A Driving Ambition

Sun Jul 8, 2007

WhooHOO!

Yesterday evening I went out to the barn, and even though Coos was WAAAAY the hell out in the pasture, I managed to hobble-walk-hop on my walking cast all the way out there (uphill)...thankfully they'd mown the pasture, so it was easier for crutching! And also Thankfully, once I got close enough for him to hear me calling his name, Quzqo left his grazing and walked the 150 feet or so right up to me on his own!!

He got a carrot chunk for his trouble, and UNfortunately all his pasture pals saw him getting treats, and all 7 of THEM came downhill as well, and I soon found myself entirely circled by curious geldings! None of them are mean or pushy, just very friendly, which isn't great when you're on crutches in the middle of a field! I was worried I'd get knocked over, or somebody'd start a fight and hooves would start flying. That didn't happen, and with some well-timed crutch-waving I shooed enough horses away that I could escape and start back downhill, and THANKfully, Quzqo walked along with me! UNfortunately, all his buddies also came along, and one big minimal overo Chestnut was trying to get his nose in my pocket where the peppermints were! Hard to crutch-walk with that happening!

But, long story short, I made it down to the gate in one piece, and Coos was waiting for me, and I got him haltered, & we made it to the barn. My friend had shown up to help me out, and after Coos enjoyed some evening grain and a good pee in his stall, we brought him out to the cross-ties & I gave him a good brushin'!

Managed to harness him up by myself, as my friend had gone to get her TWH mare (I insisted, because I felt guilty for some reason). He was a little twitchy when I put the saddle on him & clamped his tail when I tried to put the crupper on, but by the time I got to the bridling, he was fussing and wiggling and ready to GO!

We got him out into the arena, and I held him while my friend brought the cart up, and we got him hitched up w/o incident (though the shafts are a tighter fit than they were 50# ago!!)(let's also say that I wasn't using the same holes in the harness that I was using back in May, HA! Fat Boy!!!). I hopped into the cart w/as much grace as someone in a walking cast could muster (I'm pleased I made it IN in the first place), and w/my friend at his head, we walked around the arena once before she tied the lead rope to the overcheck hook and away we went!

The bad combination of soft tires (my foot-powered air pump is still in my other friend's pick-up) and that ridiculously soft arena footing made it very hard going for Quzqo, so once I was certain he wasn't going to be nutty, we ventured outside!

He was gooder than gold!! We went around the driveway a couple of times, out on the ROAD, back up another driveway, around the side lawn, back out onto the road again, and pretty much just dinked around. The nice side pasture where I used to drive now has horses in it, so that's out, and the outdoor arena is such deep, soft sand, that's definitely out of the question. LOL, it was fun going by the front pasture where the summer camp horses are kept, because they were FREAKING every time we went by! Guess they hadn't seen a horse and cart before, ha! Good for 'em to expand their horizons!!!

Took him out on the road again, and a large white pickup was approaching behind us. I have the Slow Moving Vehicle triangle on the back, so I was street legal, and the truck slowed and moved into the other lane as it passed. For the record, Quzqo didn't even twitch an ear! What a good boy!!

He did spook/startle at Bob's corgi bitch, Lola, that emerged from beneath a parked car by the house, but she was more frightened than he was, LOL!

Finished up the drive by having my friend get on board, and drove her around pretty much the same route, even though the tires were very near flat under our combined weight (I need that air pump!!), LOL. I was pleased because I've invited her to go for a drive with me pretty much every time I saw her and she'd always declined (she's a rather, um, "careful" lady), and this time she accepted, and she enjoyed it immensely. She used to drive & had been talking about training her mare to drive, and I think this got her inspired! She's got a nice cart & harness already, so no reason not to!

Poor Coos has lost that tight, quarter-bouncing butt of his these past 8 weeks so he was workin' to haul for sure! But this'll help him get his buff physique back in no time! I'm really looking forward to taking him further down the road, which luckily doesn't get a lot of traffic in the evening (once everybody's gone home for the day).

Felt SO good to at least do that much, after all this time! and I'm SO proud that he settled right into it w/o any silly drama queen antics! I figured he wouldn't bee too wild after the 92 degree day we had yesterday!

For his reward he got a nice flake of hay & I found his Pony Pop (it'd been lost since the horse show), & he got to spend the night indoors away from the bugs. I'll have to head out there tonight because it's Bran Mash Sunday!

I'd mentioned to a coworker that I was hoping to drive Coos this weekend, and she got all worried and said "Do you think that's smart? What if he flips over or something?????"

LOL!

Thoughts on Firecrackers

Mon Jul 2, 2007

After telling myself pretty much all day yesterday that I was too tired to go to the barn, of course I went, LOL! HAD to see my boy!! It's an addiction I tell ya!

I about did a Dance of Joy when I saw he was already in his stall (it was around 7 p.m.)!! Hoorah! He'd pretty much eaten most of his hay, so he was amenable to greeting me at the stall door & about climbed on top of me to get his beloved peppermint. GAD he looks scruffy...inch-long whiskers, 2" long bridlepath sticking up, his nose is all scabby and peeling from the sun, he's got dark tearstains under his eyes, my poor, poor neglected boy!!

BUT...His mane is detangled! Still! I put more of that detangler in it & finger-combed it, with a finishing swipe of his body brush, and it's laying nice and flat, with an obvious short spot in the middle, LOL. Well, IF IF IF I were to go to any horse show this year, I'd braid it up anyway, so it wouldn't be noticible.

He was in a good mood, probably because his tummy was full (I've asked they cut back his hay & grain & keep him in all night so he's not out stuffing his face 24/7), & enjoyed scratchies on his chesticles where the bugs had been biting. He CAN behave! He CAN act civilized!

The highlight of his evening was the presentation of the Bran Mash! LOL...he acted like a kid on Christmas Morning! Luckily he still remembered his manners and backed off when I raised my hand, I didn't want to get trampled over a bucket of wet bran & molasses! Oh, he dove right into that bucket of goodness & ate & ate & ate and while he ate, I finger-combed his mane.

Haven't gotten up the nerve to harness him up, but he isn't ACTING goofy (remember my free-lunging attempt Saturday?). Trick is, finding someone to help me. Well, it was a horse show weekend, so it was pretty dead around the barn. I could harness him, but no way can I drag a cart. We shall see, maybe on the 4th.

Of course he wasn't acting the least bit goofy at that horse show either.

It's also close to the 4th of July, and there's the worry of firecrackers going off. But Quzqo is good about explosions. Last fall we were riding down a dirt road, and two guys were sighting in their shotguns about 100 yards to our right...they let off a shot and *I* about jumped out of the saddle! The horse kept on ambling down the road w/o twitching an ear.

Plus the barn isn't really near any houses, much less houses with kids or rednecks living in them. And I have no plans to go driving down the road into neighborhoods with both afore mentioned subspecies of humanoid.

Oh...here's something interesting: My friend with the Paint mare told me that she was grooming her horse last week in her usual spot in the aisle, when suddenly, without warning, HER mare suddenly spooked and swung her massive hindquarters around and smacked right into my friend, knocking HER off her feet, she hit a plastic chair and fell to the concrete floor!!

She didn't break anything, but has massive bruises on her leg, thigh, and torso! Damned horses!

The horse spooked because Lola, the Corgi Bitch, quietly hopped down off a bale of hay, LOL! Glad nobody got seriously hurt.

It's the stuff you THINK will scare a horse that they ignore, and something you wouldn't ever thing would be scary drives them over the edge. Heck, Coos about jumped out of his hide when that mare in the stall next to his boinked him in the butt the other day!