Ike’s favorite place to be in this wretched heat?  His stall, of course.  Can’t say that I blame him.  This early summer heat wave is miserable.  My heart goes out to the folks who lost power on Friday night in the wicked thunderstorm that rolled through the state.  The power companies are telling folks that they could be without power for a week.  Ugh.  Thank goodness that the barn has power so that the young prince can have his fan running and cold water to fill his water buckets.  Ike has requested a window air conditioning unit for his one year anniversary which is fast approaching…if he had one, I don’t think that he would ever leave his stall.

We didn’t ride yesterday, but Ike was tacked up and ready to go by 8:30 this morning.  The temperature wasn’t too bad at that point – 80 degrees, but the 65% humidity made the ride a bit sweaty to say the least.  We lasted 30 minutes.  I have to say that Ike again gave me some great work.  His early days in Florida must have conditioned him for this humid weather.  Ike seems uneffected by the heat and humidity while under saddle.  He cannot stand the bugs, but who can blame him on that account.  It hurts when the green flies and horse flies bite.  Ike’s trot was again balanced and our throughness and connection are improving with every week.  Ike is also hitting the correct canter lead almost every time.  Even Ike’s attempt at a stretch down trot was admirable.

I must be feeling really positive about our canter work or possibly delirious from the heat since I signed up for Training Test 1 and Training Test 2 for our next schooling show.  It isn’t until the end of the month, so we’ve got 28 days to figure it all out and memorize Test 2.  Plenty of time…