Laborless Weekend

I have not had a weekend as fun and rewarding as this past one in a long time. Saturday was filled with working and shepherding students, but I had lots of laughs as Lynn and I walked to the park, passing all the people sitting in cars as they waited in line. I saw many of my former students and their families. The sun was shining, the temperature pleasant, and all around me people were having a good time--too bad Lynn had to sit in the "dead head" museum for some of it! (Where she had to put up with some live dead head's as well. And I don't mean Mr. Garcia and his band!)

Sunday, we drove up Underwood and rode trails I have not ridden before. Jupiter did really well. He showed his unflappable and confident nature when we sunk up to his knees in soft dirt; he simply stopped and then took his time stepping up and out. He didn't mind where were in line--he simply enjoyed the new trails.

Monday we went up the Hennessey, but took some trails that I had not been on. They were steep, but Jupes likes going uphill and the all the horses in good shape, so it didn't faze them. Star was being cranky with Ziggy; he did not want to follow him anymore. So he decided to the take the lead, but he stopped in the middle of the trail as we were going uphill. I could see on Jupiter's face that he was frustrated that Star was directly in front of him as he likes to go faster than Star does when we climb up steep hills. Star is methodical and steady where Jupiter is strong and fast, so when Star stopped, he jerked his head up, huffed a little, stepped to his left, and plowed right by him--practically scraping alongside. Jupes had his momentum going and for whatever reason, Star just stopped. I could see the irritation on Jupiter's face. (Probably poor manners on our part! Lead, follow, or get out of the way--I guess Jupes and I are a lot alike--Yikes!)

On some of the wider trails, Lynn teased Star by coming up alongside him over and over. He kept laying his ears back and turning head to tell Ziggy to stay back. Finally, he had had enough! Instead reaching out to bite at Ziggy--he bared his teeth at Lynn. He's smart, he knows who's causing his irritation. He knows that Ziggy knows his place and wouldn't keep pestering him. Cranky old thing.

Jupiter had another great day. We stepped down into a pond a little too far and he sunk in, but even after he realized it, he did really well. He kept his head and got his feet free and up on the solid ground. I wasn't too sure at one point--I thought we were both going in, but he was calm and didn't thrash. And on one of the long easy grades uphill, Ziggy and Star trotted ahead of us. They were faster than us and gaining ground. He did not attempt to buck or throw a fit; he asked to go faster, but didn't push it beyond my comfort level. After our rodeo last weekend, this weekend was smooth sailing.