More Goofing Around

First I should mention that Scout is fine.  I guess he just wasn't hungry the other day.

He's a pretty cute booger.

But he's kind of a nosy pain in the arse.

He would like you to admire his pretty forelock.

Sometimes I wonder if all my goofing around with the horses is really all that productive.  I hope it is.  I know we're building a relationship, so that's good.  I just wish the footing was right for doing more in the way of training.  I could probably get the horse trailer up the driveway right now to haul to an arena, but I don't really feel like it.  The arena across the way is filled with people who ride fast, use more rein, more spur, and cause a lot more anxiety and anger in their horses than I like to see.  Yuck.  So we'll keep plugging away, slowly, on the icy ground. 

I was sitting there visiting the geldings when Joseph decided to eat my glove.  I've been in this situation a couple times before, and I have to say a horse can suck something up into their mouth lightning fast.

Luckily though, this time ended well.  I said, "Hey!" and he dropped it.

He says it smells like treats, but it sure doesn't taste like treats.

"Who, me?  Can't you see I'm innocent?"

He's doing pretty well with the saddle.  He's still hesitant about me putting it on, so I threw it up there several times from each side.  And he still thinks about backing up when I tighten the cinch, but it's become more like he's just leaning backward.  We took a little walk through the pasture to get a drink, and hung out at the trough for a while.  Scout started beating up Pedro so we had to chase them around until I could separate them.  Joseph didn't like that.  Then we went out of the pasture and did some very slow circles.  He didn't like that either and became very tense but eventually he settled into it.  Then we worked on backing off of halter pressure, nicely, with his head down and not pushing into the pressure as we stopped.

Today we'll do more of the same.  I might even warm up the bit and bridle him.  I think we could work up to doing some more ground driving, even with the slick footing.

Our weather here is mild and balmy compared to the rest of the country right now, and I'm especially thankful for that because we've run out of propane again.  I don't know how it goes so fast.  Hopefully more will be delivered today.  It's rough not being able to cook, do dishes, or wash clothes.  We have some little electric radiators to keep us warm.  I think we'll continue to use those even after the propane is filled.  $600  to heat the house for a month is WAY too much. 

Happy Trails!  And stay warm!