When it sounds too good to be true - and thoughts about "lazy" horses

Well, our social membership at the Berwyck Saddle Club was very short lived. After exactly two visits we were called in by the new owners and informed that they would not be honoring the contract we had with the previous owner. They are now charging by visit - or if we wanted to pay annually it's an eight(!)-fold increase.

So, being caught between a rock and a hard place we really don't have much of a choice: It's either riding during the winter in a place close by, or hauling the boys 30 minutes each way.

Remy and Chambord have been doing well in the new arena, they did not seem bothered at all by the other horses, or the heating vents crackling overhead, so we'll continue going there as much as possible.

The last months Remy has been way more enthusiastic in his work, giving me a super feeling by no longer 'being stuck' and instead moving forward freely. I just came across a FB posting by Amy Skinner (Amyskinnerhorsemanship.com) that hit the nail on the head regarding Remy:

"Many horses that are “lazy” are actually just tense. Their energy is “stuck” and does not move through back to front. Contrary to belief, It isn’t that they don’t want to work, it’s that they need help releasing tension in their bodies. The nature of a horse is to get along - labeling them with adjectives such as “lazy” or “not hard working” is anthropomorphic and incorrect. A horse doesn’t know anything about human ideas of work ethic, it only knows what works and what makes It feel better."