Drives 7, 8 & 9

A lot has happened since my last post. I've driven some, ridden some, went to a driving event and just had a lot going on. But I'll try and get this all caught up. 

Drive #7 went well enough that I was able to get some video. 

Drive #8 I was only able to get a few pics, but they're on a friend's phone and they haven't been sent to me yet to post. 

Casey handled everything well and that led to Drive #9 from Wednesday after the chiro left. When people talk about things going wrong and the wheels falling off- well yes sometimes they do. 

This is my friends cart and we were at a trot when the left wheel worked its way loose and came off. Casey managed about 2 strides like this when I said 'whoa' and she stopped. She stood quietly while we unhitched and led her back inside to unpack. 

This is a teachable moment and two things come to mind in this- A) Cart or carriage Maintenance is never a bad thing. We check the air in the tires, but how often do we go over our carriage or cart and check all the bolts are tight, grease moving parts or at least spray them with some lubricant? Sometimes not as often as we should. 

B) We should always train for when things go wrong. Life isn't always perfect and when it is- things are great. But how often does that happen and how long does it usually last? This could have been a Huge accident, but since taking our time with Casey and Mazy means building up their trust and confidence, when things go wrong or even just get a little sideways, they trust us to get them thru it.  

Thankfully this happened in the arena because I'm glad it wasn't far to put the cart away to work on it later. Not like if we were a mile or 3 down the road with no tools. One of the nuts wore out over time and stripped. Axle bolt replacement was in order and things are right as rain at minimal cost. That's always a plus.