Another amazingly warm January weekend day. I had to tend to some work in the morning and by about 11:30am, I was free to go horsing. They were all in the front grazing and I headed out with my stick and 22'. Rain met me first, of course. Then, Z. Nina was close behind and I decided to just spend a quick 20 mins feeling her out and just testing the games. She was great and our communication was more subtle than ever. So, I let her go and and asked her to head away. She was funny, she circled around me and came right back. I swear, her name should be Bungee.
Then, I got Gemini and ground worked him a little while still in the front pasture. I decided to walk him off the property and up the road, to see where his threshold is. When Krissy rode him off the property, he got very worried at the gate and became extroverted. She was curious if he'd leave ok with me. I was curious how he'd do on the ground first. I'm such a natural horsewoman - I'd rather see how he feels from the ground before I hop on his back.
Anyway, he left with me just fine. He was calm and relaxed. I walked about half-way up my street and he was brave and confident. I'll try it again from his back next. I had a good talk with Krissy about pushing him over the edge and I think we have a better understanding. I'm a little worried about leasing him out because I want his brain intact, he's been pushed hard enough (prior to coming to me). He has a hard time really trusting people and he can go into self-defense mode so easily. We'll see.
I took him back to the yard and then let him go and sent him away. He charged back to the herd and then rolled. He was feeling some stress with me, I realized. He didn't show it. He was calm, head low, reaching for grass. But obviously, he was feeling some stress. Interesting.
Then, I tacked up my Rainer and took her onto the trail. Normally, I pony a horse with Rain. Today, I just wanted time with my best horse... alone. I wanted to focus on my fluid riding at all gates and get her moving and focus only on her. We didn't go far - about 4 miles total. But she was a little hesitant about leaving the herd. By hesitant, I mean she let me know that she wasn't sure it was a great idea. She's subtle and easy-going, but we haven't left alone in months and months. We had a really nice ride, though. We did all gates where the ground was firm enough. The snow melt has the trail muddy in some places. On the way back, she was a little over-exhuberant about getting home, so we worked on sidepassing and backing. She is so much fun to ride. She's like that comfortable shoe you could just wear all the time. We've covered so many miles together. Riding her is like going home.
I had Cowboy and Z queued up for the last of my horse time. What happened next was interesting to me. The sun was out, the air was warm and I just felt like going to my bed and laying down. I've had a hard week and traveled and didn't always sleep great. I just felt tired. I let all the horses back out to the front pasture and I did a few more chores in the barn. Then, I fed my kids and went to my bed. I was practicing cutting my self some slack.
Not enough energy today for horses. Go figure. And now it's Sunday night - back to work in the morning.
Nina: 30 mins
Gemini: 45 mins
Rain: 1.5 hours
No comments:
Post a Comment