No Frank nor I have a sinus infection. Title kinda sounds that way ....
Yesterday we had a beautiful Spring like day with 77 degrees and sun, glorious sun!
The only down side is we also had wind, like hurricane crazy kinda wind. I was determined to go out and ride Frank, hadn't been on since our cattle trip two weeks ago. (No wonder I have been cranky again.) So after lunch on Sunday I headed over to the barn and found Frank lounging in the sun in his paddock. He was covered in mud on one side from having a scratching good time. I needn't have worried about it because once I got currying him the hair was flying of in droves and taking the mud with it.
His stall looked like a snow globe by the time I finished grooming him. I seriously did not think he even had that much of a coat this winter. I am happy to report that we have gotten him back up to a weight I am pleased with and his back sensitivity seems to have faded. I saddled him up and headed for the arena, the wind was blowing at around 25 miles and hour with gust up to 35. Our ride started out fine although the tin of the arena was creaking and the roof making some other kind of noise I find hard to describe. Frank was paying attention to me and our schooling was going well. About 20 minutes into our ride Frank decided that something outside the open arena door was after him. We had rode by the door umpteen times already with no mishaps but this time he tucked tail and squirted to the opposite end of the arena. I encouraged him back down toward the door but he was clearly nervous about the opening now for some reason. So after he calmed a bit I decided to do some schooling circles just at that end. He obeyed but was clearly rattled about it. When he just couldn't let it go I decided maybe some outside time was necessary. So out the scary door we went. We went to the front field which the barn owners use as a hay field and I have the clearance to ride in. The wind was really whipping and I must admit uncomfortable. We rode the perimeter first then settled on some circles at a long trot. Things were going great until.....yep wait for it.....The next door neighbor donkeys came flying out of their shed and started braying. This was enough to set my boy into a full fledged screaming Mimi donkey loving tantrum. I continued to try and work thru it but he was sure that every leaf/ stick / dark spot in the grass was going to jump up and eat him. After 10 minutes of that fight it was back into the scary arena again. We struggled to get to a happy place so that we could quit. By now Frank was in a full sweat and I wasn't far behind. Finally he relaxed enough to lope some pretty circles, even by the scary door and we called it a day. A warm sudsy bath concluded our day and we lived to ride another day. We are still having quite a bit of wind so today's ride might just be as interesting.
Happy trails.......
1 comment:
I get crabby too when I don't get to ride. I seem to have spent most of the winer and now spring in that crabby state. yuck
That wind can get horses and riders both going sometimes. You'd think Frank would have heard those donkeys before, though. You just never know what's going to get them. Glad you got him settled before you had to quit. That should help the next time around, or so you can hope.
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