Day 10

10 February 2011
It was late when I got home from riding the mare, and I was cold.  But the weather man said tomorrow was going to be worse, so headed out to the barn to ride the pony decked out in 6 sweaters and coats, a few pairs of long johns, and heat packs for my hands and feet.
The pony stood gamely in the cross ties while I groomed him and attempted to detangle his mane.  Every time I do this, he rolls and knots it back up again.  Oh pony...  We flipped on the arena lights and made our way out into the cold.  There was about 2 inches of snow, maybe 3, when we entered the arena.  The top layer of footing broke up and mixed in with the snow quite nicely around the rail to create near perfect conditions, but only a small area of the center of the ring was ridable.  So, we spent most of our time trotting around like a lesson pony.  Arty wasn't quite as supple as he was the other night, nor was he quite as straight.  With some work though, we attained an acceptable level of straightness in the walk and the trot. 
We did a few laps of canter for muscle building, and it was the same- great left (more supple and bendable) and a challenge to the right.  Time to kick our canter buts into gear and get the muscle/balance exercises out!