Settling In

 Spring is slowly coming to Nova Scotia. The grass is greening up and the weather is warmer. I am impatient and want it to warm up more- it's still quite chilly. Even though I know it will also bring the black flies. There is grass coming into the front paddock that they are grazing on. But I still bring them out to the grass to acclimate before going into the back pasture. 

Carmen forgot that she had her turn and accused
me of playing favourites. 

I usually let them graze after a training session. I drop the lead rope and let them graze while I put things away. And yes, I let the rope drag around.  They both know to yield to the pressure so when they step on it, they move their move their feet and sort themselves out. Here's a video of Quaid dealing with the rope. 

I didn't just start them with a trailing rope. It all comes as a result of teaching them about yielding to pressure on the poll, having things around their legs etc. 

My rides on Carmen are going well. I'm feeling a lot more balanced this year. Which means I'm better at helping her find her balance. It's interesting with being retired and not having the pressure to fit training in around other responsibilities. I don't know that I'm riding more, time will tell on that, but I am enjoying not having to make choices about chores or riding. I also have been playing with the liberty with Carmen. She's quite smart about it all. I was playing with some of our toys: flag, tarp etc. She definitely remembered that going to the tarp means rest. 

Carmen: you can't bug me when I'm on home base!

I caught this cute little video when we were playing. You can see her trot to the tarp and then off to the plastic bag. Her look at the end kills me. 

Oh yeah, this mare is really spooky! 

Quaid is also doing well. He's been perfectly sound, which is such a relief. He's also been a bit sassy- which I attribute to the 'almost 3'. We have days where I wonder what I was thinking buying a 2 year old and others when I think I'm a genius who makes excellent decisions.  

I guess time will tell. 

she's getting whiter, I will miss her dark mane