Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 85th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 85th LESSON

I don't have a lot to say about my lesson with Flossie today. Basically, all I had to
do was just put the mare through her paces. She came to me when I was setting up the cones
for us to ride around. Usually she waits until I walk up to her, so you can imagine what a
surprise it was for me to look up from what I was doing to see her coming across the paddock
to me.

Because it had rained hard over night, I phoned Des to make sure the ground wasn't too
wet before I went to ride. I found the track muddy in two places, but it was dry enough to
get around these spots, and since it had rained, the track was actually soft which always
makes for a more comfortable ride. It sprinkled a bit as soon as I had dismounted, but it
only rained for about three to five minutes; nothing worth mentioning, really.

Oh, one thing happened today worth mentioning. I asked Flossie for a canter and instead of
the usual nice, smooth gait she picks up most of the time, she went into a nice smooth
gallop. I couldn't believe it. She has never done that before and it was quite a
thrill. We went around at a good clip for about an eighth of the track, then I pulled her
down to a canter and we just went along at a nice pace the rest of the way. She was very
responsive to me; when she started a gait too fast, she listened and came right down when I
asked her to. We spent most of the lesson on the track, although we did do a few circles
and straight line exercises in the paddock.

I was able to get up close and personal with the colts again today. They're getting
friendlier and friendlier. When they open their mouths to bite, I just say no and they
stop. Blaze is beginning to enjoy his neck rubs. Both colts are getting taller and Blaze
looks so sturdy. I have a feeling BamBam is going to be taller than Blaze; his legs are so
long, it's incredible. He has the Standardbred face, however, and the way it's
shaping up reminds me of a fast-growing male adolescent whose hands and feet are bigger than
the rest of him. In this case, however, it's BamBam's chin, ears, and nose that are
out of proportion.