Thursday, August 8, 2013

Slip & Slide

It really does rain in Kansas - who knew?  The good:  the seared brown pasture has turned completely green.  The bad:  the footing is abysmal.  Good:  it's cooler, hanging in the 80's.  Bad:  the humidity is also in the 70's and 70's. 


Also in the good column, some of the seeds we planted when my niece was here this spring actually came up - no thanks to me, since I didn't water them at all.  But the rain arrived in time, and they're gorgeous.  No idea what they are, but I need to find out, because I want some more for next year.


I've managed two actual rides, one on Amyra and one on Sunny.  Amyra continues to relax and get more settled, and we even managed a walk partway down the driveway without her eyes popping out of her head.

I laid the ground poles out for Sunny and must have gotten the distance right, because he trotted them without tapping a one.  A solid evenings work, and in the new saddle, too.  He seems to like it, and it's pretty comfortable for me, too - have yet to test it on steepish hill (I'll bet it slides), but just the fact that it's not so long is an improvement.


It's getting darker in the mornings.  Not a good sign, since it takes me at least a half hour to get everyone fed and moved around.  I'm thinking soon I'll be getting horses shuttled over by headlamp-light.

I picked up 50 small square bales a couple weeks ago, and I've been giving them a few leaves in the evening - even with the grass coming back, they're happy to see the hay.  And it means when I holler for them, they come running.


Well, usually.  Sometimes it means the bugs are extra bad, and sometimes it's just that edgy feel the weather gets that sends them running.  Tonight it was the latter.  They raced up, slid to a stop, stayed just long enough to be praised, and pounded off again. 

On the second pass I managed to collect them and skidded our way back. 

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I love your new header pic, those ponies look fantastic!

Don't you love watching them romp and play, like that? It is hard to get mad at them when they are running around looking so perfect, huh?

Kellie said...

YAY for some rain! I wondered if you all were getting some.

I'm thinking your flowers are some kind of zinnia? Not that I know a thing about flowers, but they look similar to some that a friend of mine grows (she's got a major green thumb).

New saddle eh? Very nice. How do you like synthetic saddles? I'm kind of thinking about getting a new one for Gypsy since I've been riding her so much more and the one she has is old/heavy/getting worn out. I like the idea of how light they are and the easy clean up.

I love watching them run too. They are so beautiful.

SunnySD said...

Thanks, Cindy :)

I probably should have said "new to me" saddle, Kellie - I picked it up at an auction earlier this summer and have used it on Amyra but that was the first time Sunny'd worn it. It's seen some hard use, but it's still solid.

I've never owned a synthetic, but I've ridden a friend's Wintec dressage saddle. I thought it was comfy, and she loves it and has had it for a number of years. Lots of miles on it, and it still looks good. But I've seen some of the cheaper versions not hold up so well, too.