Just before the world decided to bring winter back, the dogs and I had a lovely little hike that really had me itching to get the horses out in the mountains.

We found a magic stump! There were no faeries in it, they probably heard us coming and scampered off.

How wonderfully beautiful the world is.

Seriously.

Huckleberry can't see a bit of water without getting into it up to his belly.

Even if it means he has to lay down.

And even if there are icicles. It was below freezing.

As much as it pains me to report, the next day Duncan went to a new home. He now lives in Montana with a family that needs hypo-allergenic horses. He has two curly mares for company and they're all settling in together quite well. He will be a mountain horse, hunting in the Bob Marshall and probably doing a lot of the same sort of stuff he would have done here, but with someone who has the time and gumption to train him right. He has a good training plan and won't rush him. He's given me a couple of updates so far. I'm glad he's happy to stay in contact. And I am glad Duncan has a chance to be the horse I know he can be with a different rider.

Sawyer and Juniper were having trouble acclimating to his leaving, so I moved them to an entirely new pasture with no mud and lots of (teeny tiny) grass so they'd be distracted from the change.

I still feel like a kid with Sawyer. We saddle up and just goof around. Go look at the leavings of a Coyote kill, pick up some cool feathers. I see something I need to do so I get off and fill a trough or something, let him graze, grab something I need to move, mount back up and we take it to where it needs to go, etc. Just doin' stuff.

Juniper just loves to be loved. And grass and sunshine. She loves those too.

I sold my Synergist saddle so I could get one that actually fits Sayer and won't kill me like the heavy roper does.  I saw a Sharon Saare "B tree" that sounded like the perfect fit for his back and I jumped on it. Big leap of faith. PayPal of a lotta money, it shipped from a lady in Texas and got home at dusk on a snowy day. Of course I had to put it on him immediately.

It fits!

I need to ride it more to know for sure. I've ridden less than 10 minutes in it thanks to the bad footing. No sense taking a chance hurting my old man in the slippery snow.

It's beautiful! The wild rose tooling on the back of the pommel and cantle is gorgeous. I'm it's second owner. The lady I got it from ordered every little detail exactly how she wanted it.  She sent me a copy of the original receipt/order slip. It must have been very hard to let go of.

The weather is terrible now. Snow, snow, snow. Yuck. Those trails will have to wait. One thing I do know for sure though, the snow will eventually melt and the ground will firm up and it will be summer again!

Loving My Horse

Sawyer is so cool. We ride around, do obstacles, look in the kitchen window while John is doing dishes, pick things up and move them around the property. He just takes it all in stride.

He isn't totally an old plug, I learned on our first trail ride of the year. He knows exactly where the trailer is at all times. He'd like to suggest, as often as possible, that we head back that way. And he does go faster once he's headed toward it.  Not in a jiggy way though, and he does slow down when I ask. It's something to work on. We all need something to work on, right?

What makes the difference between a horse who loves to explore and a horse who can't wait to get back? My main long term trail horses, Scout and Tonka, have loved to explore, but they were always my horses, never belonged to anyone else, and they like my company pretty well. With time will Sawyer feel the same way? He likes me but I'm clearly not as cool as a horse in his book.  He has gotten to where he'll leave the others to come to me even when it's not feeding time, so that must mean I'm not chopped liver. He must know I'm going to saddle him up & still he comes in. :)

I'm on a saddle quest right now. Wish me luck. I didn't know it would be this hard. I need a lightweight saddle that fits him better. Every time I ride right now I end up with a headache for at least 24 hours. I weighed the saddle I ride him in and it's 42 pounds. I tried out a nice light 24 pound saddle and it was perfect but it didn't fit him. It was a lovely ride though, much more close contact than the roper.  I'm really looking forward to riding a different saddle.