Mom rode me today. It was hot again and I was kind of lazy but it was still nice. She didn't push me much - she was hot too - but it felt good to be out together again. Sometimes I'm kind of bad about doing what she wants when she rides me but it's not because I don't like it. It's just because I get impatient with having to be good.
It wasn't quite as hot as it's been and she got there kind of early, before the sun was right up over us. I got my hay snack and she cleaned my stall and then she got a bucket of water and a sponge and wiped water all over me. That felt good. I wasn't sure why she did it but then she put on my boots and my lunge line and I figured out that she was trying to keep me from getting too hot while I worked. It was a good idea and helped quite a bit.
She lunged me in the Flat Arena for just a short time. She said she wanted to make sure I was moving okay because of my bite. It felt a lot better today though. It hardly hurt at all and it felt fine when I trotted around. So she brought me back to my stall and began sponging me off again. While she was doing that, Pedro stopped by. He's one of the guys who feeds me my hay. I love Pedro. He always says hello to me and calls me "Baya." Today he talked to my mom for a little bit but I could tell he was talking about me. And the whole time, he was smiling at me and petting my face. When he left, he said goodbye to Mom and then he petted me and said, "Goodbye, Baya!" I like it when people talk to me.
Mom sponged all of me except where my saddle goes and where my boots cover my legs, then she saddled me up. We rode in the Flat Arena for a little bit, just walking and a little trotting. I didn't feel like doing much and she didn't ask me to. Mainly she wanted me to stay on the outside of the arena and to keep walking without stopping. I like to stop a lot because there's always so much to see. And if I try to look around when I'm walking, I kind of trip over my feet. Mom seems to think that I should just keep walking AND not look around. That's hard.
I tried to be good though and she seemed happy enough with me. She asked me to trot and I did but it wasn't a very nice trot. It was just so hot! I wasn't really picking my feet up or trying to be careful. It was pretty sloppy. She didn't get mad though. She just told me we'd walk around the farm instead.
So that's what we did. I do like our walks around the farm. And I perked up and started moving a little better once we were on the road. We walked down by the Little Rolling Arena where a bunch of kids were jumping on and off a couple of horses that were lunging around and around in circles. They were Camp Kids. I know the Camp Kids because they all wear shirts that look the same. I see them all the time riding past my stall in a big long line. They ride the farm horses. I don't really know any of those horses because they live on a different part of the farm but they seem nice enough. They sure work hard. They carry those Camp Kids all day.
Lots of times, there are a bunch of them saddled up and tied to the hitching rails all around the Pony Arena. Different groups of Camp Kids come along and ride them, sometimes in the arena and sometimes on the road around the farm. Sometimes they go out on the trail. I've seen them there. Today there were a bunch tied up as usual. I don't think I'd like being a farm horse. I don't like standing still for that long.
We didn't go up the hill by my old barn like we usually do. Instead we went on the little road past the Rolling Arena and over to the part where the farm horses line up to go on the trail. We go that way sometimes and Mom has me walk along a short trail that goes between the Rolling Arena and the Little Fence Arena. But today, she asked me to go through the gate toward the real trails and I was kind of nervous about it. Last time we went on the trail, I got in trouble and we didn't even have Sparky with us today.
When I get nervous when my mom's riding, I usually stop. She's pretty patient about it because she knows I'm nervous. She pats me and tells me it's all right and then she asks me to go again. Sometimes that's all I need to feel okay about it but other times I'm still kind of unsure. And when I feel like that, I like to turn my head around until I can sniff her boot. I don't know why but that makes me feel a lot better. I guess it just reminds me that she's there, and that she understands. She does, too. When I turn my head like that, she knows what it is I want. She kind of pokes her boot forward so I can reach it easily and lets me take a good sniff of it. Sometimes I take it in my mouth just a little bit. That's a game of ours called the Foot Game. We usually play it when I'm turned out loose but I sometimes like to do it when she rides just to reassure myself.
Today when she asked me to go out on that trail, I really needed to sniff her boot. Once I did, I was able to go on but I was still kind of excited and unsure. She asked me to take a little trail that leads up past the top part of the Little Fence Arena which was full of Camp Kids of course. They're everywhere this time of year. This trail comes out on top of a hill by a little pond. I got up to that part and then I just didn't know what to do. I stopped again and just couldn't seem to get going. A girl leading a horse walked up while I was standing there. That horse didn't seem worried about things but I felt awfully unsure. So finally Mom got off and led me down the hill on the other side and it turned out we came out at the gate by the Gremlin Arena!
Well, I felt kind of silly then but I just hadn't realized where we were. Mom wasn't mad at me or anything. She seemed to understand. She got back on me and we rode the rest of the way around the farm and had a nice time doing it. I was pretty good going down the hills - hills are a pain to go down. I didn't used to like going down them at all. They make your butt move all funny and you feel like you're going to flop forward right on your face. At the racetrack we didn't have any hills. I had to kind of get used to them but I do okay now.
We got back to our barn and she unsaddled me and then she brought me to the hose to wash me off. I'd worked up a good sweat even with the sponging she'd done. I was looking forward to being washed but then we came to Chip's stall and I decided to stop and sniff noses.
I like Chip. He's a nice bay gelding who lives in the end stall of my barn. I've sniffed noses with him before but today was kind of different. I don't know why but I got kind of excited sniffing his nose. It sort of made me feel a little funny around my tail. I can't explain it. Chip seemed happy too. We nosed and nosed each other and arched our necks and he even nipped me a little, just gently. It felt good. Mom asked me to walk on finally and I did but then I stopped with my butt right near his window and when he sniffed there it made me feel even funnier. Mom laughed and finally made me come along but it was fun. Chip is nice.
I'm glad my bite feels better and I can go out riding again. Hopefully it's not so hot tomorrow though so I have some energy. I want to do some more running.
No comments:
Post a Comment