Mare Love

46 minutes - 1.36 miles - Morgan

So, Morgan and I took a leisurely stroll through the desert. She stared daggers at a plasric bag stuck in a bush, so we walked over to face it, but it didn't move so she got bored.  We ambled, she snacked, we stopped and watched the sun set.  The perfect ending to a day.

Rhulain Knows When I Need Her

Grabbed a cross-under, ran over to Rhulain's stall, and looked at her pleadingly.  She blew warm air in my hair and dropped her nose.  I slipped it over her ears and headed off to the turn out where I hopped on bareback. We didn't spend much time, or go very far, but it was great fun to move around together.  I love my mares ... They take good care of me when I need it most.

Bareback Quickie

8 minutes - 0.22 miles - Morgan

Completed my chores and rewarded myself with a bareback ride around the yard on Morgan.  She was well behaved and so she got to snack on the budding grass.  Much needed Morgie time which was very appreciated.

Rhulain vs Trash Cans

28 minutes - 1.25 miles - Rhulain

The sun was dropping fast, but I figured Rhulain and I could squeeze in a walk.  We hustled for the first half mile, then goofed off and she snacked for a bit before we started home.  The wind bothered her and she was amped, but she never crowded me so I let her be.

When we got home, I had her "help" me bring in the trash can. She hated every second. So, we went out and grabbed the second one as well. She was not entertained by my actions. Ah, well.

I put her in the turn out so she could kick up her heels and race around a bit. She did not disappoint! Always a pleasure to watch her antics 😃

Morgan has Spunk!

24 minutes - 1.26 miles - Morgan

Morgan and I haven't had much time together lately, so I decided to get in some bay love. I walked beside her, snuggling and chatting for the first half of the walk.  I found a ditch, parked her in it, and hopped in the saddle for the ride home.

She is awesome.  Trotted the whole way home, with me giggling in delight.

Once home, we spent some time in the turn out posing for the camera, then racing around wildly.  It was fabulous!  She can move when she wants to ... Which isn't all that often, so I drink it in when she is feeling spunky.

Rhu time = Emotional reset

15 minutes - 0.35 miles - Rhulain

Rhu, oh Rhu, how have I missed you?
Let me count the ways!

There wasn't any daylight left, but that didn't stop me from needing Rhu time.  Spent only a few minutes doing groundwork, then saddled and played in the turn out.

Amazing.

I closed my eyes, dropped the reins, and just breathed in my Rhu.  I have missed her smell, her movement, and the connection.

Walking with Rhu

19 minutes - 1.03 miles - Rhulain

Snuck in a not-so-quick mile with Rhulain tonight. I could have made better time, but I would have had less fun. The trade off was well worth it ... She seemed to think so too!

Thankful for Daylight Savings!

14 minutes - 0.30 miles - Rhulain
11 minutes - 0.30 miles - Morgan

I spent some time doing basic groundwork and checking Rhulain's brain. She was perfect. Hopped in the saddle and rode around the turn out for the purpose of having fun. She was amazing. I felt like I could have ridden her for hours!

I switched horses and rode Morgan in the turn out. She wanted to trot the whole time, so I let her. We bumped up our speed and I found myself laughing out loud. It was glorious! We dropped off her saddle at the tack shed, then rode bareback to her stall. Love love love my horses!

Hanging with the herd

Grabbed the shedding brushes and got to work removing excess hair. Morgan needed the most work, and she napped through the process.

The kid rode his quad through the herd so I could gage their reactions. Barely an ear flicker. Good horses!

Then I spent some time just sitting with Rhulain in the shade. She nuzzled my face, blew hot air down my neck, and licked my boots. I loved every minute of it. Love my horses!

Bill's First 5K!

3.11 miles - Bill, me, and the kid

Ready, set, run away with the circus! Wearing my lucky Solmate Socks, because life is too short for matching socks

The kid and I spend 3 to 4 days a week jogging so we can compete in the local 5K events.  Bill decided to join in the fun and accompany us for the Cirque du Soliel run.

He did very well and I am proud to say we finished in the top 2/3rds of the pack.

There were over 750 runners for this event, plus there were walkers, all on the same trail. Some of the Cirque performers joined in the run while others rode bikes and offered encouragement as we jogged by.

After the race, there was a trapeze class for all the kids who participated, face painting, and pictures with the performers.  I am pretty proud of my little running troupe.  Can't wait for the 8K event in April!

Rhulain's Cranky Face is Still Kissable

1.26 miles - 21 minutes - Rhulain

Uh oh, someone is not happy about leaving her herd. 

A month between walks is far too long.

 She started to perk up once we got on a familiar path ... The one that leads to the snacking spot.

 Ah yes, Rhulain never misses an opportunity to munch down on fresh grass shoots, dead leaves, and brush. Her motto is ... Try everything once!

 At the halfway point, we got in some good snuggle time. Lots of her snacking and me drinking in her essence. I had forgotten her smell.

She still takes my breath away. So gorgeous! She might have slowed me down on the walk today, but I needed the time with her. The occasional morning snuggles are no substitute for real horse time.

Happy Birthday Morgan!

Morgan turned 19 years old today! She is still my favorite go-to-girl and I am thankful she has put up with me the past 6 years.  Here is to another 6 years (and more) of adventures, silly faces, and pleasurable rides together. Much love to my Morgie Moonpie! 💘

My Beloved Rhulain

.40 miles - 26 minutes - Rhulain

The moon was out in force last night ... bright enough I could sneak in a ride.  So I did.

I turned Rhulain out so she could get all her wiggles out.  She bucked, she reared, she rolled, she chased the doberman ... then she came to the gate and watched me intently.

We did ground work in the turn out, then I saddled her up and we rode in the turn out.  It was wonderful.  She was marvelous.  I have missed her SO much. 

She lined up perfectly at the gate to let me open it ... we've gone through gates before, but they were 12 foot in length, while this one is only 4 feet wide and has a bar over our head.  She waited patiently until I ducked and asked for movement before swinging her hips over and walking quietly through the gate.

After untacking her, I hopped on bareback and rode her around the yard then hopped off at her stall.  So happy.  I can't express how much I needed THIS ride with HER. 

No Horse Weekend

The weather was warm enough to get outdoors and do chores.  The rain and Wasabi have done some serious damage on the stalls.  We dug all the junk out and Bill brought over loads of new sand for me to fix the stalls.  We worked for several hours, and got all five done.

The doberman, Ryver, watched me work and rolled around in the sand.  So not helpful!  The stalls were gorgeous when we were done ... so much so, I didn't want to put the horses back in the stalls.

5K Marathon!

3.19 miles - 38 minutes

 We asked the kid what prize he would like for getting "greens" all month in January.  He said he wanted to run a marathon.  Wait, what?!  

So, we trained all month long and joined the "Super Run, Heroes vs Villains" 5K marathon.  All runners got a cape and everyone who finished got a medal.  We went dressed as Batman and Batgirl (of course) and he wore the cape the whole race.  I wore my Solmate Socks, because life is too short to wear matching socks (their slogan).

The kid jogged right with me for the full race at a steady 5mph pace. I was so impressed with him!  He wore the cape the rest of the day and was absolutely adorable.  He's already picking out which 5K we will be doing next.

New Cats

On Saturday, when we had the internet provider workers over, the farrier over, a new worker to muck out the stalls, and in between me unsaddling Morgan and saddling Rhulain, the irksome renter from across the street came over with her horse in tow.  Now what?!  She said she was moving out of state and needed to find a home for her horse. Would I be interested in adopting the mare?  For free?  

Um, no.

I have my beloved Morgans ... I'm good.

On Sunday our farrier stopped by to tell us the horse ended up at their house.  That's good, they're nice people and they have two horses already. 

Later in the day, the home owner pulled up and found that his renters had deserted without paying him for the last few months.  They did leave him plenty of trash, stole the drawers out of the kitchen, and abandoned a dog.

Sigh.

I took pictures of the dog and posted it on our community garage sales page.  The dog found a home the next day. 

Last night I went to bring in the trash cans and two kittens came darting out of the neighbor's yard towards me.  I got them some water and food because they probably hadn't eaten since Saturday night.  They ate while I grabbed a cat carrier.  

I scooped them both up, dropped them in the carrier, and deposited them in our smaller enclosed yard.  The big dogs can't get to them, so they'd be safe.  

I checked on the kittens this morning. One of them licked our small dog's nose.  They'll be fine. Now comes the fun part ... names!  I was voting for Jupiter and Saturn.  Bill walked out and said "Hey Salt and Peppa!" They looked quite amused.  Sigh.

Next we will get them fixed and up to date on their shots.  There is no way I'm writing Salt and Peppa on vet paperwork.

Dorks on a walk

33 minutes - 1.57 miles

Rhu, the kid, and I took a walk today.  They were making silly faces and acting strange, so I decided to document their antics.  Dorks ... I wonder where they learned it? Ahem.

Wasn't our best time, but anytime spent together is valuable!

Crazy Busy Day

19 minutes - 1.02 miles - Morgan
20 minutes - 1.11 miles - Rhulain

Workers from the local internet provider brought this monstrosity to our home Friday evening.  They worked on the "tower" in our yard all day Saturday.  

I was already up and moving when they arrived, because it was hoof trimming morning!  He trimmed everyone but Rhu ... said she was in fine shape and he'd check her again in a few weeks.

 Morgan and I headed out for a mile ride ... she was awful.  She spun in circles because there was a man fixing his gate, then she came unglued because there were trash cans on the side of the road (no spook when we walked by them the first time, but complete melt down on the way home), and panicked breathing the whole time.  I really need to spend more time with her apparently.

I took Rhulain out ... Bill was eating tic tacs and she was intrigued.  She licked them, but dropped them on the floor.  So not impressed.

Rhulain and I went for a walk/ride and as we were coming back up the road, the workers were parking their "lift" for the night.  Since it was there, and one never knows when you'll see a machine this size again, I decided to ride Rhulain around it a few times.  The lights were still flashing, the engine was ticking, and yet I made her squeeze between it and the monorail.  She did fine ... she reached out to touch it with her nose as we went by.

First Snow!

Snow fell in the pass on Christmas eve, but none fell in the Valley.  This morning, I walked out to find ... well ... crunchy, icy, snow-like stuff on the ground.  Luppy had a great time running around and rolling in the "snow."  The goat wasn't impressed by it ... neither was Sundance or Morgan.  

I wasn't all that thrilled as I had to drive in the pass.  I figured the road would be covered in real snow.  Fortunately, the county had pushed dirt on the road so I was able to make it to work only 30 minutes late.

Rhu Joins In

As predicted, it rained all day.  I needed to do my 2 mile walk/jog, but I didn't want to drag Rhu out in the rain so I headed off alone.  

I smiled as I followed my girl's hoof marks on the path.  After 20 minutes my knee started to ache and I was really wishing I'd brought Rhu so she could carry me home.

I got home with only 1.83 miles logged.  So, I walked over to Rhu's stall and asked her if she wanted to join me as I jogged around the yard.  She stayed right with me until I started to head for her stall ... then she began to drag her feet.  

Guess I should have taken her with me for the whole walk.

A Day of Many Faces

2.01 miles - 36 minutes - Rhulain, walk
0.24 miles - 14 minutes - Rhulain, groundwork
15 minutes each: Morgan, Sundance, Majesty, and Wasabi

 It snowed last night in the pass ... not enough to reach the valley floor, but it made for some spectacular views.  It rained yesterday and more rain is expected tomorrow ... so naturally I squeezed in some horse time between the storms.

First came Rhulain ... we did some ground work, then a good grooming and a saddle fitting (she is so patient).  Ryver was chasing a rabbit which darted under Rhu's belly.  The dobie dashed between her front legs and the hitching post in hot pursuit.  Rhu flicked an ear and yawned. Love that mare!

We did a two mile walk and soaked in the sunshine.  Sweet serenity!

Got back and put Rhu in the turn out.  Rhu dropped her muzzle in the sand and then chased me around trying to give me kisses ... she looked like a llama with a mustache. 

 I had the bitless in hand, and Sundance put her nose in it.  Well, ok.  I hopped on bareback and we did a few laps around the turn out.  She seemed to appreciate the time.  I rode Morgan bareback around the turn out as well.  The kid was riding his quad around the yard, but Morgan seemed less worried about it today.  Good job!

Since I was in the mood, I drug Majesty out of his comfy stall and made him carry me around the yard bareback too.  He walks on the buckle and it always surprises me for the first few moments.  He is such a good natured old man.

I thought about trying it with Wasabi, but she gave me such a cranky face I didn't think it would be wise.  Instead, I switched to a halter and we did a few laps around the yard with the kid racing us on his quad.  She wasn't finished yet, but it was time to feed so we called it a day.

Finally!

Finally!  Rhulain's registration arrived! Nearly two years after I purchased her, I can say Rhulain is officially mine!

Happy Birthday Luppy!

Luppy turned six today ... she got to celebrate with a doughnut ... and whipped creme.  Because whipped creme is an essential component to ensuring a birthday is very happy!

Gun shots too close to the house

24 minutes - 1.51 miles

After chores were done, I decided to take Rhulain out for a walk.  She is also in heat, so her head wasn't screwed on correctly.  She pranced, kicked, reared, and trotted with her head and tail held high as we went by the neighbors or whenever she heard another horse. Sigh.

 When she realized silly behavior wasn't going to get her out of work, she started to get in the game.  I asked her to trot and worked on having her pull me for a while.  She did great, my knee didn't fair as well, so we settled for a fast walk.

About half a mile from the house, we heard a quad close to our location.  We never saw the quad, but shortly after hearing him cross our path we heard shots being fired.  Rhu and I hustled home and I called the police once Rhu was safe in her stall.  It's illegal to shoot that close to the houses and dangerous for Rhu and I.   Thankfully nothing bad happened, but I sure don't want it happening again.

Morgan vs. the Quad

40 minutes - 1.81 miles - Morgan

 I decide to do a little desensitizing with Morgan today.  She wasn't happy with me.  She's in heat and hates quads, so she couldn't figure out why I would torture her like this.

I had the kid ride the quad ahead of us while I walked beside Morgan for the first 1.5 miles.  He would stop, we would walk up him, and then he would take off again to help her get used to the quad.

For the last quarter of a mile, I hopped in the saddle and rode in front of the quad.  She was really not happy about my choice of mounting block ... the quad's back tire.  Her ears were pinned the whole way home, but she relaxed once we were in the gate.

The kid parked the quad and came running over to help me untack.  As a reward for doing such a great job, he got to ride her bareback to her stall.  He grinned the entire way.  I know the feeling; I love this mare too!

First Ride of 2017!

48 minutes - 1.5 miles

The clouds were amazing today ... all fluffy and white!  No resolutions for me ... just a promise to Rhulain to work on softness.

 Rhulain and I heading out for our first ride of the year.  We spent time doing some ground work, lots of grooming, and snuggling.  We rode around the yard for a bit and then headed out the gate.

 I walked with her for the first half mile, then hopped on the saddle and rode home.  Only once did she start trotting without being asked, but she came down to a walk with a vocal command.  *happy sigh* 

Love, love, love my Morgans.

Missed riding with Bill.  We haven't ridden together since last year's new year's day ride.  I miss spending horse time with my spouse: our talks, our comfortable silences, and our alone time.