Hoof Trimming Day & Bamboo Nostrils

Saturday, August 9th  30 minute ride  85°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

It always amazes me to see them balance with one leg high in the air

Had our farrier out this morning ... he showed up at 7:05 am and was finished with all five horses by 8:30 am.  Which is good because even in the shade his tools started to get hot. Yes, 8:30 in the morning and it was already 90 degrees.  There has to be some law against such horrid heat.

The clouds rolled in and the temperatures dropped later in the evening, so we dashed outside and tacked up.  Morgan was a bit of a snot while I was trying to mount, so I hopped off and had her lunge for three laps each direction.  That settled her down and she stood still when I tried again.

Rain is headed our way ... hopefully it will bring the temperature down

Took a quick 30 minute ride by Morgan's favorite bamboo snacking spot.  She reached over to grab a couple of leaves and one went up her nostril.  Her head popped up and she stared at me in wonderment for a few seconds.  I patted her neck and she tentatively reached in for another leaf.  All was well, but it did make me giggle.

Majesty had a bit of trouble with his footing ... when his toes get trimmed it takes him a day to get used to the new length.  Other than that, a nice, quiet ride with my besties.

Moody Ride

Thursday, August 7th  Left at 7:31 pm  Home at 8:27 pm  92°
Solo

A full moon between Morgan's ears

Bloody hot.  I am so sick of temperatures over 100 and we still have at least one, maybe two months left of this "delightful" weather.  Also, the sun is setting earlier, so now I have to leave the house as soon as it gets close to 90 degrees.  Weather is wreaking havoc on Morgan's mane ... she has dandruff. *sigh*

Mounting from a giant spool ... Notice Morgan's opinion? Yep, she's sticking out her tongue

Morg seemed interested in the spool that we got for the goats to play on, so I rode her over, let her sniff it, dismounted and remounted while standing on it.  She stood perfectly still while I stomped and wiggled it.  So we headed off the property for our ride.

The odd effects rain had on the street ... 

1st picture is from the left side of the saddle, 2nd picture is also from the left side, only 10 feet away.  Makes for some interesting footing

I asked her to trot through the desert parallel to the road so we could pretend bushes were poles or barrels and generally goof around.  The recent rains have had an interesting effect on the desert and washes that we normally follow are filled with debris, while new paths were created or older ones were deeper than last week.

Some of the delightful sights we encounter

We started to lose the light so we picked up the pace, but I was having trouble keeping her in a straight line.  She kept trying to stray to the right and wouldn't stay between my hands, she braced, so I made her stop moving completely.  Flex the neck a few times, move out in a walk, circle to the right, circle to the left, stop again, flex the neck, and then just stood for a moment.  Breathed nice and deep before asking her to move out.  Seemed to help her refocus.

Before and after ...

Just leaving the property the sun is shining, she's relaxed, and sticking out her tongue. Again.

On the way back, the sunlight has all but disappeared, she's dropped her head, and is moving along at a brisk pace

On the last stretch, she tried cutting corners and straying from the course I had set her on.  Took another 15 minutes to get her to move forward in a straight line.  We ended the ride by letting her stretch her legs and pick her path once we were back on the property.  

Looks like she may be coming in to heat again, or maybe it was the full moon, but this wasn't our best ride.... felt like we were fighting unnecessarily.  Might be time to ride Majesty for a few days and let her relax a bit.

Luppy's first attempt at trail riding

Wednesday, August 6th.  5 minutes and about 95
Solo with Luppy

Was not going to ride today ... have ton of homework and was tired.  Went out to feed with my dog Luppy hot on my heels.  I decided to see if she'd stay close to Morgan if we were off property.  I quick threw on the treeless saddle and hopped on in less than 5 minutes.  Walked Morgan down the north driveway straight out into the desert ... Luppy was ahead of us but close enough to come back if called.

June 2013 - Luppy and I inspecting the interior of an old 1952 Dodge Truck

Rode straight for 3 minutes, turned west toward the main road riding, and then trotted home and was back at the tack shed exactly 5 minutes after leaving.  Luppy listened to me when I called for her and kept pace on the way home, but strayed too far ahead of us when leaving the property.  All in all, an interesting experiment.

Bill and Morgan leave me pictures like this in the camera.  Those two make me laugh

Puddles in the Desert!

Monday, August 4th  Left at 6:40 pm  Home at 7:55 pm  75°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Rained for two days straight ... flash flood warnings twice in one day ... 

Hey Guys, hurry up!  There's bound to be puddles!

What is this stuff?

Morgan, it's water! Remember?

Look, Majesty remembers what to do with puddles

He's even backing up in them

Oh, I remember these! They're for splashing!

Um, well, you got splashing down ... now how about walking in the puddle?

Not as much fun as splashing, but if it makes you happy I'll do it.

Heading home following our shadows.  Good day.

Snuck out for a morning ride

Sunday, August 3rd  Left at 9:30 am  Home at 9:58 pm  70°
Solo

Hey Morgan ... feel like a morning ride?

Ha ha ... I get to go for a ride and you don't!

 

Look at all that open space to explore Morgan!

Um, this looks awfully high

Get me closer Morg ... let's see what the other side looks like

Hmmm, I don't think so.

Turning around!

Water damage in the dunes

Hey, I know this path!  Just up this hill, turn right, short jog and we're home!

Absolutely right Morgan!  You pick the pace and I'll enjoy it 

What a great way to spend the morning ... thank you!

Did I hear treats?

P.S. I like the green reins Morgie. Much better than the white

Blazing "New" Trails

Saturday, August 2nd  Left at 6:53 pm  Home at 7:35 pm  83°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Switching saddles ... again ... can't make up my mind about which fits best

I decided I did NOT like the sheepskin on this saddle and stuffed it in my saddle bags after 10 minutes

Decided to take a different path today.  We wandered down some our neighboring streets west of our house.  Morgan found a patch of bamboo and started munching. She reluctantly left her happy place, but took a stalk of bamboo in case she got hungry later.  Silly but adorable mare.

The view we see the most ... Majesty's calm, comforting walk

It had rained really hard Friday night and we wanted to see if we could find a puddle or two to play in, but the dunes were dry by the time we got there.  Tons of cottontail rabbits, lizards, and jack rabbits to be seen, but not even a tiny puddle.

At the cross roads ... right, left, straight?

Up ahead lay dunes that we have been playing in all year, but when you visit them from a different path, they become new again.  Decided to head off to the left and try those dunes for a bit.  Basically the same scenery (mesquite trees, bushes, sage, rocks, etc.) but the slopes and angles of the dunes were different.

Hey Majesty ... what are you doing so far behind us ... catch up lazy!

Most of the time Majesty is in the lead when we climb sand dunes, but he was in no rush today.  Morgan and I had to wait for him to catch up, which meant I had lots of pictures of Majesty in the distance.  The cool weather made our jaunt comfortable as well as fun ... wish it would be like this all year long!

Sweetest face ever .... love you Morgie!

A New Month Begins

Friday, August 1st  7:30 - 7:45 pm  92°
Solo, Bareback

Hey Morgan, wanna go for a quick ride?

Say no more! Let's go!

Too lazy for a saddle today, hold still

Let's roll Morgie girl!

Um, Elmer, not the smartest spot to be chap

Ok, I'll visit you then!

* Discovered our chickens had laid eggs for the first time today! 

Congratulations Chloe & Zoe!