Ani & Mag

Ani lost Ruby last week to Colitus. Ani's heart is broken and I got to experience the entire depth of that today over my gate where I refused to hug her as she told me the story. No mask, no social distancing, stay away from me, so sorry.

Ruby, the dun QH mare she's been working diligently with the last 2 years, was her project horse. She paid 32Euros every month for an hour lesson at TP's arena,(at an extra 7Euro arena fee)  doing her best to improve the mare's flexibility despite arthritis. (I always called the mare Rudi cuz I thought it sounded cool.) She did not have to pay a monthly leasing fee, cuz the mare was so old and the owners wisely realized an 80 pound girl on her back twice weekly might be good for the mare.

The other day, after Rudi's death, Ani texted me, "Can I please take Mag for a walk, I don't have to ride, and I know it's too hot out for you to come, but it would do me good to have a walk with Mag." Apparently she is aware that I won't let her ride Mag without me yet.

Of course I agreed. It's been over 35C the last 2 ENTIRE WEEKS. We are melting here. Doing my chores at 7 AM is so miserable, the sweat runs into my eyes so I cannot see what I'm doing. 

Sleep is nearly impossible so I was up feeding at 7, and Mag chose that time to roll in the dirt. We've been having these dry thunderstorms that Seattle has never seen. Lightning and thunder that go on for hours with not a drop of rain. It is one of the best things about Germany. Have you ever heard thunder rolling for hours and hours, nothing else?

But Mag filthified himself so thoroughly, his sweat mixing with the dust, and all the dead tree bits ending up int his tail (every single fir tree on our property is now standing dead, around 20 of them). 

Ah, I had this fantasy of handing a sparkling clean Mag to Ani for her sorrowful walk last night, with his rhythm bead jewelery. HA. . .

I ended up with a horse so filthy even his mouth was tan with dust. His lips! You could write your name on his back with your finger.

Brushing did not help. Spraying off did not help, (made it worse!), towelling did not help. Wash-cloths  did not help. He stood there for an hour mostly brown and black, in stripes, somehow.

I took a washcloth to his face and I was amazed at how little hair he has on his head. Around his ears, eyes and nose he's almost bald. Black skin. I wish show Arabians could just be shown with water, not oil. Cuz if they have fine enough hair, you don't need oil. Mag looked awesome. 

When she arrived I apologized for his orphan-like appearance and handed him over.

She took him out for 1.5 hours and returned with stories of many many bicycles, cars with trailers, and other horses at whom they spooked at each other. 

She said she really enjoys him, and I said, "That makes me happy." Ani, "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Now that Rudy is dead, she has no lesson horse. In the back of my head I had this idea that she could take lessons on Mag, if she ever wanted to, at TP's fancy arena. Although Ani's trainer that I used with Ani last year would be the one doing the teaching, and I think she's almost worthless, she's equally harmless when it comes to Mag. And despite Ani being thrown through the fence twice the last time she rode Mag in an arena, I think if she leaves the raincoat at home, she'll be fine. Strangely, despite being thrown through the arena fence twice from Mag's back, she has no fear. (A little fear, I gather, from the steady conversation she holds with Mag, himself, as she rides him, rather than with me.)

Ani said cautiously, "Maybe you could share a lesson with me, where we ride Mag half the time, at TP's arena?" 

No.