My Spring Break

By Patty Wilber

First off, let me say I was NOT a fan of instituting spring break at my esteemed institute of higher learning.  Who needs it?  Nose to the grindstone!

But boy, I was looking forward to it.

And then it seemed like it I spent most of my time just catching up.

I still need to finish writing a lecture on Integumentary Disorders–I mean rewriting, as I borrowed notes from a colleague to help me get started.

Here is a sample.

Ichthyosis:Rare, usually inherited; excessive growth of keratinocytes giving skin a scaly appearance

I also graded tests–lots of tests–and they took HOURS!  I swear my efficiency has declined.

So, I started reading a book called Unleash the Power of the Female Brain.  The power is still trapped in there somewhere as I haven’t finished the book yet, but suffice it to say I probably need to go to one of the facilities and have my brain scanned and then have them tell me how to fix it because of all the damage I have done by eating white food (THE COLOR!), drinking alcohol, microwaving things in plastic containers, and not getting enough sleep.

I am going to stay up til midnight writing this.  Pour me another glass of wine.

OK, I did saddle a few horses!

Wednesday’s trail ride with Diane and Jean.

Dicey (palomino) says, "hey dusty, they didn't tell you we still have 12 miles to go and it is all up hill!" Dusty (who is just four and believes such things says, "no! no? really?" Dicey: "hehehe. kidding!" I was on JD. JD didn't say anything.

Rode the youngesters, too. Toots and LT, are NOT pleasure horses, just sayin’.  They are cow-horse/reiners.  They do not lope along all slow legged and rocking-chair-like.  No ma’am.  If we are going to lope, we are loping with purpose!  It will take a bit to get them both to relax and slow down.

But they will put their tails in the dirt when they hear the word “whoa!” and  can step their front feet across quick and easy, as a start to a nice spin!

Lacey is the big story, though.  Three days this week I saddled her, bridled her, then hooked long lines to the bit and drove her around the round pen pretending I was the cart (this is actually called “ground driving”)  Each day she got better.

I also messed with  the stirrups and stood in them.  The first day, when I got up there, I reached over and touched the saddle and then her side and she tucked her butt up under her and scooted forward! I backed off a little.

Surprised me though because she is a pretty laid back girl.

Day two was better.

Thursday was day three.    LT had been penned up (to eat up that Ultium Growth I’ve been feeding her.) Opened her gate to the big 1/3 acre  pen and JD, Cometa and Toots immediately went in to vacuum up  LT’s hay scraps.  LT came boiling out.

Lacey was with me in the round pen (which is in the 1/3 acre pen) and LT began to run for the sheer joy of it. Generally speaking if I have a green horse in the round pen and there is a lot of commotion around it, the pen-horse gets busy-footed and distracted.

LT kept trying to get Lacey’s attention by bumping her nose on the rails of the round pen and then tearing down the hill, over the log, though the gate (making JD, and Toots move, but skirting Cometa), around the barn and back to us.  Lacey kept her attention on me!  We drove all over the pen and stopped and backed (which she had trouble with on day 2). When I prepared to stand in the stirrups, her feet remained absolutely still.  There was no flinching when I stood up and leaned over to touch her!

So, I got on!  I could feel her her muscles contract, but her feet stayed planted!  She turned her head all the way to touch her nose to my left boot toe and blinked her eyes at me (well I could only see the one eye from that angle) and sighed. Yay!

Got on and off both sides a few times and called it good.

Here she is tied up after our round pen work.

very wild.

 Oh and her Buckskin papers were ordered but never showed up! Turns out the US Postal Service envelope eating machine got a hold of them. They ended back up at the ABRA (American Buckskin Registry Association) office, in a bag. They will be reissued. Her color is officially buckskin. (not dun like Penny–no dorsal stripe.)