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

Silly Faces and Scary Objects

Tuesday, July 29th  Left at 6:28 pm  Home at 7:21 pm  85°
Rode with Bill & Wasabi
Stayed on the road ... about 3 miles total

We borrowed Bill's new rope halter and lead rope.  When asked how she felt about the blue color, these are the faces I got:

Guessing Morgan is not a fan of the blue.  I, however, thought it was dashing. Oh well.

Weather has been unusually lovely, so we have been taking advantage of it to squeeze in as many rides as possible.  Tonight Bill decided it was Wasabi's turn for an adventure.  She hadn't been out since July 10th, but she seemed to be in the mood for a ride.

First thing to tackle, some dirt piles on the side of the road

She marched up and down the dirt piles without so much as a twitch today.  Even when the sand started shifting under her feet, she calmly strode on as if she'd been doing this forever.  Far cry from her first sand dune experience a few weeks ago.

Before the scary balloon ... the terrifying Elmo lurking in the bushes ... 

flex the neck ... and then pass by the balloon as if they didn't exist.  Success!

We stuck to the road, but still encountered some strange objects.  First there was scary balloons stuck in the bushes that moved mysteriously ... it's called a breeze Wasabi, it's not mysterious at all.  Bill took advantage of the situation to flex her neck and readjust her focus.  A mere 30 seconds after sighting the balloons, she marched by them as if she'd lived with them all her life.

We continued on the road for two "blocks" (about 1/2 a mile) before starting towards home. Morgan and I were paralleling them because she was still showing slight discomfort in the rocks. Whenever we got a bit ahead of them, Wasabi tried to retake the lead.  Bill didn't seem to think we were funny, so we settled down to a slow walk.

Mailboxes? Car? No issues ... just keep strolling on Wasabi girl

We took the main road home to see how Wasabi would react with cars going by.  She didn't even glance over at the cars coming or going.  She was doing so well we decided to pass our house and go play with the fallen tree. Unfortunately, my batteries died, so there are no pictures of the "action."  She stepped over the log the first time Bill asked with no hesitation.  The second and third times required a little more patience and cajoling, but she and Bill worked out a cue on when to pick up her front lets and all was well by the fourth and fifth attempt.  Morgan actually jumped the log after my third request to go over it.  Oh happy day!

Majesty vs. The Log, Round 1

Monday, July 28th  Left at 6:41 pm  Home at 7:20 pm  85°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Morgan waiting patiently for the ride to begin

We got home from work early and decided to see if we could find any puddles in the sand dunes to practice water crossings.  We dashed outside and tacked up ... I even put a breast collar on my darling Morgan in case we had to climb dunes to get to the puddles.

Majesty stares down the horse eating log

We started off by turning right out of the north driveway. Morgan was still acting a bit tender on her front hooves, so I moved her off the street and played in the desert next to the road. We came across the downed log and invited Bill and Majesty to join us in stepping over the obstacle.  Majesty took a long, hard look at the log before committing to going over.  Bill's quiet words of encouragement rather than pressure paid off in no time, and Majesty was stepping over it in both directions in a matter of moments.

Me, caught off guard and looking very messy ... Nice to see Morgan's head lowered

We continued down the road and turned North towards the salt flats.  Basically, we just reversed the path Morgan and I had taken on our last solo adventure. Not a drop of water to be seen anywhere ... you'd never know it had rained on and off for the last two days.

Headed to the salt flats

We ambled peacefully through the paths, crossing the salt flats, over sand dunes, and around bushes.

Top of the ridge

The sky was a glorious blue and Majesty kept a nice, easy pace.  Made for some relaxing riding.

Two wary horses eyeing the distance

Love that Majesty's muzzle and eye area become darker in the Summer

We turned towards the sand dunes where we had last seen puddles, but saw smoke rising up from someone's quad.  We heard another quad racing about, so we decided to skip our normal dunes and cruise on home.

Horrible photo, but I loved that it looks like Wasabi is whispering in Morgan's ear ... 

It also looks like Morgan is listening to her evil plans!