Video of lazy Mag

Mag used up all his energy today fighting me on the lunge, and almost got away from me twice! Seriously bad. But then I got on and he had no gas at all left in the tank.

Here is "low-battery-charge Mag":



Here's the story of how it happened that we accompanied the owner and her Arabian horse on their 1st-ever trail ride with another horse, and 2nd-ever trail ride....ever! WTH!

Thursday on the way to meet Ani I was leading Mag through the woods and lo and behold Dakhin was coming toward us, with his owner riding! I'd never seen them out of an arena in the 9 years I've lived here. I was blinking my eyes in disbelief, and her horse was very animated upon seeing Mag. I put Mag on the side of the trail out of the way, and Mag's eyes were big but he stood calmly.

She said HI! and I said, "Is this your first time on trail?" "Yes!" "WHY ARE YOU ALONE?!"

She said, "My horse does better alone, other horses distract him and worry him and cause issues."

(Remember, she's the control freak, so I shouldn't be surprised.)

I wished her good luck and she said, "Oh, can you move your horse over to the left a bit?" I had already done that, but I guess she wanted me completely off the road/trail, she didn't trust her horse/Mag. OK then, into the bushes Mag!

The next day I texted her, asking how it went, and asking if I could come over Sunday morning to use the arena and ride with her in there, doing the obstacles.

She said I should go ahead and lunge Mag, which is a real issue again, after perfecting lunging over Winter in Wuppertal. I know it is not too much to ask that a horse WTC on the lunge, and I am only asking him so he can show me he knows it, and then we quit. Unless he flips out again, like today.

Kicking at his saddle, stampeding off full tilt with tail in a J. I kind of wished he'd lose his footing and fall down, to show him how stupid this behavior is. But the footing is perfect, he had the perfect grip for misbehaving.

I needed gloves today more than ever before, as he twice tried galloping away, dragging me with him, despite a heavy, secure lunging cavesson on his delicate face. WTH!

Then he was done, and cantered a circle politely, and I let him rest, walking. Praising him for being good. Then the dreaded right-direction and the same thing happened, he flipped out racing and kicking and trying to switch directions, which I barely was able to prevent, and then he settled down and cantered slow and polite and that was it. My goodness. I'm not gonna give up on this dream of mine to have a horse who can act civilized on a lunge line. We had it in April!

When I finally got on him, he was done. I walked around shadowing the owner on Dakhin, staying a very very careful distance from them because of how she is. She talked and talked and I just enjoyed the peaceful, quiet ride on the silver Hawaii sand.

Then her husband showed up and started cleaning up poop in the arena, joking with me, "Is this Mag's poop?" No, it's not!

Then I asked him to take some photos and video, and he was happy to. I wanted to do those trotting serpentines around the cones in synchrony with the two horses, but the wife had other plans, it took her a while to finally agree to doing it, and by then Mag was just done.

Afterwards, she said she had time to do a quick loop on trail. WHAT!!!

Really!? That was the last thing I expected to hear.

OK, let's go! I knew Mag would perk up out there.

I was wrong. He trailed behind Dakhin like Mira trails behind him! I was so ashamed, her horse marched forward happily, 6, 7, 8 horse lengths ahead. Our conversation wasn't working so well with that distance and the clip clopping of her horse's shoes on rocks.

I almost suspected Mag was ill.

She was laughing and happily telling me, "I did try a trail ride once, with my neighbor, but her horse was too uptight, it wasn't a good experience, so we quit."

She continued, "Mag is awesome, he's just moseying along back there, totally calm."

I thought, "Does he have lyme disease?"

We passed my field from the other side, the high ridge road, and my field looks so strange "backwards."

The donkey heard us and brayed.

Then we went through this little town with houses tight all around us. Everything was fine, I'd trotted Mag to catch up...and then...

Something you can not prepare a horse for...something you can go your whole life without seeing (my life!)...

A freaking robot lawn mower.

I laughed and pointed, "Look at that!"

Just a moment before Dakhin saw it, and spooked. Two bicyclists were headed down the hill toward us, and I didn't like the situation of robot, bikes, and spinning Dakhin. I flew off Mag's back and was on the ground just as Dakhin spun directly into me, no space between the two horses.

The robot was coming right for us. Like, directly to the hooves of the horses at the street's edge.

Mag snorted and backed up. I said, "It's all good." And to Dakhin I said, "That thing scared me too!"

And then his owner finally got off her horse, cuz he wasn't OK with it.

And the two bicycles went directly between the two horses on that tiny street, almost touching Dakhin's rump as they passed.

She said in polite, but amazed reproach, "That was very dangerous, what you just did!" She didn't scream at them like, ahem....nevermind.

The robot reached the pavement and turned, to continue, and was suddenly less threatening. She got back on her horse. Since we were almost home, I stayed on foot the last 5 minutes of our ride.

I pondered how Mag would have reacted to a robot had he been alone. If he hadn't seen his 17-year old friend spook and spin. Hm!

17 years old, first trail ride this week, how odd! But good. She was telling me things are looking up for her, and later she told me I should come by and go out with her husband and his horse. What? She often says things she doesn't really mean.

Mag  deserved a good long roll in that white sand, and he got it. He was so tired he almost didn't want to get up, and sat there halfway up looking around himself. Her husband laughed at him. He really likes Mag.

He told me not to spray Mag off with the hose, or else he'll catch a cold and start coughing. He has strange principles about horsemanship. I always nod at him, "OK, OK."

11:30 AM we had said our goodbyes, hugged, and I was on my way home with Mag sans saddle/tack.  I came back with the car to get it.

On the last stretch, my nice neighbor lady came to the street to meet me and ask about my family's visit last week. So nice of her to ask, I told her. She wanted to know everything we did, and what we ate, and I told her. As we talked, Mag had his head down by my knees, eyes half closed, falling asleep on the street. Then he started yawning. Normally he yawns for stress relief, but this was clearly, "I'm gonna go sleep now" yawning.

I pointed to him and said, "He's dead tired, I should go."

How nice to have some nice neighbors.

I brought Mag home and opened up a new grazing strip for them and they're not gonna eat any hay for the next couple days, I don't think.

As I was typing this a coach went by pulled by two draft horses trotting up our street loudly. So pretty. I'm sure Mag got some good exposure when they trotted by the fence.

I'm happy to have the chance to use an arena (but I must pay 7Euros per visit, and if it has rained, I'm not allowed on the sand). I hope she is serious about getting out on her 17 year old horse. 17!!!!! I thought he was 11. She's had him since he was young. I just can't imagine waiting so long to hit the trails.

If she will let me help her, I will. She can help us too.



They looked even better in the reflections I saw in the house windows we passed. I told her, "Twins!" Her horse is Russian, also extremely stocky for an Arabian.






Mag looking at the cameraman. If you're wondering why the sky is blue, it's because I never get a break. Sunscreen every day. No soothing overcast, drizzle, just another glorious day in Germany. And through facebook I've learned this Summer was not Summery enough for the locals. They need more sun. The most recent facebook complaint I saw said, "Winter, Spring, As*****, Autumn." OK then. But my camera does not lie. And my tracking of the sun on my calendar too, we have had exactly 3 days without sun since July.






My new saddle pad! Woo, this is my third from this manufacturer, Engel (Reissner). They're custom made to my specs. Since the black wool started staining Mag's back, I knew I needed a ligher wool color. I'm disappointed that this company does not give a warning on its site that some of the colors stain white horses. Mattes, the leader in wool pads, had this warning. But I only pay half of what Mattes costs. I think  it's good enough, for 117Euros.





My niece, looking at the beer we'd forgotten in the freezer.






My nephew's glasses, niece's viola, a Belgian beer and a power adapter. My kitchen table was multi-cultural last week.






This was our running gag, "Would it kill you to put your dirty dish in the dishwasher?"

My husband started it, falling dead, and the kids picked it up, doing "stage drops" each dish. The way my niece can fall, it's amazing she doesn't hurt herself. This was our last day together, and my nephew gave me a great shot of his death by dishwasher.