I had such a good time on my five minute ride yesterday that I just posted a quick video in which it was almost impossible to see her new bling. RCC got some great pictures and I have to share them before we get to the bling. What I love, Love, LOVE about our horses is that they've been out to pasture for two months and we were able to just hop right back up on them without any round penning or lounging.
I love this picture - love the way the sun's coming through the trees.
My favorite picture of Bill and Ranger.
She's furred up a little bit. I thought I'd be able to bury my fingers in her hair, but it just stuck straight up when I tried.
Terrible picture of me; great picture of her new bling. I think it fits her perfectly.
I just had to try out Estes' new headstall. Lucky for me, the horses are in a pasture just fifteen minutes away from the lodge and Mom and Bill always take treats when they visit, so they eagerly look forward to cars driving up the road toward the pasture.
I set up her bridle at the lodge where it was warm, using Ashee's as a measurement guide so that I wouldn't have to fiddle fart around with it out in the cold. In order to keep it warm, I hung it around my neck like a necklace and buttoned my duster up over it. Forgot to get a picture of me wearing my horse's bling, but you can see me take it off in the video to put on Estes.
Bill and I went for a very short ride, but I could have spent hours wandering through the pasture. RockCrawlinChef and Mom went with us and acted as camerapeople and we thought it might be - you know - rude to ride off and leave them behind.
There's kind of a bobble with getting me mounted up on Estes. Bill apparently really wanted me to kick him in the head, but we got that straightened out and when he boosted me up, he practically threw me over her back. Thank goodness the batteries were low in the Flip so it turned off before Mom could see me hanging off the wrong side of my horse.
Mom and Bill got me, well, Estes, a new headstall for Christmas. It's beautiful; the perfect balance between tough girl and pretty. It's got bling in the form of BBs, not flashy stones. And the leather is not dainty; it's good, sturdy leather.
I've been using Ashinator's headstall when I can get away with it (she keeps catching me at it, darn it!) and it's obvious that Estes prefers that one over her own. Since she's so light and doesn't try to rub off her bridle, I don't feel the need to use a traditional bridle with her.
She's currently in a pasture that is fairly easy to reach, so when I go up to the lodge on Wednesday, I have every intention of trying out her Christmas present, even if it's only a quick trip around the fence line and through the trees.
Way back in April, I met Estes' Grandbabies, two adorable fillies, who are amazing critters. They were so playful and sweet that I instantly fell in love. I didn't get to see them all summer long, as they were off being horses and I was busy riding, but Mom snagged this picture of them just a couple of weeks ago. Aren't they gorgeous?
Ida's got someone who is looking to buy them, which is the whole point of her breeding, but it makes me sad, because I want them both something fierce. But with no place to keep them and absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of how to start them properly, it wasn't going to happen anyway.
I haven't been out to see the horses in their temporary pasture and am dependent on Mom and Bill for my updates. Lucky for me, I was able to catch up with them in Las Vegas and get at least a verbal update. I don't know if they got pictures last week when they visited, but they assured me that the horses are all doing well and have "fuzzied up". According to Mom, they've got twice the fuzzies they had when we turned them out and are fat and sassy.
Like you, I wish we had pictures, but we'll have to wait until Mom and Bill are back from the NFR in a couple of days.
