This morning when we woke up the ground was beautifully white with a very thick frost - it had been foggy early, and the fog added to the layers of frost. Thankfully, the sun came out and the frost melted away rather quickly. I warmed up quickly by getting the barn ready for the horses - picking stalls, putting out hay and grain - and the sun felt so warm I had to ride.
I pulled Sweetie out of her stall first - I wanted to get her back into her Rambo blanket that I had taken off after all the rains the other day - the "replacement" just didn't fit her quite right. Plenty long from head to tail, but her belly always hangs out way below it like it was designed for a sleek TB - oh, wait... Sweetie is a TB, lol, just with a big belly. :) (how embarrassing! :) ) But her belly was well earned while carrying Rocky around in there, and she is just as beautiful as ever.
Sweetie decided that she was a little perturbed that I would bring her out of her stall before she had a chance to finish her hay, and was making ugly faces, so I groomed her and put her back in her stall. I wanted to have a nice relaxing ride - and some days you can just Tell they are going to be silly, 23 years old or not.
And there was Rocky. It has been about exactly a year since I last rode him - my injured back and then kidney stone and then injured ankle had kept me off of him for the whole year! Oh, my, again, how embarrassing... :) But he leaned out of his stall window towards me trying to get closer and see what I might do - and I couldn't resist that big red guy. I pulled him out, took the blanket off of him and groomed him. I decided I would lunge him a little just to see what he would do before I bothered putting a saddle on him.
We got out to the ring and I was reminded how much I have already taught Rocky - I just pointed to the left, and off he went to the left. I pointed to the right, and off he went to the right. Every time I said, "whoa," he came right down to the halt and faced me. A slight jiggle of the lead, and he backed right up. He was being great, and so relaxed that we went back into the barn and put the saddle and bridle on him. He was easy to mount up, and we just walked around the ring. Halting occasionally, did a few circles, but just walked and enjoyed the sunny day.
I also noticed while I was up there that there was an area of ground that had sunken in about a foot outside of the ring - it is where there was an old well - and shortly after moving here (and finding the depression) we had filled it with a dumptruck load of sand. The area was generally 2-3 feet higher than the ground around it (still from the sand) but the center had gone down a foot or so. I guess the rains recently have helped some of the sand settle more than it has the last 10 years. After my ride I went out and leveled things out quite a bit, making sure the ground was now firm in the area. It was pretty easy to do as it really was just filling the center in with the extra sand that was already there. But I will be keeping an eye on it!
Rocky loved all of his treats and was so happy to have had a "job" for the day - I was reminded how much he loves attention - and recognized that he had been a little bummed that I had not been riding him lately. He is so affectionate. I love how well behaved he is - how friendly - since he has been well handled since the moment he was born (by me!) I really have taught him quite a bit. :)
I am also thankful that he is so laid back for such a big horse! I keep thinking I need to find myself a quiet, 14hh QH someday, but Rocky is just as calm - even if he is 17hh! It is such a long way down from up there! I love the big guy and look forward to our future adventures!
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