Monthly Log

April 2015

Morgan - 187 minutes - 3 hours - 10.7 miles
Reagan - 48 min - 1.27 miles
Bill & Majesty - 51 minutes - 2.69 miles
Wasabi - 0

Wasabi Saddle Time:
2014:     12.25 hours
2015:  
Jan: 0
Feb: 0
Mar: 1.5 hours
Apr: 0

Oh how I have missed you Morgie girl

27 minutes
Rode Morgan
1.66 miles

Our life has been crazy busy ... classes on Saturday, tickets for baseball games, pie auctions, new tattoos, date nights, running errands, taking friends out to lunch, rearranging horse stalls ... and barely any time to ride.  When there is a moment, it's extremely windy, or wet, or both.  *sigh*

Tonight I was able to spend a few minutes with my Morgie girl.  Even though it had been 10 days since I was able to saddle Morgan, she was just as good as gold.  No high-headed, snorty, in heat attitude, just calm and smooth, even when the rest of the herd was calling out to her from a half mile away.  I'm simply amazed at how incredible she is and feel so very lucky she chose me.

Thank you Morgan ... thank you a million times over

Possibly Reagan's last ride

24 minutes
Rode Reagan, ponied Morgan
1.13 miles

20 minutes
Reagan, ground work

Reagan leaves either later this week or early next week.  I wanted to get in another ride or two to work out any kinks before she goes.  Figured I'd take Morgan with us, just to spend time with them both.

They are so adorable together.  Morgan took being ponied well, though she lagged behind most of the time.  Can't complain about the ride, they both did everything asked of them with nice forward momentum.

Such an odd view for me

Reagan gave me some guff when we got home ... she decided to run away from me when it was time to be put back in the turn out arena.  This caused her to have to work an additional 20 minutes after she was caught.  I was not happy having to chase her around, but was happy with her ground work.  Though she hadn't done ground work in nearly three years, she responded quickly to requests and kept her focus on me with only minor corrections.

Not going to lie, I'm going to miss this mare.  Wish I had room for six sometimes.  But, she will thrive being somebody's only horse ... she loves the attention and the grooming that comes with being somebody's absolutely favorite mare.  I'm happy for her and her new owner :)

Chickens in my bathtub for the last time

16 minutes
Morgan
1.38 miles

A clear sign it's time to move the chicks outside permanently.

They were put out in the coop Saturday during the day then brought in before it got dark.  Sunday morning found four little chicks ready to go outside.  They seemed to mingle well with the other hens, so they got to spend the night outside for the first time.  Checked on them Monday morning, and they were just fine.

Snuck in a quick ride Saturday evening ... we were out about 10 minutes and I had to ask Morgan to pick up the pace or we weren't going to make it home while I could still see the road ahead of us.  She started trotting and then a neighbor's dog shot out of their yard and under Morgan.  She maintained pace, but a second dog joined the chase.  I thought about turning Morg and chasing the dogs home, but the light was fading fast.

So I asked for more speed and she quickly outdistanced the dogs.  At the corner we saw one of our friends driving to our house.  I told him we'd race him and let Morg head off down the dirt path paralleling the road.  He let Morgan win, so we opened the front gate for him cause we're all nice like that.

Quick, before the sun goes down ...

30 minutes
Morgan
1.89 miles

Morgan, it looks like we're losing the sun ... you game for a ride?

Are there treats involved?

Of course my love.

Then let's go!

A mere thirty minutes and we were home again.  But it was a great thirty minutes.  I desperately miss our morning walks and these quick rides help take the sting out of only riding once or twice a week.

Love you silly Morgan

A Camel Is Not A Morgan

25 minutes
Morgan
1.48 miles

This is not a Morgan ...

 But it was fun to ride!  

We had an opportunity to ride a camel ... at a pirate fair!

Bill & Mojave say "Cheese!"

We spent 7 hours in the sun and were exhausted when we made it home. I decided to spend a few minutes with Morgan to tell her about the camel. Which, naturally, turned into a quick ride.

 We wandered for a mile, snacked for a bit, then trotted for 5 minutes trying to make it home before it got chilly and dark.

After our quick ride, I let Morgan pull weeds while I fed and watered the rest of the herd.  Spent some time just leaning against her and rubbing all her itchy spots.  So very grateful for this mare!

Rough Week, Great Ending

15 minutes
Morgan
0.47 miles

It's been a rough week ... heck, it's been 6 rough weeks in a row and still 3 more ahead.

What I really needed was my Morgan.  For the cost of some cantaloupe and strawberries, she was willing to oblige.

The darkness was descending too rapidly to leave the property, so we decided for follow the fence line.  Luppy cleared the path ahead for us so no rabbits would pop out of bushes.  She's helpful like that!

It's amazing how a mere 15 minutes can soothe the mind, especially when those minutes are spent with my Morgie.  She makes wandering around the front yard a pleasure.  She is a great reset button!

Chickens in the Bathtub ... sounds like a country song

I went into the guest bathroom to check on the chickens, but they weren't in the tub ....

.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Lemon

They were wandering around the floor and doing very important chicken business, thank you very much, now close the door and go away.  But, I've never been one to take orders from a chicken, so I sat on the floor and played with them before popping them back into the tub.

Might be time to move them to the coop outside.

Reagan's Ground Work

24 minutes
Reagan - ground work
0.14 miles

I knew it was going to be dark soon, but I wanted to work on Reagan standing still at the mounting area.  I saddled her up (and stole back my old saddle pad which Bill "borrowed" almost a year ago) but left her in a halter for flexing work.  She gave her head quickly, quietly, and consistently from both sides so I switched her to the bitless bridle.

We spent the next 15 minutes having her stand while I climbed in the saddle, then flexed her neck to each side.  Sometimes we flexed twice, sometimes three times, sometimes only once, but each time I settled in to the saddle she flexed before I asked her to move off.  I'll reinforce the lesson on Thursday and Friday just to make sure it's cemented and then let her new owner know what we've done.

Seeing Spots

60 minutes
Morgan, Bill & Majesty, Natalie and Heather
2.70 miles
* Majesty trimmed; Reagan trimmed & front shoes

Natalie came over to the house and found me pulling weeds.  She pitched in and we filled up a wheelbarrow ... the goat came over to eat out of the wheelbarrow, but refused to eat the weeds still in the ground. Persnickety goat.  I mentioned to Natalie that Bill and I were going to sneak in a ride before the sun set and she said wanted to go as well.  

A few minutes later she and her daughter arrived and the four of us headed out with no plan in mind. Those wandering trips usually are the best!  We discover new areas, get a little lost, laugh and share stories, then find our way back home.

This trip was just as pleasant as could be ... the sun was warm, but there was a steady breeze to keep us cool, there was great conversation and big smiles on everyone's face.

Morgan and I followed Natalie, so I got to see spots for most of the ride.  It always amuses me to try and count the spots.

Bill and I climbed the highest sand dune we could find just for the exercise and the view.  Natalie and Heather joined us and we wandered over and through all the dunes we came across.

We stopped to rest the horses after having them climb dunes.  We started home just as the sun was slipping behind the mountains.  It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.