnout pasture.

Tough to properly photograph, but this is a legit incline for Indiana and I'm thankful to have it for strength training.

We also went out to the big field behind the barn and trotted and cantered.  He was SO relaxed.  Normally he's antsy and pacey and nervous when we're out there.

He also killed it on Equisense metrics - 15.5 is his highest ever canter elevation score by quite a bit.

Afterward, I stripped his tack and took him out to groom him while he grazed on the lawn - something I'm sure he appreciated since his grazing muzzle got put back on this week!

Astute readers will realize that is not Connor's halter on his head.  It's a long story involving his grazing muzzle, TOTD taking a month and counting to get a purchase to me, and me not wanting to walk to my trailer to get a spare out :D 

Finally, I got totally sidetracked staring at his practically iridescent coat in the sun. This is nothing but nutrition - he hasn't had a bath in a month and he's been pretty neglected for the last 10 days.

Happy Friday!