Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday is actually a random collection of pictures with somewhat wordy captions. Sorry, not sorry. 

How is he so stunning all the time? 

Scritchies with his BFF 

Uhmmm... he was getting really hot with all the canter and I did a super quick clip and left him looking very moth eaten. I will clean it up before he goes out in public. 

Turkeys in the woods

Introduction to the dressage whip

Still such a tiny dude 

Being SUCH a GOOD BOY for his second trim. Unsure ears, but trying so hard. 

More Henny adventures

I went to Maine for 8 days. It is an absolutely stunning state. 

I got a lot of satisfaction out of the basalt seams in granite, how cool is this? 

Isle au haut - spent a night camping here; the first day fog rolled in in the evening and it was absolutely magical

Lots of moss, I love moss

Allegedly the reason I went to Maine, a work conference. Image of cat claw into dog eye - corneal perf, picked up a bit of iris and lodged it into the lens, causing a cataract. Also incredibly cool. Not great for the dog though; that cataract will lead to uveitis then glaucoma then blindness. Time for an enuc. 

Back behind the best ears; he spent the time at my friend's place in canter boot camp. First ride back we went for a nice easy hackamore hack to make him love me again. 

There's a fawn that is right at the losing the spots stage in those trees 

Ms. GY's horse lost a shoe in his field overnight. I used pony as a search vehicle after our hack and found it. Then I dismounted and found that Butterball had lost a boot! The boots fit so well that I don't contort myself to check them at all during rides anymore, so I was dreading finding it. Fortunately it was in the field where we'd done a final fun canter towards home (bad training yes, but lots of fun). Expensive shoe recovered, hoorah. 

WW: Golden Things

 

Picturesque pony pre-tredding

I miss Pico. Dolce and Umbra wanted to eat the chickies 

World's best cat

She was the sweetest, most gentle cat 

Butters got a massage and quite enjoyed it. We got trapped in the barn during a rainstorm right after. 

Walking and walking, best view ever 

He got new BOT brushing boots from his auntie... maybe they're doing something for the tendon? 

WW: The Little Moments

I loved the early morning light in this one silhouetting his adorable face and ears

Herro?? Where did you go? 

Love this barn and this pony 

He POWER walked to see his fave mini mule 
The strand of electric fence makes all three of us sad

Cows power walking to see him 

The end of a canter set at the beautiful Sweet Dixie 

Foto Friday: Okay, the Braids Were Worth It

He's SO DANG CUTE. I think I'm in the middle of saying thank you to the judge tho. 

Stretchy pony 

In spite of my face, I was delighted to be trotting down centerline on a Butterball

All photos by Liz Crawley

WW: Doing the MOST

Pre-jumper rounds on Sunday, most tired, soon to be most toasty pat of Butter after just two rounds

Toasty because in spite of shedding out really nicely and being a very sleek pony for a few weeks, he grew... extra... in April... is this a Welsh thing? We're not on the foggy, chilly moors, my dear. This pile was less than half of a clipped pony. 

But at least there were beautiful dapples waiting under the extra fur

WW: Ben and Friends

Ben had been trying so so hard to play with Butterball and the others over the fence that we finally gave it another go. And he's been so nice! The babies are a bit intimidated by him still, but it's probably good for them.

They're separate in the morning so Ben can leisurely enjoy his breakfast, but I moved him over shortly after this

And we had our best, most relaxed equiband lunging session to date on Tuesday, probably not a coincidence. 

WW: Goggles XC

Goggles had a great go last weekend at Majestic with a clear XC round and clear stadium minus one pilot circle since the jump numbers blew over. 

He's jumping so well these days I had a load of good XC pics to choose from. Nice problem to have! Photos by Lisa Madren.

Worded Wednesday Walks: My Dream Horse

We all came through Milton just fine. Less rain and wind than Helene by a long shot here, we didn't even lose power. Thank goodness. I feel for the people to the south, some of the rivers we canoe a lot are flooding and going to get even higher over the next week. I am ignoring the whispers of yet another storm out in the Atlantic right now. 

Back to ponies... Butterball's cut right in front of the girth is STILL healing. And after our XC lesson two weeks ago, I got serious about NOT putting a girth back on him until it is healed.

Pesky little thing, taken about a week ago

So in that spirit, we've done a TON of bareback hacking. 

Some of us have been snacking too 

As I explored a powerline cut bareback in misting rain the day before Milton, I realized this is what I've been searching for. I think my greatest joy comes from the quiet walks in the woods. I LOVE jumping and can really savor those moments where things click in dressage and there is a new understanding of moving off the leg and another degree of lift to the withers. But truly? I want a horse I can hop on and hack through the woods on and feel like they're having a good time too. Bonus that this one has the comfiest pony back so he is MADE for sitting on bareback. 

Butterball is not (yet) a seasoned trail horse, so he certainly has his moments. He spooked pretty hard at a banner flapping in the wind directly behind him and less hard at machinery rustling in woods that he couldn't see through. But generally he approaches things in a confident manner with a sense of curiosity. After those spooks, he came right back down to earth. And food trumps all for this pony, so a mouthful of grass later and he was totally content. He just took a moment to pause and stare at the clown donkey and horse duo across the road from the barn and the herd of cows that TROTTED towards him at the fence. After consideration, he wanted to head closer to them to investigate. 

It doesn't hurt that he's adorable and a heck of an athlete, but his level headed confidence is my absolute favorite thing. 

Those ear tips tho 

💗💗

What is your ideal horse? Which characteristic in a horse is MOST important to you? 

WW: Deer Demo

The boys (Ben) spotted a deer just outside the pasture fence on Monday. I was cracking up watching their boldness (or lack of) come through.

I didn't get the first part where Ben spotted the deer and went head straight up in the air to stare. But here we see Goggles proceeding straight over to the deer while Ben hangs behind. 

Goggles marching along still while Ben hangs back

Goggles reaches the spot where it was just outside the fence while Ben stays even further back.