Pony Ride

Sunday was a big day for us. It was a beautiful day which means perfect weather for saddle fun. I lugged my lighter western saddle up the hill and into the round pen. I brushed Shoni and saddled her up. Once it was mostly cinched I saw that the back end of the saddle was sticking up from the saddle pad (maybe a sign of poor saddle fit?).

Plan B, time to bring out the big girl saddle (pictured). This is my Dad's 16 inch heavy saddle. I saddle Shoni with this one and told her I'm glad she's not a lot taller because I don't think I would have been able to hoist it up there (I think she's around 14hh). This is her 3rd time wearing a saddle and she acting like a pro.

Mom took the camera for a little while and was trying to figure out how it worked. The above photo was the "Whoops" shot.

Shoni was taking everything in stride and I had some man power and decided this would be as good a day as any to step up in the stirrup and lean over Shoni.

Shoni stood still while I climbed on, once on she only moved her head to turn around and look at me or twitched an ear to listen. I climbed down and nothing phased her.

Shoni looks like she has a big smile in the picture above.

Since she was doing so good we decided we might as well go all the way, so up I go.

It was absolutely amazing! We didn't want to over do it for the first time so mostly I sat on her talking to her, though we did walk around some (with Dad leading).

Next came time for the dismount (no worries there) then we were huggin' her and telling her what a good girl she is. We were all grinning from ear to ear.

frisky!!

Nothing new and exciting to blog about so here are more pictures.

Shoni says, "I'm ready for my close up, CHEESE!!!!!"

Some how some of the tarp covering the hay made its way into the babies pen. I was playing with Tabasco by the troughs and turned around to see Shoni standing on the tarp (all four feet). Mom even flapped the tarp and threw it at her and Shoni stood her ground. While this may not be a big deal to some it was to me, I was very proud of her.

Then the babies were getting all frisky and running around.

So I sat down and enjoyed the show... next time maybe I'll bring a chair or sit down outside of the pen. Then again maybe I wouldn't get cool shots like this:

Pretty thrilling to have a horse running at you like that lol lucky for me it was Shoni and not Tabasco since she is so careful.

Next was my attempt to get a decent picture of Shoni so you can see that she is changing colors and starting to turn black again.

Then came more running and kickin' up those heals!!!

Pictures

I have some neat pictures of the horses to share as well as a couple of Sweeties owie.

As you can see Sweetie has a long line of stitches from her surgery. The vet has to come back out in 2 weeks to remove them. It is such a relief to see those sarcoids gone. She still has one on her belly towards her back legs but no cinches bother that so we're leaving it alone.

Sweetie was still kind of mad at us so we brought a peace offering when we went to do chores. I was lucky I got to man the camera while mom was mugged by horses! We ended up in the shelter with the big horses blocking the entrance begging for more carrots. Mom was trying to warn them that they were going to end up with belly aches but they wouldn't listen.

Wednesday was my day off and the weather was nice so I carried a saddle and bucket of brushes up to the round pen (yey!) and did some ground work with Shoni. I hung the saddle and pad over a couple of panels and haltered Shoni. I started brushing her and heard a weird noise and turned around. I see Sundance standing on the saddle pad pawing it!!! I chase him away, dust off the pad, and hang it back up. I go back to working one on one with Shoni. About five minutes later I hear a big clang and turn around to see that Sundance had gotten a hold of the bucket with the brushes and was rolling it around trying to eat brushes. I chase him away again, tie Shoni to a panel, and go retrieve the bucket and brushes.

Finally I got her brushed. I grabbed the blanket and started flapping it around in front of me while I led her behind me. I stopped and let her almost touch it with her nose and walked off again. The next time we stopped I let her touch it with her nose then put it on her back. Then I grabbed the saddle and plopped it on her back. I didn't really let her sniff it because I don't want her to think it's a big deal and since she has had it sitting on her back before. She was looking at me weird but was more curious than alarmed. I started cinching her up. I didn't do it tight since she has mud on her belly that wouldn't come off but enough were she could feel it and it wouldn't slide under her. I was very proud of her and think she did awesome especially for it being so windy that day.

We walked around a bit and she turned to sniff a stirrup a couple of times. We did some ground work with the lead rope around her legs and her back. She snoozed for a little while during the ground work, which I guess could be a good thing? Or maybe I am a boring teacher lol. We walked around a little more and I slapped on the saddle. Then I tied the lead rope around the horn to get some pictures while she nibbled at the little bit of grass coming up.

I took the saddle off and was brushing her some more and heard a big clang coming from a different direction. I turn around and see Tabasco trying to climb the panels! He had his two front feet on the same rung and his head was hanging over the gate. He's trying to give me a heart attack. I went over and scolded him and shooed him away. I showed mom the pictures and she chided me for teaching him how to do it. She said that he probably watches me when I climb over them and that's why I should use the gates instead. I guess... especially with the mustangs! They are too smart for their own good.

I finally finish with Shoni after all of the interruptions and decided to let Tabasco into the round pen. The first thing he does is go over and investigate the saddle. He was a good boy though and didn't try and eat it or kill it. I fed them their dinner and called it a day.

I love this picture of Tabasco and Sweetie- though I wish he'd quit sticking his head thru the panels...

Surgery Today

The vet came out today to do minor surgery on Sweetie. She had a massive growth behind her right ear where the halter/bridle sits, called a sarcoid.

The two photos below are of the sarcoid less than a year ago. Since those pictures, it has tripled in size. The one in the photo was around the size of a penny. The one that was removed today was roughly the size of a half dollar and stuck up a good inch from her head. Our vet in Colorado originally diagnosed it and suggested leaving it alone if we can. Sarcoids are sensitive and can come back more aggressive and bigger if removed.

I didn't get to be there when the surgery was done since I had to work (darn it!) so I don't have many details or knowledge to share. Mom did say that there were a total of four sarcoids kind of in a cluster that were removed- the one big one and three smaller ones.

I didn't bring my camera outside tonight so no new pictures of Sweetie or her stitches. Poor babe had her bangs shaved (except a thin section that may have been missed) and she also had blood that ran down the right side of her head. I tried to wipe it off with a damp cloth but she didn't want anything to do with us... until we brought out the cookies!!!

Overall I know she will be a lot happier having the sarcoid gone, you could tell it had been bothering her the last couple of months so once it heals she'll be a happy camper.