I read all this stuff about it being nearly a 100! I am sitting at the table with my heater on! It's a whopping 54 degrees outside. I just spent all day today sitting outside in folding chairs under a tiny umbrella observing one day of the Buck Branaman clinic. SO COLD!!!! Raining like March here.
Uncommonly hot here in AZ. I had a bunch of errands to run from 6 AM thru the morning. By the time I was free, it was 100+ with brutal sunlight. If I had ridden, I would have used a cowboy hat instead of a helmet...but I decided not to ride.
When the sun is like that, no amount of sunscreen or long sleeves or gloves or cowboy hat really help. In 30 minutes, I feel like beef jerky. And Mia is no fool...she would consider it abuse and be grumpy. She has a beautiful smooth jog, but when she is grumpy, she stiffens her legs and lets me pound my crotch against the saddle until I'm singing soprano. It is kind of like what they say about wives: If momma's not happy, NOBODY is happy!
I read all this stuff about it being nearly a 100! I am sitting at the table with my heater on! It's a whopping 54 degrees outside. I just spent all day today sitting outside in folding chairs under a tiny umbrella observing one day of the Buck Branaman clinic. SO COLD!!!! Raining like March here.
And it was awesome! I am writing up my notes, but they are scattered. That's how I think, so I do apologize in advance. Look in "horse riding" in a bit.
Today (Sat): 6+ miles in southern Arizona. Oh - and we encountered our first motorcyclist in a tight spot. Happily, he stopped and killed his engine, so I could lead Mia up to the smoke-belching monster. We were surrounded by cactus, so there wasn't a lot of room to go by. It was nice that the motorcyclist was so decent about things...not all are so understanding!
The Rincon Mtns east of Tucson are visible in the background. My wife is on our 13 hand BLM mustang, and my youngest daughter is bringing up the rear:
My wife & youngest daughter making their way down a small slope
4 months ago, it was tough to ride Mia a few hundred yards into the desert. She led the entire way today, except for when we needed to go right next to a wooden corral structure. She hopped sideways a few times, so I asked my daughter to take the lead on our ex-ranch horse. Mia then had to ride with her nose up his butt for a few hundred yards in punishment for being stupid...but then she passed him again. My nervous, spooky mare is starting to enjoy taking the lead!
I don't get to ride much, yet. But I did have a blast doing ground work with the new pony and with my 2yo! The farrier came out yesterday and took the pony from having dish plates for feet down to really nice proportionate hooves. Made her look even cuter! And the neighbors brought their little girls over to see the pretty horses. :) It was so much fun watching the 10 and 6 year old girls hug on the pony and she just ate it up.
Praisielou, that last picture is a crack up. I love your Fjord. I've always wanted one for my kiddos. I've liked them since I was little.
I took my greenie for his schooling ride today. He was actually doing really really good last year, and I started him on barrels last summer and then we had a fire in the fall and I lost all my tack, and my equine crew didn't get near the attention they needed to keep them from spoiling over the winter. My finished horses didn't take long to bring around again this spring but the one I started under saddle last year (he was actually between 8-9 but an abuse case so scared to death of the saddle and quite the bronc) he kind of fell back to his old bucky ways after about 5 months off. So now that I have a saddle again and the new barn is just about finished, I'm back to riding several days a week and my greenie needs it at least every other day to every three days. So anyway, he got his work out despite hitting almost 100 this afternoon. I took it slow. Never took him past a trot and only worked him on what I call my arena spot that my hubby tills for me to run barrels on. Worked on lead changes and and correct head set. Lots of circles and half halts and back ups. He really is a good boy and wants to try hard. He's just super cautious and it has taken him over two years to truly trust people. We'll get there again with the riding. Here's a recent picture of him.
Thanks Mammakatja! "Crack up" is perfect for describing Tolef! Hands down best horse decision I have made! Such a joy to be around him!
Your guy is quite the looker! Keep us updated of his progress...he has kind eyes c:
Long, sweaty, dusty, tiring. I had to get 4:30 am. In the morning and go ride until 10 am. We pushed cows for 4 hours straight through 4 different pastures. I only got 4 hours of sleep. Plus it got super hot today. I want to go take a nap right now.
Long, sweaty, dusty, tiring. I had to get 4:30 am. In the morning and go ride until 10 am. We pushed cows for 4 hours straight through 4 different pastures. I only got 4 hours of sleep. Plus it got super hot today. I want to go take a nap right now.
Other than the digusting 4:30 am thing & 4 hours sleep, the rest sounds like pretty good. Now go nap.
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Here's a recent picture of him. 
