While I was wandering through ghost towns yesterday, things were hopping on the home front. My horse and I were the beneficiaries of it all.
First, Lee was kind enough to mow the area where our round pen got moved. I was a bit afraid of snakes in the long grass. He then mowed some nice paths through the field, even nicer than his last ones.
That’s not all! Work has begun on a new horse playground for me, Apache, and any other horse I can get practice on obstacles for shows, entertain ourselves, and have fun. The first item is a little hill, like the one at Tarrin’s. It’s more of a berm.
The darned backhoe decided it was time to have yet another new problem (hey, it’s older than my kids), so it didn’t get done. But Apache and I tried it out and loved it. We will get so much use out of this tool.
Apache and I also tried out a turn in a box and corridor obstacle. I’ve made copies of the obstacle instructions from the Working Horse Central book, so I may be getting more obstacles as well. Riding will be so much more fun.
Later in the day Apache and I rode out to the paths and pen to test them out. We both liked the mowed round pen, and he did pretty well in there. We even walked along much of the paths.
But, the end of the ride was not ideal. I guess Lee had run over some rodents while mowing that were starting to smell good. A Turkey Vulture decided to check it out, which was not at all fun for an already nervous horse.
A great deal of crow-hopping and jumpiness ensued, but I didn’t panic. I did allow him to briskly head to more familiar ground, but I eventually helped him calm down enough to walk over some poles and pay attention to me. That was a win as far as I’m concerned. He even let me wash off all his nervous sweat.
Poor Apache. That was a lot of new stuff for one day!
The Hermits' Rest 