More Things I've Learned

Well, here I am again! It's been a busy summer and now we're getting into Fall, or as I like to call it, Bouncing Weather. It's been getting cooler and breezy and I love it! It makes me frisky and I can't help bouncing sometimes.

As you can see from the picture, my mom has been riding me in a Western saddle! Not all the time, not even most of the time, but sometimes she puts it on me and we ride like that. It's nice. I like a change, after all, and it's a pretty comfy saddle. It used to be my friend Indy's. She lives next door to me. But it didn't fit her right and her mom didn't like it so she and my mom talked about it, and my mom tried it on me and Sparky and it fit both of us so now it's ours. It's very pretty and it came with a nice breastplate too that I'm not wearing in this picture. My mom took my noseband off my bridle so I'd look more Western, and she bought a set of rope reins just like my regular ones but with a long piece on the end that makes them Western reins. So now I get to be a Western pony like a lot of my friends.

My mom has been riding Sparky a lot lately too and she usually rides him with the Western saddle. He looks really cute in it too.

I don't really like it when my mom rides him. It makes me kind of mad. I love my brother and I know he likes to go riding too but she is MY mom and it's not fair that she's not paying attention to me all the time that she's here. Still, I try to be good about it and not make too much of a fuss. Sometimes me and Indy talk about it. Her mom went and got another horse and Indy's not very happy about that. He's just a colt really, so he needs all kinds of training and stuff, so her mom has been spending lots of time with him. Indy says she's going to kick him good as soon as she gets the chance. I can't really blame her but I'd never kick Sparky. I love him and besides, it's not his fault. He didn't make my mom ride him, after all.

Grace says we both need to calm down. Grace is the mare on the other side of me. She's really nice. I like both her and Indy but they're lots different. Grace is very sweet and calm. She's a lot like Sparky, always very good and polite to everyone. Indy is more like me. She gets mad easy and has fussy days. But I like them both. It's nice to have mares on both sides.

Anyway, Grace thinks it's silly that we get mad at our moms working with other horses. She says we should just relax and enjoy not working. Grace likes to work, and she loves to go out with her mom, but she also doesn't mind if her mom rides her brother Rio, or if she pays attention to him. She says it doesn't mean her mom doesn't love her best. I asked her how she knows that and she said she just does. I guess I know it too but it just seems wrong for my mom to spend time with other horses, even Sparky.

Today though, Sparky's Mom came out with my mom so I had her all to myself. She cleaned my stall and brushed me and then she put the Western saddle on me. While she was saddling me, she asked me which horse I was going to be today. She says that sometimes. She says she can never tell which horse is going to come out of the stall. At first I didn't know what she meant. After all, I'm the only horse who lives in that stall. But she means that sometimes I'm very frisky and bouncy, and other times I'm lazy and poky, and she never knows which way I'm going to be.

A couple of days ago, she came out kind of late and put the Western saddle on me and took me out into the dressage arena. I was frisky. It was getting close to dark time, and it was cool and I just wanted to bounce. I couldn't help it. My mom gets mad at me sometimes when I'm like that. She tells me that if I'd just go forward the way she's asking me to, I'd be able to get a lot more of my energy out but I just can't seem to help myself. Instead of trotting out nice and briskly, I get all bunched up and start fussing, and trying to go up and down instead of forward. I'm not bucking, and I'm not rearing, or crow-hopping, or anything like that. I'm just bouncing. But my mom doesn't like it.

This particular day, she asked me to trot and I just tried to take off bouncing down the arena, tucking my head like I was going to buck and getting pretty silly, I have to admit. She circled me and asked again, and I trotted a little bit and then got silly some more. My mom has a lot of patience with me and she spent some time trying to get me settled down. She'll push me forward and give me plenty of rein so I don't feel like I'm being held in, but she won't let me bounce. Sometimes I settle down after a little bit but that time I just couldn't and she finally got fed up and brought me into the Round Pen where she got back on me and made me trot around the dumb old Round Pen for about forever until I decided to be a Good Girl. Then she brought me back out to the dressage arena and made me trot all over it like a Good Girl.

By that time, I was getting tired so I Behaved myself and we ended up having a nice ride. She brought me out on the road to take a Poop Loop to cool off and we got up by Indian's barn when I noticed it was suddenly getting very dark.

Well, I don't like the dark. It's scary. You can't see so well, and there are funny noises, and I'm not used to being out of my nice, cozy stall in the dark. Sometimes my mom puts me in the Round Pen while she cleans and it gets dark while I'm in there and it makes me really nervous. I whinny for her and she comes to get me and has to talk to me and tell me it's okay because it just makes me feel funny. So when we were out and riding and it was dark and I wasn't anywhere near my stall, I got pretty scared and I just stopped and refused to keep going.

My mom kept urging me on, and she told me that if I'd just go, I'd get back to my stall and be okay. I kind of knew that but I was still nervous. I felt sort of safe where I was because nothing was making any noise or anything, but if I moved I thought it might be scary so I just stayed there. Finally my mom got off and led me home. I still wasn't too sure about it but I did feel better with her near me like that, and petting me. I was sure glad to get back to my stall.

Sparky doesn't mind the dark at all. He lives right out there in the pasture with no stall or anything and he walks around in the dark all the time out there. He says it's safe and that you can see just fine but it makes me feel funny anyway. I'm just not used to it.

Today, we just rode in the dressage arena for a while. There was another horse there with a girl riding him. They were doing dressage. I could tell because sometimes they went sideways. Dressage riding has a lot of that in it. I know how to go sideways. My mom asks me to sometimes when we do dressage. I can do a shoulder-in and a leg yield and those are both sideways things. Sometimes I go sideways even when my mom isn't asking me to, just because I like to. It's good practice.

We were riding Western today though so we didn't do a lot of sideways stuff. By and by, Sparky and his mom came in. I was a little frisky and I got to canter a little bit when my mom asked me to trot and I cantered instead. She let me and that was nice but I got my feet a little tangled up and ended up trotting on one end and cantering on the other. That happens sometimes. My mom says my legs are too long but I don't think they are. If they were shorter, I wouldn't be able to reach the ground.

I'm learning how to Neck Rein. That's how Western horses steer. English horses Direct Rein. That means when your mom wants you to go to the right, she pulls on the right rein. Or if she wants you to go to the left, she pulls on the left rein. Western horses do it differently. It's kind of tricky. If she wants you to go to the right, she lays the left rein against your neck and you're supposed to turn away from it. Or the opposite if you're turning left. My mom helps me by gently touching my mouth with a Direct Rein while she's giving me the signal with the Neck Rein. It helps me remember what I'm supposed to do. I'm getting better at it and Sparky says that he's learning too. It's fun to learn new things.

So that's what we've been doing lately. Pretty soon I'll know how to do everything. That will be pretty neat. Then I'll be like Kia. She knew a lot. But in the meantime, I'll have fun learning.

How Do You Know What To Feed Your Horse?

Today was another hot day and my mom brought me a piece of watered melon. I love watered melon, especially when it's hot. It's such a nice, juicy treat. And it made me think about one of my favorite subjects - food!

Horses need to eat a lot of food because we're big, but we can't eat just anything because that would make us sick. One time some people came walking by with their kids and my mom let them pet me which was nice and the man saw the sign on my stall that says "Double Grass Only."

He thought it meant that I only ate grass like the grass that us horses graze on but my mom explained that it meant grass hay and that some horses get alfalfa but I don't. So the man asked, "How do you know what to feed your horse?"

Well, I thought that was a really good question and my mom explained a little bit to him. My mom says there's no such thing as a dumb question but I'm not sure she's right because I ask Sparky dumb questions all the time. He doesn't say so but I usually know they're kind of dumb. I ask anyway though because Sparky is smart and almost always knows the answer.

Anyway, I'll tell you my experience about being a horse and eating food, and some of what I know about other horses, and you'll see that feeding a horse is something you have to really think about.

When my mom brought me home, she had the guys feed me the same kind of hay that everyone else was getting. Here at our place, most of the horses get grass hay in the morning and alfalfa at night so that's what I got. It was yummy and I liked it but there is a difference between the two. Alfalfa is a richer type of hay. It gives a horse more energy too. I loved eating my alfalfa - it had lots of little flowery things in it that I called blossoms and they were so sweet and tasty - but it did make me feel a lot more bouncy than the grass hay. After I got hurt and had to go on Stall Rest for a long time, my mom decided that I should just have grass hay because I was just too bouncy, but she also decided that I should get twice as much as some of the other horses because I'm a Big Girl. So now I get Double Grass hay.

I was mad at first. I really missed the alfalfa and I sulked and kicked my walls and made faces and stuff. But I got used to the grass hay and now I like it just fine. Every now and then, my mom lets me have a bite or two of alfalfa but not too much. She calls it Pony Crack and says it's not for me. I have to admit, I'm a lot less bouncy and anxious now.

That was an important choice. Horses have to have Forage. It's their main food and the most important one. Forage can be grazing like wild horses do, or it can be hay but we need to have it and the best thing is for us to have it all the time. We're made to be eating small amounts all the time instead of just having a big meal a couple of times a day. It's hard to people to feed us like that sometimes though, so that's another reason I get double feed. That way it lasts longer and my tummy isn't empty.

Another thing I was eating when my mom first brought me home was a pelleted food. It was yummy and I liked it and since I was used to it, she kept me on it but after a while, she switched me to another one because she thought I was getting too many "hot" calories from it. What that means is that it was another thing that was giving me lots more energy than I needed. I have a lot of energy without needing any help.

The second food was good too but then she switched me to Beet Pulp. Beet Pulp is actually considered kind of a forage type food because you can't really feed too much of it. Unlike those pelleted foods or other grains, horses don't get sick if they eat lots of beet pulp. My mom told me about one of her horses that she had a long time ago who got out of his pasture and ate a whole bunch of grain and got a bad Colic. She had to get the vet out to give him medicine and she had to stay with him and keep walking him for a long time. That's what too much grain can do.

Beet pulp isn't like that but when I first started eating it, I didn't like it much. It's kind of smooshy and wet, and it feels funny in your mouth, kind of like Bran Mash does. I've never really liked Bran Mash though lots of horses do. Sparky does. He likes beet pulp too and used to always eat a handful of it when he lived next door to me.

Beet pulp is mushy because it's mixed with water. When you let it sit in the water, it sort of foams up and makes a big bucket full. That's one thing I like. I get to eat a lot of food and now that I'm used to it, I like it. One thing my mom did that made it taste better was to add a scoop of grass pellets. It makes the texture nicer and it's lots like my grass hay. It doesn't add lots of hot calories or anything like that.

My mom decided she liked the way I did on the beet pulp so she kept me on it. She adds some different things to it. She always puts a little bran in it, and some salt. It's good to get salt in your diet and bran's good for you too. She also adds a Supplement that's good for my tummy and my coat. I have a really soft coat and it's because of the good care I get and the good food, including that Supplement. She gets it from Dooley's mom. When she noticed how soft Dooley was, she asked about it and decided it sounded like something that would be good for me. It's yummy too. Sparky gets some too and since he doesn't need lots of food like me, he'll eat it right out of his mom's hand.

My mom also feeds me a Supplement that's especially to keep my feet healthy. I had really bad feet when she brought me home. They were brittle and soft and I was always losing shoes. My mom worked with my Shoe Man to get them in better shape and she also started giving me this Supplement. It really seems to have helped. My feet are just fine now and I haven't thrown a shoe in ages.

As you can see, it's important to choose a horse's food based on what her needs are. I need food that doesn't raise my energy level too high, that helps keep my tummy and my feet healthy, and that keeps my nice and round. My mom has chosen what she feeds me in order to do all that.

Sparky is different. Sparky is what's called an Easy Keeper, which means he doesn't need a lot of extra stuff to stay nice and round. He eats the regular grass hay in the morning and alfalfa at night, and since he's in the pasture, he can graze when the grass is fresh. His mom feeds him a little bit of pellets in the winter when he needs more energy to keep warm, and sometimes if it's really cold, she makes him a Hot Dinner. That's when she puts hot water on some alfalfa cubes, which are just alfalfa packed into little, hard squares, adds some bran and his pellets, and his coat supplement and mixes it all up. He loves that and it really does help keep him cozy. But most of the time, he gets by just fine with hay and grazing.

Old horses need special food. My mom and SparkysMom used to help take care of an older mare who had trouble eating regular food. She got soaked pellets that were specially made for older horses. And horses that don't seem to get fat no matter what you feed them, like Healey, get lots of extra supplements to add weight.

I'm not as much of an Easy Keeper as Sparky is, but I don't get thin like Healy or Warren and I'm glad of it. I like getting lots of food but it would be dumb to be skinny. When my mom brings me my dinner, it's my favorite time of the day. She puts lots of carrots in it and my favorite thing to do is dump out all the beet pulp and nose around so I can find the carrots. Then I eat every scrap of the beet pulp.

All this talking about food is making me kind of hungry. Luckily I kept a little bit of my dinner hay so I could have a snack. I think I'm just about ready for it now.

Spreading my Wings

Lately my mom and I have been doing a lot of different things. I like it. For quite some time, we worked mainly in the Dressage arena, doing a lot of the same stuff over and over again. Things like Transitions - that's when you go from one gait to another, like from a walk to a trot, or a trot to a canter, or the other way, from a trot to a walk for example. Or stuff like Laterals - shoulder-in and leg yielding and circles and stuff. All that stuff was fun and I like doing it and we still do it, but now we're doing other stuff too.

I know why we worked on that stuff so much. It's the Basics. Horses need to know how to do those things correctly. All horses do, not just Dressage horses like me. Lesson horses, and Trail horses, and Jumpers and Show horses all need to know how to do those Basics. So they're very important and we worked on them a lot because when you do that, they kind of become Habit. I realized that today when we were in the Main arena and my mom asked me to trot. I used to get really excited about going fast when I was in the Main arena, and I'd bounce, or go sideways, or try to buck. But today, I just moved right into a trot without thinking about it because I know my Basics.

Working in the Main arena is one of those things we've been doing more of. It's fun and I like it. There's usually some other horses working in there and that's always interesting, and lots of times they're having a lesson. We try to keep out of the way when horses are having lessons but it's pretty easy in that arena because it's so big. So you can move in your own big circle while they move in theirs, but you still get to watch them and pass them sometimes and stuff.

I like it too because I see lots of horses that I don't normally see. It seems like certain people take their horses to certain arenas. So while me and Sparky and Dooley and Misty and some other horses ride in the Dressage arena a lot, a whole other set of horses go in the Main. And that's fun.

Today, Sparky's Mom was there too and she took Sparky so we both rode in the Main arena together. That was great. My mom is really happy with me because I'm nice and relaxed in there now and pay good attention to her. I don't even get bothered when other horses trot or canter right past me. I just keep walking or doing whatever she had me doing. We did some good trot work and watched some kids having a lesson and then we rode home. But yesterday, after we rode in the Main arena, we went on a little bit of a Trail ride.

My mom rode me out the gate on the side by where the string horses live. We don't usually go that way so it was kind of exciting. There's a little trail that branches off and goes along the hill above the Main arena and below the Jump arena. It can be kind of scary because if there's a horse in the Jump arena, you can hear it but can't see it. But I'm lots better about those things now because I trust my mom so I just walked along happily, though I was alert and looking around. She lets me do that because she knows I'm Curious.

That little trail comes out right near Misty's stall, by the gate to the Jump arena. We rode toward the Gremlin arena and then my mom asked me to go through the gate and up toward the Trail! That was terribly exciting. I had to stop a few times and look around a lot but I did it and was good about it too. I didn't try to run or spook or bounce or anything.

Partway up, there's a spot where the ground levels off and there's a big hole full of water. My mom calls it a Pond. Usually when we go on Trail rides, we go past it and up the big long hill, but this time my mom headed me toward the Pond and I saw that there's a little trail that goes along beside it. I remembered that I'd been that way once or twice before but it's been a long time so I was pretty interested.

I could see down the hill right into the Jump arena which was strange, and the Pond was right next to me down a little hill. There were birds sitting right on top of the water and that made me feel funny. I wondered how they did that. My mom called them Ducks and said they were swimming but they looked like they were just sitting there. I didn't really trust them but I do trust my mom so I kept going.

Then we saw a Jump. It was like a tree lying down on the ground and we walked around it but up ahead there was another one and it was smaller. My mom asked me to walk over it and I did and she told me I was a Good Girl. I felt like one. It's pretty exciting to go over Jumps, even if you're only walking.

When we got to the end of the Pond, the trail curved around to follow it but we went straight, across a hill covered with dried grass and weeds and stuff. It led to another Trail that goes up the same way as the big hill Trail but we went down it and ended up right back at the place where the string horses live! I was surprised. I didn't think we were anywhere near there and it was kind of funny. But I was relieved because it's a little stressful to not know where you are.

That's the sort of stuff we've been doing and it's been fun. Another kind of odd thing is that Sparky's Mom has been coming out and cleaning my stall and stuff but instead of that meaning that my mom isn't coming, my mom just comes later and rides me. It's nice of Sparky's mom to do that and I'm a little less frantic when she does now because I know it doesn't necessarily mean I won't see my mom. Sparky's mom even brought me a stall snack one of those days, a peppermint one which is my favorite. That's me eating it in the picture.

The only bad thing is that I have a dumb lump on my elbow. My mom calls it a Capped Elbow and she said it comes from lying down lots and maybe pressing against it with the back of my shoe when I curl up. She's putting more shavings in my bed - and I generally have a nice bed anyway so now it's really soft - and she put bell boots on me to try to keep my hooves from hitting it. I hated wearing them in my stall though, and today she brought me something else. It's a boot for just the one foot on that side, and it slips on over my hoof and tightens up around my ankle. It's not annoying like the bell boots - I hardly notice it's there - and it covers the whole shoe and not just part of it. I hope it helps because I don't like having this ugly lump on me, even if it doesn't hurt.

Racing with River

You probably noticed that the picture I posted today isn't of me. It's my friend River. Don't worry about the way she has her ears back - she's just sassy, not mean. I decided to use her picture because we had a fun day together.

River moved to our farm earlier this year. My mom turned me out in the Round Pen with her pretty early on and I wasn't sure I liked her. She was kind of mean to me, trying to strike and kick me, and she told me later that she thought I was weird too, because I kept bouncing, which is how I try to get other horses to play with me. But it turned out she was just kind of nervous being in a new place and after she settled in, we discovered that we like each other.

Our moms have turned us out together a few times but it's always been in the Round Pen. That can be fun but today they turned us out in the Jump Arena and that was so much more fun!

I thought it was going to be a kind of dumb day at first. My mom got me out and put me in the stupid old Round Pen. Lots of times I don't mind the Round Pen but sometimes it's boring and that's how it was today. But I wasn't there for very long when she came and got me and told me we were going to go turn out with River in the Pony Arena!

Well, I was excited. I was kind of frisky anyway because I hadn't gotten out yesterday and my mom hasn't been riding me as often as usual. So I was a little bouncy on the walk. I kept kind of prancing along in a really, really slow trot, just because I didn't want to walk. It's kind of silly really, because that trot isn't any faster than a walk but it's fun to do and makes me feel like I'm moving faster. My mom tries to settle me down but I can tell she kind of likes the way I do it - she calls it a "passage" and says that maybe someday I'll learn to do it when she asks me to. Well, I'd be happy to do it like that if I knew that she was asking me for it but she's never given me a signal that seemed like that's what she wanted.

When we got to the Pony Arena, some Camp Kids were about to go into it so our moms took us up the hill to the Jump Arena and we were in luck there. There were some Camp Kids in it but they were just leaving so we waited while they rode out. It was hard to stand still but I tried really hard and only fidgeted a little bit. Finally, they were all out of there and we got to go in. River's mom shut the gate and then our moms let us both loose and we very excitedly began trotting around by the gate.

My mom had brought a whip and she waved it at us a little bit and that's all it took! River just took off down the arena and I raced behind! We were running so fast! That River is quick. She doesn't look like she'd be a fast runner because she's kind of short and doesn't have long legs or a lean body like all the racehorses I've known, but she can just tuck her butt down, lay her ears back and fly! My mom says it's because she's a Quarter Horse and they can run really fast for short distances. That's why they call them Quarter Horses - because they can run a quarter of a mile faster than anything. Well, I don't know how far a quarter of a mile is but I know River is the fastest horse I ever saw run across the Jump Arena! I couldn't catch her, not matter how fast I ran!

We had such a good time! We kept running back and forth, as fast as we could go! It felt so good to be able to really stretch my legs like that. I get to run with other friends sometimes but none of them go flat out like River was doing. My mom said we'd try to turn out with her more often because we had so much fun and I'd like that. I think she would too.

We ran until we were all hot and out of breath and feeling good, and then our moms put our halters on and walked and trotted us over poles and little jumps. That was fun too. Then we went back to our barn and River went away to have some dinner and I went for a ride with my mom.

I was a little annoyed at first because the hay truck was coming and I thought I'd probably worked enough but it ended up being a fun ride. We went around the Poop Loop but halfway around, we went into the Main Arena and rode for a while. Sometimes I'm sort of Bad in the Main Arena but I wasn't this time because I was kind of relaxed from all that running. There were some other horses and riders in there and that sometimes makes me excited but I only bounced a little bit one time when I was trotting and another horse was trotting right next to me. It was kind of like running with River and I wanted to go faster and my mom said I couldn't so I got a little bouncy and sort of kicked out one leg. I knew it was Bad, and sure enough my mom smacked me with her stick and told me to Behave so I did. After that I was fine.

It was a good day but there was one other thing I wanted to do. A couple of days ago, my mom was bringing me to the Round Pen and we were walking past Healy's Trailer. Healy goes away lots of times so him and his brothers Harley and Wings have their own Trailer. Trailers are like cars for horses. I've been in a Trailer lots of times but never since I came to live with my mom. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to it because I knew we were going to the Round Pen but suddenly my mom asked me to turn and she headed me toward the open door in the back of it!

I was interested. I'm always trying to sniff other horses' Trailers. One time I poked my head right into the window of one, just so I could see if there were any horses inside. So I'm not afraid of them but I think my mom wanted to make sure I'd go in one just in case she ever wanted to take me for a ride.

She let me sniff the door and the sides of the Trailer as far as I could reach without stepping in, and then I sniffed the floor. There were some scraps of hay on the floor and I lipped them up. They were alfalfa and that was a treat. Then I put one foot in it but it made a very funny sound so I took my foot out again. That's the only thing about Trailers. You have to get used to the sound they make when you get into them. It's sort of loud and hollow sounding and it can be a bit scary at first.

I wasn't really scared but I didn't like it. My mom let me stand and sniff some more, then she asked me to get in. I hesitated a little bit but then she pointed out the hay bag at the front of the Trailer. It was full of alfalfa! Well, that was enough for me. I clomped right into that Trailer and dove into the hay bag. My mom petted me and told me I was a Good Girl and let me have some nice bites, then she asked me to back out of it and I did.

All the other people who were standing around - Healy's mom, and River's mom and Warren's mom, and Indy's mom were happy with me and told me how Good I was so that was nice, and I got a little chuffed by it all and pranced around and showed off until my mom told me to stop being so foolish and walk nicely. So I did. But after she got me back out of the Round Pen, she let me go in the Trailer one more time and I got another taste of alfalfa.

Today, after our ride, my mom got off me near the tack boxes where Dooley was tied up with his mom. Dooley's Trailer was parked right there, just where Healy's had been, because Dooley had gone for a ride that day. As soon as my mom got off me, I made a beeline for that Trailer, hoping to go inside it and eat some more alfalfa but the door was closed. I sniffed all around it hopefully, thinking maybe if I was cute enough, my mom would open it up and let me go in but she just laughed and called me a Smartypants.

Someday I'd like to have my own Trailer. Then I could go fun places with my mom and have my own alfalfa in a hay bag.

Summertime

Are you enjoying the summer? I am. There's been a lot of interesting stuff going on and the weather has been nice if a little hot now and then. Mostly though it's been good and my mom and I have been doing a lot of riding and other kinds of work together. I'm learning more stuff all the time and having fun doing it. I like summer.

In the summer, the Camp Kids all come out to ride and learn about horses. I like to see them. The farm gets a whole bunch of special horses just for the Camp Kids to ride and learn on and this year's bunch has been especially nice. I get to see them a lot in the arenas and their pasture is right next to the Round Pen so I see them there too. They seem to like their job which is nice. I think I'd like it too. They each get a special kid to take care of them and ride them and groom them and love on them. They get to live in a fun herd and go on rides in a big group. It seems like a nice life and the kids love it.

I like kids. Lots of times kids come by with their moms and dads and my mom always offers to let them pet me. They're usually pretty excited to pet a real horse and sometimes they're a little afraid but I make sure I'm really gentle and good with them. I move slowly and poke my nose out gently toward them so they can pet it. That seems to calm them down and they'll reach out shyly and touch me. Then they feel how soft I am and they get braver and pretty soon, they're petting me all over and sometimes even feeding me treats. I'm always careful to take the treats gently and not get pushy with them.

My mom really likes how good I am with kids but thinks it's kind of funny since I'm usually kind of bouncy and boisterous with grown people. But kids are little and I like little things and understand you have to be more careful with them. Besides, kids are a lot like me. They're just learning about so many things. I can tell just by their smell and the way they act. It makes me like them even more because we have that in common. I want to tell them that I understand their curiosity and their shyness and their fears because I feel those things too.

So I like seeing all the kids around but I also like seeing all the other animals. We see a lot of animals all year round but there are more of them in the summer. For instance, there's lots of bunnies. I just love bunnies. They're small and cute and they look very soft. I just want to put my nose on one gently and feel how soft it is. They have little tiny tails and paws and they move by sort of hopping along. It's cute. One day last week, my mom and I went for a Poop Loop with Dooley and his mom. That was nice. I like Dooley a lot and I like his mom too. And his mom and my mom are good friends so they were having a nice time talking and laughing while Dooley and I walked along companionably. We had walked behind the big poop pile and past the place where lots of trailers are parked and there, playing in the grass, was a whole bunch of bunnies! I had to stop and look because it was so nice. There were at least as many bunnies there as there are horses in my barn and that's a lot because there's me and Chip and Warren and Indy and Raz and Grace and Rio all in that barn.

That was a good ride that day because in addition to seeing those bunnies, my mom let me sniff noses and say hello to Indian when we rode by his stall. She hardly ever lets me do that when we're riding and I was happy because I haven't sniffed noses with him for a while. Then when we were riding our second Poop Loop, we heard a voice behind us and it was Chip and his mom! Oh, I was so excited! I got a little bouncy because I never get to ride with Chip and he's my best friend in the whole world! I kept poking my nose at him so I could sniff him and make sure it was really him and I kept kind of prancing because it was so exciting. But I settled down after a while and then we had a good ride with all three of us together with our moms. So that was nice.

Yesterday, I got to see a different sort of animal. I was in the Round Pen just lazing around when a big Bird came zooming out the sky and plunged to the ground right in front of the place where my mom parks her car. That's just across from the Round Pen so I could see it clearly. It kind of made me jump because it was so sudden, and it scared all the birds that were just sitting around in the trees and on the wire things that connect all the big posts along the road. They flew up in a big swarm, all screeching and screaming and it was easy to see why because the big Bird had pounced down right on top of a Pigeon and killed it dead! It immediately flew up again but couldn't get very high or go very far because that Pigeon was fat so it flew into the field where River lives now and plopped onto the ground. My mom went to look at it and she told me later that it was going to eat the Pigeon.

That made me kind of sad because I like Pigeons but my mom explained that while some animals eat grass and hay and other things that I like, other animals eat meat which comes from... well, from other animals. Like the coyotes. They eat things like the squirrels that run around all over the place here, and the gophers, and even the bunnies. My mom explained to me that it's just how they're made. They have to eat those things or they'll starve. Well, I wouldn't want them to starve. I like the coyotes too. But I'd never eat a bunny.

I had a kind of funny experience today. My mom came out and got me out of my stall and gave me a nice hay snack. She brushed me and put some fly spray on me and cleaned my stall and gave me lots of attention. But then instead of riding me or turning me out, she put me back in my stall and got Sparky out. It was very odd. The hay truck had come by then so I had my dinner hay but I was still kind of concerned. My mom brought Spark to the Round Pen and free lunged him like she sometimes does and that was okay but then she took him away where I couldn't see her and the next thing I knew, I saw them out in the dressage arena and she was riding him!

Well, that upset me. I love Sparky and I know my mom loves him too, but I'm her special horse and if she's going to ride anyone, it should be me. I went right out into my paddock and whinnied loudly to let her know it but she pretty much ignored me and kept on riding. I tried to focus on my hay but I couldn't very well and every few minutes I had to go out in my paddock and whinny again. She did speak to me a couple of times in a nice voice which helped but it was still a funny feeling seeing her riding him. She even took him for a Poop Loop.

Still, it wasn't too long before she walked by my stall with him on his lead and I saw her put him back in the pasture. I watched with my head hanging right out of my stall so she'd be sure to see me there and she came right over once she'd let him loose and got me out. I was happy about that. I didn't want her to forget about me and I was kind of worried that I'd done something Bad and she was mad at me but she told me she just wanted to give Spark some exercise so that was okay.

She got me all cleaned up and put my duds on and then she attached my lunge line to my bit so I knew we were going to do some lunging. Well, that was all right. I like to lunge. We did a little work at the walk and trot both ways, then she stopped me and attached side reins to my bit.

I've lunged in side reins before but not for a long time. My mom used them when she first started riding me a lot to teach me that it's okay to have light contact on my mouth. Racehorses are used to being sort of propped up by their reins. The tighter the reins, the faster they go. It takes a while to get used to riding without that tight hold and at first, I did what my mom called "hanging on" the bit. I just felt like I had to have that bit really strong on my mouth so I'd reach and reach and reach down for it until my head was just about dragging on the ground just so I could feel that pressure. Gradually I got used to riding on a loose rein and then my mom began to teach me to accept contact which is different than that tight hold. The side reins helped me understand that.

Now she's using them to help me learn about accepting a bit more. It's kind of a reminder that I can go forward with that contact. It was fun. I'm a lot more experienced now so I don't fight the contact or try to evade it. Once I get used to the feel of the side reins, I can trot along nicely with my head and neck held nicely and I barely notice they're there. Then when my mom gets on me, she does the same thing with her hands. My mom never pushes me into more contact than I'm comfortable with and I like that. But I accept a lot more now than I did even just last year.

After our lunging, we did some riding in the dressage arena, practicing our contact and doing some laterals at the trot. It was fun, especially because my friend Favre and his mom were in there. Favre's mom is another special friend of my mom and Favre is a good friend of both me and Sparky. He's a Thoroughbred like me so he likes to do a lot of the same things and he was doing some of them today. Like bouncing when his mom asked him to canter. That's fun but I guess his mom doesn't like it any more than mine does because she brought him into the Round Pen to learn to Behave after he did it. Then they came back and rode more with us.

I behaved pretty well. I had one little bouncy incident but my mom settled me and then we did some fun work. Now that I'm in good shape, I find I love to trot. It's a nice, balanced gait and you can do it for a long time. My mom keeps it interesting by asking me to change direction a lot, or to do laterals or fun things like that. So we had a nice time and my mom was really happy with me. I forgot all about being mad that she rode Sparky.

After our ride, I was pretty sweaty and I wanted to roll badly. My mom knew it so she quickly took off my duds and brought me back out into the arena where I flung myself down and had a great roll. I dug my head right into that nice sand and kept rolling and rolling! Then I got up and shook off and kind of pranced a little bit. My mom patted me and then she asked if I wanted to do it again and I decided that sounded nice so I found another good spot and threw myself down again! My, it felt good!

Now I'm nice and cozy in my new bed. I had a good dinner and it's getting dark. The coyotes are singing out in the pasture and I think it's just about time I got some sleep.

Feeling fine and loving life

Do you like the picture I used for this post? I do. My mom took it the other day when I was standing outside my stall. I'm in really good shape now and I like the way you can see the definition in my muscles, especially where my front leg ties into my shoulder. I kind of look like I'm built downhill in this photo but I'm not really. I'm just standing at an angle. I'm actually nicely uphill which means that my Withers, which is that sort of roundish part at the top of my shoulders, are higher than the top of my butt. Being uphill helps a horse to move off its hindquarters rather than being heavy on its front legs. That makes the horse more comfortable to ride and also makes them move more nicely because they're pushing from behind and not thumping along in front.

Of course, I'm not vain. I think I'm a nice-looking horse but no more than a lot of other horses. What I like best is that I feel good. Last week, my mom and Dooley's mom took me out to the Round Pen and adjusted me. Dooley's mom adjusted all the places I'd told my mom about when I talked to her through that lady who was in my head. It felt so good! Normally, I'm kind of Bad for Dooley's mom. I don't mean to but it's very strange to have someone poke you and manipulate you like that. And she has to stand up on a thing to reach my back and that's odd, having her above me like that. I can't see her very well and I want to know what she's doing so I tend to wiggle. Plus we usually do it out on the road and I get distracted. Doing it in the Round Pen was better. I'm used to being in there and it's not so exciting.

But I also knew what she was trying to do. I never really understood that before. I knew she did things that felt pretty good but I also knew she hurt me sometimes. Well, that was just because she was trying to find the hurty places so she could fix them. I didn't put that together until I talked to my mom and she said she'd have Dooley's mom fix me. Then I realized that's what she'd been trying to do. She just didn't know how to find all the places I needed fixed.

So this time I tried to help. Instead of fussing and trying to watch, I moved my body so she could reach the hurty parts better. And I leaned into her hands when she was trying to push things around instead of trying to move away. She was really happy with me and petted me a lot. My mom was proud of me too and they both said they figured it was because me and my mom had been able to talk.

They made kind of a game out of it. My mom had made a list of all the places I'd said were hurty but she didn't tell Dooley's mom where they were. Dooley's mom examined me to find them and she found almost all of them. Then my mom told her what she'd missed and when she checked, sure enough she found that they needed adjusting too. After she was all done, I felt better than I've felt in a long, long time. My mom said so too. She says I'm using my hind end better than I ever have.

In fact, I feel so Good that I've been a little Bad. I was kind of bouncy under saddle but my mom didn't mind that so much. She knew it was just because I felt so good and I didn't really misbehave - I was just excited and happy to go. I didn't buck or rear or do Bad things. But the other day, she took me for a walk and I was Really Bad.

She got to the barn and took me out only to discover that I had some Hives. Hives are little lumps that you get sometimes. They're usually caused by a bug bite or by eating something that your tummy doesn't like. I'd gotten bitten by some nasty bug that bit me right in my belly where the girth of my saddle goes. I had a big lump there and some Hives on my neck and body. They weren't bad, and they didn't itch which Hives sometimes do. But my mom couldn't ride me with that lump there so she decided to give me a Bath. I needed one anyway and she figured it might help the Hives and the bite which was a little warm.

I like Baths. When you get a Bath, your mom gets you all wet with the Hose and then scrubs you and rubs you all over. You get to play in the water and my mom lets me drink out of the Hose which is lots of fun. Our Hose has a special thing on the end of it that my mom calls a Nozzle. We have it because Spark hates the water and is scared of the regular Hose which is attached to a big metal pipe that swings around over your head while your mom uses it. Our Hose doesn't do that and the Nozzle makes the water come out in different ways. It can come out really fast and kind of hard, or it can come out like rain does, all soft and misty. Or it can come out in a wide kind of spray that feels really good. Sparky doesn't mind that so much. He even kind of likes it when it's really hot outside. And I get to use the Nozzle too.

After my Bath, my mom took me for a walk to dry off. I was frisky and wanted to play or get turned out or do something fun. It had been a while since we went for a walk and sometimes when I haven't done something for a while I forget my Manners about it. And that's what happened. I kept trying to push ahead of my mom, or reach grass or hay by the side of the road, and every time I did something like that, she'd correct me. Well, that's what moms do but I started getting Mad about it and that made me behave even worse. Finally, when we were walking towards home and approaching the Round Pen, I got pushy again and my mom made me back up and I lost my temper. I bounced and struck, and then I reared!

Well, I knew right off that I'd gone too far. My mom yelled at me loudly and madly and she smacked me hard on my chest with the end of my lead rope. As soon as my feet hit the ground, she made me back up, really fast and really long, with her smacking me all the way and telling me in a mad voice, "I DON'T LIKE THAT!" Well, I know she doesn't and I should never have done it. As soon as I was done backing up, she put me in the Round Pen and made me run. I don't mind running - in fact, I love it - but I knew I was running because she was mad at me and I felt pretty terrible about it.

She made me run pretty briskly, making me go one direction, then the other, then back the other way, to show me that she was in charge of where my feet go and I better not forget it. Then she put my halter on and took me for another walk, along the exact same route as the first. You can bet I was a Very Good Girl for it.

One thing about my mom that I love, though - she was mad when I reared and she definitely let me know it, but once we were walking again and I was behaving, she treated me like she always treats me when I'm Good. She doesn't stay mad, and she is always fair. She even gave me a cookie when I stopped politely and stood quietly while she fixed her shoe.

It's all because I feel so darn good. I'm even happier doing Poop Loops. I'm still a little awkward walking down hills and I think I might always be. It just feels so weird. But I'm much more comfortable. It hurt in a lot of different places when I walked up and especially down those hills. And it made me wiggle a lot, looking for just the right way to step to make it hurt less. Now I can step right out and feel fine doing it. And once I find my balance, I can go down the hills pretty well. I just need to figure out where to put my feet to balance my long legs and body right.

Hopefully today we'll do some riding. My mom says I've been really Good under saddle and I've been enjoying what we do. We've been doing a lot of Lateral work which means going sideways and I like to go sideways. I do it quite a lot even when my mom doesn't ask me to because it's fun.

Ooh, I think I hear the Feed Truck which means I can have some food before we ride!

Because Your Mom Asks You To

It's time for another guest post from my brother Sparky! Take it away, Spark.

As horses we do a lot of things that we donʼt necessarily want to do. I enjoy going for rides and things but letʼs face it, given the choice most horses would rather spend their time lazing around a pasture grazing with friends. Part of being a Good horse is doing things when you might not really feel like it. But sometimes it is more than that. Sometimes people ask us to do things that are against our instincts, against our very nature. Even a lot of Good horses wonʼt listen when they are asked to do things like that, it takes a lot of trust.

Yesterday my mom and I rode in the main arena and Grammy watched us. I was excited and nervous because we havenʼt ridden for a bit and we havenʼt ridden in the main arena in a long time. The main arena is scary because it is so big and there is a roof high above part of it. It makes things sound different and the wood chip footing smells different. There are little metal things placed around on the railings that I know are used for water. Still I tried to focus on what my mom wanted me to do and mind my manners. We only went around the arena a few times each direction and then headed home. I was relieved and eager and got a little strong around the turn toward home but I calmed down after my mom made me whoa.

The Hay Truck was going around when we got back home so I was excited to get back out with the guys. Wings was having dinner at the tack boxes and Healy and Harley were being led up by their mom. I like Healy and Wings, they are good herdmates. Harley is their new brother and he has settled into the herd nicely. On the road in front of the tack boxes was their Trailer. A horse Trailer is a big metal thing that is kind of like a stall on wheels. They take horses to different places. Trailers are dangerous and very scary things. They are smaller than a stall and the roof is low, the whole thing moves and makes noise when you get in it. There is only one opening and not enough room to turn around so if you go in there is no way to escape from Danger.

I donʼt like Trailers at all, just being near one makes me nervous. Anytime I have gone anywhere in a Trailer it has meant leaving a home forever. Dooley, Healy and Wings, and even Bella have assured me that they have gone places in Trailers and still come back home after, still I canʼt help but feel like Trailers mean youʼre leaving and never coming back. They can be very dangerous too, once before my mom got me I was backing off a Trailer when I heard a noise. I threw up my head because I was startled and I wanted to be alert to possible Danger, but my head was still in the Trailer and so it hit the top of the door. It scared me and hurt so bad, I had a big cut right on my poll, the vet had to come and stitch it. Now when I see a Trailer I remember the hurt and it makes me scared so when I saw Healy, Harley and Wingsʼs Trailer there I was eager to walk past it and get to my dinner.

But instead my mom asked me to get on it. I was confused and a little surprised. For one thing I still had my sidepull on, if Iʼm going somewhere in a Trailer my mom puts my halter on and my special head protector, she calls it my football helmet. The whole thing was just scary and it was dinner time and I didnʼt want to do it, still there was my mom quietly asking me to step onto it. There were lots of other people and horses around but I just focused on my mom. When I resisted or stopped she would put her face very close to mine and talk to me gently. I donʼt really like having my face handled by anyone else but when my mom holds my face close it feels special and comforting, it always calms me down. I sniffed the floor of the Trailer while she was standing in it. It smelled like Healy and Wings and Harley, there was pretty fresh poop that smelled like Wings. My mom gave me some hay that was inside and that was nice but the idea of standing in there eating made me more nervous. I knew that what she wanted me to do was go into the Trailer but every instinct and experience told me not to.

But through all the fear and confusion came my momʼs quiet voice gently asking and encouraging. My mom loves me and I love her so much, we understand and communicate with each other more than a lot of horses and their owners. She isnʼt just my “owner” or my “mom” she is also my herdmate, my lead mare, and my best friend. She knew I was scared and she was telling me that it was safe. I know that she would never lie about Danger so finally I stepped into the Trailer beside her. As soon as I put my back feet in I started backing out and she encouraged me to continue backing. Then she praised me and petted my neck and let me stand for a bit. She asked me to go back on the Trailer, this time I resisted a lot less because it was a little less scary. I went all the way into it and stood beside her until she asked me to back out. She offered me some hay but I didnʼt want it, I went in because she asked me to, it was enough reason for me. When she backed me out everyone came to praise me and she said she was so proud and called me Best-Boy, which I like. She asked me to trot beside her to the pasture gate and that felt great. I felt so happy and relieved that I didnʼt have to go away in the Trailer and that I made my mom proud of me.

Dooley has told me that he has his own Trailer and that our moms want to take us places in it where we can go ride on different trails and things. I think that doesnʼt seem as scary now. My mom and Dooley promised that we would come back to this home and my mom would put my football helmet on me to protect my head. It might be kind of fun. Maybe someday I will get used to riding in the Trailer and it wonʼt scare me at all. Maybe Iʼll get a Trailer of my own and go to shows and trails all the time like Treasure used to, but for now Iʼm happy to have my hooves on solid ground and my nose in a hay feeder.

An Interesting (and fun!) Experience

I had the most interesting experience yesterday. I hope I can explain it properly because it was different than anything I've ever done.

I was standing around in my stall getting drowsy because it was that time in the morning when I'm usually getting ready for my nap. It was nice and quiet at the barn. It usually is around then. The Camp Kids are having their lessons and stuff now but they don't usually work at our end of things unless they're just riding by on their way to a Trail ride or another arena. Most of the other horses' people don't come out until later so it's always a good time to nap, long enough after breakfast so that it's nicely digested but you still have that sort of dozey feeling you get when your tummy is happy.

Anyway, I was standing there thinking about maybe flopping down in my shavings when I got the sensation that someone was talking to me. I can't really put my hoof on it; there wasn't anyone around and it wasn't a horse - it was definitely a human but it was a human who could understand me. It was almost as if she (and I knew it was a girl person) was inside my head and just understanding what I was thinking. And I could understand what she was thinking too.

Well, it was an odd feeling but it wasn't scary or uncomfortable. In fact, it was kind of nice. She seemed like a very nice person and I figured out soon enough that she was talking to me for my mom who had arranged it. She's what's called an Animal Communicator which means she talks to us animals and lets our people know what's on our minds.

Lots of people don't believe that's possible but animals know better. Humans seem to mostly communicate by talking out loud to each other. It's hard for them to read things like movements and looks and ear twitches and that sort of thing. And there aren't very many of them at all that can understand what an animal or another person is saying just by listening to their thoughts. Us animals do it all the time and it's impossible to explain how it's done because we just do it naturally. It's always nice to meet people who can do it too.

The first thing she did was pay attention to the way my body felt. She listened to all my aches and pains and I could feel her mind telling my mom where I was hurty. I have kind of a lot of hurts right now. None of them are really terrible but they're annoying and I know I could feel better if we could just take care of the right spots. So it was nice that she was letting my mom know where those spots were. I let her know about the spot where my dressage saddle is still a little tight - I knew my mom was already aware of that because she and Sparky's Mom went over my very carefully just recently, putting it on me and feeling underneath it and I know they found the spot. My mom can read me pretty well even if she can't fully understand what my thoughts are telling her. But I also told her about the parts that still hurt from that time that I fell down in the Jumping arena and I could feel her hearing my mom saying that she'd have Dooley's mom take care of all of that. So that's good.

Then we had a nice chat about my life. My mom wanted to know if I trust her. Well, of course I do! I think she knew that but she's such a good mom, she wanted to make sure and to make sure I knew that she would always be my mom and take care of me. That was nice. Horses do get sold sometimes after all, and while I've always felt pretty sure that my mom wouldn't sell me, sometimes I've worried, especially if I've been Bad or something.

My mom wanted to know if I remembered stuff about the racetrack and I told her what I remembered which was that there was a kind of big guy who took care of us horses. He was nice but he took care of a lot of us so he wasn't my special person or anything. And I admitted that I wasn't very good at being a racehorse and that I didn't miss it. I told her how nervous I was about getting sold when the lady she bought me from had me, and how I felt kind of lost there, and not really a part of her family. I didn't feel pretty or special, and then my mom came to see me and I liked her a lot and tried to be really Good for her so she'd buy me. And I was very happy when she did.

I told her that I love Sparky and he's my brother and stuff but that I'd rather not get turned out with him because he's kind of a brat to me, trying to bunch me and herd me around and stuff. So she said she wouldn't make me go out with him anymore. I felt kind of bad about that because I do love him but I was just telling the truth. He is bratty. And I told her how much I love it when kids come to see me, and how I like the new hay because it's sweet. I love sweet things.

I asked about Kia. I've always wondered where Kia went and my mom said she went to a different farm but that she was okay and that was good to know. And I asked her when that nice young girl would come back and see me. I don't know her name but she was really nice and I liked her. My mom wasn't sure who I meant which was sad but maybe she'll remember. I liked her lots and she liked me so I'd love to see her again.

It was a fun time. I felt like I was really able to talk to my mom about a lot of things I've never been able to really clearly tell her. I think she liked it too. When she came to the barn later, we were so happy to see each other and it seemed like we were both a little more in tune with each other. I think everyone should have an Animal Communicator help them talk to their animals. It's so nice for everyone.

Sad days and happy days

I've been having some ups and downs the past couple of weeks. The most upsetting news is that my baby Pigeon died. It was up there on my duds closet getting big and its mom and dad were feeding it and making nice Pigeon noises and stuff and everything was fine. I was happy except that my mom wasn't coming out to see me. Instead, Sparky's Mom was coming out. My mom was really sick, you see, and so she had to stay home in her stall.

Sparky's Mom took good care of me but as usual, I missed my mom. It made it harder to just relax and enjoy my Pigeons. But finally my mom came back and we had a wonderful day. She took me to the Round Pen and let me run around some, and then she saddled me up and we rode in the new Dressage Arena. That was fun. I'd been watching the guys work on it all along but actually going out into it was lots different. It now has a little, low white fence all the way around it and it's more level. The footing is a little softer but it's pretty nice, and the mirrors are still there which is good because I like them.

I was a little excited riding in there. The new fences made it seem very different and I was sort of bouncy and snorty. My mom just sat comfortably and relaxed and asked me to walk all around it and I eventually settled down. Then she had me do some shoulder ins and stuff and a little trotting and then we left to ride a Poop Loop.

She headed me up the hill near the pasture which was fun because we usually go the other way. I sometimes get excited about that hill because one time my mom let me trot up it and I cantered instead and got pretty excited and then I thought maybe I should canter up it all the time and so I got a little pushy about it and my mom got mad. I do sometimes get carried away about running. But I was good this time. I have been lately. My mom has even ridden me up that hill bareback and I'm really good. She's been riding me bareback more and more. I like it a lot. It's so relaxing not having a girth all tight around your middle. We don't do any real work, we just ride along and enjoy being together and it's kind of relaxed and comfortable. My mom feels really happy when she's on me bareback with her legs kind of swinging and her hands resting on my neck. I'm really good too and never try to bounce or anything.

I'm good in a saddle too though. We rode two nice Poop Loops and then when we were at the top of the hill by the Gremlin Arena, my mom quietly asked me to turn up the hill that goes up on the Trail!

Well, that was a surprise and pretty exciting but I was good about it. I started up and although I was pretty interested and excited, I just walked like she asked me to and didn't jig or trot or anything. A couple of times I stopped so I could gaze around and see if there were other horses around and she let me for a few seconds but then urged me right on again so I went.

We rode all the way to the top of the hill where the Trail opens out and you can go several different ways if you want to. I got a little scared at one point because there was a fence along the Trail and I could hear voices behind it but couldn't see anyone. My mom tried to calm me but I was pretty upset so she got off and led me past it all. Once we got up the hill, she got back on though and she rode me back down past that spot. It wasn't so bad going down. I could see better and I could tell by the voices that it was the guys who feed us so I felt lots more relaxed. I went back down the trail in a nice, fast walk and my mom was really happy with me. She says we'll do that more often to get me used to going out there. I know she'd like me to be a good Trail Horse.

When we got back to the barn, she sponged me off and then put me in the Round Pen to cool off. While I was out there, she checked on my Pigeon and that's when she discovered that he had fallen into Warren's water bucket and died. I was so sad. I'm glad I wasn't right there to see him all dead and stuff. Warren said it was pretty gross. My mom cleaned out his water bucket and scrubbed it really good so he wouldn't get sick. She was sad too but it was my Pigeon so I was saddest of all.

The next day though my mom brought me a stall snack to help keep my mind off it. That was really nice and it did help. And then a couple of days later, Chip's mom went away for a couple of days so my mom took care of Chip and we were able to be together like Sparky and I get to do lots of times. That picture up above was taken when my mom brought Chip over to my stall to share my hay while she cleaned our stalls.

Normally I don't like to share my hay but I didn't even think about that when she brought him over. I was so happy to see him, I just put my ears right forward and reached out to sniff his nose. He delicately put his head down and politely reached for a wisp of hay and I was happy to let him have it. Then Sparky's Mom came over with a big pile of grass hay that she'd found and dumped it right in between us so we had lots to eat. We didn't fight over it at all. We just put our heads right together so we could be as close as possible and ate companionably. Sparky says that's how him and his friends eat in the pasture. He says they like to share and actually prefer to eat together. If I could eat with Chip all the time, I'd prefer it to.

My mom and I haven't ridden in a couple of days because I've been stumbling a bit and she wants to get my feet checked out. That's okay with me. I like going for walks or having turnouts. I'm not really picky about what I do. But it does give me a little less to blog about so I'm sorry about that.

Exciting Day in my Stall!!!

It's kind of hard to tell from the picture but the little brown blurry thing next to the Mama Pigeon is a new baby Pigeon! Yes, today one of the babies came out of its Egg! It was very exciting. My mom had come out and had put me away after our ride, when we both noticed that the Mama and Daddy Pigeons were suddenly making lots of nice noises. They were cooing and cooing the way they do, but lots more than usual. The Dad Pigeon was on top of Indy's duds closet and the Mom Pigeon was up on mine where the Nest is. My mom said, "I bet the Eggs have hatched!" So she got up on a chair and climbed up on my window and looked and sure enough, she could see one little baby Pigeon all snuggled up next to its mom! So she took a picture.

I'm excited about the Pigeons and I hope there will be more than one. I can't wait until I can see them. When they get bigger and walk around, they sometimes get closer to the edge and I can watch them. That's fun. But I can see their Mom and Dad and I can hear their noises and I know they're there so that's nice. It's like having my own pets.

It was nice to ride today. It's the first time we've ridden since I got that darn Shot and my neck got all stiff and lumpy. There's still a little bit of a lump there but it's almost all gone and it doesn't bother me at all now. But it got pretty big at first. The day after my last blog entry, it was even bigger than the first day. My mom put a cool, wet wrap on it while I ate my hay and she cleaned my stall and that felt pretty good though a little strange. She gave me more medicine too. Sparky's neck was lots better but he had a sore knee! So his mom and my mom put a wet wrap on his knee too. My mom says he has a little bit of a swollen tendon in it. He's had that happen before and it's upsetting that it happened again. Injured tendons are no fun. I had one one time and I had to be on Stall Rest for about forever! And I'll Have Another got scratched from the Belmont because he injured a tendon. So it can be serious. But my mom and Sparky's mom are taking good care of him and they think it will heal just fine.

It was really windy today at the barn and I didn't even hear my mom drive up. Between the wind and the noise out in the Dressage arena where the guys are still working with all their big trucks and things, I couldn't hear much. I was outside watching when I heard her voice calling to me so of course I whinnied a greeting and rushed into my stall. I love it when my mom arrives. I'm always happy to see her and to find out what kind of fun thing we'll be doing. Today I knew right off that we'd be riding because she opened up my duds closet and got out all my grooming stuff and my leg wraps.

We got all ready and then rode right to the Main arena. There was just one other horse and rider in there when we arrived and we started walking around and it was okay. I'm still a little nervous in that arena because I'm just not used to it and I want to stop and look at everything. My mom used to let me a little bit but now she says I'm a big girl and I need to just do my work. I know she's right but it's not easy. But walking around isn't so bad because I can walk and look at the same time.

Pretty soon another horse and rider came in, and then another one. Then my mom asked me to trot and I got kind of anxious. It was exciting, and I couldn't look around so much, and the other horses were going in different directions and the wind was blowing. I got kind of strong and kept sort of dancing along sideways and getting a little bouncy. My mom put her legs on me and tried to keep me straight, and she tried to keep out of my mouth while still letting me know that I wasn't supposed to be rushing and bouncing. I know it's not easy for her either. She tries to use a lot of half-halts to get my attention and that helps but I get so excited that I just want to go but I can't figure out where I want to go. It's sort of silly really, because she's encouraging me to go forward and if I just did, I'd probably be okay, but I get anxious and want to bounce up and down instead and that's not Manners.

She finally got me going in some figure 8's which is always a good exercise because I have to pay attention, and I settled into a little bit better trot. It was still pretty pathetic when you compared it with the other horses in there but my mom was satisfied and let me walk after that. We did a couple of turns around the arena at a walk to let me relax again and then she took me out and we did some Poop Loops. All in all, it was a fun ride and I think she was happy enough with me. She knows I'm still getting used to that arena so she doesn't push too hard. She just expects me to listen and try my best and that's what I did. I don't buck at all anymore, and I don't get mad. So that's a big improvement.

Once we got back to my stall, we found out about the Pigeons and that was so exciting that it made me forget about everything else. They're all cozy up there in their Nest and I can hear the parents cooing to their baby and it's really sweet. It makes me feel all safe and warm in my stall and I think I'll curl up in my shavings and go to sleep now.

Will I'll Have Another Have Another?

The Belmont Stakes is coming up this weekend and there's a chance we'll have a new Triple Crown winner. I'll Have Another won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. There hasn't been a Triple Crown winner for a long time, not since Affirmed in 1978. Of course, the year before that my great grandfather Seattle Slew won it. So I can't help but be interested. I'd like to see another horse win. It's a pretty exciting thing.

I never did get to be a real racehorse. I love to run fast but I just wasn't ready to do it officially. My mom thinks that maybe I was too immature mentally. That doesn't mean she thinks I was dumb or anything, and it doesn't make me mad that she would say it. I know what she means because I was quite babyish in lots of ways back when I was at the track and even when I first came to live with her. Even the picture that I posted today, which was just taken about a month ago, makes me look like a foal. Some horses grow up quicker than others, that's all. Anyway, being a racehorse is very hard work and unless you're one of the few who make it to the top, it can be a pretty grueling life. My mom is glad I never had to work so hard and take all the risks that go with it and so am I. Even though I sometimes think that it would have been fun and exciting, I know she's right.

Warren and I talk about it sometimes because he really did race. He even won sometimes! He says it was fun but he doesn't miss it. You have to move around a lot and train all the time, really hard, and you never get the chance to make good, long-term friends and stuff. You don't get to do fun things like go on trail rides, or laze around in a pasture, or just have a day off to snooze in your stall. Warren loves to take naps in his stall so I bet that was a real hardship for him.

But horses like my great granddad and I'll Have Another are so good at what they do that Warren and I figure they probably get extra special treatment so even though they have to work hard, it's not like it is for the average racehorse. I don't know for sure of course, because I've never met a famous racer and neither has Warren. But we're pretty sure we're right and we'll both be eager to hear what the results are at the Belmont.

Around our barn, things are a lot quieter than they probably are at I'll Have Another's. It was raining today which was kind of funny but it was nice. It wasn't a hard rain, and it wasn't really cold like it sometimes is so it was pretty pleasant. It made everything smell nice. Have you ever noticed that? For some reason when it rains, you can smell everything so much better. The grass, and the dirt, and the leaves and stuff. It all smells fresh and clean.

I was just standing in my stall looking out into my paddock and enjoying the rain when my mom came. I was happy to see her of course because I always am, but also because I had kind of a funny feeling on one side of my neck. I got a Shot yesterday. Me and Sparky both did. Horses get Shots sometimes and what that means is that your mom or a horse doctor pokes a little sharp thing in you then pets you and gives you a cookie. I'm not sure why they do that but I've been getting Shots since I was just a baby and I don't think about it too much. But every now and then a Shot can make you sick or make you swell up where they poked you and that's what happened this time. It didn't really hurt. It just felt funny and I knew my mom would know what to do about it.

Sure enough, it was the first thing she noticed. She pet me gently there and asked me if I could bend my head around okay. I knew that's what she wanted because she stood by my side and made the kissy sound so I turned my head to see what she was doing. My neck was a little stiff but it didn't keep me from turning or reaching my food or anything, and I felt fine. I was actually kind of frisky because it was so nice and cool out. My mom could tell so she brought me to the Round Pen where I had a nice roll and when I got up, I felt so good I started running and bucking all over the place. So she wasn't very worried about me but she did give me some medicine in my food. She said it would help make the lumpiness go away.

She was a little disappointed because she'd been planning on riding and I was looking forward to it too. We don't mind riding in the rain. A little rain never hurt anyone and my mom and I have ridden in pouring rain before. But she said my reins would rub right against the swollen spot on my neck and that there was no sense in that so after my turnout she tied me outside my stall with Sparky while she cleaned. Sparky had a little swelling too but he felt just like me only not as frisky. My mom had him out because she made him a Bran Mash with his medicine in it. Sparky doesn't much like the medicine but he loves Bran Mash. He knew that medicine was there, you could tell, but he couldn't resist the Bran Mash. It's kind of funny because I don't like Bran Mash at all. I'll mostly eat anything - my mom says I eat lots of things that aren't even food - but I won't eat a Bran Mash even if I'm starving to death. It's yucky. It just tastes like warm mud to me. I like mud but I don't like to eat it. But Sparky thinks it's the best thing since sliced apple.

I was really Good while he ate. I didn't have anything at all, not even a scrap of hay but I didn't fuss even one time. My mom was pretty proud of me. I was tied in front of Indy's stall because my mom had put Spark where I'm usually tied and I didn't bother her, or try to eat her hay, or anything Bad. My Manners are getting lots better now that I'm seven. Lots of times I don't even think about the fact that I'm standing tied with nothing to do. I just do it. It's really not that bad.

Once my mom put me away, she got my bucket dinner. I could taste the medicine in it but I didn't mind. It doesn't taste bad or anything and I know my mom would never give me anything that wasn't good for me. It does make me a little sleepy though so now I'm just cozy in my new bed of shavings, smelling the cool, damp night air and thinking about how much fun we can have tomorrow. I'm glad I'm a Riding Horse and not a Racehorse because I love my life.

Changes

There have been a lot of changes lately at our farm. It's been pretty exciting. For one thing, we can't use the Dressage arena because it's all dug up! One day, I was snoozing in my paddock after breakfast when the big machine they use to pile up the manure pile went driving into it. That machine is huge! It's yellow, and it's not shaped like a car or a truck or a horse trailer. It has big, interesting wheels on it (I've sniffed them when it was sitting still) and a sort of box on top where a person sits. On the front is a giant bucket type of thing, and when it's moving, the bucket goes up and down, and scoops up dirt or manure and then turns upside down and dumps it out again. I've always liked watching it when my mom and I ride by and it's working on the manure pile, but I'd never had a chance to see it working really closely before or for a long time.

Now I did though because it was right outside my own paddock! It was exciting. It rumbled out into the arena and scooped up mounds of dirt. A big, giant truck followed. It was kind of like the hay truck which has a big open part in the back where they keep the hay, only this one was about ten times bigger! The Bucket Truck dumped the dirt into the Giant Hay Truck until it was all full, then it drove away. They kept doing that until all the soft dirt on top was scraped away.

Other machines were out there too. There was the one my mom calls the Bulldozer, and another, smaller, Bucket Truck and the truck that sprays water all over the place. I've seen that truck before because it comes out every morning in the summer and sprays the Dressage arena. I've always liked to watch that.

This has gone on for the last few days. More Giant Hay Trucks have brought more dirt that they dumped out in huge piles. It seems funny to me that they took lots of dirt away and then brought more dirt. It seems a lot of trouble to go through. But my mom said they wanted to use new dirt and I can kind of understand that. I like dirt, and I kind of know a lot about it. When the same dirt is in a paddock or an arena for a long time, it gets all mixed up with other stuff, like poop, and trash, and little fuzzy things. You wouldn't really think dirt could get dirty but it can. So I guess they're using clean dirt. My mom says they're making a new arena for us.

Well, that's nice but in the meantime, we have to find other places to ride. We almost always ride in the Dressage arena, except when we do Poop Loops. It just makes sense. It's right there near our barn and besides, the footing in there was always really good. So I'm not really used to working in any of the other arenas. It's kind of funny because we used to work in all of them at one time or another. When I first came here, my stall was near the Gremlin Arena so we rode there a lot. The Jumping Arena was close too, so we'd ride there sometimes. I've never ridden a lot in the Main Arena, which is the one I used to call the Rolling Arena, but we did now and then. And for a while we were riding a lot in the Pony Arena, especially with Sparky and his mom. But for quite a while, we've been sticking to the Dressage arena so it's been sort of exciting to go to the other ones.

My mom has been taking me in them now and then, probably because she knew they were going to tear up our arena. She's pretty smart like that. But now, we have no choice. So a couple of days ago, she rode me right to the Main Arena and we went on in.

It was very exciting. There were a lot of horses working in there, going in all directions. That arena is big, and it has a roof over most of it while the sides are open. You have to get used to it. You go from a sunny part where there's no roof to a darker part in the shade where it's all covered. And way up above you is the roof, and you can hear strange sounds up there from the pigeons or the wind rattling on the metal. All along the sides runs a rail about as high as my belly. It has big poles at intervals, probably to hold up the roof, and funny metal doodads that Sparky suspects have water in them. He doesn't trust them at all. I think they're interesting and I always want to sniff them and fiddle with them with my mouth but my mom won't let me for long. She says we have to pay attention and work there.

The arena is shaped like the Dressage arena, with two long sides and two shorter sides. There are gates in each of the shorter sides. One gate leads to the road and that's where we always go in. The other gate leads to the Office area where the string horses live and where the Trail rides begin. Just outside one long side there is a steep hill that goes up to where you can see a little trail and sometimes a horse and rider will appear along it. It can startle you if you're not ready for it. Just above the trail, you can just barely see part of the Jumping Arena but there are lots of trees on that hill so it's hard to tell just what is moving around. It makes me jumpy at first.

On the other side, there's a short hill down to a little road that runs behind some barns and the place where my mom says they make Wine, which is a drink of some sort. The Wine place has lots of interesting machines and Barrels and is sometimes noisy. There are some bushes on that side that block the view a little bit and so that can be scary too when all of a sudden you hear a noise but you can't see where it's coming from. And people ride by on that little road and all of a sudden you'll see a horse's head bobbing along but not the rest of him because he's down a hill. It's just kind of weird until you get used to it.

The Main Arena is usually pretty busy. Lots of horses have lessons there so there are people standing along the rails or in the middle shouting at the riders. Other horses are working on circles, or cantering, or just going around and around. It's confusing and you have to pay attention to your mom while you're looking out for other horses and trying not to run into anybody all at the same time. Still, my mom said I was very good. We even trotted a little bit and I was fine.

Then the next day we went in and it was empty except for us. What a relief! It was lots easier to work. My mom walked me around a few times and then asked me to trot but I burst into a happy canter and just flew down the arena! She let me do it - I was being Good and not bucking or anything, and I think she figured it would do me good to get it out of my system - but I was going pretty fast and I wasn't really collected so when it was time to turn, I had to drop to a trot. I was pretty excited by it all, and I kept trying to canter after that but she was firm and made me trot.

At first, I was a little mad, but I settled down and we did lots of figure 8's and just got used to working in there. Since it's so big, I can stretch my legs right out and trot and my mom let me as long as I was listening and keeping my rhythm. She likes my big trot - it's the bounciness that she frowns on. But I wasn't bouncy at all really. I kept trying to sort of scoot to one side now and then, like I was shying but I wasn't really. I was just trying to have fun. But she just kept her legs on me and told me to go straight and that helped settle me down. By the time we were done, I was trotting really well, with my neck nicely arched and my back legs under me. It was lots of fun.

Yesterday, it was pretty hot so we just moseyed around a bit. We were riding along the Poop Loop when we met Alice and Gunsmoke. I love Alice. She used to ride my old neighbor Mickey and she always gave me bites of apple and petted me. She took the picture of my mom and me up above. We rode with them along the Poop Loop and then we all went into the Jumping Arena. There were lots of Poles laid out on the ground so we walked over them for a while and then we just stood still and watched a funny little squirrel on the ground. He was hot, so he was lying in the shade of the big Tree with his legs all sprawled behind him. He seemed almost flat and he was the same color as the dirt so it was hard to see him, but then he'd jump up, run a few feet, and plop down again. It was fun to watch.

Alice and Gunsmoke left after a while but my mom and I stayed and played with those Poles for a bit. Then we rode home. We never did any trotting or cantering but we rode for a while and it was so hot that just from walking, I was pretty sweaty. That's okay. It's been fun riding more often. My mom says that pretty soon, we'll try going out on a Trail.

Kind of a Funny Week

As I've told you in other posts, my mom comes to see me almost every single day. Well, she has to. I need to have my stall cleaned and my bucket dinner made after all. But she likes to come see me too. I can tell. She's always happy when she's with me and besides, she tells me she likes to see me and I believe her. But this past week, I didn't see her for days!

It was very strange. She came out one day and everything was normal. She cleaned me and fed me and we went for a nice ride and had a really good time. I was looking forward to seeing her the next day. But the next day came and she never arrived.

Instead, Sparky's Mom came. Well, I like Sparky's Mom now and I don't mind when she takes care of me so I was happy to see her. She said hello to me and gave me a carrot and then went to get Sparky. Back when I was a baby, that would have made me pretty mad. I used to think that everyone had to pay attention to just me and that it wasn't fair when Sparky got attention. I thought it meant that he got more attention than me or that Sparky's Mom didn't like me as much. But now I know that it's okay. All us horses need to be taken care of and people can only take care of one at a time. That's just how it is. I knew my turn would come so I was okay.

After a while, Sparky's Mom put him away and came and got me. She brought me to the Round Pen just like my mom does lots of times. I tried to be a Good Girl about it but it had started getting kind of windy and I was frisky so I might have been a little Bad. I don't remember. But what I do remember is the Deer. We have lots of Deer on the farm and I always want to sniff them. Sometimes I see them in the grass where my mom lets me graze but I can never get close to them. But this time, while I was in the Round Pen, a Deer came right up near it! Oh, I was so excited! I poked my head through the gate and leaned out as far as I could, trying with all my might to reach it but it was just too far away. I wanted it to come over to see me but it just wouldn't! Dumb Deer. Sparky's Mom took a picture - you can see how close it was.

Finally, the Deer went away and Sparky's Mom came and got me. She put me back in my nice clean stall and gave me my dinner. Sparky's Mom doesn't clean my stall exactly the way my mom does, and she makes my dinner just a little different but that's okay. That used to make me mad too but now I know that it's okay. I'm just grateful that she takes care of me. And she's nice to me now. She asks me to do tricks and gives me treats for it just like my mom does. In fact, she taught me some of my tricks.

I figured my mom had just been busy or something so I wasn't too concerned. I figured I'd see her the next day and everything would be back to normal. But the next day came, and no mom. And to make it worse, even Sparky's Mom didn't come. No one did, at least not to take care of me. Indy's mom came, and Warren's. Grace's mom and River's mom and Chip's mom all came, and that girl who takes care of Raz when his dad can't come out came. But no one for Bella.

I'm always kind of worried when that happens. I start to wonder if my mom forgot about me or if something Bad happened to her. I don't want anything Bad happening to my mom of course, but I also can't help wondering what would happen to me. Who would take care of me? Who would clean my stall just the way I like it, and make sure my ball toy is hanging correctly? Who would pet me in all the right places, and take me for walks, and let me eat grass, and visit with Chip? It's a scary thought. So I was worried all night and I paced my stall a lot and didn't sleep very good.

One thing that helped calm me down was watching my Pigeons. I have Pigeons in my stall now. Pigeons are a kind of bird and we have lots of them around here. Usually they just fly around and I don't notice them much except when they drink out of my water bucket. I don't mind when they do that. They need water too after all and I have lots. And I like them. I can't get quite close enough to the Pigeons to sniff them because they get scared and fly away, but I at least get to see them really well when they drink out of my bucket.

The Pigeons are in my stall because they're building a Nest on top of my duds closet. They did the same thing last year. That's what Pigeons do. They build a Nest, which is like a stall for Pigeons, out of stuff like hay and grass and that sort of thing, and then they make Eggs. And after a while, baby Pigeons come out of the Eggs! Last year, I had two baby Pigeons come out, and they were kind of funny looking at first but then they got cute. They'd make little squawky Pigeon noises up there and their mom and dad would come and give them food and then they'd quiet down and go to sleep. When they got bigger, they'd walk around and play and make noises and scuffle and sometimes I'd see them looking down at me. I love having my Pigeons there. My mom says it's because they're just like me - loud and messy and obnoxious. I don't know what "obnoxious" means. It's probably another word for "cute."

Anyway, the babies finally got big and learned how to fly and that was exciting! I remember how they'd stand at the edge of my duds closet roof and flap their wings and get all ready to go but then they'd lose their nerve and go back to their Nest and think about it awhile. Well, I don't blame them. It would be scary to fly for the first time. I can't imagine! But at last one of them got up its nerve and took off and flew across my stall to the door where he landed on top of it! He was awfully proud of himself, you could tell. The other one tried it not too long after that and then they started going on longer and longer flights until they left for good.

I missed them when they were gone, but I had my mom so I kind of forgot about them after awhile. But now my mom was gone and all I had were my Pigeons and it wasn't nearly as nice.

The next day it was still windy and I was upset so when Sparky's Mom finally came, I was nearly frantic! I was still upset because it wasn't my mom but I was so happy to see somebody that I could hardly stand it. The feed truck had brought my hay so she came in to clean my stall while I ate but I wasn't interested in my food. I wanted comfort and I wouldn't leave her alone. I frantically poked my face into hers, giving her kisses like my mom had taught me, and I backed up, and tried to bow, and pretty much did all my tricks over and over so she'd pet me and tell me how Good I am and make me feel better.

I could tell she felt really sorry for me because she stopped cleaning and petted me and stuff. Then she asked me if I wanted to go have a turnout. I was so happy! Me and Sparky's Mom have really gotten so we understand each other a lot better. It's not that I ever didn't like her, or that she didn't like me, but we didn't really communicate very well and that was frustrating, especially when I was a baby and got mad so easily. Now we're friends, and she knew right off that I was stressed and needed to run. Instead of taking me to the Round Pen, she put on my halter and just began leading me up the hill by the pasture.

I was surprised because she usually doesn't take me very far. Once I got over my shock though, I began to pull a bit and quick as a wink, and just like my mom, she said, "Belly, wait!" I didn't even think about it - I stopped pulling and walked politely and it wasn't until a couple of seconds had passed that I realized what had just happened. She knew about that "wait" command too! Well, of course she did. She's the one who taught it to me a long time ago but I'd forgotten that. But she understood that asking me to wait really does calm me down and lets me know that eventually, I'll get what I want, which in this case was to run and play.

She took me first to the Gremlin Arena but there was another horse already in there, so she took me down the hill and then walked me through Misty's barn. That was fun and kind of a surprise. Sparky's Mom knows how to keep me on my toes. She does things I don't expect and that's really neat. I was a little Bad in there, I have to admit. There was a big, gray horse eating his hay dinner and his stall was wide open except for one of those little round stall chain thingys that go across the front of your stall. I'm not sure what they're for. I have one on my stall and my mom pushes the wheeled bucket thing under it to clean sometimes. I just poke my head under it and scoot out of my stall when it's there but I think I'm actually not supposed to do that because my mom makes the Bad Girl noise when I do.

Anyway, there was that interesting looking horse, with his interesting looking pile of hay, and without thinking, I kind of dove toward it and Sparky's Mom had to really pull hard to keep me from charging right in. I didn't mean to. I just wasn't thinking.

I poked my head into Misty's stall to say hello but she was eating and was pretty cranky about it so we kept going and all of a sudden, I saw that we were at the Little Fence Arena! That was very sneaky of Sparky's Mom because usually you get to that arena a different way. I got excited then and I sort of dashed toward the gate and almost knocked Sparky's Mom over. I kind of cut in front of her and the next thing I knew, I had almost fallen over a hill that was suddenly there and it was pretty scary. I was a little miffed at Sparky's Mom for letting me get so close to a dangerous spot like that but she doesn't really know. And I forgot all about it when we got inside and she let me go.

I kind of rushed back and forth in excitement by the gate a few times and then Sparky's Mom, who had begun to walk toward the big Tree that's in there, called me and said, "Come on, Belly, let's go play." So I started following her and she broke into a trot! People can trot, you know. So I trotted too and we trotted together for a little bit and that was fun. Then I trotted over some poles on the ground accidentally and that was so exciting that I just burst into a gallop and ran full speed across the arena!

That was fun! I had a good turnout, with some fun running and stuff, and every now and then I'd trot up to Sparky's Mom and check to make sure she was still there, because I was still a little nervous and upset, and it was very windy. After a while, I started thinking that I wanted to go home. Even though it's fun to run and play, my stall is the place I feel safest and I'd had a very stressful couple of days. Sparky's Mom immediately understood and she put my halter back on and we left the arena. I tried really hard to be Good on the walk, and Sparky's Mom seemed pleased with me. She's really nice. I love her almost as much as I love my mom now because I know I can trust her. Trust is so important to a horse.

I felt a lot better after that. Sparky's Mom gave me a good dinner and lots of carrots and I didn't worry too much that night because I thought that probably if my mom was sick or something, Sparky's Mom would take care of me. As it turned out, the next day my mom came to see me! I was so happy to see her and sure enough, she had been sick. I heard her telling Grace's mom about it and she said she'd missed me so much. Well, I'd missed her too.

We didn't ride that day but I didn't care. Instead, we played games in the Round Pen. First she let me run around a little bit and then we did tricks. It was still windy as you can see from the picture - my mane is blowing all around me - but we had a lot of fun. My mom let me play with the whip which I always like to do, and then she asked me to do a lot of tricks. She was really happy with how well I can bow now - I go right down with hardly any urging. She just says the word "bow" and touches my leg and I do it. We also did some hard stuff like turning on my haunches but I'm getting a lot better at that.

Yesterday, the wind had died down a lot and my mom rode me bareback. That's when you don't have a saddle on. We haven't done that in a long time and I'd kind of forgotten what it was like. It took her a while to get on because I kept moving around at the mounting block but I finally stood still and she slid on. I was a little apprehensive at first because she feels so different up there. I was kind of afraid she'd fall off and that would have made me feel really bad, but after a few circuits of the Dressage Arena, I could tell that she was fine. Then she asked me to go out on the road and we did a whole Poop Loop bareback! I was really Good and didn't bounce at all. She did end up getting off when we were almost home because we had to go down the steep hill by the pasture. I wasn't being Bad or anything but I do have a very fast walk and it wasn't as comfortable for her going downhill. When we went down the hill by Favre's barn, she was a little awkward. She said she felt like she was going to slide right down my neck and off over my head! But she didn't.

I like riding bareback. It's fun and relaxing. I hope we do more of it this summer. Anyway, that's how my week went. The wind has calmed down and my mom is back and the Pigeons have Eggs in their Nest now so life is pretty good.