Mustang Saga

"Get off my back, will ya? I'm tired."

John and I got to ride together today! It was not much fun, unfortunately. Riding out from home on the road is not a good ride. The boys were P O K Y. We did get to visit with my neighbors as they put their colts in for the night. That was nice. They said our horses were nice looking. I love getting compliments on my boy from quarter horse people. I mean, of course Mack is handsome, but if you're used to one breed other types aren't as pretty. So them liking Tonka was cool. Their horses are very nice too. They have a yearling and 2 year old out of the same mare, both red duns, and they're built like brick outhouses. My other neighbor has a red dun too. I think we should start a club. Just kidding.

We made it about 3/4 of a mile over about a half hour (or more) then were warned of skunks ahead, and we were SO glad to turn around and go home. Voila! We had horses that could actually keep walking more than two steps! On our ride we went past a dead cat (poor, cute little kitten) a bunch of cattle, a rowdy mare, and a couple cars went by. They were pretty unfazed by all that. Just SLOW.

When we got home they really got to work. Poor boys. They were hot and tired when we were done. Then they stood tied to the trailer for a while. One of the doofuses knocked down my grooming tote and they both pulled back really hard a couple times. It landed under Tonka and he launched it across the field, which was what set him off the second time. Luckily neither of them was hurt, no ropes broke, and they spent a while there after that. I did think beforehand that I should put the tote away, but I forgot. Then we went and fixed fence a wayward calf had broken while we were gone. Yep, fences do make good neighbors. Maybe I should offer to help him patch his up!

Here are some pictures of Soxy so you can see how fat she really is. Here she is last August, just mildly fat. About perfect for an elderly mare going into winter. Yes, she's swaybacked, but we love her just the same. She's so comfortable to ride, with or without a saddle. She's like a big comfy couch, and has the smoothest gaits.

Yeah, this is the other side, but oh well. See that line in front of her hip? That's below a fat pad. She has huge fat pads on the lower part of her belly behind the cinch area too. You kind of have to feel them... Her butt also has a divot above the tail because she's so fat.In a roundabout way we got her because she is such an easy keeper. Someone had her and another mare, and that mare foundered and had to be put down. They were so devastated by it that they decided to give Soxy to a new home where her diet could be monitored better. They were afraid she'd die too. That home was the one we got her from. So I've really dropped the ball, kind of betrayed the trust of strangers (besides risking her life), letting her get to this point. I was being soft, not wanting to put the grazing muzzle on her because I know she hates it. I also don't like to pen her up in dirt all by herself. So now we're compromising. A little of each, and some exercise. My daughter has actually held up her end of the work, riding her every day for the last several days. Oh, and there's another good point to her being there all day. She has eye problems and the sun is not a good thing. So here she has shade. I really should be putting her fly mask on her too... Dropping the ball again. Better find that mask.