Saturday, February 18, 2012

Mid Fifties February Day

This has been a weird winter so  far. I ended up dressing too warm for the day. At least I wear layers and could strip down.
Luckily for me there was a light wind, so I could put sheets on the horses and keep them somewhat clean. I thought about trying to ride, but I really needed to trim DaVinci and Winston's feet. Not long after I decided to be good and get my trims done, the kids that live on the property started racing the golf cart around and goofing off.  Nothing like crazy teenagers.
Since I had my tools out I decided to round up Rosemary's feet to stay ahead of her toes. Then I put the girls out and started on the boys. DaVinci was a perfect gentleman. His feet are new to me because he normally wears shoes on the front. For the winter we pull them so he does not get snowballs. Ha snowballs. Maybe tomorrow. Anyway he basically grows lots of toe, so I trim the bottom and file back from the front. Winston feet I have trimmed since we have owned him so he only needed a few touch ups. Of course as I start his trim the teenagers start screaming and running around. Winston had to see what was happening, which meant moving around in the cross ties. Eventually we both finished the job. DaVinci and Winston went out to watch the golf cart and crazy teenagers running after it. Just as I bring Roscoe out to round up his feet, some of the teenagers come to pet the horses. Roscoe was all for it and Winston was ready to check to see if they had any treats. "Watch you fingers and your feet" was my warning especially since one of them had on flip flops. They have short attention spans and left quickly. Unfortunately all the activity had Roscoe wound up. He did not want to stand still or leave his foot on the stand. Persistence and patience on my part paid off with four rounded feet.
After I tucked the boys out in the field with their flakes of hay, I left to go to Peggy's. Comrade was a mud puppy. No blankets to keep him clean :( As I was chipping him out, Peggy came out to tell me she was out of commission. A downed horse sprained Peggy's knee trying to get up. The things we do for the animals we love. Peggy is hobbling around, but her friends horse was lost. Such a tough situation.
Peggy was soon escorted back to the house by her concerned husband. Comrade and I headed off to the arena. Almost two weeks of no work and Comrade was ready to go. He had the best walk I have ever felt on him. At the walk we did some shallow serpentines, lead him in then leg yield him out. Then we moved on to the trot doing the same exercise. He was distracted by the dogs running through the leaves at the side of the arena. I was determined to work him through his "the dogs are going to eat me phase." My reward was a really great trot with push from behind and when I got his attention, connection. The best part was that it did not fizzle when the dogs stopped running. I just rode and enjoyed.  Onward to the canter. With the canter I ask for the depart then ask him to move on. We did well considering we had to avoid running over Peggy's German Shepherd. Then I added a challenge for Comrade, picking up the lead over a small fence or cavaletti. About 90% of the time he picked up the correct lead. Good enough for the first time. We ended out on trail jumping a few jumps. He waited for me and did not try to charge after the jumps so I hopped off and we walked back to the barn. Peggy sent her husband out for the after report :)
It was still in the fifties when I finished for the day. And tomorrow the forecast is 90% chance of rain in the morning and snow in the afternoon. Maybe tomorrows post will be Mid thirties February day. We shall see.

2 comments:

  1. Nice to find you. Thanks for following my blog. I'll look forward to reading more about your adventures with horses.

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    1. Thanks Carol. I have enjoyed reading your blog too. I wish I could go out and be a working student.

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