Anyway, I was anxious to get up to the horse ranch because, in my delirium, I was a week behind with my board check and the owners were going to be out of town Sunday. So, I only had Saturday to get up there, give them the check, check on the horses, and do whatever needed to be done. I had gone out Friday morning with my camera and I WAS dizzy and shaky, so I only went to the golf course and the city park, and came home and rested the rest of the day. I wasn't sure I could even make the drive yesterday because it is up a VERY narrow two lane mountain highway and it takes about 45 minutes, but off I went. And, I felt fine!
I saw a herd of 8 bighorn sheep on the way, so I pulled over and took some photos of them. There was a large ram in charge of the herd and, as long as I remained away from them and didn't make noise, he was okay with me. I just stood and used my telephoto lens! Finally, however, something spooked him and he gave the order for the herd to MOVE! And, they did! I watched them for about 20 minutes, though.
I got up to the ranch and took Scout out first, since I could tell she wanted some R&R. The weeds and grasses up there are knee high, due to all the rain, and ALL the horses wanted to get at them! She was fine and tried to bolt when I turned to shut the gate, but I anticipated that and grabbed onto the lead rope. Once she figured out she wasn't going to get away with any shenanigans, she calmed down and I let her go on my terms. Then I got Gigondas out (she's always a lady...) and put her in the big corral next to the old gelding, her neighbor. He gets upset if she's too far away. She immediately went in search of weeds. Then, I took Lucille up to the round pen for some exercise. She immediately rolled and rolled. I took my grooming tool box down to Quad and brushed him. I was amazed at the amount of hair that came off his skinny bod! He sure enjoys his grooming. Next, I did Sunni, who snorted at the tools, but then settled down. It had been a couple of weeks since I was last up there. I brushed them all at that time, but didn't get Quad or Sunni out for exercise. Just too damn tired. Yesterday, however, I got all 5 of them OUT, exercised, and brushed!
I put Scout away and took Quad down to the arena where he went off in a huff and a puff, kicking up his heels, and farting! Man, he was FULL of gas! Phew! I brought Lucille back down and took Sunni up to the round pen where he went around and around and around. I took Gigondas back to her corral and started the psyllium for all of them. I use the powdered form and mix it with water to make a gel. Got Quad and took him back to his corral, got Sunni and took him back. Oh, and I took Scout, Gigondas, and Lucille over to the tie rack and brushed them. For some reason (it was a little gusty...) Gigondas pulled back on the tie rope and had an anxiety attack, but I was able to calm her down and was able to get her to relax. She was really pulling on the rope and I was afraid she would break it, but she DID finally calm down! There are trees near the rack and I think their sound spooked her. Scout did the best. She just stood in the warm sun and allowed me to brush her all over!
I think with all of them, it is with Scout that I'm making the most progress. She comes up to me now, when she's in her corral, and if I call to her, she will come over to me. I'm trying to teach them all to do that, so if they get loose, they will come to me. They all let me know when they are tired of the arena by standing at the gate. Little by little...
Here are some pics from yesterday. It was a good day.
1 comment:
So glad you are feeling better and able to make it out to see your horses! I love grooming out the spring hair shed! The downfall of good spring rain is weeds, for sure! I am going to try to stay on top of the weeds this year. We get them that grow 2 feet high then they dry up and blow away like sagebrush in the summer.
Post a Comment