Visitors

Yesterday was show-off time for me! Andrea and Alysun brought the kids out to the ranch. Needless to say, I didn't do any work because it was 3:30 when we all arrived and we all had a blast introducing them to the horses and watching the kids interact with the horses. Brandy even let Nathaniel pet her! She wasn't so keen about the idea of three little kids climbing on her gate, but she didn't cower in the corner like she used to. She just stood in the corner and watched attentively


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When Alysun asked Emma what horse she wanted to take home, she immediately pointed to Bell. I saw that coming. Bell had shied away from Emma, but Emma was very patient and just held her hand out and Bell came back. Sadly, I don't have a picture of her with Bell.

Driving Lesson #2

Brandy had her second driving lesson today. She allowed me to be almost directly behind her and out of her line of sight. She yielded to the pressure of the outside rein on her halter so that she stayed close to the fence most of the time. Her trot was well controlled, and she walked when I asked her to without me having to step out in front of her. She even changed directions twice without too much fuss. I figured out that if I could switch sides really fast she would turn so that I would be on her inside. For her second lesson she did really well. We only worked for half an hour, but it was a very productive half hour.
Chance and I worked on side passes, collected gaits, flying lead changes, and turn backs. He did better with the turn backs than he has, so I was proud of him. His overall performance was probably the best yet.
It was a very good day.

Fence Building and Galloping

I went to bed last night expecting to go for a trail ride today. This morning I woke to a phone call that the trail ride was cancelled, but I was welcome to come out and ride anyways. I mulled over it for awhile. Some friends were going to a softball game and I hadn't been to one yet or hung out with them very much this year. At last, I decided that I would go to Dallas. The weather didn't look promising when I left, but by the time I arrived in Dallas it was much nicer.
Plans changed further when Debbie asked, "Do you want to help me do some fencing?"
"Sure!" I replied eagerly. Manual labor is something I enjoy and I miss it when I sit in a classroom all day everyday.
"Really? Okay."
So, I helped her start building her fence for her pasture. It was a beautiful day and I even got a sunburn on my neck! Most of what I did was just hold the T-posts while she pounded them into the ground. She did have me do one of them and, well, we'll just say that I'm not as strong as I was seven months ago. After about three hours on the fence we reached a stopping place.
I got Chance and we went for a ride. Growing up on a foresty mountain, there weren't really any places to just let the horses run (they're all old camp horses who just want to walk, anyways). There's a nice field behind Debbie's place. After trotting for awhile, it was clear that Chance wanted nothing more than to run as fast as he could. So, I let him. We leapt over a log and ran a couple of strides before he let go of a playful buck. I scolded him and we continued on with no further display of playfulness. It was delightful to have the stolen from me as the wind whipped past us, whistling in my ear. When we came to the gate that led us back onto Debbie's property, I slowed Chance to a walk and we rode for a little while in the field beside her barn. It was so delightful. A very satisfying Saturday.

Working Double

I worked both Brandy and Chance today. I decided to start Brandy on driving. Debbie has told me that she has driven Brandy before, so I thought I'd give it a try. Brandy wasn't sure about having me sort of behind her and having the driving reins touching her back, but she did pretty well for not having done it in a long time and never having done it with me.
The weather was extremely nice and warm so Chance and I went for a nice trail ride. Chance picked a brisk trot for most of it and we returned with a nice layer of sweat on him and a refreshed spirit in me. I was there for nearly three hours and it was so nice to have that chunk of time without any other engagements.

It was a beautiful day today, so the late trip out to the ranch was easy. I groomed Brandy and then lunged her. She did very well, especially with another horse in there. She's also doing amazingly well with her surroundings. Someone pushed a wheelbarrow behind her today and she didn't even flinch. I took her on a walk after I lunged her and we went to my truck so that I could get something. She wasn't worried at all. I wasn't there for long because it was late and I needed to get back to school. I'm hoping and praying that I can pick up my regular schedule for the next three weeks. I hope nothing else comes up to prevent me from going out there.

Other Horses

Here are a few of the horses that greet me whenever I work with Brandy and Chance. Usually I have to put them in their stalls, but today I was able to use the round pen and allowed them to keep their arena territory.

Aspen.


Traveller.


Aspen, Easy, Traveller.

Brandy's Photo Shoot

It's been almost a month since I have been to the ranch! First I was busy and then sick and then Katie came and then I was busy and then sick again. Today I finally made it out there! It was rather windy, so Brandy was a little odd. Things look really scary when the wind blows them in funny shapes. I lunged her in the round pen. She did do really well. After I lunged her I took out my camera and tried to get her to stand still in a cluster of yellow flowers. She didn't really want to when I was moving around. So, I found a really tall flower, set Brandy in front of it and snapped some pictures from the other side of the plant. For some reason, she wouldn't run over the flower to enter my space, so it worked pretty well.

Pictures of Chance

I haven't been out to the ranch for awhile. I was in Washington for spring break, then Katie came to visit. I was going to go today, but wasn't able to get away in time. I do, however, have some pictures of Chance that I took before the battery in my camera died.



This one is my favorite.