Morning everyone! It's Saturday and we've got a jam-packed day here at the farm. Tried to get as much done last night as I could to get us ready. Hoping for the best, but the wind is certainly threatening to complicate everything for us today.
We're supposed to have 15-20 mph winds today. Wind and horses don't mix. Horses do not have depth perception. That means they can't see how deep anything is or how far away it is.
When the trees and the brush start to blow, lack of depth perception doesn't work out very well. As far as the horses are concerned, well, that stuff is running towards them--not just blowing around. And, being prey animals, they want to run away. Great! Makes for a great day of lessons!
I have two new adult clients at 9:00 and 10:00. Then, I have a very timid little girl at 11:00. She's sweet. She's been with me a little over a year. But, she is so timid that even Shadow and Milagro pretty much do as they please with her. Add in a little wind and it's gonna be a painful experience to watch. Lord help me...and remember, I'm not a very religious person.
Milagro gets very spooky on windy days. That means Shadow is up to bat, so to speak. Very little bothers Shadow. Shadow says once you've been left at a meat processing plant like he was, you don't sweat the small stuff. I've gotta say that's true about him. Since I rescued him from the meat lot, he's pretty much just happy to do whatever I ask of him.
So, since good ol' Shadow is happy to comply, he's teaching at least half the day. Depending on how much Speakeasy protests the beginners, Shadow may have to pinch hit and teach all day. Speakeasy doesn't care about the wind either, but he care deeply about beginners.
Speakeasy doesn't like to teach beginners. They bother him. He likes someone who he deems worthy of riding him. He does not deem the greenest of green beginners worthy. When he has to teach a brand new student or a timid little girl, oh man, I'm gonna be ready to scream or cry or start drinking before noon or something to relieve the pain.
Yes, friends, watching a horse go begrudgingly through a lesson walking as slowly as possible and purposefully knocking over obstacles along the way is a painful experience for the instructor. My second favorite riding horse, Speakeasy, is capable of causing me a lot of pain when I hand him over to a beginner.
To appease him, I'm going to ride him along side the timid little girl and Shadow. Shadow likes to follow Speakeasy. Maybe it won't be so painful to watch her ride?
Then, I'm going to let Cowgirl Slim ride Speakeasy while Cowgirl Pinkie does the barn portion of her double lesson. Sound like a plan to you? Does to me.
Finally, I'm going to sneak a mid-level beginner in on him at 3:00. Cowgirl Can-Do is great. I love teaching this kid. Nothing gets her down. She's smart. She works hard. She loves anything I give her to do around the barn. She's a pleasure to have near the end of a long Saturday. Believe it or not, she's only nine years old! Can you imagine how great Can-Do will be at 11 or 12?! I'm really looking forward to that!
Well, folks, I'm gonna bug out on you here. I know, I'm leaving you hanging in the middle of the story. I wrote it all, but it was getting awfully long. So, tomorrow, you can read the rest of my somewhat anxious anticipation of today. That last hour of the day I've got some doozies planned. So, tune in!
Have a great Saturday! Thanks for reading!
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