Monthly Totals

August 2014
780 minutes = 13 hours riding time for me; 12.75 hours on Morgan

425 minutes = 7 hours - Bill and Majesty
60 minutes = 1 hour - Bill and Wasabi (8 hrs total)

Wasabi's saddle time 2014: 
Jan - Jun - 5 hrs
July - 2 hrs
Aug - 1 hr

Bath Day!

Sunday, August 31st  30 minute ride  89° 
Solo later in the evening

Morgan: "What is that noise? WATER!!"

"If I just move over here, maybe he can't get me ... ah, dang it."

Morgan: "Maybe if I close my eyes and wish real hard, he'll go away."

Me: "Nope."

Morgan: *sigh*

Morgie, check out my awesome boots! They're waterproof!

Morgan: *sigh*

Wasabi's Antics:

Wasabi (top three photos): 

"Oooh, a feed bucket!"

"Dang it."

"What are you laughing at?"

Love how the water changes from clear to green when she tried taking a drink!

Wasabi: "Hey! We're not done! Where's my hug?!"

Bill: "Right here. Just had to put the hose down."

Goat Adventures

Saturday, August 30th  60 minute ride  92° 
Rode with Bill & Majesty

I let Eclipse, our goat, out all day on Saturday.  She wandered around the property, chatted with the chickens, chased the cat, and tried to headbutt the dogs.  Here's a snapshot of her afternoon:

Eclipse: Hey, you got any food?  Nope? Moving on.

Hey cat, do you know where any food is?

Elmer: Yep, follow me.

Eclipse: Woo Hoo! A whole bag of goat feed!

Heading out for some fun!

Majesty: Hey Morgan, what's under there?

 Morgan: Under where?

Majesty: Ha ha! You said underwear!

Morgan: *rolls eyes*

Two tired guys heading home

Balance Practice

Thursday, August 28th  15 minute ride  86° 
Solo, bareback

Got home late in the evening, but I wanted to experiment a bit.  I locked all the other horses in their stalls and hopped on Morgan bareback.  I let her travel in any direction she wanted in the turn out while I tried to stay balanced. Very interesting, but she wasn't having as much fun as I was. 

Rather silly to try shadow pictures at night, but that's what I was attempting

Morgan, barrel dead ahead!

Well, this was supposed to be Morgan and I, but you can really only make out the shape of her neck.

30 minutes a day chases the blues away

Wednesday, August 27th  30 minute ride  88° 
Solo

Morgan: "What are you doing down there? Hey guys ... our human pez-dispenser has fallen down, dinner might be late"

Me: "I'm fine Morgan, just getting rocks out of my boot."

Morgan was fabulous about leaving the property today!  We only had one point where she stopped, looked worried.  I counted to five out loud and then asked her to move on. After that, she went everywhere without hesitation. Went a little farther then our normal route and had a great time. 

We headed back home as soon as the light started to fade because we haven't heard that the mountain lion has been caught yet.  Then we did our normal cheesy pictures (after treats were consumed of course).

On a sucktastic note, we came home to find that someone had stolen the windows out of our horse trailer. They left all the tack and spare tire in the trailer, but pried out the windows. *sigh*

Wasabi in Action

Monday, August 25th  60 minute ride  87° 
Rode with Bill and Wasabi

Rocky start for Ms. Wasabi ... she didn't want to be caught in the turn out pen, so Bill had to "round pen" the whole herd (except Morgan) for 15 minutes before she dropped her head.  He asked her to come to him and she respectfully approached for haltering.  Not an ounce of trouble after that.

Wasabi navigating terrain changes and working with small obstacles.  The last picture makes it look like she's climbing a steep hill ... when in fact, it's a flat street ... she was staring at the bush ahead where the dreaded Elmo balloon resides.

On the way back to the house, we decided to play with the fallen tree again.  Wasabi swore she'd never seen this hideous beast before, though we have proof she encountered this obstacle before.  You can tell by the last picture Bill and Wasabi continued to work on stepping over the log for quite some time.

On a good note, Morgan jumped over it willingly and smoothly three times in a row.  

Before and after pictures ...

Before: Wasabi lowers her head and stretches out to Bill for comfort and headstall adjustments

After: Bill & Wasabi posing in the brilliant sunset

Morgan's sleepy eye before the ride, and her perky ears at hearing the word "treat" after a great ride

Gelding Adventures

Sunday, August 24th  15 minute ride  88° 
Rode Traveller - 10 minutes
Rode Majesty - 5 minutes

So, I drug the old man Traveller out of the turn out because I couldn't remember riding him more than once in 2014.  He turned 31 this year and has been retired for the last 3 or 4 years, but we try to ride him once a quarter to make him feel useful.

He is a giant!  I'm used to my 14 hh Morgan, so hopping on this 16.2 hh Thoroughbred requires preparation - I have to use the treeless saddle because his back is higher than my head, I have to locate a step stool tall enough that I can clamber up into the saddle with my short legs, and have a good dose of bravery ... because sitting that high off the ground is very nerve-wracking.  He is so tall that he can stick this head into the feed trailer with the door closed and start snacking.  Yeah, that was fun.

After that adventure, I took Majesty for a quick spin because he kept trying to stick his head in the bridle when I went to grab Traveller.  Of course, once I got him tacked up, he didn't really want to go anywhere ... it was getting dark and it was definitely dinner time.

And how did Morgan feel about me riding the geldings?

She was just fine with being left in the turn out, thank you very much.

Notes for myself

Thursday, August 21st - Bought the new truck ... late night in town
Friday & Saturday - Bill's Birthday Celebration ... no riding

Day of the Blurry Pics

Wednesday, August 20th  30 minute ride  88° 
Rode with Bill and Majesty

Got home late, but never too late to sneak in a quick ride.  All of my pictures were coming out blurry, so I handed the camera off to Bill.  His came out blurry too.  Might be time for a new camera!

Today I rode the horse I always dreamed of ... she was bold when the situation called for it, soft and supple when needed, listened and followed all my directions, kept the exact pace and path that was asked of her, and her head was positioned perfectly.  So immensely glad to have her!

Majesty giving his "Wise Arabian" look

or, his "annoyed at having to wait for Amber" look ... whatever

We decided Majesty was going too slow, so we passed them

The road is flat and clear ahead ... Ready to run?

Obligatory selfies :)

Visiting the Neighbors

Tuesday, August 19th  60 minute ride  90°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Hmm, those two look less than enthusiastic about the path I chose. Don't worry, they had more fun as we went along. 

Rode by a friend of ours to see how his yearling and mare were doing. They are so adorable!

A little farther on, we visited a friend named "Colt."

Decided to turn on some speed coming down the driveway...

Ready Morgan?  Go girl!

Love how she's staring at Bill

Ah crap. A rattler.

Monday, August 18th  20 minute ride  90° - Thunderstorm earlier in the day
Solo

Headed off the property and wasn't gone 25 feet from the driveway when I heard a noise I thought was a cicada, looked to my right and saw this about 3 feet from Morgan's right hip ...

Tail facing me ... heading around a bush in a hurry ... my first thought? Rattler. Craptastic.

Rattlesnakes

We moved away in a hurry and stuck to the roads after that!  When I got home, I looked up what kind of snake it was, and I'm glad to say it was probably just a gopher snake.  Harmless, but still not something Morgan or I wanted to see.

Pictures were not taken by me, so links to their original websites have been included.

Don't Ride Bareback While Wearing Basketball Shorts

Sunday, August 17th  5 minute ride  90°
Solo

So I went out to feed the horses wearing shorts very similar to these ...



But Morgan looked so dang cute, I couldn't stand it. I hopped on bareback and tried to ride around the yard for a few minutes. Yeah, not my brightest idea.  Every time she turned, I slid sideways.  Didn't fall off, but sure felt like I was going to! Thank goodness she's awesome and didn't take off running ... I'm sure I would have slid right off her back!

Ponying Majesty

Saturday, August 16th  20 minute ride  95°
Pony Majesty

Did I hear ride?

Yep Morg, you did. What do you say we take Majesty along with us?

Wait ... where's Bill?  Where's my saddle?

It's alright Maj! You just get to walk along with Morg and I.

20 minutes later ...

No more pictures of that Arabian. He was a serious pain to drag around. Slowest.Horse.Ever.

I agree Morgie ... just you and me from now on. Promise!

Trail Riding From Morgan's Point of View

Friday, August 15th  20 minute ride  90°
Solo

Got an awesome ear rub before Amber made me leave home 

Look at this branch right here ... it's perfect

I'll just see if I can take it with me ... it's stuck

Well, I'll just take a few leaves and head home. 

So, um, this happened ...

Thursday, August 14th  60 minute ride  80°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Yeah, I stood up on Morgan's back for the first time

Easy Morgie girl ... almost up ...smile for the camera

Went for a ride with Bill and Majesty. Morgan had "zig-zag-itis" so rather than fight to keep her in a straight line, I decided to ask her to swerve in and out of bushes, dart through brush, turn tight circles around mesquite trees, and hop over small washes in the desert.  Then when she had the opportunity to go straight, she didn't try to move off in any other trajectory.

We got home and Bill yelled "Hey Amber, watch this ..." and he proceeded to put both knees in the saddle and raise his arm above his head.  So, naturally, I had to one up him by standing up, then sliding back into the saddle. Bill asked if I could do that again. Ayup. Morgan stood stock still while he dismounted, turned on his camera, and took a picture (with flash).  Even if it's not a flattering picture, it was still good enough to mark the attempt. You're a fabulous mare Morgan!

Whole lot of nothing

Tuesday, August 12th  30 minute training  75°
Solo

Had flash flood warnings all day ... the rain made for some interesting cloud formations and sunsets ... here's a few of the pics on my way through the valley to the house

Morgan waiting patiently for the tacking process to begin

We saddled up with the intention to play with cones, but as soon as I swung in to the saddle we noticed a horse coming down the driveway. A neighbor stopped by to say hello, so we hung around chatting for a bit.  Gave us an opportunity to work on just standing still, so I count that as training.  

Rode out one driveway and in the other, untacked and called it a night.

Morgan's "I want my snacks now" look

Heard from a neighbor earlier in the day that there is a mountain lion in the dunes we normally ride near the house. Until the lion is caught or removed, I won't be riding alone in the dunes.