Grooming Session

I have always loved grooming. Some people hate it, rushing to finish or doing a sloppy job. There is a time for skimping out on the grooming process, but I like to take my time whenever I can. There are many pros to grooming your horse on a regular basis. First, the more familiar you are with your horse's body, the sooner you will catch injuries. Second, it is a good way to teach a horse to stand still and enjoy your company while respecting your space. Third, only regular grooming will yield a shiny coat. Lastly, it builds a bond with your horse. Gambler knows that almost every time I bring him in we are either going to work, or play high-energy games. So I like to just groom him, or hang out with him for a while, just to show him that I won't always demand something from him.

On Thursday, Gambler came into the barn spooky and soaking wet. 

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

A couple of useful tools

Wet, muddy hair galore!

Guess where Gambler and Kezi ran off to when we let them out.

The horse-eating-trees of course!

"Who me?"

Until they decided to head out to the far pasture.

Spring Rains

I love, love, love rainy hazy days. Spring has arrived in this part of the world, bringing my favorite weather with it. Many people find rainy days gloomy and depressing, but I relish in them. There is something about a good rainy day that fills the very air with energy. I love the way that the rain or mist conceals things far away, or changes the way light hits them. It makes you look at everyday things in a different light - literally and figuratively. 

Weather like this reveals layers where you don't expect them. What was once is now three-dimensional. What seemed simple in the sunlight carries a new complexity in the layers of grey. 

And this our life, exempt from public haunt, 
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
I would not change it.
~ from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

The Cold has Struck

Where have I been? Believe it or not, I have been at the barn with Gambler. I don't have a good excuse for not writing. I just didn't feel like writing the same thing over and over and over. That's what its been for the last week or so. Repetitious. There is nothing wrong with repetition, in fact, it's beneficial for a young horse. It is not, however, good blog material.

The cold has struck. Right now my phone says that its 0 degrees at the barn and feels like -7 degrees (Fahrenheit). Granted, it's nothing compared to last year when it was ten to twenty below nearly every night, but it is cold! As a result my sessions with Gambler have been the same every day. Bring the horses in, feed them, put Gambler in the cross-ties, put the bareback pad on him, pick up/pick out all four feet. He continues to improve. The bareback pad is hardly an issue anymore. He's putting up more of a fuss with his feet, but I think that is due to the cold and the fact that he hasn't had a good work out in several weeks.

Gambler in the cross-ties last week.

Last night we put the horses in their stalls overnight for the first time. I haven't heard how that went, hopefully Gambler stayed in his stall this time. We'll be heading over there in a couple hours, so I'll try to update tomorrow. 

Gambler in his stall last night. You can see his little purple ball hanging from the rafters. I was hoping he'd play with it, but so far he has just ignored it. 

Honey, I'm Hoooome!

I'm back! Not that I'm happy about it. I definitely didn't miss my horse at all. Not even a little. Nope. Why would I do that? Why would I get homesick for the barn? I don't even like horses.

"There you are Jenna. Where have you been?"

Grumpy ears.

Hiding from the camera.

More grumpy ears.

This one's cute!

Even more grumpiness. 

And more grumpy ears.

When Mom and I let Kezi and Gambler into the barn Gambler tried to follow Kez into her stall. Such a snot! I guess he decided to welcome me back by causing trouble. If these two don't shape up we're gonna have to start leading them into the barn again, which is more of an inconvenience for us than for them. Can't you just walk into your stall like a good little horsie Gambler?

I was glad to get to the barn early today, because artificial lighting after dark doesn't do Gambler justice. He is one of the prettiest horses I have ever seen (Kezi is definitely up there as well) and I'm not saying that just because he's mine. I have always loved dapple greys. When I first got Gambler he was a boring mouse grey. I've always said that I didn't want a "boring" colored horse, no bays or chestnuts; I wanted a horse that would stand out color-wise. When I was offered Gambler, I didn't care for his color; but he was sweet, adorable, and he was mine. Since then he has become a gorgeous dapple grey. I couldn't be happier!

My gorgeous little horse was so good today. He was a tad spooky due to the cold and the wind (those Arabs love cold and wind sooooo much if ya know what I mean). Even so, he let me pick out all four hooves. He kicked out with the front right hoof a couple times, but never kicked free. I focused on picking up his feet over and over and holding them up for longer. I also tapped on them with the hoof pick (although Gambler is barefoot and doesn't need to deal with hammers). I pulled his front feet forward like the farrier does to put them on the hoof stand. Gambler was uncertain, but I think with time he'll learn to accept it. 

I put the bareback pad on him again. He put up more of a fuss than he did a week ago, but didn't grunt or move around much. While the bareback pad was sitting on his back (before I tightened the girth/cinch thing) he suddenly became tense. His head flew up. The whites of his eyes showed. He started pulling on the cross-ties. I glanced out the barn door to find whatever it was that had spooked him, but I couldn't see anything. So I braced myself for the spook. I took the bareback pad off again, unclipped the cross-ties, and held him in the aisle while continuing to search for the offending object. Gambler stood stock-still, ears and eyes quivering. And then I saw it.

Gambler loves little furry creatures. Trees scare him to death, but he will chase dogs. At his old barn he would chase the barn cats. The offending creature was, indeed, a cat. What I had mistakenly identified as a spook was excitement. Gambler wanted to go chase the cat. 

The cat.

Gambler watching the cat.

Once I realized that Gambler just wanted to play I put him back in the cross-ties and took pictures. What else could I do? The story was too cute to keep to myself. Eventually the cat wandered out of sight and I finished putting the bareback pad on Gambler. 

When we let the horses out to eat their hay, the wind was already picking up. We're supposed to get a big storm tonight. 

75th Post

Please take a minute or two with me to survey the picture below. Look at Gambler's cute little face, but also look at his general conformation. Take a good look at little Gambler a few days after we brought him to the barn.

Aaaand drumroll please! 

This is Gambler just a week or so ago. 

Is this even the same horse? Granted, the angle the pictures were taken from are totally different, and his head isn't flung up in the air (which makes a difference), but I'd say there has been a big change in my little horse. 

I have now seen all four season at my current barn, and I thought I would take a moment to celebrate that. 

Spring 2015

Summer 2015

Fall 2015

Winter 2015