Windy day!

Well, I'm sorry I haven't been blogging all week but it's been one thing after another. It was so hot during the first part of the week that I just didn't have the energy. Then the power went out. Mom said it was probably because so many people were running their air conditioners. I don't know what an air conditioner might be but apparently they use a lot of power. And then it cooled off again and that felt so good, I just wanted to relax and enjoy it. So I have some catching up to do.

Mom did come early the day after I last wrote and instead of cleaning my stall first, she saddled me up and rode me to try to beat the heat. It didn't work very well. It was only about an hour or so after my morning hay but it was already awfully hot. We rode in the Flat Arena and did some good walking, trotting and cantering work but after about half an hour, we were both drenched with sweat so we quit. It was a good session though. Mom had me trotting and then she'd ask me for a canter which of course was fun - you know how much I like to canter. We'd canter around the arena maybe one time and she'd ask me to trot again and we'd trot for a bit and then she'd ask for another canter. That was fun. We used to walk, then trot, then canter and then we'd go back to a walk because I'd get kind of excited and lose my concentration and it was hard to go back to a decent trot but now I can do it better.

After our ride, Mom hosed my down really well and put me away, then she hosed Sparky off too so he'd be more comfortable. Then she left but she came back later after we had our alfalfa and gave us our bucket dinners. She hosed us off again too but by then you could tell that the big heat was over and it was starting to get back to normal.

Sure enough, the next day was nice. It was beautiful actually and I felt so good. I was really frisky because when it was hot, I didn't feel like doing much so I had all kinds of energy built up. Mom understood and she brought me to the Pony Arena where I had one of the best turnouts ever! I ran and bucked and played and then I pretended to get scared of things just so I could run some more. Mom even ran with me a little bit and I always love that. It's fun. We pretend to race each other. Of course, I can run a lot faster than my mom but she runs in a little circle on the inside and I run in a big circle on the outside so it's like we're running side by side.

She rode me after my turnout but I didn't really feel like riding then. I was kind of satisfied and just didn't have the heart for it. She didn't make me do a lot. We did some trotting in the Flat Arena and then she decided to teach me something new. She had me stop and then she tightened my reins just a little bit so I didn't go forward and started kicking my right side with her foot.

Well, my first reaction was to try to go forward but she tightened up and said "whoa" so I knew that wasn't what she wanted. Then she did it again and I tried going forward again. She just kept telling me no and starting all over again so finally, I tried going backwards. I thought maybe it was a new way of telling me to back up even though I back up fine when we do it the regular way. But that wasn't right either - she squeezed her legs and said "whoa" again so I knew I wasn't getting it.

It was a little frustrating. I just didn't know what she wanted me to do. If I hadn't had a turnout, I might have gotten mad and started swishing my tail and being bad but I was pretty relaxed so I kept trying to figure it out. Finally I took one little step away from the leg she was kicking me with and she immediately stopped and told me I was a Good Girl.

Well, I wasn't even sure what I'd done that was good at that point. I wasn't really thinking when I took that step and didn't realize that it was what she was praising. So we started again and it took me several minutes to do it again. This time though, I took a little bigger step and when she immediately reacted, I put two and two together and realized THAT was what she was asking for. She wanted me to move my back legs away from the leg she was kicking me with.

After that, I was a little more ready to do it though I still didn't really get it. It was new and confusing to me. I'm not used to moving sideways (except when I do it accidentally when I'm looking at things and my body kind of wiggles around and my head is pointing one way and my butt is going another). But I tried and eventually I took a couple of good steps that were more like steps and less like shuffling and Mom seemed pretty happy with me.

When she got off, she petted me and then she touched me with her hand right behind my girth and asked me to step over. I knew just what she wanted then because we do that a lot when she's leading me or when we play in the Round Pen. Sometimes she has me step like that so I go in a whole circle, with my back legs going around and my front legs kind of staying where they are. She calls that a pivot. The funny thing is, the steps I was taking were kind of like the ones I took when she was on my back asking me to step sideways. It was interesting.

We rode the next day too but yesterday, I didn't see her until kind of late. She came with Sparky's mom and she petted me and told me they'd gone to the racetrack. Well, as you know I used to live at the racetrack so I was interested. She said they saw lots of pretty race ponies but none of them were as pretty or as nice as me. That was nice to hear. I know she's my mom and she has to say that but I think she really means it.

She just did a quick cleaning and let me run around in the Round Pen with Spark for a little bit before they left. It was fun except Spark kept getting in my way when i wanted to run fast. I'd get going really good and come around the circle and all of a sudden, there would be Spark! And I'd run into him. Then I'd toss my head up and buffalo around him and get running again and the next thing I'd know, there he was again! It was so annoying! But then his mom took him out and I didn't want to run anymore because I missed him. And besides, I thought he might be getting some food and I wasn't.

But that brings us to today which was fun because it was very windy! I love windy days. You can smell all kinds of things from all directions and you can't really hear things as well because the wind makes the sounds sort of blend together. Plus it blows your main and tail and makes you feel frisky and spunky. I was happy it was windy.

Mom took me out to ride and she headed me right out on the road for a poop loop. That was fine with me. We started along and she just kept the reins nice and loose and let me go along and I was having a nice time, looking around and watching the other horses, and the kids at the vaulting arena, and the guys working near the hay barn and the bunny on the hill and all kinds of things. Then we got back to our barn and she made me go past it and she started getting after me when I looked around too much. I wasn't trying to be bad. I just like to look around and sometimes I forget that I'm supposed to be paying attention to her. So she got kind of strict with me and made me go straight and stop dawdling. I got a little mad but then I stopped doing it and it was fun for the rest of the time.

We did three poop loops and then she turned me in towards the Flat Arena and I thought we were done but she rode me into the arena and let me know we were still working. I was a little mad at first but then I decided I didn't mind because it was windy and I was still frisky so we did some nice trotting around and that felt good. Then another horse came in to use the arena with us and I got all distracted and Mom decided it was time to quit for the day while we were still ahead (I don't know what that means but that's what she said).

It was a nice day though and after she put me away, she hung my saddle up near my door and wiped it all off while I poked my head out and sniffed it and her and nuzzled her neck and played with my halters and stuff. I liked that. I like it when my mom does things and I can be part of it. I think she likes it too because she kisses my nose and calls me Belly.