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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Friday, December 18, 2009

Window of opportunity....

Sorry to say I have no pictures in this post, didn't have time. Yesterday I was making Hot Pepper Butter which is mustard, hot peppers, green peppers, onions, sugar and vinegar cooked down makes some yummy dip for chips, pretzels and spread on ham sandwiches. I was making this for Christmas presents; when I finished I had to head outside to fill the bird feeder and noticed that it was pretty nice out. Even though the temp was only 33 degrees the sun was shining and it felt good out there.

Well, hey, I thought it's pretty nice out here how about a short ride on Gil! I looked up in the field and YIPPEE he wasn't very dirty at all so......back into the house for my coat, hat and gloves. I called Gil and he came, nickering as he moved toward the gate. I had grabbed his bridle with his new bitless noseband; he put his head right in it, unlike he did with the bit. Did a quick brush, he had burrs in his tail but what the heck, we only had about an hour before the sun went over the hills. When the sun goes over the hills here the temp starts dropping so I was in a hurry. Saddled up with the western saddle; got him to do some side ways, backing and a little trotting on the lunge line. Can't use the round pen, frozen. So I hopped on and took my chances! He was pretty full of himself as we started off.

When we got to the neighbors he decided he was NOT going anymore. Started backing up, rather fast and little hops like he wanted to rear! Well, we aren't having any of that so I got off, real quick! I had hooked a lead rope to the halter ring that came with the bitless noseband, great idea! He wanted to back up so we backed about 100 feet to the bridge and then some! He decided that backing wasn't really what he wanted to do. I found a high spot in the road bank and climbed back in the saddle. Gilly decided that going forward was a GOOD idea now! Good boy!

We rode on up the road without incident. He was moving at a nice walk and the bitless noseband worked fine. I think I still need to adjust the chinstrap a bit but he did really well with it. I am glad! I could feel my feet starting to get cold so I thought I had better head back toward the house. When we got back to the barn I decided just a few minutes more so we headed back the hollow to the shed. As we crossed the creek I wished I had brought the camera, there was ice frozen along the edges that really looked neat. Beautiful but cold.

Back at the barn after I unsaddled I realized I had forgotten to get the rhythm beads to put on Gil. DARN!!! I tied him up and went back to the house to get them; I can at least put them on him and trot him down the road a ways. Just as soon as he started to trot, he really arched his neck and flagged his tail, bouncing along so the bells would really jingle! I think he really likes his bells......hopefully next time I get to ride I will remember the bells!

Later that night I was looking though my horse catalogs for winter boots. Found some!!! Ariat, my favs, tall boots, insulated, back zipper, stylish.....Merry Christmas to me! LOL And they will be here before Christmas....so they say! Doesn't matter anyway, I just needed some warm boots. What do ya think? Like 'em?


Not sure when I will get the opportunity to ride again. It's raining outside right now and snow is on the way; temps are dropping. We are supposed to get up to 3 inches of snow and then more tomorrow. We may get a white Christmas after all!

8 comments:

allhorsestuff said...

Yea...Nice ride...though there were no pics your descriptions were nice...loved the way the edges of the creek sounded!
Gilly and those beads...a sight and sound to be sure! You will have to take a video of a ride with them...or lunge him(maybe in Jan? ) Hope the weather gets milder for you dear!

I want to see your nose band too...I am rethinking my Cooks Bitless...I had an altercation with Wa over what direction we were going to go...um it did not help that I had that on! So..I may get another kind of bitless..one that will pull from the side I am pulling on!
THOSE BOOTS!!!! I almost bought those for Me= tonight!!hahaha! I decided on another Mountain Horse new style. Same price. Stella Polaris. We shall have to compare notes! Yea...Had to give myself a gift!
I have some bad news...posting on it now.
KK

allhorsestuff said...

PS
Really Good training methods there! Silly Gilly

Leah Fry said...

Cool boots, er, I mean WARM boots :-)

I love it that you got off and made that sucker back up until he decided it was a bad idea. I'll remember that move.

Alice ~ Folk Art Primitives said...

I love those boots, Jane ~ very stylish as well as warm!! As I read, I thought there was going to be a bad ending to your ride ~ but all's well that ends well!! Gilly sounds like a stubborn boy sometimes!! Pretty day outside today ~ if I can enjoy it from inside the house!!

Girl Tornado said...

I LOVE those boots, can't go wrong with Ariats! I just bought a new pair of Muck boots to wear when doing the horsey chores. I really needed a quality pair of chore boots that I could pull on quickly - I've been using some expensive hiking boots I have which have to be laced - takes too long!! Plus this will save the wear and tear on my good hiking boots.

I just adore the idea of Gilly with the beads on him and I can just hear that beautiful jingling sound.

I also find it amusing when they want to back up, and then we make them back up a TON, and then they decide that wasn't what they wanted to do after all -- so funny, playing a lil psychology with them. :)

dexmangoldens said...

So your test for the day was, can you get Gilly to move forward?? Bet he was REALLY tired of backing! How funny! Wish I could ride, cuz I miss it so.
Your spread sounds really good! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and hug Gilly for me.
Love, Julie

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oooh! Those boots sure are nice. I'm so happy for you that you ordered them for yourself. You deserve it.
Good for you not letting Gilly boy get away with balking at the neighbor's property, too. He's a good boy, just wanted to test you to see if you're the leader.

We're expecting snow this week, too. I also love a white Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you, my friend!


~Lisa

jane augenstein said...

Kacy, yes, I do wish I had taken the camera for some pictures but I had to strike while the iron was hot so to speak....LOL...in this case it was cold! will have to get someone else to take pix next time I ride, if I can find someone to do it. I noticed that in your picture with the Cook's bitless, the nose band is really high. My directions said it is supposed to be an inch and a half to two inches above the corner of the mouth. Maybe if you moved it down she would respond differently?
I too thought of Mountain Horse but like the look of the Ariat's better.

Leah, yes, Gilly gets to go backward a lot, he likes to test me. you would think he would learn but no...He must try!

Alice, thanks....yes, Gilly has a mind of his own. We have a clash of the minds quite often at times.

Oz Girl, backing isn't so much fun when mom MAKES you do it! LOL

Julie, Silly Gilly never seems to tire of backing, cause he is always being a stink so he has to! He did go forward really well after we had the backing incident!

Lisa, yes, the boots are going to be nice out in the snow! I should have them by this Thursday too!!! Gilly is a thinker and a stinker so he is always trying something. He keeps doing things to test me and to see if I can step up to the plate and change his mind! So far so good!

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