All good things must come to an end

Our riding vacation came to an end yesterday. As I sit here, I am missing my horse (oh, and you guys, too). Ziva and I have been playing soccer and chase the tennis ball for an hour. I said, "Are you ready?" and she instantly cocked her head and was heading for the door. I think she is missing going, too.

Doggone bees ruined our last trip. The hoop-de-doo trail used to be fun, but we have not been able to do it for awhile. For one, we don't want to have to see the damage done to the lower meadow by trucks spinning brodies (and all their trash left behind). Secondly, there have been bees along the trail unless we go in the winter. Finally, there is a tree down at the end and lots of brush surrounding it, blocking our passage to the end of the trail. I can't remember the last time we made it the Underwood road and headed up the trail from there!

Anyway, it's been fun. We are lucky that we can stay home and ride everyday. (Sorry Alisa--I hope you don't mind not being home.) Just like Shirley says, "We live in the prettiest country. Nothing can compare to what we see everyday."

All the riding we did was good for Jupiter. We worked on walking with others, standing and waiting until I said we could continue, crossing bridges, stepping over logs, and navigating over rocks, rocks, and more rocks. He got better every day. Shirley says he listens to me. I guess I have won enough battles of the will that we are forming a solid team bond. He does shy at silly stuff, but I don't expect him to be perfect--after all, I am definitely not. And of course, right or wrong, I still reward him with what he wants to do occasionally.

Keota also seemed to be enjoying his days on the trail. He didn't hesitate at the bridge; he never misstepped on the rocks; he didn't do anything to get yelled at all week (at least that I noticed). He was in the front, in the back, and even sometimes in the middle without worrying about Jupiter or Star being behind him. I think he did great. I love that he lopes along without any effort. I just wish I could see him do  his perfect jump again.

Both Buster and Star gave Shirley some sideways jigging. I am not sure why they got upset--we stayed pretty close together so Star couldn't worry where everyone was and why Buster acts up is always a mystery to me. Maybe he wants to be in front! When Lynn rides him, he gets a taste of being the leader and seeing everything first. Shirley rarely takes the lead, so maybe Buster is exerting his desire to be in front. Shirley was a little nervous in the rocks with Buster, but I reminded her that Star is the one that has slipped the most and Buster has only been sure-footed with her.

Ziggy must be in his defiant teenage years. He has been so good for so long, maybe he testing the waters--just like a kid. He got in trouble everyday. I don't think he will continue to test Lynn as much, since he really is "the good kid" who doesn't like being in trouble. (Maybe Jupiter, the true bad boy, makes fun of him in the field for wanting to please Lynn so much. Just like a bully who teases a good kid into being less compliant.) Anyway, he is such a sweet boy and Lynn thinks when he gets in trouble he stops thinking and makes more mistakes that cause him to be yelled at again. Once he figures out how to break that cycle, he won't get yelled at and everything will be good again. One funny thing I heard Lynn say was that he did his cartoon stretch-car-zoom over the curves coming down from Granite Lake; the visual is pretty funny. He's a lot of horse to be making hairpin turns. :)

Thankfully we only had bees twice (three times if you count that we went through one set two times). No one was really hurt--Ziva, Sammi, Jupiter, and Zigs got stung, but not badly. We got to see new country, albeit disappointing because the trail wasn't open, and we played around with the black tarp/trail trial crossing. Riding anywhere with my horse, my dog, and all our favorite equine, canine, and "peeps" works for me.

Thanks, Lynn, for being our tour director.