Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 156th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 156th LESSON

It was such a perfect day for riding this morning in spite of the slight chance of rain,
which never happened. Flossie was a lazy bones for some reason and I took advantage of her
slow canter when I worked her in a circle, and, later, when I asked her to canter in a
straight line down the center of the paddock. We had to share the track with BamBam and
Gary at first, then, later with Gary and his geldings as Gary exercised them by having them
run alongside his car as he drove around the track. The little colt certainly wasn't lazy!
Several times he kicked up his heels and broke into a canter when he was supposed to be
pacing. He looked so good, as if he enjoys his daily workouts.

Flossie bucked when a guy, unannounced, came out of the barn that's located in the paddock
next to hers, so I had to spank her. At the end of her lesson, as usual, I cooled her out
with a walk to the end of the driveway. Every week when I unsaddle her, I wash her back and
the girth area with warm water which I bring along with me from home. Then I walk her in
hand around the track just to keep her on her toes. She is becoming a wonderful horse to
lead. I walk next to her inside shoulder as I take her all the way around, starting at the
yard. Today some men were working on foot and also on a bulldozer next to the fence near
the yard. I had to convince her they weren't cohorts of the bogeyman. She's learning to
listen to me when I'm on the ground as well as she listens when I'm in the saddle.

I was able to spend some time talking to Des this morning. He told me that at about 4:00
o'clock yesterday afternoon, two men in a stolen car loaded with stolen goods drove off the
road and straight into Des' dam during a police chase. Both of the men lived, and they were
apprehended, but now there's a car at the bottom of the dam and no one wants to retrieve it.
Des is worried about the oil and gas leaking into the water that Flossie, Bambi, and Brandy
drink out of.

Des said he spoke with the man who owns BamBam's sire and asked him what kind of deal he
could get if he had both Bambi and Flossie bred this year. After giving it more thought,
though, Des decided that once BamBam's "finished", he's going to quit the business and move
near his daughter. We discussed his selling Flossie and I told him he should get good money
for her since she's been ridden every week for years now. He told me not to worry, that he
won't be leaving that soon. I'm not really worried, though, just looking ahead. It's
inevitable he won't be living there forever. He mentioned how tied down he is with the
horses there; he can't just take off when he wants to. According to him, after fifty years
in the business, it's time to give it up.