Not Too Dreary for a Duster!

Today the weather was no good. But it gave me a good chance to try out Lilly's new ruby slippers, and my new duster. Well, actually it is not new. I got it for Christmas.



As I got closer to Bear River Horse Farm, these little guinea hens appeared. At first they had no intention of moving for the car. Then they looked at me and moved over, squawking a little while doing it.


There's Bill down in the ring with Charlie.

I put Lilly's new Renegade boots on her. They fit perfectly. (When I received them in the mail, there was a whole color print out of how to "install" them. Hah!) Although she doesn't need these boots in the ring, they needed to pass a few tests before wearing them out on the trail. Here we are getting two things done at once: training Lilly to walk through water (one more time never hurts!), and seeing if the slippers will stay on even in the muckity muck. They did.

At first Lilly did not want to go into this little stand of water. So when she did slosh on through it, I gave her a treat. Some people do not believe in treating their horses. I clearly am not one of the people.

It is always good to have her stand there and show her that she is not only safe, but very good for being so obedient. Hey, that duster does not look half bad!

What a very good brumby for standing in the mucky water!

I totally love how the new shoes look like Mary Janes on Lilly's feet. Before we came back to the barn, Bill and I trotted up the road to the trailhead. Although it wasn't like truly clodhoppering all over the trail, it did give me a chance to see how the shoes would work on the hard surface of the road, and on the little rocks and pebbles that make her feet ouchie. So far, these Renegades get a thumbs up.

I was worried that water might get stuck in the shoes, or worse yet, little stones. When I took them off there was a little tiny bit of mud, but nothing else. And there were no sore or, god forbid, bloody parts where they rubbed against her too much. Honestly, my brumby did not even seem to notice she was wearing these. And that's a good sign. This means Bill can keep doing the barefoot trim on her. Did you know Bill has been trimming and shoeing his own horses feet for 15 years? All of his horses have excellent (and barefoot!) feet. They can trample over anything. Bill has studied Pete Ramey, Rab van Nassua and KC La Pierre. The man is a technical hoof care wizard. Everyone should be so lucky to have someone as knowledgeable as Bill near their horses. I am not kidding. All you have to do is look at Bill's herd to see it. They are happy, healthy and sound.

On the way home this little guy presented himself. Adorable. You can't see him clearly here but it's a porcupine. He looked at me peevishly but that only made me love him more.

Here's a video of me practicing something.