My Morning With Morgie

28 minutes - 0.95 miles - Morgan

Not a cloud in the sky, not a worry in my head, not a moment where I didn't admire your beautiful soft eyes.  

Thank you Morgie girl for such a nice way to start the day and allowing me to bask in your company!

Our First Evening Excursion

29 minutes - 0.91 miles - Rhulain

It seemed light when we left ... but a scant 30 minutes makes all the difference in the desert.  The 2nd picture was taken in front of the tack shed after our walk and looks far more sinister than the 1st picture taken in the same area.

The treeless saddle made an appearance today.  I got tired of using Morgan's saddle on Rhu ... it just doesn't fit right and until I can get a replacement slide to hold my stirrup in place I'll use the treeless.

We didn't make it to our normal spot, because it was getting too dark.  I walked beside her for three quarters of the way home then hopped in the saddle.  She handled it with grace ... not hurrying, just steady and straight to the gate.  I didn't take pictures with the flash because we hadn't tried that yet. 

Caught the last bit of the sun's rays in our reflection of the monorail ... and Rhu's ear, of course.  Love Morgan ears ... they're so perfect!

Rhulain Likes Music!

29 minutes - 1.08 miles - Rhulain

Lips (the goat) and Ryver (the dobie) were playing tag and generally being annoying.  They kept bumping into me as I was trying to saddle Rhu.

These two insisted on walking Rhu and I to the gate and I think they would have joined us on the walk if I hadn't chased them away.  Sigh.

Discovered a secret about Rhulain today ... she likes music!  Her attention kept getting drawn away from me towards a neighbors' house where they were playing music.  So, I turned on the music player on my phone, dropped it in the saddle bags and she walked along merrily with the beats.

I rode her home through the open desert because that was the path she chose.  She's such an uncomplicated mare!

Crappy Walk. Beautiful Horse.

19 minutes - 0.67 miles - Rhulain

It stormed last night and Rhu was high headed and in a mood today.  

She kept stopping and calling out to the herd, but I was able to get her moving easily.  She was distracted, so I had her do a few circles around me to get her mind back on me but to no avail. 

We called it a day after a paltry 0.67 miles today.  Sometimes it's better to hang up the halter than pick a fight.  We'll try again tomorrow ... after her hooves get trimmed.

She's still gorgeous though.

Sky Shots

28 minutes - 1.05 miles - Morgan, Bill & Zeus

From last night's walk ...

Bill and Zeus at the beginning and at the half way point

Merely 12 minutes elapsed, but drastic changes in light

A study in ears

Morgan's ears as we left the property, at the half way point, after 0.75 miles, and at the gate after our walk

Morgan walks with her tongue sticking out ... cracks me up.  Whenever I try to take a picture of her like this, she stops walking and lifts her head.  I handed the phone off to Bill and he was able to capture her little bit of tongue.  :)

Riding Rhulain (again)

27 minutes - 1.07 miles - Rhulain

Rhu and I had a bit of trouble putting on her headstall today.  When she realized it wasn't a halter, her head lifted in an act of resistance.  I flipped the cotton lead line over her poll and she lowered her head.  I slipped the bitless over her muzzle, laughing as I noticed her lips pinched so tightly together they should have turned white from the effort.

Then she realized there was no bit and her whole body softened.  She brought her muzzle over for snuggles ... maybe her way of apologizing.  

 

Morgan was clearly upset; she wanted to go for a walk this morning and I bypassed her for Rhulain.  Guess I'll be getting two walks in today.

Saddled Rhu up using Morgan's saddle and blanket ... it looks odd on Rhu.  We walked our normal .5 mile, let her snack for 2 minutes, and then I tightened the girth and hopped in the saddle.  

She carried me home at a delightful speed and only had three moments where she saw something which made her flinch.  Never felt a bit uncomfortable ... hard to believe we've only been together only 90 days.

 

I was able to open the gate while still in the saddle ... closing it was a bit more difficult.  She swung her nose about just as the gate was closing and it bonked her slightly.  The gate wasn't latching and she was getting cranky (it WAS breakfast time after all), so I hopped off and closed it.

Swung back into the saddle and asked her to trot to the tack shed.  Took a few cues to figure out how to get her to trot, but she did wonderfully and stopped appropriately.  More saddle time is definitely in order!

90 Degrees at 6:30 in the morning should be illegal. Just saying.

40 minutes - 1.70 miles - Rhulain

Our walk took us beyond our normal turn around spot.  We walked the path I intend to ride her just to see how she would do with the additional .5 mile stretch. She ambled along perfecting her snack and walk technique with no problems.  

Not a cloud in the sky or a breeze meant it got awfully hot the last .5 mile. I will have to start our walk/ride even earlier tomorrow.  Not complaining though ... anytime I can spend with my horses is a good time!

Luppy was waiting for us when we arrived home ... such a good girl!