For your enjoyment today, a smattering of semi-ride-related notes, since my head is in too many directions to make it more cohesive!

Despite washing Confetti’s mane this past weekend, she has already succeeded in turning it from nice-white to rolled-in-dirt.  Tomorrow’s to-do list now includes washing it again and re-braiding either Thursday night or Friday at ridecamp.  There may be no ‘must have clean and well-presented horse’ rule for endurance, but hunter roots die hard – and when we’ll almost inevitably be the only Haflinger there, I feel obligated to present well.

Transport has been arranged, due to a very kind friend and her husband’s willingness to drop Fetti off at ridecamp before work on Friday.

Pre-ride ‘break’ began Monday, after Sunday’s boot-testing ride.  Bareback rides Tuesday and Thursday – figuring I still need her to get out to keep her head on straight, but if I can sit whatever we’re doing bareback, she can’t be working that hard.  I am not capable of riding her Big Trot bareback.

Now is as good a time as any to (re)start trying to train Confetti to pee on command.  I cluck (since I can’t whistle, I’m settling for a verbal cue different from anything we’ve ever used as a ‘trot’ or ‘go’ cue), she pees, she gets a cookie or three.  Easy, right?  Except that she deigns to pee on trail 3-4 times a year these days.  Up from once! 
Trainability/routine gold star for us: she gets tied to tie-rail, pull tack, eventually put her back in her stall.  Close gate, walk across to the tack room, get grain out of bucket, pony pees. 
This weekend, I walked her in with halter & lead and stood with her for a few minutes.  Pony earned her cookie 🙂  My hope is that we can keep that up and transfer it under-saddle by the end of the summer.

There is no current packing list.  I have a (short) to-do list in my head of non-horse things.  It will undoubtedly get longer.  Nearly 36 hours prior to showing up at ridecamp.. and the pre-ride panic of stuff to do has not yet set in.  Yikes.