Trying to work here

Have you ever tried to do something and everyone around you is bugging you and keeping you from doing it? That was kind of how my day was today.

It happened like this. My mom came out today and got me and Sparky out of our stalls so we could eat hay scraps in the aisle while she cleaned. That's nothing new. She almost always does that and we both like it. So we munched while she got one of those rolling bucket things and began cleaning our stalls. Then when she was about halfway done, she untied Sparky and brought him to the Round Pen.

Well, I didn't want to be left out so I whinnied loudly as she put him in there and she came back and asked, "Belly, do you want to go out with your brother?" I nosed at her to tell her yes and she must have understood me because she untied me and walked me over there too. I was happy and eager to go but I remembered to be good on the lead. I've been very good lately and my mom has been really pleased. I don't want to mess that up now so I walked quietly but fast and she was happy with that. She doesn't mind me walking fast as long as I'm not pulling or getting ahead of her. The Rule is that I have to walk next to her, with my head just in front of her shoulder. When she stops, she expects me to stop too and if I take one or two steps ahead of her, she makes me back up until I'm in the right place. I know where she wants me now though, so if I do make a mistake, I don't wait for her to ask me to back up - I do it myself. She really likes that.

Anyway, it was just a short walk to the Round Pen so we didn't do any stopping or backing or any of that stuff. It's just Habit now for me to walk nicely so my mom doesn't make me work hard at it like she used to but she still expects me to behave. She tells me that I have better manners than Sparky does sometimes because Spark will often try to put his head down to eat a stray piece of hay or sometimes he stops and makes her have to urge him on again. I don't do any of that anymore. I Learned.

I was happy to go out with Spark and we greeted each other by sniffing and squealing which is what we like to do. He likes to pretend he's a Herd Boss and I'm his Herd and he's telling me what to do. I don't mind because it usually means we play and run a little bit while he pretends to Bunch me. Spark plays differently than some of my other friends like Indian. Indian just likes to run fast like me so we just race around and around. Spark likes to play that he's a Wild Horse and he says Wild Horses don't just gallop around because they have to conserve their strength so they can run away from Mountain Lions. Spark says Mountain Lions are always after horses in the Wild. I'm not really sure what a Mountain Lion is but they sound scary so I'm happy I live in a stall and don't have to worry about them. Anyway, if any of them came around our barn, Spark would chase them away or Bunch them or something.

We had a fun time playing while my mom cleaned and then she came out with her Bag Stick and asked us to run a little bit. We were both pretty frisky and I ran while Spark trotted because he'd rather trot most of the time. That's okay. It's still fun. It got really dusty in there though so we didn't run too long. It's amazing how much dust two horses can kick up in that Round Pen.

My mom led us back to the barn together. She's been doing that a lot lately and we've been really good about it. It's hard to walk nicely with another horse. Horses don't tend to walk at the same pace so you have to remember to pay close attention so you don't get way ahead or behind. Me and Spark used to be pretty bad at it because I walk a lot faster than he does. He'd get behind and instead of speeding up, he'd stop because the lead would be pulling on him. Then I'd get impatient because I wanted to go and I'd have to wait until my mom got him back up to her. It was pretty hard for my mom. But now we're both lots better and we try to walk at the same speed. We do pretty good most of the time and we've gotten better about either slowing down or speeding up when we need to. Mom's been really happy with us.

When we got back to our stalls, she put Fly Spray on Spark and put him in his stall but she kept me out so I knew we were going to do more stuff. Sure enough, she groomed me nicely and put my duds on. I was happy. It was a nice day for a ride. Not too hot but still nice and warm out, and there weren't a lot of horses out in the arena or on the road. We got all ready and went out to the mounting block but as soon as my mom was on my back, Spark let out a big, desperate sounding whinny.

Well, I whinnied back to reassure him and to let him know I was right there but he kept on whinnying and then Solo, the horse in the stall on the other side of me, whinnied too. It made me kind of anxious. I didn't know why they were so upset but they were and it made me upset. I didn't want to go anywhere with them whinnying like that. What if they were warning me about Mountain Lions or something?

My mom just ignored it all and asked me to go out on the road. She started riding me toward the Little Rolling Arena and just kept pushing me on when I stopped and looked back. I could hear them both, especially Spark, and every time he whinnied, I let out a little scared-sounding whinny of my own. My mom loves my whinny. She says that when I call to other horses, I sound just like a baby. I don't know why that is. When i whinny to her, it's a nice big whinny but I get all anxious when I'm calling to other horses and it makes my whinny sound shrill and high-pitched. I guess it does sound kind of like a baby but I can't help it.

She mostly ignored my whinnying anyway and just kept urging me on every time I stopped. She was nice about it, petting my neck and reassuring me but she was insistent. Finally when I got down near the pasture where the Camp Horses live, I got upset and I started backing up and trying to turn around. That's when she gave me a good crack on my butt with her whip and told me in no uncertain terms that we weren't going back to the barn.

I went on but I was pretty upset. It all made me kind of jumpy. I felt very alone, even though there were horses all around me in stalls and fields and stuff. It's not the same as being with horses you really know, and when your brother is calling and calling to you, you just want to go see what's the matter with him. I really wanted to go back to the barn.

But I went on and I tried to be good. My mom rode me as far as the point in the road that's kind of between the Little Rolling Arena and the Rolling Arena and then she asked me to stop and she got off. I thought she was going to bring me back home but she just petted me and then began walking me the same direction we'd been going. I felt a little better with her next to me instead of on my back, but I still felt jumpy and uneasy. She just talked to me quietly and made me keep going and I trusted her and did.

I didn't start feeling better until we got to Cozzie's stall. He came right into his stall and poked his head out his window and my mom saw me staring at him and asked, "Would you like to go see Cozzie, Belly?" I wanted to in the worst way and as soon as I realized she was leading me over to him, I hurried right along and thrust my nose in his window. He was so nice. He knew I was upset and he nuzzled me lots and rubbed my face, and he licked me and made me feel lots better. I love Cozzie. He's such a nice horse and he always seems to understand me. My mom let me visit him for quite a long time and we just rubbed our faces against each other and were happy together.

I was a lot more relaxed by the time she pulled me away and asked me to keep walking. Spark was still whinnying - I could hear him even way up on the hill where we were - and I still called back to him now and then, but I wasn't so tense and upset. I knew we were going back to the barn and I'd be seeing him soon, and I knew that I was with my mom and she understood how I felt and wouldn't let anything Bad happen to me.

All this time, even though I was upset and nervous, I was walking nicely on a loose rein. I didn't forget my Manners even in my distraction so that was good. I know my mom was happy with that because I could feel it in the way she moved and spoke to me.

When we got back to the barn, she led me under the overhang and let me sniff noses with Solo. Then she let me sniff noses with Spark but she told me, "I still have to ride you, Belly." I'd been hoping she'd put me in my stall but I didn't mind when she led me back to the mounting block. I am a Riding Horse now and it is my Job to carry her around. So she got back on and rode me out into the Flat Arena.

I was a little stubborn at first - Spark started in whinnying again - but she just firmly pushed me on and I settled down and just went. Pretty soon, she asked me for a trot and I went into it pretty well. She trotted me around for a while and then changed direction and asked for a trot again. This time I was a little more resistant but she got very firm with me and I soon popped into a good one. She praised me and rode a good circle, then she pulled me back to a walk and asked for the trot again at about the same place she had the first time. Well, I'd learned my lesson by then and went into it pretty smoothly so she was happy. We did several circles at a trot and then as we came around the corner and straightened out, she gave me a tap with her outside heel and clicked at me!

I knew what that meant. It meant she wanted me to canter! I happily popped right into a nice canter and I could tell by her seat that she liked it. She had me canter all down the long side of the arena and then pushed me right into the turn. I cantered through the turn and into the straightaway the other way but then I dropped back to a trot. It's kind of hard to keep a canter up yet - I'm not used to it with a rider. She was really happy with me though because I'd picked it right up the first time so she let me slow down to a walk and praised me and petted me lots. I knew I'd done well so we were both happy. She decided that was a good place to leave off so she hopped off me and brought me back to my stall then.

It turned out to be a good day. I'm still not sure why Spark was so upset but I think it might be because his mom hasn't been out for a couple of days and he misses her. I don't blame him for that. I miss my mom something awful when she misses a day. But maybe he'll see her tomorrow and maybe my mom and I will do some more cantering.