Tues. Misc.--On the Farm

Last post, our would be Blame. From that angle a resemblance. From a different angle the voracious Rodney, 4 yr. old colt out of Arch momma, appears more a pregnant broodmare. As the BC vibrations for this year subside this blog will get back on track. The weather here has been suddenly dry. Six weeks now. After the constant monsoons I was a little slow to get into full training mode. We have been at it, and, if all else were ready would probably be about 45 days out from a race. As it is, one step at a time, see how it goes. We've been on a 36 hr. training cycle. This is working well. See a little extra energy with each w/o, and am more comfortable with high volume. Each w/o since last report has gone something like this:

15-20 min of tack work, walk-trot-gallop up and down the hill. Yest. morn. the gallops started to get faster. Followed by 3-4 miles continuous riderless gallop in fartlek style--i.e. with accelerations. Since the horse refuses now riderless to take off on his own at speed, we've taken to the strategy of driving him fast when he get's into it during this continuous gallop. Working fairly well, and both horses--conditioning-- back where they were end of August. If good weather holds, rapid progress!