She does have two things going on right now. Neither is related to my fear or bad riding though, how cool is that??!?! Small victories are good! So problem number 1 is that she seems to have a cough. On Friday, she coughed a few times under saddle when I got her going. She hadn't coughed on the lunge line so I thought maybe she just inhaled something funny. I gave her a breather and she didn't cough after that. Saturday she did the same thing. Sunday, she actually was coughing before I put the bridle on. It's a dry cough and she has no other symptoms, such as a runny nose or goopy eyes. She coughed maybe five times in the cross ties. Then after about fifteen minutes of riding she started coughing again. So I cut my ride short just in case and have emailed L to see what she thinks. There were some new horses that came in a few weeks ago that had snotty noses and coughs, but they are on the other side of the barn from us. Of course, though I was careful not to pet them, you never know who else might have pet them and then pet my pony....
Problem number 2 is that with her gigantic fuzzball winter coat, my square pad seems to be rubbing her hair off. L thinks it's because the pads are new and that they just need to be softened up with repeated washing. They're not too long so I know it's not that, but I don't want her getting a bald spot this winter! I might buy an extra pad after Christmas is over and see if switching pads helps. The two pads I have are both inexpensive pads from VTO saddlery ($25 for super cute square pads!). But maybe the edge is too stiff. Any recommendations for super soft dressage pads would be appreciated!
: ) It's a Schneider's blanket, isn't it?! I LOVE their blankets. Sounds like you two are having an amazing time together and really progressing! Great job!
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