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

Thunderstorm

I love thunderstorms. I have been craving a good thunderstorm since March when spring first arrived. I think there have been a few electric storms at night after I was asleep, but not during the day. Finally, Sunday afternoon, it thunderstormed. We went out to feed the horses right before the storm, but they could sense it, so they wouldn't even come into the barn to eat. 

"Can you feel it too?"

I caught him red-handed under the trees.

Love. This. Picture.

Perfect Weather

I was skimming through old pictures and I happened upon this one. I don't remember the picture, but I remember when it happened. Gambler is spooking at a saddle pad laying on the ground out of the picture. He looks gorgeous. That neck! And he looks so much skinnier. Part of that is that now he has a summer coat, but part of it is that I don't see him often enough to keep him in shape. He's definitely an easy keeper. But I'm not worried, it's good to go into winter with a bit of chub.

It's a reminder of just how far we've come. Today I put a big blue tarp on the ground right where that picture is to set all of my stuff on (it is a misty, moist day and I didn't want the camera or my equipment to get wet). When I walked Gambler by it he didn't blink an eye. He was curious and wanted to eat everything, but I didn't get the slightest spook out of him.

I went to see Gambler by myself again today, so I only have a few pictures. The weather was perfect. It was my very favorite kind of day. All day there was a layer of fog drifting in the air, thick enough to make everything seem magical, but thin enough that you could see. I absolutely love that weather. It was wet, but thanks to the sandy nature of the pastures at the barn, the footing was great. The temperature was about 39-42 degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, it was the perfect day.

I only had about half an hour of daylight to work with, but I made good use of it. I started by playing the friendly game with the bareback pad and the girth/cinch thing that comes with it. I lightly threw the pad onto his back and then pulled it off then repeated those two steps until he either licked and chewed or cocked a leg in relaxation. In the end I never did get the girth/cinch thing tightened, but he did relax and we ended on a good note.

He was grunting again today. I have a new theory about the grunting. I think that he is remembering an old injury. If I very, very lightly set the girth on the place where his back becomes his butt, he grunts loudly. But when I feel it with my hand, lightly slap it with my hand, groom him, or anything else I don't get a reaction. He isn't hurt, but he acts like he is hurt. For a long time this weirded me out. I know my horse, and I know when he's pulling one over on me. When I rub the girth on his neck and he grunts, someone is definitely just trying to get out of work. But whenever I touch that one place with the girth he genuinely thinks that he is in pain. But he isn't, I've messed with his back a ton and he isn't. So my new theory is that he was injured there, probably with a saddle on or while being saddled, and he freaks himself out and thinks that if he lets me saddle him he'll hurt himself again. So I'm just going to keep on keeping on and slowly step-by-step show him that I'm not going to hurt him.

After he relaxed I put the pad away to give him a release. Then I longed him for the first time in a long time. I was amazed at how responsive he was. He backed up with a wiggle of the hand (I didn't even have to shake the rope!) and he picked up a trot with a cluck and a pointed finger. I asked him to canter a little, but not too much because I haven't worked with him in a while and he's seriously out of shape. He seemed to enjoy himself and even offered a canter once when I wasn't asking for it.

Finally I ground tied him (sorta, we're still working on that) and gave him a good grooming. I picked out his left front foot and his right front foot! Since I was grooming him in the arena instead of the barn I had the room to back him up. So when he kicked out with his right front I backed him up and tried again. Right away he was licking and chewing and let me clean out his right front for the first time in weeks. Not that I haven't cleaned out his right foot, but it's always a battle and he usually pulls it away before I'm done.

Misty Mornings and Cleaning the Barn

The drive to the barn this morning was beautiful. It was one of those foggy autumn mornings that I have always loved. By the time we got to the barn, the sun was up and burning the fog away. I did get a few good pictures, but it's hard to see how hazy it was.

I couldn't help taking so many pictures, even though we were in a hurry, because it was such a beautiful day. The lighting was perfect for playing around with a camera. I also discovered the awesome zoom feature on Mom's camera (see the three photos above) and had to try it out. Because we were in a hurry, I didn't play with Gambler, just did chores.

Gambler looks like he is licking Kezi, but he's just licking and chewing as she walks by.

Still licking and chewing!

Later in the afternoon, we came back to help the barn owner with some cleaning. The tack room looks so much better! We also organized some of the stalls that are being used for storage. There was so much dust in the air; I kept sneezing.

It has to get messier before it can get cleaner.

Gambler thought the buckets of soapy water were the coolest things ever.

"Can I tip it over?"

When we tried to bring the horses in for evening chores, they weren't interested. Kezi is in heat again, so they ran around the pasture while I followed with the lead rope. Eventually I decided it wasn't worth it and grabbed my camera. If I have to chase them around the pasture, I might as well get some good pictures! Of course, once they saw I had the camera, they walked right up to me like nothing had happened.

"Oh hey Jenna. I didn't see you there!"

Gambler won't eat his anti-sand-colic stuff unless you feed it to him by hand, but thankfully he will eat his normal grain all on his own. We're only giving him the stuff (sorry, still don't know how to spell it :P) once a week now.

His bucket is blue now. ;)

After all of this, I was way to tired to do anything with Gambler. I was going to, but after running around the pasture, I just couldn't muster the energy. If I have learned anything about Gambler in the last six months, it is that if I can't get my energy up, he will completely blow me off. Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully we can get back on track to riding soon!