Happy Birthday Max and updates

Okay, wow! It's been almost a year since my last post.  There has been a lot going on in life, but not much as far as the horses go.

Firstly, Max turns the big 2-0 today.  I guess he is officially an old man now. 

I haven't been doing much with Max or Maggie this year. They got to spend summer getting fat.  Given the winter so far, that's probably not too bad.  My life has been crazy and will continue that way for a while.  Max and Maggie are getting another treat dispenser (I'm pregnant) in about 6 weeks.  Little O loves to come out to the barn and help feed.  And he's crazy about riding with me, especially trotting.  I think the kid likes to bounce.  Hopefully the new one will too. 

Out with Max, In with Maggie....

Hopefully not a metaphor for the year. 

I ended the year with a ride on Max.  He was so good, especially considering the wind.   We even made it out into the pasture, but not to the far end along the road. My nerves can only handle so much.  Boy got fat though. I could barely get his girth on.  I ended up buying a girth extender from RW. 

On Max, in the pasture looking towards the road.  His ears say "barn's that way*

Then, on Monday I rode Maggie.  She was also exceptionally good and we rode all over the pasture, including by the road. Also including some trotting. We were all brave.

On Maggie. If you blow up the picture,  you can just see Max behind the IBC tote behind the barn.

Both horses were really good for me.  There was some slight arguments to head back towards the barn, but the conversation went more like:

Horse: "Hey, lets go this way" *pulls a bit towards the barn*
Me: "No" *slight nudge*
Horse: "Oh, okay" *grumpy ears*

Repeat. 

The horse left behind screamed their head off though.  But no hollering from the horse that I was riding.  So yay?

On Monday, I also took each of them separately for a walk through our woods.  I wanted desperately to take them through the creek, but I didn't think ahead and my footwear was not meant for cold water.  It was Maggie's first time back there.  They both did very well. Max was a little more pushy and on edge, but there was no run and bolt from either of them.  They were both a little more forward on the long stretch back to the barn. But again, no shenanigans. I'm sure the pit stops for grass helped sooth those poor starving souls.

Of 2pointober, Shenanigans, and Prison Breaks

I rode!  Both ponies!  Saturday was gorgeous and as soon as the kid went down for his morning nap, I chucked the monitor at my husband and told him I was going riding.

First up was the mare.  It was windy, so we started in the paddock just walking.  Then some short trotting. She was doing well, so we moved to my sectioned off portion of the pasture near the paddock.  We did some more walking, tripped in some high grass, but kept going. I had her doing reasonable straight lines and got some times in for 2pointober.  My max time was 16 seconds, which is big improvement over my initial time of 5 seconds.  I attribute it to our ability to walk mostly straight. I should note that I'm still doing all this bareback.

On high alert in the pasture. Don't know why.

Then I got real brave.  I hopped off to move the "gate" (a step in post), hopped back on and we wandered into the pasture.  She was very looky and alert, so we just did wide slow circles, serpentines and wobbly lines near the pasture. Then slowly worked our way out. We rode around half the pasture, but stayed away from the road. Something kept getting her attention in one corner we couldn't see. Since I was bareback and didn't want her to learn Max's spin and bolt tricks, I didn't take her that far.  At one point we were able to see Max locked in the barn and they hollered at each other, but Maggie really didn't try to get back to the barn like I expected her to. Good mare.

I finally got off and left her in the pasture.  Last time I put her in the barn and rode Max, she tried to break the door down. This time she just ate grass where she could see Max and me.  I just rode Max in the paddock for a bit. We did walking, trotting and stopping.  Nothing exciting to report other than he was very good.  I hopped off and thought I was done until I spying the extra crib mattress in the barn. I had gotten this thing used when I bought a crib at a garage sale. I refuse to buy anything like that used that can't go in the washer, so it sat in our garage for a while. I've been wanting to use it for desensitization/obstacles, but haven't gotten around to it, until Saturday.  I think the pictures tell the whole story.

The hard part is making him stand. He wants to keep following me.

On the teeter-totter bridge.

No halter, never been exposed to the thing before today...why the hell not?  Shortly after this the mattress fell off. He just wanted his cookie.

This morning, we had a bit of a shock.  It's dark outside when I leave for work.  I get up, let the dogs out, and go back inside.  All is quiet.  Go back outside to put things in my car for the day, still quiet. Finally, head out the door with the kid to leave, while my husband goes down to feed and what do we hear?  Thundering hooves coming right for me from the opposite direction of the barn.  Those shits had broken down the fence and were gorging themselves on grass.  We couldn't see them until they were nearer the barn, so I don't know how far they had wandered.  I hope they stuck to our yard and didn't venture into the neighbors garden or worse, the road.  I know it was the mare.  Max is too lazy to try to break anything down.  Thankfully Cinderella stayed in the paddock and there weren't any noticeable injuries, though I will have to have a closer look after work. I'm just thankful they didn't get hit and are so greedy for food.