Yesterday Solomon and I went on an adventure!
But first, when I was leaving the house to drive up to pope valley, I found this:
That's a big big moth!
When I got to the ranch, after chatting with Bo on the front porch for a while, I pulled Solly out of his pasture and let him loose by his favorite tree. He was a good boy, and he let me pick his feet out while he was loose. He could have gone anywhere on the ranch that wasn't fenced off, but he stood quietly for me while I messed with his feet. That's a nice feeling.
The two old mares, one retired and one semi retired, who usually live in the T-shaped pasture, were in the pasture next to theirs. The old fence is getting replaced with no-climb fencing, so they went to check out a spot they don't usually get to explore. They discovered the Water Trough of Ultimate Happy Fun Splash Time. The WToUHFST is not, you understand, like their own trough, which is wrought of plastic instead of metal. Clearly the trough they got to experience today is FAR more fun!
Nickers and Lilly.
Next, I haltered Solly and we went on AN ADVENTURE!
yes that's right, we took a walk down the road, away from the ranch! We went farther than I have ever gone before down that road. A little too far, as it turned out, but all was well in the end.
First we said hi to Sol's old nemesis, Mister Barn Wall.
On the way out, Solomon had to freeze a lot to take in his surroundings. He also had a couple of pieces of hay hanging out of his mouth the entire time. That's my country bumpkin boy!
It's the BABY!
Hi!
Proof that Solomon actually DID walk on the way out. I did not, in fact, carry him.
But this is what happened more often than the walking.
WHY HELLO THERE!
A-durr-hurr-hurrrr.
AAA COWS!
OMG brown grass and a fence!
I think it is safe to say that Solomon is kind of barn sour. Well, that's okay- it's just something for us to work on. Despite the need for a lot of coaxing, I really enjoyed our walk. Enough so, in fact, that I went way farther than was a good idea, given my body's limitations. Well, if I did a lot of coaxing on the way out, Solomon did a lot of coaxing on the way back. Whenever I started to slow and flag behind, he'd turn his great grey head around towards me and nicker. And if I slowed a lot, he'd slow himself down to keep pace with me. I had to hold on to his wither and hang off his back a little bit the whole way back, though for a little while I also held on to his mane. He was a good sport about it, and he lowered his head and pushed on, quite happy since we were heading back to the barn. I wonder if driving is something we could ever do? Solomon is not the easiest horse to control, so I don't know about that. But from a purely physical standpoint, I think he would be able to do the work.
And now, for your amusement, our adventure in three videos. I wish I had a way to combine them. I have Adobe Premiere, but it tells me that my compression type is not acceptable. Poo.
Next, Solomon spent a little time at the Patience Tree.
HAH, I locked the knot! What now, horse?
If he pawed, he got reprimanded. He figured it out pretty quickly. First, I took a tiny pebble, about pea-gravel sized, and bounced it lightly off his butt. The force was about like a large bee flying into you. Not stinging, just running in to you. Not at all painful. The point of that was for him to feel that, even though I was far away, I could still touch him. This was surprising and quite amazing to him. After the second time, I just had to say "AHHH" and he stopped pawing.
Solomon got bored.
And then, at last, he accepted being tied at the tree as he has come to accept being tied at the trailer.
After the tree, he did a little roundpenning.
Then he got to go back to his pasture, which he didn't resist so much today. He isn't being ridden any more, but he is still learning and he still has to get exercise to stay healthy!
After that I hung out with one of the other boarders, A____, and her horse Nick. Or is it Nicky? He's a good old cutting horse, now semi-retired. She still rides him on little walks around the property. He just loves her to death. He loves people. He hates grey horses, hah! I have to be careful when I have Solomon, because he'll squeal and pitch a fit if I get too close to his pen with my boy. He was at war with a couple of greys at his old barn.
He loves attention and snuggling!
Haha, Solomon is so tall and I am so short compared to this pair. Sol's neck would be a lot lower if he put his chin on my head, as the top of my head is at about the level of his wither.
So that was our day! I hope you enjoyed it. :}
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