Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 143rd Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 143rd LESSON

I spent the entire day with horses! The first three hours were only
virtual horses, however, on Horse Isle. I managed to gain another few
quest points, and even though they totalled to about 300 or more, it
wasn't enough for me to reach the 25% I'm aiming for. I was at 23% when
I started, and ended with 24%, so at least it went up one. I'm hoping I
can gain one more next week so I can start doing some quests on Lava
Island.

This afternoon I was able to ride a real horse! Norm dropped me off at
Flossie's at 1:30 pm so I could be done riding by the time he swung
around again and picked me up on his way to a boxer-size program he held
for Busy Bodies in a park in Woodlands, close to Flossie's paddock. I
had never ridden Flossie in the afternoon before, so it was a new
experience for both of us. The track was still pretty muddy near the
road, so, again, I had to rein her in when we got to the muddy spot.
She was feeling good and wanted to run. It was fun letting her go, then
pulling her down again. Both of us would have rather been able to keep
going, of course, but you have make the most out of what you get
sometimes.

The grass was dry, which was a real treat, since I was able to do some
circling. I had her cantering nice and slow in a circle to the left.
She had worked going to the right a few weeks ago, so we've done both
directions now. She circles the canter as well as she does the other
gaits. I managed to sit her trot for a while today; the longest I've
ever been able to sit it before. I don't always work on that. When it
comes naturally, though, as it did today, I just go with it. I'm hoping
eventually to be able to sit it for longer stretches at a time. I'm in
no hurry to do that, though, so I just take it as it comes.

After the first ten minutes on the track, Billy showed up to work his
horses. He had them running beside his truck while he drove around the
track. When he passed me, he yelled, "You shouldn't be riding on the
track! This is where we work our racehorses!" I looked at him in
astonishment and said, "What?" He acts like he's the boss sometimes. I
had phoned Des before I left home to be sure it was okay for me to come
down and ride, so I knew I wasn't in the wrong. So I just kept on
riding, taking Flossie off the track when Billy came by, just as I've
always done when Gary's worked his horses on the track with me. When I
finished riding, Gary showed up. He asked me if Billy had said anything
to me. I wondered why he'd even ask that question since he had just
arrived and couldn't have known what had just taken place. It turns out
Billy had complained to Des. Gary said I'm a nice person and I don't
have to take anything from Billy. He said no one likes Billy because
he's so high and mighty, etc. He also told me Des was very upset with
Billy for saying anything to me and told him so.

Later, Des told me, himself, how upset he was with Billy and he told me
I should never, ever listen to that man. He also said he's ready to
kick Billy out of there, anyway, because of his attitude. He mentioned
that Billy doesn't own the place and that I wasn't doing anything wrong.
I assured Des I didn't let Billy bother me and that I just kept on
working Flossie the way I would have done if he hadn't been there,
anyway.

Flossie was covered in a thick layer of mud as if she was trying on a
new style of armor. From the tips of her ears to the bottom of her
hooves, I had to curry, rub, scratch, brush, jab the dried clumps off.
It was hard work. It took forever to clear a path for her bridle,
girth, and saddle. It wasn't until I had finished riding that I gave
her a good cleaning. She seemed to want the mud off and was very good
about me manhandling her the way I had to. She got discouraged once
when I used the curry against her hair, so I changed tactics and she was
much happier. I even had to scrape mud off her face around her eyes,
her jowls, and her muzzle. I wasn't able to get all the mud out of her
mane and forelock, though, because I ran out of time. I glanced at the
other mares that were in the paddock with her and wouldn't you know,
they had absolutely NO mud on them whatsoever. Go figure. I should
have considered riding one of them! No, on second thought, that would
have taken even more effort in the long run I think. Especially since
one of them is only a filly and has never been trained to do anything
yet.

When Norm arrived for me, he took me to the park with him so I had to
watch and wait around for him to finish with his boxer-size class before
I could come home. It was too late to wash my clothes and my saddle
pad, so they'll have to get done in the morning.

It's supposed to rain in the morning, so I'm glad I chose to ride today.
It was such a wonderful experience, as usual. I know I'm going to
sleep, if not well, then happily, anyway, tonight!

I forgot to mention, when I first arrived at Des' place, Flossie walked over to me
without my having to go out into the paddock to get her, which is what I usually have to do. Just
the way she strolled over to me resembled a child slowly approaching an adult, with her/his
hands behind her/his back, head sort of tilted down while innocently looking up, which says
"I don't want to seem presumptuous, but is it me you're looking for, by any
chance?", or, probably more likely, "Pardon me, but do you have any carrots for me today?"
Either way, her demeanor was priceless.

Every night before I go to bed, I wash my face with a Nivea Visage product called
"Refreshing Cleansing Lotion", which is applied by using cotton wool and massaging
it into the face by using a gentle circular motion starting at the neck and working upwards. When
I'm through, the cotton wool is rather dirty after accumulating a day's worth of
grit, perspiration, whatever. Well, tonight, after cleansing my face in this manner, the cotton
wool had turned dark brown! I was horrified, at first, until I realized all the mud that
had been caked on Flossie's face yesterday was transferred to my face when I cleaned her
up! I was, literally, wearing her dirt!

People who don't have computers will never know the joys one can attain via the desktop
background one is able to personalize. What a delight for me, for instance, every day when
I turn on my computer and find Flossie there staring back at me! I can pick and choose my
photos regularly, replacing one precious image with another on a daily basis, or even more
often if I desire.