Quality, Not Quantity

Much of my blog focuses on the good because honestly 99% of the time things are good, very good in fact. Quest is smart, athletic, and honest. She is a dream come true for what I could have ever have desired in a distance riding prospect. In our short time together, we’ve had some very crazy adventures already and we are taking steady steps together toward our endurance dreams. 

Physically, she'll be more than fine once we get a few rides under our belt and I learn to manage us.  Mentally, however I think we need to take a step back. 

This past weekend I finally made myself admit that we need to go back to reviewing groundwork before our rides. I have noticed she has been getting increasingly more distracted and paying less attention to me on the ground. And it’s totally my fault. 

Back when I was only 20 minutes away from the barn and could see her every other day of the week, I would begin most of our sessions with a short groundwork review before tacking up to ride. From day 1, Quest was jittery, could not stop her feet from moving and she could get pushy if anxious. A couple months of consistent little groundwork sessions before our rides though, I was able to groom and tack her up ground tied in the arena or turnout pen without ever touching the lead rope.

Her behavior now unfortunately reminds me of that first month we were together. I know it’s not something I intentionally did but I am annoyed at myself for not realizing it sooner.

I have no regrets about moving us to WSS. The mareface is flourishing here and doing very well for her first winter in pasture. 


Snug in her green blanket. Good to see she's figured out herd dynamics  

And the accessibility to miles of decent trails still makes me giddy with pleasure. 

I'll never tire of this view <3

Unfortunately being almost an hour away from the barn has made me feel like I need to capitalize on our time together. Quest, being the saint that she is, has no problem with “hop on and go” and so that’s what we have been doing for the past few months. However this has resulted in me occupying a poor headspace horsemanship-wise whenever we ride. The sense of urgency “need to ride” is even more so now since everyone on the East Coast is starting to leg up for the new season.  

I love to ride. I don’t think that is a bad thing in it of itself. However I shouldn’t look at the number of miles but the quality of the time together. So we will be going back to what has worked for us in the past. We will work on our relationship; she is my partner and she’s worth my time and effort.