Who is that masked horse???

Yep, Tripp is stylin' in his fly mask, and I am stylin' in my new helmet! It didn't occur to me to check the inside of the truck where UPS usually delivers stuff while we are gone. Duh!

Now, how do I feel about this helmet? Don't ask! I know I will get used to it, but so far I feel constricted! I just don't like anything on my head. Not to mention I have to wear a low pony tail and my hair blows under my pits! EW! The adjustment on it are tabs and I don't like those either. The dial system is much easier to use. In case you all wanted to know for the future. :-)



This morning we went out about 8:30 or 9:00 and according to the computer it was already 77 degrees with 81% humidity. Yep, was going to be a steamy day! I hurried up and worked with Tripp a little bit.

Well, folks, sometimes things happen for a reason, even if there was physical pain involved. Remember my little story about getting sling shotted off Nevada (my fault), so to this day I still don't know how it feels to sit on my new/used saddle on a horse, just on the stand in the living room?
I FINALLY KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO SIT ON MY SADDLE ON A HORSE! WOO HOO!!! IT IS HEAVEN!

I really thought it would be too long for him, but we put it on with my CSI pad and it fit great! At first I thought it was sitting to far forward, but there was plenty of shoulder room. I will still find someone to check for me to make sure - I sure don't want to cause him any pain. Then again, if he was uncomfortable, he would not let me walk up to him and sling it on him - no halter or anything. So I know he doesn't have bad memories about the other saddle - I am hoping this one is good too. If someone sees something that I don't, please let me know! I like Tripp happy. :-D



I let Tripp wander around this afternoon with the bridle for a while....he doesn't like it, and I don't like him not liking it. So I went back inside for a while. When I went back out to start tonites lesson, I took the bridle off and he stuck his tongue out at it! Ptooey!



I drug the bridge into the pen...it is big and heavy! I think we need to put the lawn mower wheels on it that raise and lower. I forwarded my idea to Brian tonite...
Tripp was not one bit afraid of that bridge! He walked up and started pawing it, then tried to eat it. He did that for quite a while and I let him. We are not on a time schedule....okay, we really are but I try not to think about it. :-) When I got on him he really didn't hesitate that much going over it. The only time he stopped and acted like it had not been there before was when I rode him out of the pen gate and back in again....ACK! Where did that thing come from?

Then Brian decided to give it a try. This is Tripp's first time to have someone new on his back. He made a face about it at first, but then settled right in. The first walk around the pen went well - Tripp followed me. Then I got out of the way and Brian moseyed around by himself. I was proud of both of them. Brian had not ridden for a long time, and Tripp, well you all know, he is new at this.



Tonite went pretty well. We trotted quite a bit - well for us it was quite a bit. He likes to stop, which makes me think I am doing something wrong. I know I move around a lot and need to work on that. I also need to rig up some reins to put on the halter that are not too long. I am using the lead rope now, so I am fiddling with them all the time too. I will say that he is stopping a lot less than in the beginning, so I see the improvement in just a few days.

I decided I wanted to ride out of the pen gate tonite. We went out and back in a few times and he did good. I figured we would venture out a little further, and he spotted some old dried up faded hay on the ground. It started out a slow 'I am going to rub my face with my leg because of flies' kind of move, then his nose went right down to that old hay! You can fool me once...but not again! So I kept him moving. The little stinker decided he was not going to move, then he decided he would move and started going backwards. Guess what? I can steer him backwards! HA! I steered him around and we backed up the small hill right to the gate. I then rode him back into the pen, left the gate open, and we made several circles around the pen. It is amazing how well he walks out knowing that the gate is open! Now if I can get him to move like that all the time!

He has a spoiled stubborn streak in him - I probably created part of it and didn't realize what I was doing. I need to get a grip on it pretty quick so he doesn't turn into a monster. He is smart, and I think he will realize what is and is not allowed. I was less nervous on him while he was having his minor hissy fit than when I was walking him and he was rearing up towards me. Could it be because I was sporting my new helmet? ;-) No! To be honest, by then I forgot it was on my head. I will get used to it.

We did have fun tonite. We chased chickens, we trotted, we crossed the bridge several times, I worked on moving him off my leg, which is a new thing for me to teach...I hope I am doing it right. We got to venture out of the pen a little bit. Life is good!

I am attaching a short video of one of our bridge/chicken adventures.
Enjoy!

Karen and Tripp