Mustang Saga

Today was a really good day. This morning I decided to ride miss Bella in the mustang pen. I didn't feel like getting Tonka out of the round pen to ride in there. I figured the small mustang pen would make a great "breaking pen" because it's small and we couldn't get into too much trouble in there.

Here's my pretty girl, ready to ride.

What I didn't realize until I mounted up, is that the roof is too low for riding. So I decided to just do some turns and stops in the open area, and then maybe move to the round pen. But just after I dismounted, Katia came up to tell me Soxy had flies all over her face. So I decided to make it a really short ride and call it good. I think that's good for Bella anyway.


Later in the day I spent some time with Tonka, scooping poop while he helped. He's such a good helper, scooting my wheelbarrow around and trying to chew on the handles. Then I groomed him and gave him a snack. You can see in the next picture how he's losing condition with no exercise. His EPSM is rearing its head, but not terribly. He's stiff and uncomfortable in the hind end. His front end seems to be holding up pretty well. You can see some lameness from the tendon but it doesn't seem too bad.

Tonight Bella and I had a longer ride in the round pen. It was still pretty short, maybe 10 minutes, but we did a lot of circles and some stopping and backing. She's pretty resistant to the left, but pretty good to the right. She's trying some of her naughtiness, snaking her head around and stopping. It's like she's doing a kinda-sorta one rein stop without being asked. I wasn't there for most of her riding when she was at my sister's a couple years ago, but I think there were a few issues there. The saddle didn't fit, she was trying to bully my sister into getting off with her snaky-necked biting moves, and her stifles were hurting. I think a lot of it now is due to insecurity, but she shows some attitude as well. The attitude also comes from insecurity, but she's also testing me to see if she can get away with it. She moves out (walking) when I ask though, and she does turn, it's just not very responsive. We don't have power steering yet. :) Her stop is very nice, but her back is a little slow to come. When it does come she wants to move forward again after a step back. We just need to develop our communication, and she needs to relax.
I'll try to get some video tomorrow. I should be able to set the camera on the side of the round pen and start it if I don't have anyone there to man the camera.

This chicken cracked me up tonight. Volunteer grilled chicken. But she says, "No! Beef! Beef is what's for dinner!" Her name has chosen itself - Blackbeard. If you look close you can see why. She's a pretty nice hen. I sat with her in my lap tonight and she really enjoyed being petted.


This picture is from last night. A good snapshot of my life. Huck, airing out his belly and hoping to charm someone into giving him a belly rub (look at his cute paws!), with two horse training books, a vet bill, and a trail map. Don't mind my messy bed. Yep, I'm one of those people who never makes the bed.
I saw Cisco at his new home today and talked to his new owner a lot. He really loves that horse. There's a lot about him that's lovable. While they were camping they picketed out the other horse and just let Cisco roam and graze. He'd come into camp and get into their pockets pretty regularly. He's a personable guy. It sounds like they're working through his wanting to go back to the trailer. He's already lost weight and put on some muscle. They're planning some long rides out from home soon. I love it. Just what that horse needs, a lot of time and love, and someone who's not afraid to insist when he needs to. I can't wait to have a horse to go out riding with them. Bella may be ready soon, and if not, Scout, and if not, it looks like Tonka will be better sooner than I thought. He'll have to see the vet in a couple weeks though to make sure he's doing as well as I think he is.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!