Missing my horses

I was out of town this weekend and didn't get to see Drifter and Zee. I will be going out tomorrow with my camera and Drifter's new herbal supplements. Hopefully the herbal supplement will help keep the bugs away and soothe her skin.

I will be aggressively marketing Zee this month.

Good days

Drifter and I have been having good days. She is coming along under saddle again. She seems to be remembering her earlier training. Zee is staying calm in the front of the stall without getting too upset. Drifter did a great job when the other horses came running down by the round pen-she did a little spook to the side, but then stopped dead. I petted her and waited for her to relax before asking her to walk.

I have to say sometimes the best part is after riding when I get to hang out with Drifter and Zee. I untack Drifter without a halter or tying her up and she just stands there. I let Zee out and open the gate to their field and they hang out with me. Zee sniffs me all over- Drifter lets me run her neck and sing songs from the radio to her. They both stay right by me. I usually walk them out to their field- no halter, no leadrope, not even touching them- just inviting them to go with me. This seems to make them even happier to see me the next time. This mare who was supposed to be "hard to catch" now comes running to my voice and whistle when I come to the barn!!

Hooray

We're trotting. Drifter was a bit fresh on Tuesday when working in the round pen, she was hopping/bucking into the canter. I did NOT take this as a sign of her playing or being happy. It seemed like something was bothering her. I really don't know what it could have been, but she was fine under saddle. After the fact she looked sun burnt between her hind legs, so maybe that was uncomfortable. I just hope it's not a trend or something physically serious.

After trotting and untacking Drifter just hung out with me near the barn. Zee was investigating me and the cat. Zee decided to lay down and take a nap. She was too funny laying there snoring. I sat down in the hay with her while Drifter watched over us. Zee is three months already. I got the results back from Zee's DNA tests, she is a Perlino and will have buckskin babies. She is EE/AA/CrCr. This means she will not have a palomino no matter who the stud is, she will always give an Agouti gene (which is dominant) and one cream gene. So, I think she would always have buckskin or perlino offspring.

I hope to start riding Drifter in the ring (outside the round pen) soon.

We trotted

Trotted on Drifter for the first time since the birth of Zee. What progress we're making.

Good girl

Drifter seems to be settling back into mounted work. She has been enthusiastic about work and coming running to the gate with Zee when I pull into the barn. She hasn't been too good for the farrier, but apparently he is not the patient type and that doesn't help her too much. I am working on bringing her legs forward to rest on the rasping stand for him. She has been really good with me for hoof picking, standing tied, fly spray and even worming!

She usually stands free (no halter) after work while I untack her and groom her. Our rides are still short. I rode her out of the round pen by Zee, but that didn't work as well as I would have liked. She's doing better in the round pen. I have a few new ground work exercises that I would like to try in addition to her mounted work. She's a real delight to work with. She seems to love following me around the round pen- I just haven't figured out how to get her to trot with me at liberty.

Zee is still being a good girl and got her first foot trim last week. Her toes were getting a little long and she really needed it. She is good for hoof picking, brushing, fly spray and even worming too! I send out her papers and hairs for DNA testing. I am hoping to do a great sale flyer this weekend or next.