Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 138th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 138th LESSON

This morning I started Flossie out, in her well-oiled, non-squeaky saddle, on the track
instead of working her in a circle, first, as I've been doing lately. She was zippy! I
took her around at a walk, first, to warm her up, then twice around at a trot, sometimes
breaking into a pace, but mostly a trot, then, finally, at a canter. We did that in both
directions. She only took a couple of false steps off the track near the barn, which is
where, she's convinced, the bogeyman lives. She had her courageous cap on today, though,
because she swerved back onto the track for me, without missing a beat, and we continued on
as if nothing had happened. We did some circling in our favorite corner, then I took her
around the perimeter of the paddock near the fenceline, even past the barn, and didn't have
any problems with her at all. I rode her down the driveway and just as we got half way to
the road, the neighbor, who shares the driveway's apron with Des, started driving up in
his four-wheel drive. Flossie stopped until he swerved off into his driveway, then I asked
her to continue forward and she did as if nothing had just happened. Not once did she
display any signs of nervousness. We stood at the end of the driveway just taking in the
scenery for a while before I turned her around and headed back to the yard.

Because today was Labour Day (SIC), and the schools and all the shops were closed, Gary and
Hannah came down so Gary could work Blaze around the track with Paddle Pop King
(affectionately known as Barney). I spoke with Gary about Hannah's love for horses and how
much she wants to ride. We discussed the pros and cons. Gary's main concern is the day Des
leaves. The more horses Gary has to care for, the more expensive it's going to be for him
to keep them. I don't think Des charges Gary (or Bill, for that matter), that much board
for their many, many menagerie of horses. Hannah was delighted to have someone on her side
as I pointed out the many different ways a person can work with horses, and even ride,
without buying one.

Billy came down to bring two of his horses back from the blacksmith. I guess he took them
out early in the morning, because they were both gone by the time I arrived. They both had
a nice brand new set of shiny shoes on! He's been busy building more stalls for his horses.
He bought a new 3-year-old gelding he's going to be racing in Melbourne soon. He seems to
have high hopes for this one. I don't know how he runs, but he sure is a friendly guy.

I think I embarrassed Des today while I was talking to him and Gary. I was offering a
carrot to their little filly and she surprised me by putting her mouth on it. Usually she
just turns her head and walks away. Des said once she gets the taste of carrots, you won�t
be able to keep her away from them. Gary said, "Yeah, like beer." I said, 'I don't know
about beer. The first time I tried it I didn't like it at all." "Was that American beer,
or Australian beer?" Gary asked. "American." I replied. Then Gary said, "Oh, you mean
rootbeer?" He kept saying it over and over with the emphasis on the ROOT. Finally, he had
to say "That's a funny word", before I understood where he was coming from. In Australia
the word "root" means sex. So I told him I got it and then I said they (meaning Americans)
even name their daughters Fanny. (In Oz, the word fanny doesn't mean rear end. It's used
to replace the word normally used for female genitalia). That's when Des walked away.
Gary, on the other hand, took the conversation in stride. I assured him Norm had already
warned me about these things before I left America and was advised not to use them in Oz.
There was nothing wrong with our discussion, really, but when Des walked away I thought
perhaps I had spoken out of line.

When Norm came down to get me, we gave Des is huge bag of gratis tomatoes we picked up at
the market yesterday. He said he doubts he'll be able to eat all of them, but he took them
and thanked us just the same.