Hi Ann,
 
Just wanted to report back from our ride in the Sierra foothills!  As
you can see in the photos, there was snow!!! Apparently it rarely ever
snows at that low elevation (about 1500) but there it was and it was
beautiful!  And guess what? Kalika felt right at home, went through
puddles, snow, mud, and didn't ever wonder what's going on ;) She also
had the great advantage of wearing no shoes which proved essential -
my friend's horse kept packing mud and ice in his shoes which then
took a while to dislodge so he was quite wobbly parts of the way. And
he had to wear one boot because he lost a shoe last week...
 
Kalika did really well, even on two fairly big long hills. We took
frequent breaks on the way up and I know she will be able to get up
that place without a break after more practice soon. We'll get her
hindquarters really strong (the deep sand in the arena helps!) She was
such a fighter and reaching out all the time, it was awesome. On the
flat parts we practiced all her different trots. When she did her
extended trot, we left the other horse in the dust, so to speak... But
her medium trot is what we'll foster because that's going to get us
far. It was great! Her walk is not that fast and she looks around much
more but once she trots, she focuses and just goes and goes! I think
she is perfect for this!

I was also super happy that she drank from the first puddle we saw!
Hurray! So we won't have issues with her tanking up when she needs to.
Pauly had that problem and that's another reason he had to retire from
this sport, he didn't take care of himself.  But Kalika drinks well
and when we got back to "base camp" for a break, she ate and ate ;)
The Solstice saddle fit her very well and she had perfectly even sweat
marks. We have another saddle to try next week but this may just be
the one.
 
Also, as you can see from one of the photos, she had to go in a very
small trailer and I wasn't sure if she had ever been in one of those.
So we loaded the other horse first and then got her in after just two
tries (she backed out again at first.) All I had to do is shake the
feed pan with some grain ;)  On the way home, she walked right in just
with voice command - such a quick learner!  Thank you again for your
amazing horse training!

Stay warm in Iowa,
Ines