So Happy

26 minutes - 1.02 miles - Rhulain

 Rhu was very cuddly today ... she kept trying to get as close as possible on our walk

 About half way through our walk, I stopped to take a picture or two of Rhu as she was silhouetted against the growing darkness.  She's simply beautiful.

Almost a year after her arrival, and I'm still enchanted with this mare!

Getting in a Walk Before the Rain

43 minutes - 1.36 miles - Morgan

 Morgan and I headed out for a walk ... our new best friend decided to join our walk.  After a quarter of a mile, the foster child complained his legs were tired.  I popped him on Morgan's back and kept on walking ... I had to get at least a mile before the rain started. 

  She took excellent care of him and I was impressed with his balance.  He wanted to play in the dirt pile, so she took advantage of the break to snack, while keeping a wary eye on him.  Those two are adorable together.

Rhu's Unimpressive Day

49 minutes - 1.08 miles - Rhulain

Rhu checked out the new stalls in the mare motel.  She wasn't too impressed.

Our foster child joined us today ... Rhu wasn't impressed at all.  She kept staring at him and worrying why he was interrupting our time.  We did a mile, but it was really slow going.  He spent more time pushing the bike than riding it ... I'll know to pick a different path for our next outing.

Seven Magic Mountains

A new art installation is being erected between the California/Nevada border and Las Vegas.  We decided to go see the art up close and personal before a myriad of people visit.  More information regarding the art can be found at this website: http://sevenmagicmountains.com/ 

Most of the residents of our little town were excited to see the artwork, but as always, there were a few grumblers as well.

Some were fans of the work, but not of the colors (claiming they were too vivid and clashed with the desert ... as if the garish lights on the Las Vegas Boulevard were perfectly in sync with the desert surroundings). 

From the car, I found it to be interesting.  Up close, it seemed more provocative, more inspiring.  It stands over 25 feet tall and in the vast open desert area seems to loom even larger.

The gloomy feel of the rain-laden clouds seemed to diminish because of the bright hues.  I'm glad we made the walk out to the rocks rather than just viewing them from the window.

Morgie is Becoming Quite the Lesson Horse

31 minutes - 0.65 miles - Morgan
15 minutes - 0.42 miles - Rhulain

Morgan gave A another "lesson" today ... which generally consisted of him trying to make Morgan and I trot around the property.  The boy likes going fast!  After 20 minutes, I said it was my turn to ride Morgie.  He rode beside his bike making sure I didn't ride his horse too long.

 Since the saddle was already out, I grabbed Rhu and took off for a spin.  We followed the same path and generally had a great time.  Loving this horse!

Gave the kids some lunch and headed back in the house, feeling quite content.

My Dirty Girl

26 minutes - 1.05 miles - Rhulain

Quick walk in the wind with Rhu today.  She was all up in my face today and I couldn't stop touching her, so the feeling was mutual.  

She was filthy and you could see my hand prints on her shoulder when we got back. Kind of adorable.

Finally ... horse time

27 minutes - 1.06 miles - Morgan
26 minutes - 1.07 miles - Rhulain & A

Me: Hey Morgan, how do you like your new stall nameplate?

Morgie: What?! It says Morgan?

Morgie was sulking as we were leaving. It was dinner time after all.  She perked up after a few mid-walk snacks.  She was spunky on our way back home.

She missed him more than me, for sure. She sniffed him, nuzzled him, and snuggled him. With me, she begged for food.

I told Rhulain to smile for the camera and she put her head on top of mine.  I laughed out loud.  

Rhu does NOT like A.  He asked if he could join us for our walk and she kept giving him the stink eye.

After half a mile, she settled down and became my cuddly Rhu-barb.  She was still aware of A, but was more focused on getting snuggles from me which was a nice change.

Time Well Spent

37 minutes - 1.29 miles - Rhulain

 Rhulain shoved the other horses out of the way and waited at the gate for me.  Can't wait to spend time with you too Rhu-barb!  We spent more time than normal grooming then we did a few minutes of ground work before we headed out.

 At the halfway point, we spent more time than normal snacking before I slipped the bitless on and tightened up the cinch.  I know I was planning on not riding any more, but it seemed like we were ready to try again. 

I spent more time than normal just standing there once in the saddle.  Rubbing her neck and breathing softly.  When she licked my boot, I knew we were ready.

When we moved off, I practiced what I learned from my riding lesson ... toes forward, whole leg on her, alternate pressure in conjunction with her stride, and keep connection with the reins.

It was amazing.

Exercise with no horses? What?

Sometimes the walking partner you get is not the one you expect.  

I'm almost glad Bill fed the horses 10 minutes before I got home.

It's good for us to spend time together while he still gets to feel independent. 

We had so much fun we went down the path twice.

Twilight walk

49 minutes - 1.43 miles - Rhulain

Ahhh. Rhulain.
I love this horse so much.

She was at the gate calling me before I got out the front door of the house. Nice!

We wandered down the same path as Sunday and spent lots of time snacking at the halfway point.  I massaged her neck as we walked and she was serene.

Spent lots of time grooming and massaging when we got home. Had such a great time.

Three in one day!

17 minutes - 1.00 mile - Morgan
25 minutes - 1.00 mile - Rhulain
20 minutes - 0.50 mile - Wasabi

 Morgan and I took a quick one mile ride and then we rode back home to find Bill had a fire going.  We strode up to it and she seemed bored.  No need for desensitizing.  Two carrots for you my darling.

 Hey Rhu, want to go for a walk?  Walk? Yes!

 We walked for a mile and she seemed happy about being out.  Guess yard work isn't for her after all.

Say cheese Rhu ... CHEESE!

 Then Rhu and I walked by the fire.  She wouldn't get as close, but she didn't back away either.  Good girl Rhu.

I thought I was done for the day but when I returned Rhu to the turn out, Wasabi shoved her face into the halter.  Well, ok.  She and I did some ground work ... she's rusty but not bad.  I walked her by the fire, but she could care less.

 Fed everyone, gave carrots, and collected snuggles from all my favorite horses.  Good day indeed.

Thank you Bill ... Thank you Morgie!

62 minutes - 1.4 miles - Morgan

 Bill called me at work to say he would pick up A from school ... that meant I could try to out run the rain that was headed our way and grab a ride on Morgan.  Windy, drizzly, and dark.  Morgan did well on our walk portion (because she could hide behind me ... ostensibly to let any predators eat me) and most of the ride home.

Then a dreaded flapping bag stuck in a mesquite bush quite unnerved her ... there was copious amounts of snorting, spinning, and shaking.  My poor dear.  I stepped out of the saddle and lead her past the scary stuff before hopping back on.  The storm clouds started to rain in earnest, so I hugged her hard and fed everyone before getting soaked.

First Snake of the Season

46 minutes - 1.73 miles - Rhulain

It rained last night, and I cannot resist putting the "first" footfalls in the open desert.  I invited Luppy along and she never stopped grinning!  We wandered down some paths we hadn't been on for a while and were merrily strolling along until we saw this ...

The snake was coiled but not moving.  Rhu and I stopped in tandem.  While I was pondering if the snake might be dead, it's head turned in our direction.  Rhu and I started backing up while I fished around for my phone to take a picture.  Just then Luppy came trotting down the road towards the snake  ... fortunately she stopped when I gave the command, but she looked hurt.

I took a picture and three of us gave the snake a wide berth as we continued on our walk.  It was nearly 60 degrees, barely drizzling, and we'd only walked half a mile ... I don't think any of us were ready to head home just yet.

We avoided this path on the way home and no one was worse for the snake sighting.

Rhu is Not Happy.

47 minutes - 0.60 miles - Rhulain

Rhulain was NOT a happy mare today. At all.

Her lips stayed pursed anytime I asked for movement.  Whenever we stopped moving she brought her head around and licked my left boot.

I was so excited to show her I was learning her language, but the message she was sending was "get off."  She even lowered her head and gave me two tiny hops.  I heard her loud and clear.

We've been out of sync for a while now and I thought this might help.  What really seems to help is the ground work.  So, until I feel confident in my new skills, Rhu and I are grounded.

Dinos in the Fridge & My First Lesson

This is what passes for humor at our house.  Dinos in the refrigerator.  Yep, that just happened.

So, I had my first English riding lesson today.  It's so very different! The saddle looks like it weighs 5 pounds instead of 35, the cinch is called a girth which buckles on (what?), and there's strange headgear (figure 8?).  BUT, the saddle was super comfy and I didn't feel unsafe even though I was on a ginormous Warmblood/TB mix that made me feel like I was 25 feet in the air.

Things to practice before the next lesson: toes forward, legs on horse all the time, alternate leg pressure at every step.

Cripes. It's like learning to drive stick shift all over again.  Only I didn't have aches in my back and legs when I learned to drive stick shift.

Morgie time!

54 minutes - 1.15 miles - Morgan

 Morgie's head wound is looking so much better!  Figured she might appreciate a grooming and a walk before I annoyed her by cleaning the wound again.

 I had snacks in my front pocket, but she didn't care.  She was sight seeing and snuggling.  It was great spending time with her again!

We stopped to soak in some sunshine, but she heard a noise behind her and decided it was time to head home.  We had a very pleasant time.

Upon entering our front gate, I saw Rhu staring at us ... nice to see her perked up ears!

Oh how I have missed my horses

73 minutes - 1.15 miles - Rhulain

Seven days without either of my horses caused seriously withdrawal.  I snuggled Morgie this morning and checked her head wound.  She was eating, but stopped to give me some snuggle time.  Love that girl.

I missed Rhu ... she flattened her ears at me when I fed her ... which means the feeling wasn't mutual.  Ah well.  It was windy when I went out in the afternoon. Rhu was unusually high strung, she spooked and pulled back when a shovel clanged against the tack shed.  

She stopped panicking rather quickly and though she allowed me to touch and rub her, she wouldn't relax.  I let her stand there for a bit to see how she would react to the pressure on her face.  I pulled a broom out of the tack shed and "shooed" her forward a step.  Once the pressure was off, she licked her lips and leaned her head into my torso.

We spent some time doing ground work, then we rode around the yard.  We did a mile, but we were not connected.  I couldn't sit the trot today, at all.  She shied from a plastic bag, and couldn't calm down.

I hopped down, walked beside her for a bit, then got back in the saddle.  I took a deep breath and released the tension in my shoulder blades, and we both seemed to calm a bit.  We walked two more laps around the yard.  She didn't want to approach the hitching post so I hopped off and walked her over.  We spent a few more minutes together, but she was too tense to enjoy the massage. Ah well.

More ground work. Definitely more ground work.