Silly sacking out/groundwork lesson and a ride with Ani

I apologized to Katja, "I'm so sorry I cancelled on you last week because of the weather, after promising you I'd never cancel cuz of rain/wind!" She said, "I had to grin, but it's not so terrible to not have to work in that weather."

I didn't feel like riding, probably cuz I rode on Sunday and will again this week with Ani. Also, it's kind of a drag that Katja has to walk on our streets alongside to get to the trails/parking lots where we can work. Let's just stay here.

I'd told her Mag has a hatred of towels. When I try to dry him if he's been out in rain, he acts like the towel burns. She said horses' coats don't let the water touch their skin, so rubbing with a towel presses the water to the skin and is very cold.  (Actually I know the effect she's describing, but after hours of soaking rain, I'm pretty sure the water is all the way to the skin.)

So we played with him today with towels, her full-length rain coat, my rump rug, and a large plastic tarp. It was all no big deal, of course, I can never predict this horse.

She was careful to ensure I did the approach/retreat method with my tarp on the end of my lunge whip. Eventually we had the tarp over Mag's head, over his rump, between his legs, and backed him up over it. He would grab it with his mouth from time to time, and the donkey would too if we got too close to the stall!

Overall Kati was thrilled with what a "cool sock" Mag is. I was glad that Mag wasn't 100% OK with the tarp over his butt, he's so defensive of his hind end, but all he did was look at it warily, he didn't react, and neither one of us got our kneecaps kicked off. That is a concern with Mag, especially in the tight confines of our paddock. I say I was glad, because I didn't want her to think I was imagining things when I said he was troubled by fabric.

Finally she said she'd give me something fancy to work on, a "show off" exercise. It's where you stand behind your horse, raise your arm, and tap your finger up and down, as a signal for the horse to back up. I think that is a Parelli thing. She said it's fun when you're doing liberty work, and your horse gets ahead of you, you can correct him and bring him back.

You need a little whip to reinforce your finger, cuz obviously the finger means nothing at first. We used a piece of kindling, cuz I didn't know where Mara's crop was.

Mag figured it out immediately and would back up before I raised my arm, which of course we couldn't reward. At one point he did that stallion talk with me, while dropped, and neck arched, nostril against my hand - because he always does when I work up close to his shoulder. What the heck is that? (IF he were "proud cut", he would have tried something with my donkey by now.)

It was nice to just stay here and not have to make our way to the trails. I know how much Kati prefers ground work to riding, but next time I'll be up again.

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Today is Friday and I had a lovely ride with Ani. She really has some great trails on her side. However all the dog people were out today and for some reason the dogs were vicious, lunging and barking on two legs, trying their best to get the leash out of their owners' hands. I said more than once today, "Don't let go!"

I told Ani about the bra trail I started back home, a little section of trail where the trees wear bras. Now she knows what brand of strange I am: ) It came up recently on facebook, because they held a CMO ride there and encouraged people to bring bras because people have been taking them down. I have mixed feelings, I put up signs originally, to try to limit the bras to that one small section of trail, not wanting to trash nature. But apparently a lot of people like our bras: ) (I was not the very first person to put a bra on a tree, I cannot take credit for that.) As whimsical as Germany is, this would never fly here.

I had another moment on Mag's back where he lost his balance completely, again, on the crest of a steep incline. He is so very green when it comes to carrying a rider on uneven ground! I felt his body sway, and I felt him hesitate in mid air, not knowing how to save himself, and I wondered how/where we'd hit the ground. He scrambled and caught his balance again, heaving us over the apex. Wow, that is not a pleasant sensation.

I was able to take a few photos of mushrooms today, which was my plan, from Mag's back, but they were blurry cuz I was not close enough. Mag's really good at stopping for photos, cuz he thinks we're stopping for cookies. How funny, OK, have a cookie for standing here. Actually, Mira was not in the mood to stop, and kept wandering off and leaving us. Hm, Ani, need to teach your 25 year old horse to stand still, someday? I am so grateful to her, today she said, "I don't mind riding slow with you." I said, "I appreciate it so much."

She was having Easyboot issues today and kept jumping off to reattach velcro. I got a photo cuz look how much she trusts her mare. (Rein on the ground, but it's attached to a sidepull (LG Zaum) so if she steps on it, no big deal.















I asked Ani about natural disasters in Germany, she mentioned a windstorm where they actually lost power in places, in 2004. I told her about Puerto Rico as we passed by some fish ponds. I told her people are dying from drinking stream water, and that drinkable water has become unaffordable. I looked at that algae-filled green water and imagined drinking it, being thirsty enough to do so......

After our ride I was brave enough to ride on the fast street, but so many tractors with loads went by, and then there was a guy putting trees in a chipper between me and an oncoming enormous tractor, I jumped off.

But I got back on after Aldi and rode all the way home. Mag was jumpier than normal, probably my fault. I simply love riding him on our streets. Even that busy street, it has a big wide sidewalk and I feel safe there with semis blowing by. I also have to reach around and pat my back cuz S1 said she'd never ride a horse on that street. (Then again, Mag is pretty good with vehicles.)

I asked him for one step of leg yield both directions a few times, just to show him he can do this on a city street with traffic. 

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Just a moment ago the tractor left our pasture, after finally doing a second cut. Woo! So excited for Mag to finally have our entire 5 acres to run around on! Soon....

***

Tomorrow I have my first Einsatz as a medic in training. My first mission as the German dictionary translates. Oh! I found out in America the position I'm training for currently is called EMT-basic.

Get this. Tomorrow.....

I have to go to a soccer game.

Would have been cool if it had been a horsey event, but perhaps that will come.

European Football. It does not register on my give-a-s&#@ meter. How funny that I'll actually go to a soccer game, I don't think my husband has ever been.

The only ball sport I ever attended with any regularity (as a fan) was Seattle Storm, a sport where if you blink, you miss a lot, cuz it's basketball. Oh, but I did take my husband to a Seattle Mariners baseball game, cuz that is something everyone should experience once. My CMO buddy got us really good seats, and her husband explained every detail of the game, making it actually enjoyable.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.