Saturdays, My Favorite!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

The weather is sad and solemn again today. The weather pattern is ghastly. How many days in a row can it just be dark and murky with neither sun nor rain? It's getting pretty soggy in these parts and I don't like it! Still, not a bad day for Buckey the donkey to have his feet trimmed!

I didn't want to ride Lilly today because her foot--though she isn't really gimpy anymore--might still be healing inside. This is the perfect time to get some groundwork in. Today I took all the noodles I got at Target over to Lilly. As I carried them across the pasture, all the horses had their ears up and were watching me in alarm. And here is Lilly making a tentative sniff at the noodles. She was quite nervous around them at first. I had to let her sniff them forever. Then I was able to rub them all over her back, legs, belly and face. I also waved them wildly around her head.
I also got Lilly to walk (not run) through the dangling green tarp again. She darted through the first few times. And then settled into a nice walk.


We also practiced the sidepass. This time from the ground. I found with carrot as the motivator, I could have her put two feet in front of a pole, and her back feet behind it. You can see the poles in this picture. I kept her head straight with one hand, and tapped her side with the other, with a long crop. At first she just wanted to lick my arm and walk right over the pole. I had to reposition her several times. But then she got it and sidepassed back and forth, forth and back. I did this for a while so it could really sink in. When she did several side steps in a row, she got a bite of carrot. The bugs were very bad and I was glad she had her fly bonnet on.

This last picture I could not resist posting. It is my husband and our dog at home. This dog will be 14 years old this summer. Old Timer! She has just been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. More Lyme? It's everywhere around here. I sure hope I don't get it.

Now I am off to go give Lilly her nightly round of pills for the Lyme. Less than a week to go!

2 comments:

Paint Girl said...

Buckey is too cute! Great to see you doing ground work with Lilly! I did alot of ground work with Brandy last year.
I love your pink rope halter and fly bonnet! Pink is my favorite color. I have thought about buying a pink rope halter for my girls to share!
Love your dog! So sweet! Sorry to hear she has Lyme disease too! Scary!

Pony Girl said...

Sounds like a great Saturday! We used those foam noodles during one of our trail challenge events last summer and I was surprised at how well the horses walked over them, having never been exposed before. Bucky the donkey is too cute! And that dog has had a wonderful life...she looks great for an old timer! What is her name?

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