Another Hack

"is this horse your neighbour, or do you just WORK here?" jill shouted to the little girl seated in the chopped trees, while the chainsaw of her father roared on, nearby.

the pony stood nicely, but the child r a n over. with her colouring book and crayons. she had never patted a horse before, so jill dismounted so she could try it.

they walked for 40 minutes on the road, including a long way up 11, on the road itself instead of the gravel edge. the sheep were no where to be seen and he was happy enough with all the neighbours. traffic was different on saturdays.

his feet were very tender. where shoes even going to help? how was she going to get further aground???

*
she was to chicken to present the pink planks without knowing if anyone was home. but, was pleased to notice the home phone number also rang in the barn. bonus! and the tiny vertical was probably the biggest thing they'd tried together so far anyway.
*
when she was at the show, she thought "my pony could pack me around all these, no problem."
*
does it make any difference working up horses if you are training them as SCHOOL horses vs. show horses? i.e. sounds and vocal commands
*
well, now she had the little guy's hand me down way too big halter undone at both buckles, but she couldn't do it up on the tighter hole, on either f-ing side. she fiddled around with different tools for a half hour before she just oiled it again and left it to try again the next day. she wished he just had one that fit him...

he had a mark on his face that wasn't there yesterday but that didn't look new. the old guy had horse goober on his back from how they were chewing on each other's withers. she had never seen him do that his little buddy, but all the other geldings in that paddock were equals?

all the new turn out arrangements seemed fine, though she was left with no where to ride BUT the roads. the ground was pretty soft with the rain, so what the heck. she lunged a little at walk and trot in the indoor first, the footing was so deep. and, a young cat kept running into the arena to attack the lunge line. for crying out loud!

he was really sore behind. again or still? she didn't know. perhaps when the vet and owner came by on tuesday she could ask about it.

if the owner didn't want her to take him on the two hour trail ride, why didn't she just say that up front? and, what exactly was the concern? she said his shoes had been barely off a month when they had in fact been off two full months and the WALK was on GRASS. it was a lot easier to address a person's concerns if they expressed them.

if the last trainer had so much trouble with him off the property, then surely the benefits of trailering off more often could be considered? jill felt that you don't solve problems by avoiding them. jill wondered how the last trainer had done with him on trails BY HIMSELF. or, out on the roads exploring the neighbourhood. maybe he had come a long way?

that very woman had shrieked at jill once during her very short time there that she was not allowed to ride him up the driveway because "he'd kill you." yet she told the horse's owner he was brave, bombproof and reliable as a lead trail horse. could all these things be true? none of it made sense.

the new boarder was nice. and was looking for a horse to RIDE since her guy was off for 5 months.

EVERYONE was cutting their lawn today, so the pony had to pass many a variety of mower in motion. he took a few good spooks. and a few good scoots. but nothing TOOOOOOOOO dramatic. jill got the creeps at a beware of dog sign at a driveway they had never passed before and turned around to head home, only to notice that almost every single neighbour had such a sign! for sure there was one dog that couldn't be trusted, the owner had held him the one day they'd ridden by while he was landscaping.

almost all the traffic was polite. she was in the habit of nodding and mouthing thank you rather than taking a hand off the rein to wave. he was being a good boy, but she knew how quickly he could get out from underneath her.

the day before when she was cleaning tack, she'd wanted someone to take her picture! c'mon you guys, commemorate this moment she'd joked.

ripping the elastic out of the waistband of the white breeks was genius. now she suddenly, actually had one pair of riding pants that fit! and, better colouring for heat and bugs, whoo hoo!