Blankie!

Yesterday I finally got around to seeing if Skye's swanky new blanket fit. For the last two weeks, by the time I would think of it, everybody would have their hands full or be riding or have left, and I figured since she still eyes the saddle pad pretty warily, it would be a lot easier to have someone hold her while I wrestled two-handed with the sheet and blanket to try it on. The company said they can't take it back if it is dirty or has horse hair on it, so I brought a white sheet from home to put on under it in case it didn't fit.

So Erin held and we put it on. Skye gave the sheet the hairy eyeball for a second, but then, of course, acted perfectly, like she gets a blanket put on her every day. This no doubt made me look like a nervous Nellie about doing anything new with my horse. I still think it was justified because I don't see us using the blanket often (or maybe not as all as it is just not that cold here, and it would have been very cold and wet to justify it), so every experience counts. I didn't want her to have any fear.

Well, she didn't, and she looked awesome.

Stylin'!

This isn't a great picture, but I was in a hurry so Erin could get back to one of the million things she had to do. (Though she wasn't rushing me.) But it does show my girl was just as cool as a cucumber about it. And so good looking.

Before we did that though I watched Erin give a couple of short groundwork lessons in the round pen. One was with Dakota, a little Saddlebred mare recently bought by one of the nicest people out there. A young rider was working her for the owner, and it was good for me to watch instruction for working her at liberty in the round pen. Watching the trainer I had used was a anxiety-ridden affair, as she was very forceful and both Skye and I were very stressed by it. Seeing that you can push pressure on the horse to do what you want without being a bully about it is always a good reminder. (I am never a bully to Skye; my problem will using be not putting enough pressure. Luckily for both of us, my girl is pretty good at figuring out what I'm looking for.)

Then I watched  AJ, an off the track Thoroughbred rescue work in the round pen with his owner, another young (18 or so) rider who is just great with him. He was such a good boy. He had had very little groundwork training, but he is so bonded with his owner that he was really trying to figure out what she wanted in a calm way. It was very cool to see the relationship playing itself out in a learning situation. And he is awesome, as you can see.

A.J., whose racing name was Second Coming
He is such a sweet horse.

While I was watching all this, my girl was hanging out in her stall. I don't put her in there often, but I don't want it to be foreign to her in case the weather gets really terrible or she gets injured and needs to be in there. So she hung her head out and watched, and seemed pretty comfortable. She doesn't act up or freak out in there, but she is always ready to be put back out.

Watching the action

She has started really pulling her right front foot out of my hand after cleaning it, and it doesn't appear to be related to the frog so much as not wanting to be standing in that position. She doesn't do it with any other foot, so I am really going to try to get the vet out there to look her over again, make sure I am giving the shot correctly and talk to her. This lameness is getting really really old.

And of course on my way out, I did some Dinky Duty with carrots. All three came up to me and all three wanted, and received, carrots. I only got to pet Echo though, as they dodged my hands. How I love them though.

Bravo and Echo, after Zulu scooted off.
I did get to give Zulu a treat this time though.