Turnout!

Yesterday my mom took me to the Pony Arena and gave me a turnout. It was so much fun! We've been spending a lot of time in the Round Pen working on Cones and things, and that's fun but sometimes I really need to run fast. It feels good and you just can't run that fast in a Round Pen. It's too small. Big horses like me, with long legs need lots of space to get up our speed. So I was happy to go to the Pony Arena.

Whenever we go there though, I think about that Bad Day when I hurt my mom. That's where it happened, after all. It was just outside that arena. I was Bad then and didn't have Manners, and that's what happens when horses don't have Manners. People get hurt. I don't know if my mom thinks about it but it doesn't seem to bother her. She just walks me right to the arena like it's no different than any other place. I'm glad she's not mad at me.

I was good on the walk. Since we're walking more now, it's easier for me to remember to be good. I was happy when she brought me to the arena though, and as soon as I got in and she took my halter off, I trotted off across it and began to sniff all over the ground. Horses like to sniff the ground because you can tell what other horses have been there. If there's poop on the ground, we like to smell that because that really tells you a lot about other horses. So I sniffed around for a little bit and my mom let me because she knows that's important.

Finally, I lifted my head and looked at her so she said, "Are you ready now?" and I tossed my head and waited. Sure enough, she moved to the center of the arena and held out her Bag Stick and I began trotting around in a circle around her. Pretty soon though I broke into a canter and then a fast canter. And then I put my head down and galloped!

Oh! It was fun! I raced around and around, and then Mom asked me to change directions and I did and I raced even faster the other way. Mom just let me - she didn't try to make me go a certain gait, or do turns or anything like that. She knew I just needed some exercise.

I finally settled down to a nice trot and trotted around for a while, then Mom picked up her Bag Stick and I knew I was allowed to come to the middle and visit with her. I like that part. She pets me and tells me what a Good Girl I am and feels my chest to see how hot I am. I was pretty hot yesterday but it felt good. Then she let me just walk around again and do whatever I wanted to. That's always nice. Sometimes there are other horses waiting to have a turnout so we have to be polite and go but when no one is there, she always lets me just wander around.

It was such a nice day. Sunny and warm and it smelled so nice. After I had a nice roll, Mom put my halter and lead back on and we walked all around the farm. First she brought me into the Rolling Arena and I had an even better roll. Then we stopped to visit Indian, and we stopped and visited Sparky, then we stopped and visited Dooley, and then we visited Cozzie. And then we walked back to the barn and when we got there, Mom led me onto the grass and told me I could graze! So I got to munch on some wonderful, yummy grass too!

She let me graze a long time and when she made me leave, she still let me stop and take a few bites now and then as we walked back to my stall. That was nice and made it a little easier to walk away from it. All in all, it was another great day.

Spring!

Finally! It's stopped raining and it's nice and warm! I was getting so sick of rain. It was really making me mad. I like it when it's nice and sunny and warm and my mom and I can do fun things and my paddock isn't all muddy and gross.

When I was little, I didn't mind having mud all over my paddock because I liked to play in it. But now I'm a Big Girl and I don't really like to get that dirty or to stand around in mud. It makes my feet feel all nasty and gets tangled in my fetlock hair. I like to be pretty after all.

A couple of days ago when it first stopped raining, Mom took me for a walk around the farm. We haven't done that in forever! It's been so wet and muddy and slippery and gross that it just wasn't worth the bother. I was excited. She didn't even take me to the Round Pen first - we just started walking down the road. I was looking at all the other horses, and the paddocks, and the birds and things and remembering all the things I liked about walking around. But every time I got too distracted, Mom would remind me with her Bag Stick that I have to walk nicely with Manners.

It was kind of hard, especially the first time around. There was so much I wanted to investigate! When we got to the Little Rolling Arena, one of those big horses was lunging round and round with three kids on its back doing the most amazing things. They were standing up for one thing, and one of them was standing up ON the other two kids, and the horse was just cantering around and around like it was all perfectly normal.

I've seen that sort of stuff before but it's always very strange and a little scary. I wouldn't want anyone doing that stuff on MY back. Sparky agrees - he doesn't like that part of the farm at all. Anyway, I got a little snorty and bouncy as we walked past but Mom talked to me and calmed me down and when I tried to scoot past really fast, she reminded me with the Bag Stick that I had to behave and trust her. Well, I do trust her. I don't think she'd let anyone jump around on me but it still makes me feel funny, especially when I haven't been past there in a while.

I was kind of bouncy for a little bit after that and when we started going past the Rolling Arena, I pulled kind of hard and almost twirled. Boy, was that a mistake! Mom shook that bag at me so hard! and made me back right up while she shook it right in front of me, all the while telling me "NO!" I settled right down after that. It's no joke when my mom's mad at me.

After that I behaved nicely - until we got to Cozzie's stall. I wanted to go see Cozzie so badly! I forgot my Manners again and pulled really hard toward him, hoping my mom would just say, "Oh, how cute - you want to see Cozzie!" and let me go but it didn't work that way. There came that Bag Stick again and she shook it even harder this time, I think. It even scared poor Cozzie and we weren't even that close to him.

So then I settled down for real and just walked nicely. It's so hard to be a Big Girl sometimes. I really want to be good but I do forget. Sometimes I used to get confused because my mom would let me be bad one day and then the next day she wouldn't, but now she doesn't ever let me be bad and I guess it's better that way because at least I'm not confused. I know for sure that I'm not supposed to rear, or strike, or... OH! That reminds me!

I was bad one other time on that walk and it was Really Bad. It was right after we left Cozzie and we were walking along by the big pile of poop. I was still kind of mad about not getting to see him and even though I was walking along nicely and not pulling, I was walking pretty fast. My mom doesn't mind when I walk fast as long as I'm not walking faster than her. She walks pretty fast for a human and we get to swinging along and it's very good exercise and feels good. Anyway, we were walking along like that and I was feeling pretty mad so I just suddenly threw out one of my front legs angrily. It wasn't a strike like I used to do - I used to kind of rear up and throw out my leg really hard - and I wasn't aiming at my mom at all, but it WAS a strike, there's no denying it.

Well, you would have thought the world just ended! As soon as my foot cleared the air, my mom yelled, "HEY!" and there she came at me with that bag stick flying and the maddest look on her face I ever saw! She meant business and if I thought I was in trouble when I pulled toward Cozzie, it was nothing compared to the trouble I was in now! She had me backing up double quick time within seconds, faster than I'd been going forward I think, and all the time yelling at me saying, "I DON'T LIKE THAT! AND YOU DON'T DO IT!"

If you think I'm ever going to do that again, you're dead wrong! I was so good for the rest of the walk. And it paid off in the end. We walked past my stall (Cocoa was whinnying like mad - she always does when I'm gone) and went around again and this time I was good as gold. It was lots nicer too. My mom talked nice to me and petted me when we stopped to rest, and when we got to Cozzie's stall, I didn't even look at him. But suddenly I felt my mom move her hand in that direction and she led me right over to him! So I got to see him after all and my mom petted him and reassured him that she would never hurt him with her Bag Stick. Cozzie likes my mom - he's a little shy with people he doesn't know but he always remembers her because she's my mom, so he was happy she wasn't mad at him. We sniffed noses and visited for a few minutes and then it was time to go on. But I was glad I got to see him because he's one of my Best Friends.

Yesterday we had a nice day too. I thought it might be a Bad Day at first because my mom didn't come when she usually does, and then Cocoa's person came and took Cocoa out. She's been coming to see Cocoa every day and I'm glad because Cocoa needs a person to play with her. She's been getting better about things too. Her person (it's not her mom but she's kind of like a mom because she takes care of her all the time so maybe I will call her that because it gets confusing to write "her person" and it's a pain) - her MOM makes her stay in her paddock while she cleans her stall and at first Cocoa got all upset and kept trying to come in and stood out there and whinnied and panicked, especially if I was in my stall or if my mom had me tied out front.

Now she's lots better about that and her mom has been bringing her outside her stall to groom her and handle her and she's Learning to be good. But yesterday, she took Cocoa for a walk! She put on her halter and lead and took her out and just led her away! Well, I was pretty upset. I'm not used to Cocoa not being next to me and I don't like it when she's not there. It's not fair! So I started pounding around in my stall and kicking the walls and being mad. But then Raz's dad came over to my stall and smacked the bars with a lead rope and told me to cut it out! It surprised the heck out of me but I settled down a little bit. It was kind of embarrassing to get yelled at by someone else's dad.

When Cocoa got back I was glad to see her and I was hanging my head out my window watching her mom groom her outside her stall when I saw Sparky come walking along with my mom on his back! Well, that explained why she hadn't come yet - she was taking care of Spark. I don't mind that - Spark is my brother, after all, and I love him. I was glad he was having fun with my mom. I whinnied to them and my mom said hello and talked to Cocoa's mom for a minute while Spark and I visited. He said she'd turned him out in the Little Fence Arena and he'd had a fun time running and bucking in there, and then she groomed him really good and now they were having a nice ride. He said he got to ride with Dooley for a little bit while his mom was hand walking him, and he got to ride with Scout for a little bit, and he got to ride with Gentry for a little bit so he was having fun.

My mom came to see me later. I'd already had finished my dinner hay by then and most of the people from our barn had come and gone. Glamour and Teddy's mom was still there but that's about it. Mom brought me to the Round Pen to play and it was lots nicer in there, almost all dried up. I did some good running and practiced my turns, and then my mom got me trotting and we played the Cone Game while I was trotting! I was surprised at first when she told me "Whoa" as I trotted toward a cone but she put her Bag Stick up the way she does to let me know I need to stop and so I dropped to a walk and then stopped real quick. She immediately said, "Good girl!" so I knew I'd done it right and I started trotting again.

It was so much fun! I got the idea really quickly and soon I was stopping at every Cone when she told me to. Then she had me go the other direction and that was a little harder - I kept forgetting and instead of stopping, I'd change direction. But she was patient and kept reminding me and I got it after a while. It was a really fun session - I love to learn new Games. By the time I was done, I'd worked up a sweat but I felt really good. I nuzzled up to my mom and then I rolled really good two times. And then my mom let me graze for a little bit.

It was a really nice day in the end. I hope we do more fun things today!

Fun day with my mom and Sparky's mom

I had kind of an awful day yesterday. I didn't really feel very good. I don't know why. The day before, the Shoe Man had come and played with my feet and put new shoes on them and that was nice. He said I was a Good Girl again. I liked that. But then my mom gave me some of that awful Wormer stuff that she puts in my mouth. It tastes kind of yucky and it feels really weird. Kind of sticky and gooey. I ate it - I always do because I figure if my mom squirts it in my mouth, she must want me to eat it. Plus, I always think it might taste better this time but it never seems to.

My mom put my blanket on before she left because of course it was still raining like it's been doing forever. And I ate my dinner and was pretty cozy but then during the night I just started feeling kind of yucky. It was cold, and the wind was blowing the rain right in my door so even when I lied down on my shavings I was getting wet. I felt kind of sleepy and sort of sick and just not right. I think it was the stupid Wormer making me feel nasty and when my mom came the next day, she thought so too. She could see I didn't feel very good. She got me out to clean my stall and she put my dinner hay out with me but I didn't even want to eat it. And then I tried to lie down in it right there outside my stall and then my mom really knew I didn't feel good. I was just tired and cranky and I hadn't been able to lie down and be cozy and dry all night.

She quickly finished cleaning my stall and she put new shavings down and she closed my paddock door so the stupid wind wouldn't blow in and she put my nice soft warm blanket on instead of my stupid old rain sheet. All that made me feel a lot better but I was still kind of cranky. Cocoa and Mickey were eating their hay and that just made me mad because I didn't want to eat my hay and it wasn't fair that they wanted to eat theirs.

But my mom was really nice to me and that made me feel good. She did poke one of those little sticks in my butt like my doctor sometimes does and that was strange. I kept trying to turn around to see what she was doing and I'd end up turning in circles so she finally tied me up so I'd stay still. Then she listened to my belly using one of those funny tube things like my doctor has - it has two ends that poke in her ears and another end that she puts on my belly. It doesn't hurt or anything, and she let me smell it all over and wear it on my face so I didn't mind her doing that.

I was starting to feel a little better by then. It was late afternoon and I'd gotten my dinner hay. I wasn't really interested in hay but I was feeling hungry finally so my mom gave me a little bit of my beet pulp and I ate it all up so she gave me the whole dinner. Then she left but she came back later and she drove her car right up next to my stall door so I could poke my nose out and smell it. I liked that. She opened up the glass thing she sits behind and I poked my nose inside at her so she could pet me. It was lots of fun and she could see I felt better so she gave me a carrot right through the opening.

Today I felt fine and when my mom came out with Sparky's mom I was happy to see both of them. I hardly ever see Sparky's mom anymore and I hardly ever see Sparky. I miss him. Maybe if it ever stops raining, we can turn out together one time.

My mom brushed me and put my wraps on and then we went to the Round Pen and I got to show Sparky's mom how smart I am and how I know how to play the Cone Game. She was happy to watch me and told me how Good I am and how smart and stuff. It made me feel really good. And when my mom brought me back to my stall, she let me stop and visit Chip. We were both so happy! We sniffed and sniffed each other, and then I started sucking on his under lip and he started licking my neck and then he scratched my withers with his teeth and it was so nice! I love Chip lots and lots.

Later while my mom was cleaning my stall, Sparky's mom untied me and brought me onto the grass so I could graze! That was really nice of her! I was surprised because I didn't expect it and I got a little excited at first but as soon as she reminded me to be a Good Girl, I remembered my Manners and behaved. She let me have lots of nice grass and my mom brought out her box thing and pointed it at us and I think that's when she took that picture I posted on this blog entry.

After a while, I went back in my stall and had my beet pulp and hay and stuff. My mom had given me a new bed and opened my door even though my paddock is still a gross mess. It's not so windy though so I like having the door open. And she didn't put my rain sheet on tonight because it's just not so bad out. So it was a really nice day. I love nice days.

Still raining

I'm kind of sick of rain. It's pretty dumb. My paddock is a rotten mess and so I spend more time in my stall and that gets all messy too. Plus it's cold. I don't usually get cold. I have a nice fuzzy coat that almost always keeps me nice and warm but lately it's been windy and it blows right into my stall and chills me. I don't really like that at all so my mom has been putting my rain blanket on. I don't much like my blanket either but it's better than being cold.

Today a new person came to see Cocoa. It wasn't her mom; it was a younger girl. She put a halter on Cocoa and took her out of her stall. Cocoa was nervous because she doesn't go out much and I got upset because I'm used to her being next to me. I don't like it when she goes out because then who am I going to visit with? Mickey's boring and besides he gets all crabby. So I got mad and started whinnying and kicking and I kicked the door to my duds closet so hard I made a big dent in it. Mom was kind of mad at me for that.

Cocoa heard me fussing and that got her all excited so she started fussing too and she was whinnying and dancing and pulling on her halter and being bad so the girl had to bring her back. She and I were both happy about that but the girl kept trying to make her do things, even in her stall. I felt bad for Cocoa because she didn't know what that girl wanted. Cocoa's nice but she doesn't know anything about how horses are supposed to behave. She's just been a mom horse.

Meanwhile, my mom had taken me out and brushed me and put my wraps on so I knew we were going to go to work. That got Cocoa going again but I ignored her. I'm a Good Girl when my mom takes me out and I don't fuss about leaving Cocoa. She sure does fuss about leaving me though. It's just because she hasn't Learned.

I had a good turnout. It wasn't raining at that point and the Round Pen wasn't quite as mushy as it was yesterday so I was able to run better. Yesterday my mom kept me at a trot because I was sinking so deep in the mud but today she let me run a lot and it was fun. I kept kicking up my heels and racing really fast but I was still a Good Girl and went on the outside of my Cones and turned when my mom asked me to. It's important to do what your mom tells you to do. I tried to explain that to Cocoa later but she pointed out that the girl who was fussing with her wasn't her mom and since she was right about that, I didn't know what to say. Kia always knew how to answer those tough questions but I guess I just don't have the Experience yet. And Cocoa does have a good point because I don't usually listen to Sparky's mom like I do my own mom so it's kind of the same thing.

Anyway, I got all hot and sweaty running around and having fun then I got tired and my mom asked me to walk and we played the Cone Game for a while. She's been putting the Cones in different places lately but that doesn't fool me; I know just how to play that game and I stop and poke the Cone with my nose just to show her how smart I am. She's always really proud of me and calls me a Good Girl and stuff. Then when we're all done playing, she calls me over to her and she pets my face and rubs the star on my forehead. I like that. It feels good and it means she loves me.

After that, we pick up my Cones. I like to help when we do that. We walk around the Round Pen and I poke each Cone with my nose and sometimes I bite it and try to pick it up and Mom pretends to pull it away from me and we have a little game with it. It's fun. Then we go get the next one and she piles it on top of the first one. It fits just right so it looks like just one Cone but it's really two. Then we get the last one and now she has a whole stack of Cones and they're all mine. I love my Cones.

She puts the Cones away in the box thing where she keeps them so nobody else runs off with them and then she takes me for my walk. Today we walked for a little bit in the Flat Arena. Cocoa was still bellowing for me in her stall while that girl was cleaning it but I ignored her and we walked around. Mom asked me to do some of my tricks like backing up and moving sideways and I did them and got a cookie for it. I love it when she gives me cookies for doing my tricks. It's fun for me to do them anyway but it makes it more fun when I think I might get a cookie.

When we were all done, she tied me outside my stall with my dinner hay while she cleaned. I get lots of hay now. I used to only get a little bit but now the guys give me a whole bunch and it makes a big fluffy pile when I scatter it all around. I do that so I can pick out the best parts first. I eat all of it but I like to eat certain parts first so I poke my nose into it and make it go in all directions. Soon I'm standing in a nice pile and it's fun. Today Mom came out for a minute while I was eating and she just dropped down on her knees in my hay and kissed my nose. It was nice. I think my mom likes being in my hay pile too.

Sometimes in my stall, I even roll in my hay. It feels good and it's scratchy on my back. I just love my hay and my bucket dinner. I used to be hungry all the time but now that I get lots of hay, I don't feel so eager to eat like I used to. I'm still hungry at dinner time and breakfast time but I get enough food so I'm not impatient about it. It makes me feel lots better. Horses like to have something to eat most of the time. We're made to graze after all, so if we have to wait a long time or don't get enough food it makes us mad and it can make us sick.

Once I was back in my clean stall, my mom brought my Beet Pulp. It's been tasting better lately and I've been eating it instead of just dumping it out. The first day it tasted better, my mom brought it and I began poking all the carrots out and I realized it smelled different. It smelled like the stuff they call Molasses and which is sometimes in certain grains and foods. Molasses is yummy - it's sort of sweet and brown and sticky and horses love it. When I tasted it, I could just taste a hint of Molasses in it so I think Mom must have added some to make it nicer for me. She's so nice. She always notices when I don't like something or if I need something. She's a good mom.

I'm pretty comfortable even if it is raining. I have a clean stall and my blanket on and I still have some hay to munch on so I can't complain. But I do hope it stops being cold and rainy soon. I'm sick of all this mud.

Stupid rain!

It was kind of a stupid day today. I had gotten used to the weather being nice and warm and sunny but today was all cold and wet and rainy. I didn't much like it. My paddock was all full of water and mud and I couldn't stand out there and nap in the sunshine like I like to do.

When my mom got here, she was all wet and smelled like Sparky so I knew she had taken care of him first. That was okay. I know Sparky needs to get taken care of too and I wasn't mad. She was with Sparky's mom too so that was nice. I haven't seen Sparky's mom in a long time and she stopped to say hello to me then grabbed my red halter and lead and went to the pasture. That was kind of strange because I knew Spark wasn't in the pasture anymore but then my mom put my rope halter on me and brought me to the Round Pen so I forgot about it.

I was eager to get out. My mom didn't come out to see me at all yesterday so I was kind of frisky. I still remembered my Manners though even though it was hard. Mom made it a little easier by letting me eat some of the nice wet grass on the way. Wet grass tastes so good! It's juicy and sweet and smells wonderful.

I thought we'd play some Cone Game or something but my mom just popped me in the Round Pen and told me to exercise myself. Then she went back to my stall. I saw her grab a rolling bucket thing on her way so I knew she was going to clean my stall. I didn't mind not playing our games. Sometimes it's fun to just play on my own and do whatever I want to do. I started running around in the rain and bucking and kicking up my heels. It was fun! Every now and then my mom would poke her head out of my stall and say hello to me and tell me I was being a Good Girl. So that was nice.

After a while though I got sick of it. It was pretty cold and the rain was coming down hard. Besides I could see that Mom and Sparky's mom had another horse in front of my stall and I was anxious to see who it was. The horse was eating something and I thought it might be my food. My mom is really good about feeding me and even though I sometimes have to share a hay snack she makes sure I get enough. Even so, it's hard to watch someone else eating at your stall when you're not there.

I was waiting patiently by the gate when I saw my mom coming but then she turned and went behind the food area place and I got mad! I reared right up and pawed the air like a wild horse! I thought I probably looked pretty scary but then I heard Sparky's mom yelling, "Look! Bella's so cute!" and that kind of ruined it. My mom came to get me then and when I tried to act fussy and bouncy she just shook her Bag Stick at me and told me I had to behave whether I liked it or not so I did. It's hard to be six sometimes.

But then I got to go back to my stall, or rather to Cocoa's stall because Mom tied me up outside of her stall. I like Cocoa. We're good friends even if she is sort of weird. She always whinnies a lot when I go anywhere and acts like I'm never going to come back. She won't even eat her dinner if I'm not in my stall. Then when I come back, she gets all huffy like I went away on purpose or something. Well, I have to go when my mom tells me to, besides I like to go out and do things. Cocoa just doesn't understand because her mom never takes her anywhere. She used to be a Broodmare which is a horse that just has babies. That's its job which seems like a strange job to me but Cocoa says my mom was probably a Broodmare too. Anyway, because of that she really likes babies and she seems to think I'm her baby or something even though I'm a Big Girl and six now. I don't mind because it's kind of nice to have a horse fuss over me like that.

So I was in front of Cocoa's stall and I didn't have anything to eat because Mom didn't bring me a hay snack or anything. I could see now that the horse Sparky's mom had brought from the pasture was Sparky's friend Dooley and he was all wet and very cold and looked kind of sad and miserable. Mom and Sparky's mom had dried him off and put my rain sheet on him and given him a Bran Mash but he was still kind of tense and uncomfortable so I poked my nose out at him and tried to make him feel better. I could hardly reach him but we sniffed noses and he smelled so nice! I liked him immediately. I've never had a chance to really meet Dooley but he seemed like a really nice gelding so I told him that my mom would take good care of him and he didn't have to worry about things now. Which is true. My mom always takes good care of me so I knew she'd make him feel all right.

He seemed a little more relaxed then which was good and he was warming up nicely by then. So I started poking around with my nose to see what i could play with. I just like to play with things. I don't know why. Finally I found a towel on the ground nearby - I think they'd used it to dry Dooley off - so I picked that up and started shaking it. Dooley seemed interested so he started poking around with his nose too. He grabbed my bag of shavings and pulled on that and that made me like him even more because I like to play with my shavings. Then I played with my food dish and he played with his bucket and he rubbed his head on Sparky's mom and I played bite-face with Cocoa and then my mom yelled at me because I kept picking up my hind foot. I wasn't going to kick anyone - I just wanted to warn Cocoa not to mess with me but it's not Manners so Mom got mad. I made my foal face at her but she seemed to mean it so I tried to be good after that.

Finally she was done with my stall and she put me back in it and started opening my shavings bag. I was excited because I love to help spread my shavings but just then that box thing of hers made a racket and she started talking to it and I had to wait. I kept pawing at them to tell her I wanted to get my shavings out but she just kept yakking. Sometimes people are just clueless.

At last she put the thing back in her pocket and while she helped me open the bag she told Sparky's mom that she could put Dooley back in his stall instead of the pasture. I was glad to hear it and so was Dooley. He didn't want to go back out there and I would have felt so sorry for him if he'd had to. But now he's in a nice warm stall and so am I. I had a good roll and then my mom brought my bucket dinner and it smelled really good today. I still dumped it out and picked out all the carrots but then I started eating some of it and it actually tasted kind of nice. I think my mom put something special in it. I ate it all up.

It's still raining but my tummy is full and I have a clean bed and a big pile of hay. I'm glad all my friends are safe from the weather. Really it was a good day after all.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my Birthday! I'm six years old now. My mom told me that means that exactly six years ago, I was foaled. She seemed to think that made it a special day and it does seem pretty exciting that I'm such a Big Girl now. I guess I'm a real horse now and not just a filly anymore.

Everything seemed a little special today. When my mom got me out of my stall, she didn't put my wraps on and she kind of hurried me to the Round Pen. I was surprised but I figured she knew what she was doing and then when I got in there, I saw there were no Cones in it! I've gotten so used to seeing those Cones that it looked funny without them but she started lunging me and so I did what she asked.

It was a short session and she didn't ask me for too many turns but I did the ones she asked for just right so that was good. I had a good time running though and I even kicked up my heels a little bit. Then when I was ready to slow down, she asked for a walk and I was just walking along when she asked me to whoa. I was right where one of the Cones usually is and without even thinking about it, I stopped. Mom was pleased and she praised me a lot and told me what a Good Girl I am.

That was nice and so we ended up playing the Cone Game without any Cones! It was still fun because I know how to stop when my mom tells me to and now I don't really need any Cones to remind me. Even so, I like having them there. I like to play with them when we're done with our work. Sometimes Mom will thrown one across the Round Pen and I'll pick it up and play with it some.

We had just finished up when Dooley's mom drove up. Dooley is a friend of Spark's - he used to live in the pasture and our moms are good friends. It turns out that Dooley's mom is a Carrot Doctor! That's a Chiropractor for anyone who hasn't read my blog before. I didn't know that but I guess my mom did because she led me out and Dooley's mom watched how I walked and stuff and then started poking around on me. I didn't mind. It didn't hurt except it was a little tender in a couple of places. But then she pushed or moved that spot and it felt lots better.

She said I was a really Good Girl and that I wasn't "out" in too many places and only a little bit anyway. When you're "out" it means the parts of your body aren't quite lined up the way they're supposed to be and it can make you sore. Carrot Doctors can move things to make them straighten out and it feels really good. They said she was going to do Spark as well and I bet he feels nice now too.

So that was really nice and my mom said it was my Birthday Present. It was a nice Present and afterward I got to go in my stall and eat my dinner hay. All in all, I had a really nice Birthday.

Progress

That's what Mom calls it. She says we're making Progress. I'm not sure what that is but I think it's a good thing and I do know that I'm learning a lot of fun stuff.

Every day Mom comes to the barn and we go to the Round Pen and work. We have a Routine. I greet her at the door of my stall with a whinny and a couple of happy nickers because I know we're going to have fun together. She gives me a kiss on my nose, right where the snip is, and then she takes my halter off the hook by my door and says, "Face." That means I have to put my nose out so she can put the halter on and I like to do it. It's one of my tricks and I think probably the first one I learned because I've been doing that one for a long time.

Then she gets me out of my stall and ties me up just outside the door. Sometimes there are some hay scraps on the ground that I can eat and sometimes the hay truck comes while we're getting ready so I have a whole big pile of hay. I snack while Mom brushes me all over and cleans the dirt out of my feet and then she puts my wraps on.

I have lots of different wraps but the ones I usually wear are pretty because they're red. The ones on my front legs are sort of shaped and stiff with fasteners that attach and hold them on tight. I have one wrap that covers my leg from just under my knee then down over my fetlocks and another wrap called a Bell Boot that goes over my hoof. Then in the back I have some wraps called Polo Wraps. I don't know why they're called that but I love them! They're very soft and kind of fuzzy; I like to rub my nose on them when my mom first gets them out. They're VERY pretty, red with black hearts all over them. Mom wraps them around and around my leg and then attaches them with more of that stickyt stuff like the stuff on my front wraps. She calls it Velcro.

Once I have all my wraps on, it's time to go to work. Mom grabs her Bag Stick and unties my lead and we walk to the Round Pen. I used to be awful when I walked on my lead! I'd pull hard against it and push my shoulder into my mom, and I'd get excited and turn in circles, and twirl, and rear, and strike out my front feet. Sometimes I'd even kick out my hind feet. I don't do any of that anymore. I've Learned. It's just not Manners and my mom doesn't like it and she won't put up with it anymore. She says I'm a Big Girl now and I have to Behave.

At first, she made me behave by shaking that Bag Stick at me when I acted bad on the lead. It really made me listen. The first time she used it, I was surprised. I didn't realize she could do that outside of the Round Pen and I realized I'd better start paying attention to my mom all the time because she was tougher than I thought she was. Now she hardly ever has to use it. Every once in a while, I get distracted and forget my Manners and she gives it a light shake and that's all I need to remind me.

When we get to the Round Pen, she puts me inside and slips off my halter. Then she sets up my Cones. She always puts them in the same spots. We use three of them now. Mom says that's because I'm so smart. We don't play the Cone Game right off though. First we free lunge and she lets me trot and canter a lot which is nice because I really need to get my energy out after being cooped up in a stall.

Once I've had some time to warm up, she starts asking me to change direction. She does that by changing hands with the Bag Stick and motioning with her empty hand. It's easy. I'm just supposed to quickly turn and go the other way at the same pace I was going the first way. Sometimes I get a little lazy about it, or I keep going in the same direction a little too long. Then she reminds me with the Bag Stick that we're working and I have to be a Good Girl and I generally do it right after that.

Then we play our Cone Game where I stop at each of the Cones when she tells me to. That's my favorite game because if I do it really, really well I get a cookie.

Usually we go for a walk in the Flat Arena or out on the road after that but a few days ago, we did something a little different. Mom put on my halter but instead of leading me out of the Round Pen, she got my saddle and bridle and put them on me! I was surprised and a little nervous - I haven't been ridden since that day I was cranky and mad and didn't behave well. But Mom was very relaxed and calm and that made me feel a little better.

Once I was all set, she got on my back and began riding me right there in the Round Pen. I was sort of tense still as she asked me to walk around it but then we got to the first Cone and I felt her weight deepen in the saddle and she touched my mouth with the reins and said, "Whoa." She said it just like she does when we play our game and I immediately knew what we were doing - we were doing the Cone Game with my mom on my back!

I was happy then. That's something I know how to do. I stopped nicely and she patted my neck and praised me then she asked me to walk on and I did. Sure enough, when we reached the next Cone, she asked me to whoa again.

I have to say it was really nice. You see, a lot of times when my mom has been on my back, I haven't really understood what it was that she wanted me to do. She's always nice about it, and I try really hard to be good, but I think those times that I have done the right thing, it's been more of a lucky guess than anything else. But this time, I knew exactly what I was doing and it made all the difference. I was so relaxed and happy and we rode around lots of times and stopped at those Cones.

Then we did something different. Instead of asking me to stop, or to keep walking toward the next Cone, Mom gently pulled the rein nearest to the fence so my head was kind of turned toward her foot. While she did that, she was poking at my side with her heel - the one on the same side that she was pulling me toward - and she was saying, "Turn."

I was kind of confused about that at first but she was patient and I suddenly realized that "turn" is what she says when she wants me to change direction while we're lunging. I started moving my back feet around so my front would face the other way and she immediately let the rein relax and called me a Good Girl so I knew I was right. I swung around then and we went the other way and played more Cone Game.

Then she asked me to turn again. This was a little harder. For some reason, it was kind of hard to figure out where to put my feet going that way and I had to really think about it a little bit. Again she was patient and just waited while I got it straight, gently using her rein and heel until I got moving and then easing up with them so I knew I was doing the right thing.

Even though we didn't do anything more than walk, it felt like we did a lot on that ride. I felt like I understood a lot more of what I was supposed to be doing and it felt like my mom knew it. She was really happy with me and when she got off she petted me lots and told me what a Good Girl I am. Then we went for our walk but she led me with my bridle instead of my lead.

Since then we haven't ridden again but we've kept up the other work and it's been fun. One day instead of doing it in the Round Pen, we did it in the Flat Arena with me on the lunge line. I hadn't worked on a line in a long time but Mom set up the Cones just the way they always are so I knew what we were doing and I just worked like I always do. She was happy with me that day too. In fact, she's happy with me most days now which is nice.

Just yesterday in fact, she put down her Bag Stick while we were walking in the Flat Arena and we finished up our walk without it. I remembered my Manners and didn't get fussy or pushy or anything. I didn't even pull toward the grass when we went out to the road to walk back to my stall. I think she was happiest of all about that.

So things are going well. Lots of times my mom lets me graze after our workout and the picture is from one of those days. She took it with that little box thing that she talks to sometimes so maybe that's why the color is a little funny. The grass wasn't a funny color though. It was nice green and it tasted delicious.

Visit with the horse doctor

My doctor was out to see me today. He floated my teeth, which means he made me really sleepy then took all the rough parts off with his tools. He also said I was a really Good Girl.

I like my doctor. He always pets me and calls me a Good Girl and he does interesting things with me. I don't mind. I'm used to being handled and stuff. I used to have to do all kinds of strange things at the track so nothing really bothers me too much. He came with a girl who helped him. I was tied outside my stall because my mom and I had finished another nice session playing the Cone Game and walking around and stuff. I figured it was time for dinner but then my doctor came and I was interested in what he was doing because he was at the end of the barn row trying to throw ropes over the metal bars that hold the roof. It was funny to watch him because he was jumping up and down which was sort of silly.

Anyway, he finally did it and he hung this funny contraption up that looked like my stall bar only lots shorter. Then he came to my stall and petted me and poked me in the neck with one of those sharp things doctors like to poke horses with. I don't know why but it doesn't bother me. It doesn't really hurt, it just feels funny.

But then I started feeling even more funny. My mom led me out of my stall and I felt all funny on my legs, like I couldn't really walk right. I stepped really carefully and everything looked sort of out of focus and strange. It wasn't scary though - just weird. Mom led me up to that hanging contraption and I sniffed it but it just smelled like a halter. Then the other girl took off my halter and strapped that thing on my head so that the soft bar part was under my chin.

By this time, I was really sleepy and was hardly paying attention to what anyone was doing. The doctor put a strange metal thing in my mouth - it was kind of like a bit but it fit against my teeth so it held my mouth open. That was a little weird but I still didn't care. Then he hoisted my head up and began working on my teeth.

His tools are noisy and they feel funny in your mouth but I was just so sleepy and felt so relaxed that I just stood there. I don't mind loud noises and I kind of like things that feel funny or are unusual. Both the doctor and the girl said I was a Very Good Patient.

After he was all done, they rinsed out my mouth and my teeth felt lots different. They were all smooth and nice with no sharp points and when I got my dinner later, I could chew better. I liked that. I felt really good. My mom told me that Sparky was getting his teeth done too. And he was getting his boy parts cleaned. I don't have to do that because I'm not a boy.

This is an older picture - my mom's camera stopped working which is too bad. Hopefully she'll get another one soon. In the meantime, we'll just use some of the other ones she has. She takes lots of pictures of me because she loves me.