Horses in the afternoon

Today I decided to spend time with my Dear American Saddlebred..17 hand and sweet as a Sugar Pie pie..Flash. He needed brushing from all the mud this time of year the weather creates. There are six horses including Flash and I knew there would be plenty of work to make me move enough for much needed exercise. Phoebe, Sofie and Munchie were over the moon when they realized they got to go too.
Driving into the muddy property caused a bit of, "oh maybe I should have stayed home and had a nap" to cross my mind. I jumped down onto the ground out of the 4X4 I was picked up in and heard my friend say, "I want to move Flash so I can get the tractor in to clean his paddock." The nap thoughts left my mind as I searched for his halter and rope. There is something about getting gear together and the plans running though your mind that takes you away from all other thoughts. A perfect break from any reality troubling you. Working with horses takes your total focus and is mentally more healing than any drug I can think of.

Flash was excited, an excited 4 year old, 17 hand Saddle bred gelding, is a handful. I had searched all over for the rope style halter I was used to using on him but with no luck. I had to use a flat halter that I did not like. To get his halter fastened, I have to have him bring his head down farther with the flat style. Flash being very tall, I still had to stretch even with his head down. Aries the young 3 yr. old stallion was stamping and snorting right next to him in his paddock creating a dance between the two.
The power of my giant horse is beyond belief. To take control is my whole focus as I walk him to the round pen. Between the young stallion and the two new horses that were just brought in to save them from slaughter, Flash is feeling his ancient flight animal instincts and wants to dance and leap, not walk with companionship and respect beside me. I have to stop, stand in front of him asking him to look at me. The movie Avatar comes to mind "I see you" pops into my mind. I have to tell him as I stand extra tall with strong will and force, to back up. I am becoming the mare or that at least, is what I am hoping to convey to him. I do all of this and walk him in small circles to get his attention several times before we get to the round pen. Inside the round pen after I let lose the lead rope, he begins to run and snort. The two new horses are right next to the round pen and I see where the rope halters are. My favorite halters are on the two new horses as they have just recently been moved into the grassy spaces they are in. Flash has not met them before this moment and is beside himself with excitement so I decide to leave him to it for a bit while I went to brush out Hawk. Hawk is a special guy, the 30 year old Arabian who is loved by anyone who meets him. He is known as The General. Being 30 Hawkie's coat is thick and takes a lot of brushing to make him able to keep it standing well for the cold weather, if it comes again. Tasha the Thoroughbred,Quarter Horse cross mare spends a good portion of her time stretching her neck across her stable wall, twisting Hawks mane with her teeth and tongue, causing a Rasta style mane to develop. Today I decided it was time to comb out his mane, the dogs all ran through and around me and Hawk as I dipped under his neck, over his back and under his belly over and over again as I brushed him and again as I worked on his mane. I used to be concerned about pulling to hard on a horses mane. Then I began riding more and after holding onto Flash's mane to pull myself up, or to not fall off. I know now, they are OK with it.
Working with the horses today, I thought back to when my daughter had her horse. I still find myself surprised that now, at my age, I have Flash to care for. I do not expect to ride the way she did, bareback, ragged edged blue jean cutoffs, tan legs, long sun lightened summer hair, with everything, her horses mane, and cutoff frays flowing in the wind. Such magic in that memory, another that I have stored on purpose. "Remember this" I told myself when I was given that moment of beauty.

I got Hawk brushed and his mane untangled. Cowboy Magic in the spray bottle came in handy for his mane, he tried to act like the spray bottle made him nervous but we both knew better. The only thing that Hawk really cannot tolerate is butterflies.

Now it was time to take on Flash as he was covered in mud and looked like a clay Trojan horse at the moment. It is hard to believe that these horses love to roll in this stuff, but it is their great joy. Who am I to tell a horse they are not right.
If they were running free as they do in the wild , they would be scrubbing the mud off on brush and trees as they shelter under them. These horses to not have a whole lot of that going on.
I entered the round pen with my tools, a long pink stick with a thin rope tied into one end and my curry comb. I had thought to bring in lead rope but decided against it. One more thing to deal with and I knew he was being a bit silly so decided without a lot of thought process, that it would be better to use vocal command and see how it went.
I ran him around the pen a few times and then gave him the signal to come to me in the middle. Then the command to stand and he remembered. I rubbed his forehead and told him good boy while going to work on him. I began to think " this is sand in here too, is it cement?" I managed to get things loosened up and moving on his shoulders, rump and back, the legs would take more work or a bath. Keeping the biggest part of the body brushed out is the most important in the winter. The horses are in paddocks out here so their feed and muscle tone can be controlled better which makes for more mud in the winter. They are all healthy and beautiful horses but paddocks take more work than pasturing.
I finally decide that Flash has had all he can take of my scrubbing him with the curry comb, so send him off to work as I have him trot round and round the pen, then practice commands to turn and finally stop while I have a cup of coffee and a break.
Then it is time to bring the horses back to their now clean paddocks which they are all anxious to do. It is their homes and their relaxing areas and they have been working. Flash picked up his ball that had been tossed in his pen and so did Aries...their lips amuse me to see them lift them just so as they take the balls in the tips of their teeth. They pick them up and rise their long necks into the air then raise themselves up on their hindquarters as if to shoot a basket into an invisible net. In horse life this is playing and is fun to watch.
Then it was time to come home again, have a shower with Sofie, she is white and had a good time with me in the paddock with Hawk and it showed, we went straight into my bathroom, no going into my living space, and showered up.
I then made salmon with garlic powder, honey, butter and pecans for my dinner.
I visited with my sister on IM and then watched American Idol and snacked on Satsuma oranges, had the last bits of a chocolate with almond candy bar for dessert and crawled into my cozy little bed.

Sweet old Yoda, 23 yrs old in this picture..getting a nosing from Flash..Cats and horses..go together...  :o)  Life is good.