A Day "Off" From Horses

I typically don't ride on Sundays (unless there's a horse show). It's really the only day I have to clean the house, do laundry, and all those other dreadful "house chores."

I hate that I haven't put much riding time into Ketel. I declare this coming week Ketel Week! Even though I haven't been riding him much he gets handled daily. It's just as important to work on him leading, standing in the cross ties (without pawing), grooming, etc. He does all of the above so well. I really think his impatience in the beginning was more of him getting adjusted to my schedule. He was used to being fed multiple times per day at the track. His dinner time was 3pm, at my barn it's closer to 7pm. He no longer paws in his stall until he gets fed. I make sure he always has hay and he is content with that until feeding time. When I get home from work, I work the horses then feed. Hence the late feed time. He is also slowly starting to look less like a race horse. His body is less tight and drawn up. I still want more weight on him but that will come in time. I've only had him 6 weeks...

So hopefully my next couple of blogs will be about riding Ketel. I also need some cooperation from the weather. No more rain! So in honor of "Ketel Week" I'm sharing a picture of Ketel taken at the farm where I bought him.