The adventures of Gilly the rescue horse and his side kick and partner in crime, Pokey the donkey.

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Being with a horse is a journey that never ends. What they have to teach us is amazing; but we must quiet our mind to hear them. ~ jca

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Gilly goes to the fair.............

Well, OK not really but we did go to the fairgrounds. The fair isn't until the until the end of August but we wanted to go so Gilly could get off the farm and see some sights. Since he has done so well at trailer loading Kim and I decided to take him for a ride. First we walked him all around the grounds, he saw lots of horses, horses with wheels (sulky racers out practicing) he wasn't to sure about them and thought he might like to trot along too. No, Gilly we are just out for a walk. The thing that scared him the most was two little kids, about 5 and 3, they came running toward him and he about jumped out of his hide! Gee, mom those little humans more fast and scared me!!!

After walking him around Kim and I had lunch. I had packed a picnic lunch for us. We tied Gilly to the trailer, he had his hay bag to eat out of. He stood there resting one foot munching away. There is a bike path right behind where we were parked and there were many bikers riding that day, he would turn and look but wasn't bothered by them at all. Gilly also has some of our lunch, apple and a piece of bread, he was happy.

Picture above was taken before I started riding him around the grounds. There was another horse working in the arena close by that he was keeping an eye on.

We rode around about half an hour before we went into the arena to check it out. Gilly was looking at the shadow on the ground of the big lights. They made a funny looking shadow and he wanted to step really high to get over them! The only other thing he was a little leary of were the orange cones in the corner.

Here we are cantering..............

Here we are barrel racking, see how fast Gilly's feet are flying.....hardly touching the ground! LOL Yea, right!!! No, really we were just walking around it using leg yielding.

Walking toward Kim as she was taking pictures.

Walking past the announcers stand, he wasn't concerned by it at all. I have seen some horses in shows that are afraid of it and will shy away. We won't be showing but it's fun to just come and check out everything. The next horse show will be July 12th and we are planning on hauling Gilly here so he can see more horses and more excitement......more small humans too!
Gilly loaded up really well, I was afraid he might not want to go back in. He didn't get in far enough so I just touched his hip with my finger and he stepped up so I could fasten the butt bar and he was ready to head home.

I got to drive Kim's truck home pulling the trailer, my first time! It was fun, a little scary especially going down the steep hill (gravel road) going home. I just drove really slow and we were fine. Kim has the nicest trailer, I still wish I had one.....sigh.....maybe someday! I can use her's anytime but still I would like to have my own. The neat thing about her trailer is from the dressing room you can open a door into the part where the horses are. Makes it much easier to tie them up after they are in the trailer and secured with the butt bar.

Having a dressing room wasn't on my list of priorities for a trailer but......it sure was nice to be able to pack all out stuff in it. A 7 gallon jug of water for Gil, his bucket, saddle and tack, to bag chairs for me and Kim, the cooler with lunch and other stuff! Nice trailer....I love it!

Next week it's Lacy's turn to go for a ride!!

7 comments:

dexmangoldens said...

How absolutely cool of Gilly to accept most things at the fairgrounds. You picked well, with other horses, kids and strange looking shapes to look at.
He is really maturing and looking good!
Hey, FEI finals are in Kentucky next fall. I so want to go and watch the dressage and jumping. Very expensive though, but they do have all inclusive packages. I think I might start saving my pennies.
Give Gilly a hug for me and tell him -good job!

Pony Girl said...

What a great idea, I'm glad he did so well! I think taking him to shows and getting him used to things is a good idea, before doin' a real show.
And I think Gilly might have a future as a barrel racer, LOL!
I have never driven a trailer...maybe Paint Girl will let me practice with the empty one sometime. I should probably know how to do it in case of emergency and she can't, right?! ;)

Paint Girl said...

That is great that you got to take Gilly to the fairgrounds. Even if you aren't showing him, it gets him used to different environments. I am so happy to hear that he did well.
I love having the dressing room in my trailer. I don't think I could be without one! My sis and I had to change clothes a lot in it last summer, at our family horse camping trip. Plus a lot more room for storage!

Elizabeth McCrindle said...

Five gold stars...didn't he do so well....and small people scare me lol

cowgirljlynn said...

GOOD BOY GILLY! YOU LOOKED GREAT CANTERING!

Anonymous said...

Jane, how is Pokey doing?

jane augenstein said...

Julie, yes, I thought it was a good idea to take Gil there to see a lot of activity. I wish I had taken some pictures of him when he saw the sulky go by. He was really strutting his stuff for the horse he saw, prancing around! Sounds like the FEI will be something to see. Hope you get to go!
Pony Girl,I don't think we will ever be doing any shows but it will be fun to be there and see all the other horses. Some time I want to take Gilly to some big trail rides, all this is prep for when he will be with a lot of other horses. Yes, learning to drive a truck pulling a trailer is a good thing to know.
Paint Girl, Gilly boy was good and I think he enjoyed his trip and will be more relaxed the next time we are in there.
Elizabeth, thanks, yes, fast moving small humans are scary! LOL
Cowgirljlynn, thanks, it was fun to canter in the arena.
Anonymous, Pokey is fine. We can't get him into the trailer yet or he would be going with Gilly; stinker boy!

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