Saturday Adventures

I haven't written much this week because it has been SO FULL!  With some new horses in for training, I've been busy with evaluations and all the getting-to-know-you that goes with the first weeks of training.  I also have had to rearrange the herd because of new mares who have arrived.  Some of my geldings don't handle new girls very well, and in the interest of keeping this a G-rated and family friendly facility I had to move some of the boys who weren't abiding by the code of conduct to different paddocks.

Saturday was very busy but very fun.  I worked with the new mustang mare and rode her for the first time.  She had been sat on and ridden at the walk a bit, however she has not really been asked to do things that aren't her own idea.  As a result she has been very argumentative and even somewhat aggressive with me this week, so I've had to establish myself as a force to be reckoned with and NOT a doormat to avoid certain unpleasantries.  Fortunately by Saturday morning she was realizing that I am not to be stomped on, run over, kicked, or slammed around.  None of these behaviors were done in fear, she just wanted to put me in my place to ensure that the reign of power which she has enjoyed at her house continued here.  This is one of the reasons I prefer to work with difficult horses on my turf.  If I were to only visit her at her home once or twice a week she would naturally assume her normal behaviors for all the other hours in the week when I wasn't there.  With her here I have the home court advantage and can psychologically manage her within my own routine and established boundaries.  Plus I have the bonus of my other horses explaining to her that I'm a pretty good human, I just am not to be trifled with. 

Once I was done with that mare I had an old friend arrive with her two daughters.  Their birthdays were this week and one of their big gifts was a riding lesson.  They loved Cole and thoroughly enjoyed the grooming, tacking, and riding that comes with a lesson. I had a few other clients who were here at the same time riding.  It felt great to see my friends on their horses out and working!

After the lessons we all began our jump painting party.  We got the barn wall painted yellow.  It runs the length of barn and encloses my tack room.  We also got most of the jump standards repaired, scraped, and repainted.  Many of the jump poles got painted as well, with fun colors and stripes.  I have a bunch of new poles and 4x4s I want to use to make new jump standards and poles, but they need to be cut to size and assembled before they will be ready for painting.  I'm just pleased to have six jumps ready for action! 

After a few hours of painting and then pizza with sodas, some of the crew needed to leave, but others had arrived.  We did a little more work on the jumps and then tacked up for a ride.  We started in the arena and then went to walk around the back forty to tour the property and check out the logs. 

By then the day was coming to a close and I had to get everyone fed.  After tucking my horses in for the night and making sure everyone had hay I went into the house and collapsed.  It's exhausting to have so much fun.