Today was pretty close to a normal day. I was glad about that. I get kind of upset when my routine gets messed up, especially if I'm being handled by someone besides my mom. It's not that I don't like other people. I do. I just like my mom best.
But today she came to the barn at around the same time that she always does. I heard her call my name as soon as she got here and pretty soon she came limping along to my stall. She still has that big bandage on her leg but she seemed pretty cheerful and her usual self otherwise. She brought me a hay snack and pulled a wheelbarrow into my stall and started cleaning it right up. That's another thing. Mom knows just how I like my stall. You might think that anyone can clean a stall and I suppose they can but knowing how to clean it the way I like it is special.
She cleaned out my water bucket too, and then she groomed me really well. It was nice to just hang out with her. It seems like ages since we've seen each other the normal way. Emily took care of me yesterday and while Mom came out the day before, she didn't clean my stall or ride me. She just came in the Round Pen with me and free lunged me. Today though she did all the things she usually does except ride. I guess it would be hard to ride with that bandage on. I don't think it would fit in a stirrup.
Anyway, she groomed me real good and picked out my feet. She brushed out my mane and tail and my forelock. She put fly spray on me and wiped it on my face with my soft towel the way I like it. I love it when Mom grooms my face. I have a little, soft red brush that feels so nice and she runs it gently on my cheeks and my nose. While she does it, she talks to me quietly and tells me how pretty I am and how much she loves me. It makes me feel special. She does that when she wipes fly spray on with my towel too. It's a nice cozy time.
When she was all done grooming me, she put my boots on and grabbed a lunge whip and a lunge line so I knew we were going to do some work. She put my leather lead with the chain on me, over my nose. She uses that sometimes when she really wants me to be an extra special Good Girl and I figured today it was because she was limping and couldn't walk too well. I made sure I was really careful - she could have walked me with a piece of string. I stepped out very slowly and stopped whenever she got behind. I wanted to show her how good I could be so she wouldn't go away and not come back again. She was happy with me and petted me and kissed my nose when we stopped to rest. I like it when she kisses my nose.
I tried to be a Good Girl lungeing too so I did what she asked me and even changed direction without a fuss. I did have a roll when we first got in there - I just couldn't help it. The dirt was so soft and inviting but Mom didn't seem to mind. I got my nicely groomed coat all dusty but she just laughed and then when I got back up, she put me to work.
When we were done lungeing, she unclipped the line and stood there petting and talking to me. I just poked my nose into her chest and visited for a little bit, then I dropped my head down so I could examine that bandage more closely. It really is a strange one. I put my mouth on it right on the side of it and it was really hard, harder even than a piece of wood. I tried to take a bite of it but Mom told me no so I just sniffed it all over. Then I tried to play the Shoe Game with it a little bit and she caught my nose between her legs like she does and laughed so I knew everything was all right. She has a funny bandage but she's still my mom.
We walked back to my stall together with me on a loose lead and her petting and talking to me. Then she gave me a cookie and my bucket dinner and told me she'd see me tomorrow. It was a really nice day.
No comments:
Post a Comment