Still Too Friggin' Hot, BUT...

You can still do stuff with your horse, just to keep them in line.

Yesterday, I thought I'd try to ride. I know, what a dumb thought, but I'm having withdrawal pains, y'know?? In case the heat continues, I'm going to ride in the evenings but that's sort of scary in that no one from the ranch is around. If I should fall off or get dumped or hurt at the barn, no one would really notice for a while, maybe even too late. My hubby would know AFTER A WHILE that I didn't show up but he wouldn't send out a search party pronto. Since I have a cell phone with me, that's great, but it's usually sitting on the fence post (railroad tie end) and not easily accessible if I'm on the ground. I've thought of getting some 2-way radios and latch one onto my person. If they get crunched, that'd be okay, not okay to crunch the uber-expensive cell phone though.

So, yesterday, I fed the critter, haltered her, tied her up to the fence, ran a brush over her hide with some fly spray, tossed the saddle on. She was not a happy camper once bit. Life is rough, eh? I hung her bridle on the saddle horn and then retreated to sitting on the fence to watch the show.

It was so hot that I felt like a hammer was hitting me through my Monty Montana hat and T-shirt (yes, a T-SHIRT so don't start with me). So, I felt like my mare was feeling it just as well but she's taking full advantage of the fact that I'm not doing much with her and getting a little bit snotty. She's an Appy, what can I say? Love my dumpling!!

We looked at each other for a while, she fretted but her heart wasn't into it, I could just tell. Her frettiness lasted a whopping 5 minutes or so, a record for her, then she stood still and looked at me. Actually, I felt sorry for her. Hell, I felt sorry for ME.

I unsaddled her, threw hay and went home. My point is that even if it's a little bit of something, no matter how hot or cold the weather, you can do something with your horse to show them that you're still a force in their life. They will 'get it'. When you take on a horse, unless you have big pastures and don't really care to do anything (such as ride), I feel like you have a responsibility to keep the horse 'in training' of some sort. There are always things you can do to show your horse that it's still your ballgame and they play it your way.

I hear that the weather is supposed to cool off, clouds were rolling in yesterday late, so I'm still ahead of the game with Spotted Butt (I mean the horse, of course) in that she's been saddled plus the tying up to the fence, that put her back on my track, not hers. Hopefully, I won't lose another day of riding, if the weather stays sort of nice, because I did something yesterday.

Will let you know how it goes, weather-wise and saddled-wise! Now, go love on your horse!!