Thanksgiving 2012

This week being Thanksgiving with family obligations for all, the Henry clan did not make it on Saturday. Shiloh came and then Merri and Ally showed up and we all walked down for a bit of work in the arena with 3 dogs and 2 horses.

We started off the day slowly with Shiloh and Obie quiet in Obie's stall.

After we got the horses cleaned up, tack on Pinta, and the runs picked a bit, Merri and Ally showed up and we walked down the road together to the arena. Shiloh rode down the road both ways and she did great. Ally lead Obie and I took Pinta. Merri had their dog, Brumby. Down in the arena, Ally lead Pinta in a walk-trot-walk circle and Shiloh practiced sitting at the trot. She also did some arms-out balancing.

The pictures look beautiful but it was close to 30 with a medium wind. We all had a great time and enjoyed the walking. Shi is improving every week and Ally had a good time with Pinta responding to her requests better than she has in the past.

While I was gone on Saturday, Skip fabricated some custom rings to hold the new handrail for our front porch ramp. On Sunday he hauled the welder out to the front and we tacked it up first and then took it back off so he could weld it up solid. It was great!

Helen and Ed came by about 15 minutes after we finished with the hand rail. Perfect timing! Our heated discussions were over and we were both happy with the end result. They sat by our yard-fire and visited for half an hour or so. I spent the rest of the day until dark finishing the paint on the front of the garden wall. It is progressing!!!

Ele, Bryson, Shi & Tristan

The weather took wonderful care of us this weekend. It was about 50 degrees and did not start to rain as predicted until we were just finishing up and ready to leave. Perfect!

Rob and Tristan stayed for about half an hour after bringing Shiloh. His big sister was happy to help Tristan learn to lead Obie. Shiloh had a new helmet today and Tristan INSISTED on having a helmet for himself. So ... he wore mine ... and it fit! The kid has a big head! The kids are starting to get the routine, which is a blessing. We arrive, we get Obie out of his stall. They clean and pet and talk to him and then trade off who is running around with him while the others are cleaning his stall run. Once that is managed and moving smoothly, we take out Pinta and start the same process with her.

This week Julie worked on her leadership skills while she gave each child a turn in the saddle. We decided they were solid at trotting on line, and so Ele, Bryson and Shiloh each had a few turns at trotting the half-circle of the driveway with Julie leading (jogging) and the child learning to balance at the trot. They all did terrific. Ele and Shiloh are having a wonderful time playing together. They were in and out of the Volvo just like last weekend -- playing with Obie, playing with Pippi, pretending they were each dogs themselves, giggling, giggling, giggling.

After that we moved on into working Pinta under saddle by her rider. Julie first. She rode circles both ways practicing start, stop, turn. After a wee bit of frustration they started working together well. Every rider must learn to communicate with their mount. Often riders don't take the time to learn the language and instead expect the horse to be more like a machine. Our goal is to make sure the communication comes first. Pinta expects the consideration of being asked. Once she and Julie got the basics down, they were having quite a good time. She was calm enough to let Bryson do the same and they both had a good time. Today was Bryson's first time on a horse and he did a terrific job. When we left the horses were happy and comfortable in their runs and the children were relaxed and smiling.

Barn Kids!

A great day at the barn today! Ele and Sadie Henry came with Julie, and Rob brought Shiloh out. The girls were giggly and excited to meet each other and had a great time today. It was about 20 degrees when we got there at 10am.

Sadie has been around horses in North Carolina this past summer, and Shi has been to the barn several times over the years, so they were pretty comfortable right away. We had both horses out and were very busy cleaning and getting Pinta tacked up. Julie did the saddling today and worked a bit on her beginning groundwork skills. Shiloh and Ele took Obie and turned on the blower and got him clean all by themselves, giggling the entire time. Then Sadie, Ele and Shiloh took turns over who was leading Obie, who was leading Pippi (who was not particularly happy with this turn of events) and who was running around like a banshee.

Here's a video of Shiloh and Obie. Obie had a terrific time today running around following the girls.

They also spent quite a bit of time huddled in the back of the Volvo under a fleece blanket with Pippi right there too. Obie did not get into the car. Once we got a saddle on Pinta we loaded two girls at a time, one in the saddle and one behind, and Julie lead them around the driveway loop several times. Then we traded saddles again and Julie got on Pinta while I got circles and Shi and Ele played with Obie. We went out into the large pasture and walked around with Julie in the saddle and Sadie on back ... and then Shi came out wanting to be on too!

The sun was warm by the time we got everything blown off and put away. We're ready for next week again :)

Ele's First Day at the Barn - with Obie, Pippi & Pinta

Ele Henry came to the barn today with her mom, Julie. We are planning to start working at least once a week with the horses and she took right to it today. After being the usual anxious when first meeting a large animal, she started taking Obie for walks up and down the aisle while Julie and I cleaned turnout pens.

Pretty soon she was comfortable taking him all the way through the barn and out around into Pinta's turnout and then back through the barn outside into the drive ... repeat ... repeat ... repeat. They were both so cute together! Pippi followed along behind.

We did high-speed blower on Obie to get him cleaned of mud and debris, then combed his mane, tail and forelock. Ele brushed him with the brushes and he stood and had a great time through it all. Once they were walking up and down the aisle, they would stop at the apple treat box and both (!!) take a bite of an apple for a quick treat before continuing on their circle.

She took him through his stall, around his paddock, outside, through Pinta's paddock, up and down the aisle's ... and even into the tack room once. That part wasn't planned, but that's what kids do with horses ... they figure out the things that aren't such a good idea by trying them. It is sure what I did when I was young.

After giving Obie lots of attention, we got out the big horse. She was in fine form today enjoying her role of babysitter. Julie held Ele high enough to use the blower to clean the mud off of her, then we put on her saddle and Ele went back to the security of Obie's stall while Julie rode back and forth through the aisle. Did I mention it was POURING rain outside? We used the aisle and had a great time.

After Julie rode it was Ele's turn and Pinta continued her cooperative mode. Ele's rain boots would not stay on so she rode in sock-feet today. Everyone was happy.

Ele decided to decorate Obie with the shavings from his stall, but he is a willing play partner and did not mind at all. When she was ready to get him clean, he came back into the aisle for a second blower treatment to turn him beautiful again before we left for the day.

As my friend Cindy says ... a great day with horses is one where everyone has a good time and no one gets hurt. We had that today!