Mustang Saga

I don't like being too tired to blog.  It's been a crazy week.  My horse is only going to get a couple days of work this week, darn it.  Well, I did groom her, walk her to the barn, and tie her up while I scooped poop one day.  What fun.

Today we hauled over to my sister's house and went down the road.  My sister rode her cute POA and my dad was along on his paint.  We went fully tacked up just in case I felt she was comfortable enough for me to mount up.  She wasn't sure about being surrounded by strange horses, but it didn't take her long to settle in.

Our scariest obstacle was a concrete bridge.  First was a switch from gravel to asphalt, then asphalt to concrete.  She thought it looked weird but what really rattled her was the hollow sound of the other horses' hooves on the surface behind her.  She got over it within a couple strides though.

Eventually I did mount up and she did great.  I dismounted again at a water crossing so she could go in and paw around without me having to worry about losing control if she got tense.  I knew she would go into the water, just wasn't sure she'd stay in the safe part of the crossing.  So I just stood on dry ground holding her lead rope.  I have never seen a horse splash so incredibly big.  She was having a great time.  Glad I wasn't on her back, I would have gotten my legs soaked.  I managed to get in a safe zone and only get my boots wet.

We went to a wooden bridge to film her crossing for the WHBA Equine Good Citizen Award, Level 2.  She was a little worried about the sound of the water under her, but after a practice run she did awesome.  My sister had some trouble filming with my phone so we got to go across several times.  Then we headed back.

I walked most of the way back because my sister's horse was jigging and needing some training work, and I didn't want to add any special training needs of Bella's to the mix.  And I wasn't sure if my dad would take off at a gallop on his horse.  Wouldn't you know he waited until I finally mounted up before he did that.  She stood nicely (although she was very alert) thanks to my sister standing nicely with us.  It's good to have people to ride with who understand training needs and are patient enough to provide moral support for your horse.  I decided to get back down and we walked the rest of the way.  This horse in particular needs lots and LOTS of good experiences in her treasure chest, no bad ones if I can avoid it.  She is so easily worried, but so easily gets through things as long as they go right.

I like this picture of us that my sister took with Kamiak Butte in the background

I got glasses today.  :/  They really do clear up my distance vision, and I think they'll help with the eye fatigue I've been having at the end of the day.  I didn't know what to pick for glasses, since I've never had them before.  I chose these ones because they were a neat green color.  Turns out they're only green on the inside.  I didn't notice that.  I think in the future if I can find a pair with a bigger lens that doesn't look stupid, I'll get that.  I'm still getting used to them them though.  Maybe I'll get used to being able to see the frames around what I'm looking at.

 

Yesterday I wormed the donkeys with Quest.  Just afterward I noticed on one of my donkey groups that someone had said, "Never give a donkey Quest!"  I asked why.  Wouldn't you know they didn't have a good answer, just that they'd heard it could be bad.  Sorry, but that's not sound evidence in my book.  Give me actual facts.  I've been using Quest at my vet's direction twice a year for over 10 years on many horses, and only once had a problem with it. Even though opinionated people on the internet say it's baddddd!  I think people use it on critters that haven't been sufficiently wormed with gentler wormers ahead of time, and then their horse dies because too many parasites are killed at once.  That's not the fault of the wormer, that's human error.  So far Bob and Pedro seem exactly the same as always.  Hungry and cute.

I also reorganized the storage junk in my barn (with lots of much-appreciated help from my husband) so I could make the longears two separate stalls.  Bob needs some serious groceries so I'm going to put a fence between them and see if they can be happy that way.  They need to be together, but as far as I've seen they don't groom each other or really spend a lot of time touching each other, so I think they might tolerate being right next to each other rather than together.

John and I worked shearing day at my friend's place last weekend.  It's not easy work, but it's not super hard either, and I really enjoy listening to all the exchange of ideas in livestock keeping.   Plus I like the critters.  I didn't get any hands-on time with the sheep, other than getting a caught leg out of a fencing panel and of course skirting fleeces, but I got lots of cuddle time with the livestock guardian dogs and one of the steers thought about licking me.  He was cute.

Tomorrow I will ride again!  And work on that donkey separation project.  Plus about 50 other things.  What are your plans for the rest of the week?