Fair Skies with a Chance of a Canter

This past weekend, while I was gathering up horse snacks and getting ready to go see Lilly, look what Brandon was stuck doing!

Poor guy gets stuck doing all the house care while I am out running free in the woods with my fascinating and awesome brumby!

 

 





Well, I cannot say that my brumby was any cleaner on Saturday than she was on Friday. But at least she was quite dry, so I was able to brush all of her dirt away. I nearly choked on the dust that came puffing off of her, but I did get her looking a little better.

 

 



While Bill worked in the ring with Ruby, I headed out on the trail.  Bill is so much more diligent about lesson time in the ring. I think I am going to do ring work, and then I see the sun peeping out and off to the trail I go. 

 

 

Here we are pausing in a part of the trail that I like to call Quartz Corner. As usual, my brumby was dawdling along at a snail's pace. She'd walk a little, then stop, look around, fake-nibble some ferns, pretend that maybe she had to poop or pee. I started to count how many steps she'd take before stopping. It averaged 20-25.

 

 

Needless to say, this became infuriating. Here is my infuriated posture.

 

 

Even if I gave her a quick tap with my crop, she'd just keep standing there peering around. If I urged her too much, she flick out her leg at me. I call this a fetal buck. It is not a baby buck. It is a fetal buck. Maybe even a blastocyst buck. A buck that a person who does not know her better might not even notice. But I know. I was compelled to scold her.

 

  

Of course, on the way back, her pace picked up a little. I understand all of this completely. But oh no! What have we here? An obstacle in the trail! 

 

But not a very intimidating one. I trimmed the edges of the obstacle and we slipped by.

 

 

This River Trail is so fantastic. In the summer it is nice and warm and lazy, and in the fall it looks crisp and serene.

 

 

Along the river trail there is an old holey culvert that we worry the horses will get their feet stuck in. Sometimes it is an open gaping hole, sometimes it looks filled in. (?) This time I could not even find it! But we went the long way around it anyway...and then I marked it with trail markers...which you can just see on the left in the photo. BEWARE DANGEROUS HOLE, they say.

 

 

After riding, Brandon picked me up and Bill's and we headed to the grocery store. As we were driving down Shirkshire Road, you will not believe what we saw!!!

 

 

WHAAAAAAAAT??????????????  I shouted: PULL OVER!!!

 

 

 

This was as close as I could get because this pasture is up a little bluff. But I tried to get close! I was trying to scramble over a rock wall to get closer to the twin brumby. The creature looked at me calmly. I was so excited that I texted Bill immediately. How lovely that my brumby has a twin right down the road.   (Even if the real brumby is really one of a kind.)

Sunday Bill and I were back out on the trail. He was riding Ruby for the first time since her spell of doxy for her Lyme Disease. She could not have been a better trail companion.

 

 

 

We did not see any trolls in Trollwood. Or bears. But Bill did see a bobcat bound across the trail in front of him. Where were Lilly and I? We were dawdling and missed the sighting!

 

 

We visited the guys out in the winter pasture and then headed home. The sun was starting to drop behind the mountain and Bill had to hurry because it was getting cold. Because I had on my puffy pink insulated overalls on, I was warm as toast!

Guess what!? This week is The Equine Affaire! I am taking a day off of work to go! Details on the visit on my next post! Until then, happy trails!