A Week With My Horses

This past week I've been house sitting on Bainbridge so I've been able to come over everyday and either ride or spend time with my horses. It's been great! Monday and Wednesday I rode over at Barnabee and like Christmas Eve, it was really quiet. I think all of the construction work must now be done there and I'm so excited. It's making all of the difference in my riding. Ben isn't as antsy anymore and I'm able to ride him for the full 45+ minutes instead of lunging him for half of it. It's been nice to be able to have more saddle time again and be able to work on different exercises.

On Tuesday I took Hyrum for a little trail ride on Jena. We also clipped her "Santa beard" off and spruced her up a bit. Hyrum had fun making her look pretty and decided her new name should be "Butterfly Princess Pony." He's so funny! Afterwards I trimmed Ben's mane and also clipped his bridle path and throat latch. He looks very sharp now, especially when he is wet and all of his long winter coat hairs are laying down. It reminds me of how beautiful he is in the summer. Ahhhh, I can't wait!

Thursday my dad and I cleaned up all of the manure in the pasture and we took out 6 wheelbarrows full. We couldn't believe it! It rained the whole time we were working and with the ground so wet a lot of soil was mixed in with the manure, which made it really heavy. I was glad to have my dad help to push the wheelbarrow. I owe a lot to him since he cleans up the pasture each week. If I was over here more I'd do it too, but all my time on the island usually just gets spent in riding. After picking up the manure, I cleaned all my tack and organized my tack room.

What a great week it's been to be able to spend everyday with my horses. I can't wait until I am able to live closer to them and have them on my own property someday. Even if you can't ride everyday, it's still very fulfilling to be able to be in a horse's presence. They are powerful creatures and I love the special bond that we have.