A Treat

     Because Lady tends to over eat, I have been putting her up at night in the paddock. The paddock has been working as a dry lot so that she gets only 12 hours of grazing more or less a day. This way she won't get too fat and founder. Well I went out to get her from the pasture last night to put her up and I had this idea. Wouldn't it be fun to jump on her bareback and ride her around for a bit? (I'm loving the fact that she's a lot shorter than Mya because I can actually get on her without a mounting block.) I caught her and put her halter on and then just tied the lead rope around like reins. I led Lady over to a slope in the hill so it would be easier to jump on her back. Once I was on her I just started by walking her around the pasture. Mya was funny because the whole time she just stood in the middle of the field and watched us while she continued to graze. Then I decided to trot her. That was so much fun. It took me a minute to find my balance, and Lady was such a good horse because every time I started to loose my balance she would slow down. I got used to her trot quickly though and we had so much fun trotting up and down the fence line. She behaved so well, and she was only in a halter! I was practically laughing I was have so much fun. I'll have to ride her bareback some more soon.

     I have tried several different kinds of horse treats, but I've found that these are my favorite. The horses absolutely love them! Not only do Mya and Lady love them but also Henry and even Bear. Yes, my dog loves the horse treats and begs me to give him one every I open them up. Every once in awhile I give in and give him one. What's funny about these treats is that they are actually the cheapest kind at Tractor Supply. I've tried some of the more expensive kind but my horses like these the best. I'm not going to argue about it though! The last time I got the oatmeal and raisin kind so this time we are trying the apple and carrots one. We'll see which one the zoo likes better.

Alien Ponies

     I have several different pastures and each one of them has a "name". Well the names have more to do with their size or location. At the moment the horses are in the front pasture. The front pasture is the second largest and borders our biggest pond. We keep it mowed so they have lots of lush green grass. I walked out there to check on them and they were munching away happily. Because they both have fly masks on I jokingly call them alien horses. I'm not sure they liked that a whole lot...

I call this one synchronized tail swishing. :D

     We also just picked up a horse trailer. Its a two-horse trailer that we are borrowing for the summer from a friend. I am hoping to take Mya to a couple of local shows and I would love to trailer her out to the lesson barn and take some lessons on her. But first I have to get her in the trailer and take her down to the vet to get her coggins done. I don't think she's been in a trailer in a really long time. I haven't trailered her since I got her. I plan on just taking it slow and getting her used to it. Last night we worked a little on it. I used carrots to make the experience more pleasant. I think Mya did okay. She didn't act spooky or crazy. She just wasn't thrilled about the idea of getting in it. But I think if we continue to work at it she'll end up loading fine.

It had just been washed so the trailer was still a little wet.

Mya wasn't quite sure what she thought of it.

My Mares

     I have to admit I had my doubts about Lady in the beginning. She seemed jumpy when I first got her. But I think all she needed was a job and a purpose. Since she's settled in here, she has become a sweet and nice horse. Yesterday I went out to the field to catch her and ended up deciding just to ride her around the pasture bareback. Even though she just had a halter on she behaved, well, like a little lady. She was a lot of fun to ride bareback. I think I'm going to like this horse a lot.
     Mya also got a workout last night. I am trying to build her muscle up so that she can do more under saddle. So last night I had her working in the round pen. We started out by warming up at the walk, trot, and then the canter. (Did I mention this horse loves to canter?) Then I added a couple a poles for her to go over. She passed those with flying colors. (and she was practically flying) I then decided to add a small cross rail jump. It took her a little bit to get the concept of it. She hasn't jumped in awhile. At the start she just knocked the poles down most of the time. But by the end I got a nice jump over the cross rail from her. I was happy with it so we ended the lesson there. All together I think Mya did pretty well and she got a good workout.
    

Cow Pony

     Lady's lesson of the day was working in the round-pen lunging with a bit. Since she isn't accustomed to having a bit in her mouth, I've been slowly getting her used to it. The first time I put the bit on her she just sat there for an hour chewing and chomping on it. This time she seemed more fine with it. Less chewing. One thing I'm impressed with about her is that putting the bridle on her is really easy. She takes the bit right away, unlike Mya who is pretty bad about it. Since she was doing good I decided to saddle and take her down to the roundpen to free lunge her. I thought Lady did really well. The bit didn't seem to bother her at all and she paid more attention to me this time. I have to say Lady looked so cute all saddled up. I said she looked like a little cow pony.