O. M. G.

Rode Princess Wednesday.

He was being fairly good at the trot, so I said what the heck, we'll try a canter, even though I hadn't really planned on it.

He picked up a left lead canter promptly.  He held it around the ring, on THREE 20 meterish circles, and around the ring again.  What!!!!  Once he settles into the canter, I feel very comfortable and secure.  The first couple strides aren't great, but after that it's good.  I feel, as my beloved George Morris would say, tight as a tick.

Because he was being so very good, we changed direction and asked for a right lead canter.  He did it.  Yes, River/Riv/Princess/Mr. Rd./River Mountain Rd. successfully picked up a right lead canter.  On the first attempt, no less!  It was crooked and unbalanced and uncomfortable and only lasted down the long side (he broke as soon as we got to the corner), but he did it!!!

Then we went back to trotting and being good, which he did.  He's really getting it, but mostly on a circle.  Straight lines are apparently tricky.  *shrug*

I worked the poor boy half to death....

He was very very sweaty.  And yes, he's wandering loose in the indoor.  He was supposed to stand quietly while I took a picture of his sweaty self, but he was not cooperating.

I untacked him and let him wander about in the indoor for a few minutes while I put my things away.

He doesn't really get the point.

Also Wednesday:  Pulled him out of the stall, and what do I find?

I know it's a bad picture.  For some reason, pictures at the barn taken with the flash never turn out well.  Anyway.  He's missing a bell boot.  And I kid you not, on the way to the barn I was thinking "wow, he's been wearing those bell boots nonstop since May and they're still holding on great!"  Hah!  Dumb boy.

Super-awesome farrier came yesterday.  I brought Princess and The Mare in to wait and went back out to find the missing bell boot.

In the round bale pile.  (That's the remains of the old round bales.  Not the stuff they're expected to eat.  Although I'm sure they do eat it because they're dumb like that.)  Silly me, looking in the mud by the gate and water!  Obviously he'd pull his bell boot off on dry, level ground!

Super-awesome farrier arrived without his trailer... he kinda forgot that Princess has shoes.  It worked out perfectly, though, because I was going to ask about pulling his shoes and having him barefoot for the winter.  Neither of them were long enough to really trim, so I got a shoe-pulling lesson.  Super-awesome farrier will be back in a couple weeks to trim them up, unless Princess has problems without the shoes.  Not only did I not I have a write a big fat check, I got some trimming advice, and Riv gets a couple week trial without shoes to see how things go.