skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This week went really well with Bella relaxing a lot on the lunge line and me studying some of the Parelli lessons. Overall she is ready for the next business I can throw at her which might be lunging under saddle. We'll see. Meanwhile, Diane got an invitation from a neighboring ranch to put her horses out on their wonderful pasture. She is leaving for a month and thought it would be a nice vacation for her mare, yearlings, and old Mochie to get to meander hundreds of acres while she was away. I raised my hand and asked if Bella could be included. Yep, that made 5 horses, with Mochie being their guardian, out to pasture for at least a month with nothing but nature to bother them. We rode them over last evening and unsaddled right at the gate. They hung around waiting for us to open the gate and take them back home until one by one they got the idea that we weren't making them go back. We had to wait for Joe to pick us up then we didn't have to lug the saddles the few miles, so we got to love on all of them and then watch them head back down to where there is a huge spring and tons of grass. What could be finer for muscle and brain development than swatting flies and grazing, walking for miles, and having no human stress. Sounds good to me. I'm going to be gone a little during November anyway, and thinking of Bella standing for days on end wasn't a good solution. We'll pick up the next phase of training when her vacation is over.
LungeI started Bella on the lunge line today. She was only slightly curious about the line and the whip until I insisted that she get going and not stand there. She figured it out so quickly that I keep wondering who else has been working with her. After about 10 minutes of walking and trotting in both directions I went and got her bridle. I slipped it in her mouth and over her ears with very little complaint from her. Then back on the circle to trot a little more. She started getting somewhat strong and a little opinionated about which direction she wanted to go, so after a few circles in the direction of my choice I thought it was time to quit. While standing, I asked her to bend her neck around by gently pulling the bit. She got that beautifully. We went back into the barn and had a nice grooming session. Actually it felt like she was more willing to stand and enjoy my attention than normal. So, my question is how do you get your lunging horse to stop and then reverse direction. I had to reel her in quite a bit before I could ever ask for a reverse, and the stop never happened without bringing her almost all the way in to me.
The Strip
Isn't it funny how it only takes 18-24 hours for money to have no value? I walked into the Bellagio clutching my little pennies like they were precious. By the next morning I was sitting in front of a slot machine slipping a hundred dollar bill in the Insert Here slot like it was a kleenex. Well, the Scotch in me does eventually come to the front and after a session of only a few cherries showing up I was feeling frustrated. Up came some odd combination of pictures that lead to many Credits being added to my total. I hit the button to retrieve my dubloons and ended up with slightly more than double my original investment. I considered it a win-win for me.We had a lovely time but were quite anxious to get home. Now I've got the cash to pay for my Bella's board another month!Oh, and her winter coat is coming in since it's down in the 70's overnight now! Yep. And she is getting lighter and lighter in creamy color. I owe a picture.
TMIWe are leaving in a little while and heading up across the border once again. Where? Vegas, Baby. It's our 40th anniversary this week and we don't have the time to go over to Germany so I picked Las Vegas instead. There's a new Hofbrau House restaurant there and we're licking our chops to order a schnitzel. We got married in Germany in October 1967. Such a long time ago, but only yesterday. One day we got married by the Burgermeister, the next by the American Army. He couldn't dump me if he tried.It's our Ruby anniversary.
October 1 Sunrise
This week went really well with Bella relaxing a lot on the lunge line and me studying some of the Parelli lessons. Overall she is ready for the next business I can throw at her which might be lunging under saddle. We'll see. Meanwhile, Diane got an invitation from a neighboring ranch to put her horses out on their wonderful pasture. She is leaving for a month and thought it would be a nice vacation for her mare, yearlings, and old Mochie to get to meander hundreds of acres while she was away. I raised my hand and asked if Bella could be included. Yep, that made 5 horses, with Mochie being their guardian, out to pasture for at least a month with nothing but nature to bother them. We rode them over last evening and unsaddled right at the gate. They hung around waiting for us to open the gate and take them back home until one by one they got the idea that we weren't making them go back. We had to wait for Joe to pick us up then we didn't have to lug the saddles the few miles, so we got to love on all of them and then watch them head back down to where there is a huge spring and tons of grass. What could be finer for muscle and brain development than swatting flies and grazing, walking for miles, and having no human stress. Sounds good to me. I'm going to be gone a little during November anyway, and thinking of Bella standing for days on end wasn't a good solution. We'll pick up the next phase of training when her vacation is over.
