Fun with Mom and Sparky!

Oh, and with Sparky's mom too. I didn't mean to leave her out - that was very rude of me.

But it really was a fun day! It was hot but that was okay. It was one of those days my mom calls a Day Off so she and Sparky's mom came out kind of early. We both love that! We get so excited when we hear them arrive and now that Spark is right next door to me, it seems even more exciting because we both rush out to our paddocks and whinny as loud as we can. Our moms always call to us and it's the happiest time of the day.

Today they stopped to visit a new horse that lives in the field near the Flat Arena. It used to be that Aramis and that other horse - his name is Cherokee or Cochise or something. I always forget it. Anyway, it used to be that those two lived there with another horse named Copper. Copper was nice and sweet but they used to pick on him something awful. Sparky says that sometimes happens in a herd, though not in any herd that he's in charge of because he wouldn't let it happen. But he says that sometimes horses will bully another horse and not let him eat any of the food or chase him around and kick him and stuff.

I wouldn't put up with that. I'd just get mad and kick them right back and bite them and stuff. But Spark says it doesn't work like that in real herds and he does know more about that sort of thing than I do.

Anyway, Copper went to a new place and now another horse moved in. It's a bay horse and my mom says he's cute but I haven't really seen him much because he hangs around at the lower end of the field. The first day he moved in, he apparently ran through the fence or jumped over it or something and ended up on the road below running around. His mom was sitting right there too, looking out into the field and she didn't even notice he was gone! It wasn't until some other lady came along asking if anyone knew whose horse it was that his mom realized he was missing.

That would be kind of scary, I think. I've gotten loose a couple of times and while it's pretty exciting, it's also kind of strange. I didn't know where to go and I just kept running around feeling funny and lost. I bet that's what the new horse felt like, especially because he didn't even know anyone here yet or know where anything was. So I didn't mind that my mom went to say hello to him because it's just nice Manners to welcome new horses.

They came to see us soon enough. Sparky's mom even found some hay for us to have a small snack and that was really nice. Then my mom groomed me all up pretty and put lots of fly spray on me because the flies were just awful! Even Spark said so and they don't normally bother him a lot. He's used to living in a pasture, after all and those horses get used to all kinds of stuff. But today they were really annoying.

Then my mom put my boots on me and she and Sparky's mom led us off up the hill by the pasture. I was happy about that. We haven't been on a walk in a long time and I got a little excited and started to dance up the hill but my mom told me to calm down and walk so I did. Besides, I got kind of tired going up the dumb hill.

Well, we walked past the manure pile and up past the barn where Favre lives now. We walked past Cozzie's stall but I forgot to see if he was in it because I was kind of excited about walking and forgot. When we got to the top of the hill, we saw a horse and rider in the Gremlin Arena with that man who bought Jet. Jet was Coco's son and he used to live in the pasture with Spark. He was really nice, Spark liked him a lot. Then that man bought him and trained him to be a Riding Horse because he didn't know anything just like his mom and now he's off somewhere chasing cows which according to the horse who told us that is a good thing. I don't know if I'd like chasing cows or not. Spark seems to think it sounds scary.

Anyway, Jet's dad and the other guy were busy in the Gremlin Arena so we kept walking and went to the Little Fence Arena. I know they're jumps now but I still call the arena that because I'm used to it. I was really excited then because that's a fun arena and I haven't been out in it in a long time. But I was still a really Good Girl for my mom and walked nicely to it.

We had such a fun turnout! Sparky had a really good roll first off but I was all distracted because there was a whole line of horses going up the hill next to the arena. It was the Camp Kids riding out onto the trail and it looked like a lot of fun. Maybe someday I can go out on the trail with a whole bunch of other horses. I don't really want a Camp Kid riding me though. They seem nice and stuff but I like it when my mom rides me.

We kind of whuffled around some and I found a Barrel that was standing up and I rubbed my face on it. Then we walked over to where our moms were sitting under the big tree in the arena and visited them. But then we decided to run and play and that was the best part! Sparky was pretending to be a Herd Boss and was bunching me and herding me and I was pretending to be a Wild Mare and was running away and it was so much fun! Then Sparky's mom chased us a little bit with a lunge whip - she didn't really have to chase us because we were already frisky but having her waving it and asking us to go made us even more eager to run.

One time we were frisking around at the far end of the arena and we both decided to run really, really fast toward the gate! It was so much fun! We both just stretched out and let loose and pounded down the length of the arena! That arena is pretty big so you can get going pretty fast in it. In fact, I got going so fast that I didn't realize how close the fence was until I was about right on top of it. I kind of heard my mom saying, "Easy, Bella, easy, easy..." as I was running and then all of a sudden, she yelled, "BELLA!" and I saw the fence then and screeched to a stop almost on top of it. I was okay though and Spark did the same thing nearby but he was more balanced because he actually knew it was there and was planning on stopping fast. It was all okay though and so much fun - we just snorted and spun and kept on running!

After that, our moms put our halters on and led us over some of the little jumps. My mom knocked one down on one side so it was easy to go over and I stepped right over it nicely and she praised me. Then the next time, I got kind of excited and asked to trot so she let me trot on the lead and we trotted over it! It was fun. I never used to think it was before but I'd never really thought of it as a game either. Spark was going over them with his mom, too. He likes to jump and has even been over real jumps with her on his back!

After we went over the little knocked-down jump, my mom led me toward one that wasn't knocked down that Spark and his mom had been going over. She called it a Cross Rail. it was kind of big, maybe up to the middle of my lower leg in the middle and probably up to my knee on the outsides! I was anxious to try it though so I started trotting and my mom led me toward it and she went around it and I went right over it! Oh, she was proud! She praised me and petted me and gave me a cookie. Spark was proud of me too. He told me I'd gone over it like a real jumper. That was so nice.

It was a fun time and when we were all done jumping we continued on our walk. I walked really nicely out the gate - sometimes after a good turnout, I'm still excited and I try to pull and be bad on the lead but I remembered my Manners today and my mom was happy with me. We went down the hill by Indian's stall and she let me stop to visit with him. I love Indian. I'm always so happy to see him and he's always so friendly and welcoming. I told him about our turnout and how I went over the jumps and he was proud of me too. He's such a nice friend.

When we got back to the barn, we figured we were all done but after our moms let us rest for a little bit, they put on our saddles and took us out to the Flat Arena. There were two little jumps out there, right in the middle. One of them was like a pole on the ground but the other one was one of those Cavalettis we've gone over before. I was pretty interested because I wondered what it would be like to go over them with my mom on my back. Sparky popped right over the higher one - it was really fun to watch him do it. Then my mom headed me toward them and I began trotting because I was so eager to try it. I trotted right over the pole one and I would have gone over the other but Spark was standing right in front of it.

We trotted around a little bit but by then I was tired and I just wanted to go back to my stall and have dinner so the next time my mom headed me toward the jumps, I just walked over the pole and stopped in front of the jump. I couldn't even remember how to lift my legs over it. It was just too hot. Spark was tired too and our moms figured we'd done enough. My mom got off me and led me toward the jumps to go out of the arena and I remembered how fun it was up in the Little Fence Arena so I started trotting and I really jumped! I didn't just trot with my legs going over in mid-trot - I popped over it! I was happy and excited so my mom let me try it again. I got a little too eager and bouncy the first time and went around it and almost knocked her over but she turned me around again and that time I jumped it perfectly! My mom said so.

It was such a fun day. My mom took off my duds and hosed me off really good which felt wonderful. Then she cleaned my stall and fed me my dinner and gave me lots of pets and treats and told me what a good horse I am. I felt like a good horse. I learned something new today and that's always a fun thing. I hope we do more jumping soon. I think I kind of like it.

Oh, my mom's box thing isn't working right so I don't have any pictures from today. But I like the picture I used - it's me and Sparky in the Pony Arena one time.