What did you do today? As you can guess from the title of this blog entry I did at least two things. Both were fun.
First thing this morning, neighbor Vicki and I went to College Station to a fun Horseman’s Market Fay hosted by the Brazos Valley Driving and Riding Club. This is like a giant garage sale of horse stuff. I had no idea there were so many moldy saddles and bridles, not to mention very used halters, bits, and blankets. But I also saw some beautiful used tack and true treasures.
Each of us saw people we knew (yes, I know a couple horse people, too) and even found a woman who lives in Ben Arnold and knows where we live due to Vicki’s sheep and matching pony.
We did find treasures of our own. I got a baseball cap that says Cowboy Hat, a horse thermometer, a come-along string (green), a funny shirt, and a bunch of hoof picks with silver accents that I will donate to Tarrin for show prizes.
The most fun thing I got was a really pretty leather breast collar with silver accents and black-and-white leather detail. I just loved how it was elegant but not gaudy. It will go with Apache’s saddle.
If you don’t know what this is, it is decorative and also keeps the saddle from slipping when climbing steep hills. If I’m able to replace one hook on it, I’ll show it to you on Apache.
After we had each found our horse equipment treasures, Vicki took me to see border collies doing herding trials. This was in a nice arena with air conditioning and lots of large bags of wool. I think she said they also grade wool there.
I met some of Vicki’s herding dog friends and had a great time watching the dogs staring at the sheep.
The reason we glared at the sheep is that they were pretty weird. They spent most of their lives so far eating grass under solar farms. It’s a good gig. Lots of shade.
The problem is that they didn’t know much about anything except eating grass. They didn’t realize they were supposed to be intimidated by dogs, so once they were let out, they just stared back at the gate they came out of, not paying attention to the dogs. Occasionally one would stomp its hooves.
Many of the dog/human pairs just gave up, but a few of them got those sheep going in the right circles, separated one from the group, and got them all into a pen. That was really impressive.
I hope I get to go to more of these in the future. I’m very impressed by the hard work both the dogs and humans have to do to move the sheep!
I relaxed most of the rest of the day, which featured suffocating heat. You can get overheated so easily!
The Hermits' Rest 