The Ides of Brumby

The weather would have been better for riding today if I had gotten to the farm earlier. This is so often the case so you'd think I'd manage to get out of bed earlier on Saturdays. I never do.

When I was making my way over to the farm (around noon), I spied some wildlife sauntering around the road! Turkey alert!!!!! I grabbed my camera!

But naturally, the closer I got to them, the more dedicated they became to getting away from me. They were running down the road in front of my car! It was like a little cartoon!

Then they turned and scampered into the woods.

So I made my way to Bill's.

As soon as I got there, the weather took a turn for the worse. By the time we got into the ring, the wind was howling and rain was coming down heavily at a slant. I took the saddle off and covered it with a towel. Then my brumby and I just stood in the ring with our bums to the wind and rain.

Luckily, it did not rain long. We took a walk around the ring. It was so mushy, my brumby was sinking into the sand!

I began to practice lungeing. It was very wet, sloshy and not very inspiring. However,  I am pleased to report that I was better at lungeing (even if not by much) than I was last week. It is all a question of practice making perfect. The most challenging manuever for me is getting Lilly to change direction without losing momentum and keeping her trotting in a tidy circle. My hands are a mess with the tangly rope. The circle is no circle. Sometimes my brumby just stops moving. Maybe she is laughing a me. Bill came down and helped. How nice to have an interested expert on the premises!

Bill lunged my brumby successfully for a short while. Toward the end she began to register signs of irritation with lungeing. We were careful to leave it on a good, positive note. Job well done, Brumby!  In this picture, just for fun I am trying to lure Lilly up to the top of a giant snowpile on the edge of the ring. She was perfectly willing to follow me up there.

 Then we took a detour into the round pen. Notice how the sun had come out and was shining away!

How nice it is to just hang out in the sun!

Do you know how some people say there is nothing so precious as a sleeping baby? Well, there is also something very special about a brumby dozing in the sun while you are hanging out with her. Clinton Anderson says that horses are the laziest animals on earth. Maybe they are just connoisseurs of quality lounge time.

Now you see it....

Now you don't!!!

More connoisseurs of lounging. Excuse me, Connoisseurs of Lounging.

There is nothing better than having a brumby as your best friend.

And it is also nice to have some chicken friends too. These are Bill's two hens who I have named Allison and Maybelline.


And now for the Parting Shot:

It is only a matter of time before Getty finds that little pile of poop and begins to roll it in.

Gross!