After taking the winter off to relax and grow up a bit more, our sweet girl Luna came out in the spring stronger and ready to work. Although still as calm as ever, Luna’s stamina and energy had increased- as we discovered when she eagerly cantered up hills during outrides! As she is only 3 and still growing into herself, we always make sure to keep it simple with Luna. She works 3 or 4 days per week and does a lot of hacking out, where the hills and varying terrain will help her gain strength and learn to balance herself.
Recently, we took Luna (along with Ozzy and mini Mikey) to a local show at the fairgrounds in Union. Because we wanted to introduce them to the new environment with as little pressure as possible, we entered all three into several ‘in-hand’ classes. Luna was a bit star-struck by all of the other horses and the activity, but by the end of the morning she had completely relaxed.
The following week, we took Luna back to the fairgrounds (no show this time) to ride her around in the ring and on the racetrack. She enjoyed the outing, and got to have a nice canter around the track. We loved her quiet, curious attitude and her excellent ground manners: she self-loaded into the trailer and stood calmly while we tacked her up.
Back at the farm, we’ve been playing over log jumps with Luna and also an upbank, downbank and natural ditch. She tackles every obstacle without hesitation, and is beginning to figure out how to use her body for jumping. Although this girl could excel in many different disciplines, we’re starting to think she might want to be an eventer! We will continue to do a little bit of everything throughout the summer with Luna, always focusing on keeping things fun and helping her to get stronger.
