1st ride in a month

Since none of the treatments worked on Mag's back, I just got on and rode again today.

Ani would be on foot today because Mira had 4 teeth pulled Wednesday and she's being careful with her. (Since she rides bitless, I mean, really careful.)

I felt bad when I gave her a treat for Mira, and after she ate it, her mouth started bleeding. Ani called the vet right then. I shouldn't have done that, the treats are too hard for her. I offered my water bottle so she could rinse Mira's mouth, but she didn't want to.

Mag however, enjoyed drinking from my bottle today repeatedly. I love it that he's such a good drinker bottles are also something he enjoys. I should buy apple juice just to give him from the bottle.

When I got on Mag, we were right back where we were a month ago, no big deal, but today he was especially forward and impatient. "On fire" I exaggerated to Ani.

Anytime we had to wait for Mira, he would start tossing his head. Not too bad, but not because he had an itch. Not because he wanted to show off his mostly clean mane that I'd brushed.  It was definitely impatient tossing.

I only could get him to stand still for 10 seconds today under saddle, and gave him a treat for that, cuz it was hard for him.

The muddy hills were also hard, and to help him up I had to grab mane. He wanted to rush, but I kept him behind Ani or Mira so he had to go slow. Mira kept glaring at him to stay away from her, and I know one day she's gonna let him have it, so I am very careful not to let him touch her. She knows he wants nothing more for Christmas than to take a bite out of her butt.

We got to the stream and it was so full the islands have disappeared, and the water is right under the bridges. I led Mag over one bridge and he panicked halfway across, so we did it a couple more times. I admit, it is intimidating with the water swirling grey like that. Then I wanted to ride him over the next bridge but there was a tree down so I jumped off. We had to navigate around 4 fallen trees today, but down on the main trail the city had already sawed them out of the way.

I was having a hard time staying calm, even though my body felt relaxed in the saddle, I was mentally expecting things to be difficult today. And for some reason I couldn't think of any humorous anecdotes to tell Ani, so I was riding in silence most of the time. She wasn't talking either, and the silence seemed ominous. I started whistling, and that helped. Mag kept passing them, frustrated with their slow pace, then realizing it's scary out front, so he'd wait for them. He was never bad, but he was never calm.

We weren't out long, cuz she was on foot. We parted ways and I led Mag down highway 101's sidewalk on the way home where he spooked at a couple of vehicles. So I sat on a bench for about 15 minutes and just waited for the big trucks to go by, which they did. Strange which ones spooked him, and which didn't. The salt truck/plow was going really fast (80 or 90?) and sounded different from any of the other big trucks, but Mag was fine with it. A gravel truck made him spring to the side, his tail tucked down in a J. So we hung out more, waiting for more trucks. The last one was huge and Mag's entire body shuddered but he didn't spook. TP said he's just feeling Winter and using trucks as an excuse to be spooky, but I don't think a horse can fake a full body shudder like that, while holding still, all four hooves planted in place.

Finally back on small slow streets, two double semis approached us from behind, one after the other. The first one slowed almost to a standstill because we were so close. Mag darted forward and swung around. The second one was even scarier looking, but Mag was fine with it. No idea.

It's important for me to find safe places where I can spend some time letting Mag watch traffic go by (and practice standing still where it's not easy). Although Hohestrasse has a faster speed limit than 101, 101 has much more traffic, more big rigs. As we waited there, a couple of ladies walked by and Mag reached out his nose to say hi to them. One lady smiled and touched his nose. He's so curious about strangers, he wants to touch all of them.

Back home, 3 hours after we'd set out, Mag was ravenous as if he'd done 10 miles with me on his back, not a few km.

WE HAVE HAY! Ebay hay. And IT'S GOOD HAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as I saw it I asked the man, "How much more do you have?" He said, "100." My man said, "We'll take them all. Please."

: ) Yes yes yes, hay, and look, no mold, no dust, no mole hills, no weeds, it's even slightly green, for German hay!

Since Bellis won't share, I separate them all day, and at night I hang one big net full outside where she cannot bogart the area as easily.


I love this picture from last Winter because I had such nice days there at the barn, all alone with just Willy joking around with me, and Mag looking forward to my visits and his buckets. I loved that huge grooming stall; concrete is the best for hoof care. Also, he's not this skinny this year, even though he lived alone back then and always had hay in front of him. I also love this photo because I don't have to deal with the opinions of the masses anymore, "It's normal for an Arabian to look skinny!" *sigh* and "Your lead rope is on the ground, your horse is gonna hurt himself!" *lol*