i am reading about four wonderful books right now, and school is interesting because you can't really linger over them. my favorite books have to be run through like a sprinter, when i would rather spend the equivalent of a marathon between the pages.
today we go see our friends, and i miss them. i'm too busy and tired to muck their stalls just now, but i do get a bit of school work done while i opt out of the work of the farm. that is after i provide the requisite scratches.
i've been reading about leading on a loose rein, and i tried it with the old black mare last week. it worked wonderfully. she followed me, no problem. that i caught her before it started pouring, nicole was grateful, because she's old, she doesn't need to be standing out in a cold rain. and bringing her and bitty in meant the two horses could have the run in shelter which is really only built for two and no one must stand out in the rain.
i'm not opposed to them standing out in the rain, it was just very cold last week and i didn't know nicole's preference, so i brought the ponies in.
bitty was ready to go. waiting for me at the gate. she's been doing that a lot lately. just hollering for reasons i don't really understand. but after i brought her in, i attempted the loose rein, and she yanked me into the field to graze. she's tiny but incredibly strong. i let her nibble, then to her stall because i had the old girl to get still, and bitty curled up and went to sleep in her toasty, unkempt stall. normally i'd try to get that done before returning them to their quarters, but it just couldn't happen. nicole took care of it when she was done with my girl's lesson.
and i curled up in a ball in my car and slept. even missed turning the ponies and horses out in the paddocks. i just needed to shut my eyes before the drive home.
the old girl stood and watched me approach her in the field, and she began to turn away. so i clicked my tongue a few times, maybe three, and she turned toward me again and stood in her spot. i was able to clip the lead on and walk her out, no problem. nicole was impressed because velvey always runs when she's brought in. but not from me. the only time she ran from me was when i was trying to put her halter back on and i'd just turned her out. lost a few layers of skin from my middle finger that day unhaltering her and should have just let it go at that. but i'm nothing if not persistent.
it wasn't her fault i got hurt, it was mine. i understand. horses do what horses do. and i'm grateful when they don't kick me and they could. last week everyone was all feisty, which is nice to see. guess they'd been couped up a bit. but we went into the field to retrieve my daughter's favorite pony, barnaby, the one she rode in competition, and rides most now for her lessons (he challenges her, she said to me,
i try to challenge him, too).
and, well, she's standing beside calm as a pool of water barney, and the big spirited thoroughbred comes racing over nearly running into us. we were beside a large pine tree, and that severely limited our options. bitty, the little welsh pony, whinnied, and wanted out of the situation, but she was hemmed in by me, the tree, and barney at her front. just then, bandit ambles over, rather quickly, and he's all fired up, so bitty's feeling blocked in and i told my girl, turn barney loose and move. so she goes toward the pine she's nearest, and releases barney, while i try to get bitty to move forward, but bandit has come and is spinning around ready to kick.
he almost kicked you,my daughter said.
no, he didn't.
i saw horseshoes to be sure, which is close enough, and the pony bucked a bit as she was departing, but i was perfectly calm. this is what amazes me. it could have been a very bad situation, but i was calm and aware of everyone and everything. a perfect moment.
and i watched it all in slow motion.
when the horses cleared the way, my girl grabbed barney, who kept vigil beside her, he's a good pony, and we walked to the gate. i'm trying to remember, obstacles and horses don't really leave many options. staying in the open is perhaps the better choice. though, when they are all clamboring around, they become the obstacles. and it requires one to focus.
this is how we spend our tuesdays. i would have it no other way. and, beside stepping on my boot once, bandit has never hurt me. he has no reason to. i have to remember they respond to stimuli by instinct, and to attend to stimuli better.
i'm just so focused on what is going on at the moment, i forget about the moving pieces. somedays, T (the big thoroughbred), is calm and peaceful. gentle and wanting to be in the middle of everything. but on those days when she is wild, it's probably best to keep our distance from her. the trick is, deciding what kind of mood she's in.
barney seems to be consistent no matter what is going on, which is why nicole loves using him for beginners. she was telling us about the last show she went to, one of the instructor's students took a pretty bad fall. the horse darted off in the walk, trot class and was cantering wildly around the arena.
nicole said she could see barney start as if he wanted to run, but he knew better, and just stood still. they seem to know what to do, how to take care of the kids, who do their best to take care of them.
and i'm just glad to get muddied and learn from them. i never expected it to be easy. i just hadn't expected to enjoy it so much. even when it's difficult and all work, it's joyous work. and i don't get giddy about much these days. but take me to the farm, and leave me there to die.
this is my wish.
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