Back in the Saddle

It felt like I had not ridden with Christine in forever! This morning we met at Bill's and took out our mares. It was so warm today, but all the trees are still in bud-stage. So it felt like summer, but looked like winter. That's a picture of Christine, on Qtee, with her dog Henry heeling very nicely. Qtee is 20 years old! And yet she is still in excellent shape. She had some trouble with her hock last year, but after spending several months out in the big pasture, she is as good as new! On one of our favorite trails, the trees have so many limbs hanging down, that today it became quite a little gauntlet to get through them without either falling off, or getting an eye poked out. (I don't think that section is one of my favorites anymore!) When we got to the point in the trail where Lilly likes to gallop, both Lilly and Qtee ran very fast up the hill and it was exhilarating.
When we got back, CC was just about to head out with Dixie. Here is Dixie with a nice French braid in her hair, and a little pile of poop by her feet. I'd say Dixie looks pretty smashing in english tack! I often think Dixie (who looks like a young Qtee) looks just like the horse Barbie would have, if Barbie was an equestrienne instead of being so into Ken and sparkly dresses.

Before putting Lilly in the pasture, I let her get at some fresh grass.
While I was out riding, my husband and his ten year old daughter found this little guy while fishing. They were very proud of finding him and created a habitat for him. Oh, that's a baby snapper all right! He's the length of a toothpick! His habitat is nice, but we'll be returning him to the wild in a week or two.