Fall is here!

I took Clover out for a hack last night, and now that the bugs are gone and the temps are cool, the days are too short. Night falls earlier and earlier. Time to consider night riding. I'm grateful there's an indoor at Riverside, but I'm also dreading the inevitable winter snows, rains, thaws, and freezes that bring bad footing and forces us into the indoor. It's kind of like running on a treadmill.

We hacked around the hay field behind the barn, and once we got into the next hay field behind the winery that abuts the farm, Clover got a bit nappy and clearly wanted to get back to the barn--when I trotted her she wasn't listening to the aids one bit. I started to get frustrated, then told myself to figure it out and get over it. I started doing circles, transitions, leg yields, etc. to get her back. Yay dressage. It worked, and we got back to the farm hay field more calmly to do a good trot stint before heading back to the barn. I think the napping and mild spooking when we're out alone is more about Clover wanting to go back to the barn rather than separation anxiety--she's really content being in the barn by herself at night (during the summer--she's allergic to midge spit so she stays in at night with a fan on) while the other horses are out.

We have a lesson tonight with Katrina, who moved her pretty pinto mare Bella in for the winter. Hooray!