Snow? Are You Kidding Me!?!

When I looked out the window this morning, before starting my barn chores, I was shocked! Snow on the cars, the mulched areas, the grass. What?? This is April. This is crazy!

We had several things on the to-do list, and I needed to get moving on my things; he's got things, too. He's wearing flannel-lined jeans, I'm wearing two coats. The cherry and pear trees are blooming, the Maples are leafing out, and the water buckets have a skim of ice on them.

He decided that the battery in the tractor needs replacing. After researching, and a short conversation, he decides to go to his battery guy in upper Rockville. If you're going there, let me fill my car up, and we'll swing by the transfer station (county dump) and get rid of all this stuff lying around the bricks. Got all that crap out of here (broken carpet machine, 40-year old vacuum, original storm door - patio umbrellas, feed bags, garbage bags from basement and shed, left-overs from projects, metal pieces and odds and ends, and like that. I fill the car up and we go!

We didn't go to my mother-in-law's because I said I wanted to go to grocery store and make a decent dinner and if I went to Mary's I wouldn't then have time to do my shopping, and tomorrow, when we ride, there would be no dinner.

I made pot roast. I forgot to get wine when I was last on Mary's beer run (she drinks beer more than she eats) so I run up to Etchison - a mile away - and get two bottles of red wine $7.49 each. Boy was that pot roast good!!!

I cleaned up the barn - mucked stalls - and baited the mouse stations - we are getting a small population of mice in the barn and they must go!! Skip has THREE in his stall and there is one in the aisle that goes back and forth between walls. Tom said he was hoping the farrier didn't see it running back and forth!

What looks like flower petals blowing around are actually flurries. The wind is picking up. I need to keep moving along with my plans, move laundry along, so we have time to mess with the Blacks later in the evening.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

We've been concentrating on Alli and Beau is back-sliding.

Wednesday night she let me groom her all over; front, back, top, bottom. I combed out her mane and got the mud off of her forehead and face. I moved on to her ears, and she was good with it. When I walk across the aisle to get another grooming tool she starts pawing.

She let me trim her ears! She had old-man hair coming out of her ears, and it is red, so she looked unkempt and raggedy. The Wahl trimmer (no affiliation) has a dead battery (won't hold a charge) so I used scissors, BUT STILL! She let me trim those ears. I moved onto her muzzle whiskers and jaw line. She's very pretty. Also her feet, and I used the nippers to trim a jagged edge on her frog, no problem!

Last night Beau wouldn't let me touch his ears or his face, and I've been able to do that - he's highly excitable, and that's not where we left off. We MUST give them equal time or they won't move forward. Have to start from the beginning, every night, and add ONE new thing, every night, for both of them.

I'm also leading her out of her stall by her halter after every feeding, to the closed aisle door, which I then open, out into the dry paddock, to the closed gate. This is another huge step forward. Beau no longer lets me do this. Step forward, step back.

Follow On

Tonight he got the saddle on Alli - and she took it like she'd always been doing this. I know differently. I don't have a picture of it, because I left my phone on the kitchen counter, but this is enormous!

I am so proud of her, and of him. He has a natural talent with animals and always has.

Cowboy UP!

Today we had every season, cascading throughout the day. Bright sunny morning, got fairly warm, then clouded up to rain in the late afternoon. Cooled down after dark and the wind picked up, again. Enough with the wind already!

The new farrier came out, and was about five minutes early. He was not ready for him because he was still mowing grass and the boys were out in #2. He banged on the gate latch and they came running, jumping into the stalls. They ended up in the wrong stalls, but the new farrier wouldn't know this. Made it seem like our horses were trained, or something.

The seriously HUGE news is that after dinner, and their dinner, we were out with the horses, grooming and like that, and he pulled Beau into the aisle, and proceeded putting the saddle on him for the second time in his life, then he climbs up on him! At first he just hung on his side a couple, three times.

This is called the 'Jeffers Method' and for some reason if you keep your knees together, like a mermaid, a horse is less likely to dump you.

But then he swung his leg over and was up!

And he was sitting there, with no problem from Beau. Of course, I'm freaking out, because, W0W, he's UP! And then he was off, and Beau was completely fine with it.

It was so cold, I'm keeping everyone in. Getting down well past freezing. What is up with this whip-saw weather!

Sunday - A Day To Remember

The wind was still with us starting out. It did diminish as the day progressed, but it was chilly. I had on two shirts and two coats, plus my chaps. He was wearing two coats and his flannel-lined jeans and boots. The leaves were literally being unfurled in the wind. Lots of trees were down, and a bicyclist had a really cool folding saw, and cut the trees in quick-time.

Very cool, I want one.

After we got home I ran out to do a grocery run for my mother-in-law. While I was with her, he was messaging me with pics of what he was up to. I'm totally impressed, and so proud of him and the Blacks. W0W!

Alli seems to be fine with the plastic bag on her back, although I will admit when I am spreading sawdust I make sure to rattle the bag and throw the sawdust on her legs and anywhere else I can hit her.

He's using the 'Aussie Tie Ring' (no affiliation) that we both highly recommend. The horse can pull on the lead rope, and it slides through but not out. It gives some resistance, but not a hard stop. This saves halters and ropes, and diminishes stress on the horse. After a while, they stop pulling.

When he sent me this shot, I was floored. I told my mother-in-law that I had to go, and left post haste! What an awesome development! So proud of him and Beau. An enormous leap forward. Honestly!

Windy, Really, Really Windy ~ Seriously

Everyone stayed in Saturday night. When the wind showed up, it shock the house and knocked a couple large branches from the 'little woods' around the house. The electricity went out for a couple minutes.

The wind howled all night long.

Imapressive Skipa

April Fool's Day! And Skip's birthday. Fitting? His breeder knew he would be special born on this day. And he is.

Skip is the big 20 today.