After Seneca, Oh So and I have had some downtime from competing. Middleburg is next weekend, followed by Morven. I sent in my entry for Prelim at Lexington, so I’m a little nervous! I’m hoping my new dressage saddle will be here by then so I can sit the trot a little easier.

Last night in my flat lesson I rode through most of the movement of Prelim Test B. It’s a wonky test, but I think we can handle it. Between now and Lexington I need to make sure to practice in the smaller arena though. It’s got some counter-canter and a medium canter which will feel tight in a short ring. He was very good last night though. He almost felt like he was on drugs! I added some towels to shim my saddle more than the half pad and fleece-lined saddle pad, and I think it helped me sit better and felt better for him. My sitting trot was almost easy compared to what it usually is in that saddle, and he was really accepting it.

I had the chiropractor out for both horses last week. Sam seemed pretty good, but she recommended some Chinese herbs to try for his arthritis. She also recommended some for Oh So called Body Sore. He’s obviously not 100% happy in his back because of saddle fit right now, so I decided to go ahead and try a month or two of the herbs. She said it takes about two weeks to affect them, but who knows? Maybe last night’s ride was a result? He’s only been on them for a couple of days though. I’m not a huge believer in that kind of stuff, but I thought I’d give it a try. I might consider trying the arthritis blend with Sam instead of Previcox/Cosequin.

Last weekend I took a break from horses (well not really) and visited Philadelphia on the way to visit my Grandma and celebrate my parents 35th wedding anniversary. We stopped in the city on Friday and visited some of the historic sites. It was kind of hot and humid which made walking around uncomfortable, but it was still fun. Next time we’ll go to the museums since we didn’t have time.

My Grandma had planned for us to go watch polo on Saturday but with all the rain, it was canceled. So we ended up going to PARX race track and casino instead. I took my camera and we had a really fun afternoon.

This week has been fairly quiet. I work at Marlborough horse trials on Sunday, but I really wish I was up at Plantation Field. I’ve never been and would like to someday.