It's still hot, but not as hot as it was. When the high is 94 and we're rejoicing, it makes it seem like we're crazy. We might be, but the weather will cook your brains!
We spent the day at the old house, getting it ready for the new tenants. He had put the first coat of stain on the deck on Thursday, but the weatherman was always calling for rain, which didn't happen.
He put the second coat on Saturday, after the 5 p.m deadline for thunderstorms. It looks fantastic, too.
On Sunday we met a friend and his daughter at a park near him, although he had never been riding there, only at the ball fields.
We had a lovely ride and a 'cold' front blew in while we were out, bringing the temps down to the high eighties. It did feel cold - haha.
KC moved in slow motion all day, but other than that I couldn't complain about his behavior. This particular park is a favorite of bicyclists. Only a few yielded to us, and he never spooked until we were almost back at the trailer, and only because he was not paying attention. The biker startled me, too.
This behavior did not happen overnight. We worked on the bike thing, a lot. We have fantastic parks in our area, but we have to share them with hikers, dogs, bikers, fishermen, and baby strollers. A decision had to be made: make him safe with all kinds of stuff going on or stay in the arena for the rest of his life. I chose to educate him, to the best of my ability.
I had money to send him to a trainer, but with each lesson I found it easier to show him challenges and build the bond between us, cut out the middle man.
When he lived at the boarding barn our friend lived in the barn, too. I paid her daughter $20 a week to ride her bike up and down the aisle, and especially up to his stall, over and over. Some of the other boarders were not happy with this, but she lived there, the boarders would eventually have to go home. Consequently bikes do not bother him in the least. That opens up a lot of trails for us. Cost less than the trainer, too.
This park also has lots of water crossings - wet and dry. And the kinds and styles of bridges are a must for training your horse to trust. All of them are built for horses but some are pretty narrow or don't have railings. Whew! He was really, really good about walking on all of them. This behavior did not happen overnight, but he's a wonderful student and he does trust me. I never once got after him or punished him because he didn't know something.
After we were in the truck, heading home, it rained a good bit, and we were glad for this rain at the right time. The deck was dry and we were not riding. It was a great weekend.
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