I had to take this pic - my buddy's got neck, huh? :-)
It was HOT and humid yesterday, so I met Kara at the barn about 8:00am to ride before it got too hot. We decided not to ride in any of the arenas. We're really lucky to be at Jill's: we have an indoor arena, outdoor arena, and two outdoor round pens - for ten horses! Of the ten, only four of them are owned by boarders; the other six are Jill's that she and her students ride.
We decided to ride in a big open field that has three ponds, some hills, and runs along the road at some points. The first lap, I rode Daniel, and Kara walked Tessa (who's only 3 but is REALLY doing well!). The second lap, Kara felt like Tessa was settled enough for her to mount up, so we both rode our horses along the fenceline of the pasture.
Tessa did GREAT! Not one spook! Daniel was rock solid as usual. He tried to give me a trot, at a time I hadn't asked for it, so I took him back to a walk. There were a few times he really stepped out and led, and other times that he was totally happy to let Tessa lead.
I brought Daniel back into the barn, took his tack off and groomed him. I gave him a good coating of fly spray, and walked him back out to his field. We ran into Ashley, who I hadn't seen since the week we moved in. Ashley is one of Jill's students who rides Runner, the black TB who double kicked Daniel his first day turned out, that Daniel returned the favor by kicking and laming for a week... Ashley's the only person who can ride Runner, who is a really hot horse, but Jill compliments her by saying she's her only student who can ride anything. Daniel was mugging her like crazy, sniffing her pockets and behind her back. She confessed that when she comes for lessons, she brings apples for Runner, and for Daniel... It looks like he's found his way to being one of the barn favorites, just like at Legacy :-) Which is good, because there are students every day from 10-12, so I know he's usually getting some TLC while I'm working to pay his for board, farrier, supplements, vet bills, etc. :-)
Today, I trimmed the dogs' nails, and was planning to go to the barn to trim Daniel's hooves. Now with the heavy rain, I'm rethinking my plan to go and trim his hooves. He's probably hanging out in the indoor, which seems to be his happy place. I'd hate to drag him out of the indoor, through the rain, and up to the barn to trim his hooves. Maybe I'll pack for my week in Kentucky visiting my brother, sister-in-law and the kids, go to the hospital to see my cousin, and then trim his hooves tonight...
