He now has a spring in his step - and how's that for German quality?

 Remy has been going really well lately (knock on wood!), and he is developing a very nice spring in his step (suspension) in the trot. He sometimes feels like a completely different horse -in a good way! So much so that I jokingly asked Vanessa yesterday "who is this and what happened to my horse??". Remy is happy and very proud of himself. While I still sometimes feel like the kid that has to repeat a class or two (common in the German school system, no 'socially passed' happening there) I am happy that we finally seem to find our groove. Jenn, who's always supportive and a great sounding board, reminded me that Morgans were bred for groundcover, they had to be smooth and efficient in order to make good cavalry mounts. 'Springy steps' do not lead to accuracy in battle, I guess.  

So it's neat to feel the bounce in the trot, all the while he is going freely forward. This weekend, though, we are not going forward. We are under a heat advisory and it's so miserably hot and humid that riding has been suspended. Remy lounges with his friends under the fan in the run in shed, snacking on hay, or sauntering a bit around the pastures before coming back into the shade. Not a bad gig, he says. 

Yesterday, I carried a change of "clothes on ice" in a cooler to my appointments to help me stay cool. 

"Shirt on ice"

Luckily most barns have fans in front of the stalls, but some only have them in the aisles, and they don't help much when working with a horse in a stall. Tomorrow I'll start bright and early to beat the heat. 

While cleaning my every day Koenigs riding boots I happened to glance at the stamp "Made in West-Germany". A quick calculation revealed that these boots pre-date 1990 (Germany's reunification was in 1990). The are from the pre-zipper era, no muss no fuss. Talk about German quality! They are also a reminder of my dad - the boots were a gift from my parents during their first visit to the US. These boots can fall apart and they will still be with me. 

I wear them several times a week, on and off the horse. Remy and I are so efficient: He travels to our lessons wearing his saddle on the trailer, and I drive in my riding boots. 

The "West" tells that they were made in or before 1990

Still looking great - after all these years of almost daily wear