Multi-tasking

Mathilda making herself useful as a bookmark

A more evolved person might be able to occupy her mind by being full in the moment as the beautiful black horse grazes in the lovely green field under the sunny blue sky. Me, I need a book. Since she has proven that I dare not put down the leadrope, I need to find a way to keep my place while I take a picture or make a note.

How long can you go just basking in the moment?

Life Lessons from a Horse

For two decades, one of the underlying principles in our barn management has been Trust the Mare. We could rely on her common sense to run the pasture. Lately, not so much.

For 18 years, we left Mathilda in charge of where she and Previous Horse spent their time. Answer: out for storms, in for sun. During the summer of her widow year, frequent carrot checks and short walks were employed to prevent her from turning into a couch potato in the super hot weather. Otherwise, we left her to her own devices.

The view from the inside.*

Dunno if it’s life with Rodney or this particular injury but her rehab would go smoother, & faster if she could display a touch more sense. She makes a little bit of progress. We give her a tiny bit of leeway to resume her normal life. She gets hopped up on painkillers, forgets herself, and writes checks her body can’t cash. Doesn’t she realize that every relapse means more time in horse jail?

OTOH, if I have to be on the DL when I’m 90, I’d rather it be from rollerblading with men half my age than a septic papercut from playing canasta. You go girl. Just not so much, please.

[*I tried to get a photo with her in the stall but she kept moving away & turning around. She really, really doesn’t like cameras, even my credit-card sized Canon with no flash & vestigial lens click. Weird.]

Is your horse a rollerblader or a canasta player?

Whole New World

Checked out a new style of show yesterday. Trail + Cross-country + Agility = Obstacle Challenge.
A few of the Obstacles:

Cross the Bridge
Thru the Curtain
Stand on the Table
Teeter the Totter
Kick the Ball
Spin the Umbrella
Up the Steps

Rodney can so DO this. OTOH, yesterday’s competitors where western horses or Paso Finos. I’ll have to make sure the table is heavyweight rated before Rodney climbs on.

Have you ever Obstacled?

Seated Perspective

Yesterday’s discussion of outhouses [Checklist] brought to mind a wedding story. The bride was a collateral relation and an avid rider. The guests where split between non-riding family members & horse folks. The reception took place at her parents’s house, a lovely old mansion that did not have the plumbing to withstand hundreds of fannies. So they rented Porta Potties. On the order of 4 PaPs for, maybe, 150 people for 4 hours. The blue huts were the kind with running water where you could wash your hands.

The NRFM’s were APPALLED that they were being asked to use outdoor facilities. The horse folks thought, ‘Wow, classy toilets’.

(Clip art courtesy of Clipart Graphics)

Update: Correction. I have since learned that the house was not old. It was a lovely, young mansion. The problem was water pressure for that many guests. Also, NRFM = non-riding family members. I’m trying to get better about flinging initials hither and yon. Harder to read and no point in text this short. Too many years DC, I guess. By the way, people are still appalled, just not in all caps anymore. October 2022.