Rhulain's First Walk off the Property

15 minutes walk
Rhulain
0.43 miles

Rhu, want to take a walk with me?

Sure, but I'm going to need my fly mask.

It's too windy for the flies to bother you. I promise you'll be fine.

Promise?  It looks a bit scary out here.

I'm proud of you ... lots of stuff you haven't seen before and not one bit of spooking.

Just moments ago I was conquering the great out there.

You're an amazing horse Rhulain.  In no time you'll be exploring much more of the desert.

Fly Masks Are Our Friend

Rhulain
40 minutes ground work
15 minutes tacking
5 minutes saddle time

It's been windy lately so there hasn't been much flies about bothering the horses.  Realized Morgan had a few on her face, so I pulled out the fly masks.  Rhulain wasn't sure about the crazy thing I held in my hand, but she only slightly flinched when it touched her shoulder the first time.  Then she let me rub it all over her neck and ears.  I placed it on her face and secured it with no problems.

Later in the day I put a halter on Rhulain and led her around the yard again.  She handled the gate like it's been part of her everyday routine, didn't try to get ahead of me, and moved out nicely when asked to circle around.  She did so well that I decided to walk her out the front gate and into the street.  Not an issue.

We saw an ATV coming down the road, but she just looked at it for a few seconds then gave it her patented "so what?" look.  We climbed some of the sand and dirt piles on either side of the road, stepped over a log, and then I let her taste some of the local fauna.

I took her over to the tack shed and picked out her front hooves, then lifted the backs.  Much, much better than yesterday.  I took her back to her stall and gave everyone their lunch.

Later I decided to try on her tack.  I took off her fly mask and put on the bitless bridle.  I spent a few moments teaching her how the bitless works.  She was fine with it, but kept reaching out for the fly mask.  I laughed.  Didn't take her long to figure that out.  I put it on over the bitless bridle.

Saddle pad looks striking, but it's too long and she needs a cut out for her withers.  Saddle fit fine, although I'll need to switch out the cinch (36" is way too big).  No issues with cinching.  She stood there with her back leg cocked the whole time.  So, I put weight in the stirrup.  No movement.  I slid over and into the saddle, no movement.  I kissed and she moved forward.  

Had a little trouble with the bitless ... every time I picked up a rein, her head came around to touch my boot, but she didn't turn her body.  Ok.  I asked with leg cues and she turned on the forehand nicely, but a bit stiffly to the left.  Kept it short, two laps around her stall and one figure 8, then asked for a halt and she stopped immediately.  Slid out of the saddle, untacked, and put on her beloved fly mask.  She's going to be fun to ride!

June 18, 2012 - Fly Mask "Fun"

Tried to put a fly mask on Sabi today ... she turned and ran out of the stall in to the turn out.  I made her run a lap and Luppy came running into the arena to chase her back to her stall.  :)  Sabi stood still but moved her head around while I put on the mask.