Goin' Out With My Spurs On

Our first trip to Burns we spotted a man decked to the hilt looking all the part of a 50's Hollywood Cowboy as he strutted across the road and into...the fabric store? Certainly you wouldn't have seen John Wayne doing that. Or would you? After all, this guy was wearing his work clothes, from cowboy hat to jingle bobs, he was the real deal and in the dusty high desert ranch town he was not one bit out of place.

In my town, people do not dress the part of the old west, but rather you'll see them in their business suits or dresses as they scurry about from desk job to the counter at the bank to the line at Starbuck's. Except me that is. I go out with my spurs on. Heck, it's what I wear when I go to work, so that's what I've got on when I head out to do business. Pink boots and pretty little spurs. Maybe I need to invest in a wild rag to go with?

This has been a rough couple of weeks here for me. Typically when I get a cold, it's a 48 hour deal. They can get as nasty as all get out in that 48 hours, but by day three I've bounced back and am kicking harder than ever. But not this time. My throat still burns and there's a mild fever that floats in and out with it. I suspect the fever is more humidity related than anything; it's barely there and most often found after I come in from working with the horses. A recent trip to the Dr confirmed there is nothing I can take; this is viral and attacking the vocal cords, so suffer through is the best I can do. Hence, I've severely limited my phone calls.

I've also limited my time with the new trainees in an effort to heal a bit sooner, rather than drag this thing on and on. I actually took the entire weekend off, something I'm not prone to doing, and I've cut my training back to once a day, or sometimes twice, rather than working them 3 times a day. My goal is to keep at it just enough to not lose anything we've gained up until now.

Dakota is leading, a bit shyly, but willingly in his small paddock. If I'm patient and keep my back to him, he'll come up and investigate, wiggling his lips on my shoulder in an attempt to familiarize himself with me. I've never had a horse who's not been gelded until age 4; he's different than the others. Gentle, quiet, but there's a power there that I don't want to awaken...at least not in a defensive manner, so we're taking things a bit slower, and I'm happy with where he is. It won't be long before he's relaxed and comfy with people.

Addie struggles still just a bit, but I've been able to scratch both sides of her at the shoulder, and today she decided it was okay to move in a forward fashion when I was 'leading' her. Typically she plants those big hind feet of hers and pivots, but nothing more. She's the most fearful of the bunch, even though I was able to touch her first. She freezes, but then jumps, so I need to be careful. I've decided to let her drag a line with her so she can learn to give when she steps on it. Much easier when they teach themselves.

Denny...oh, what a boy he is! As previously mentioned, I can nearly climb all over his right side, but he's not comfortable withe me on his left. Although~I did manage to get him lunging just 6-7 feet from me with his left side facing me. He didn't like it and made several get away attempts, but he's coming around. He's also not fond of being touched on his face, so we're working at that. He did, however, figure out the leading thing last night.

Once they get to this point, things do tend to move along. A lot will depend on my 'recovery' though. Feels funny to say that as I'm not really sick...just tired (probably increased with the heat/humidity) and feeling crummy due to the sore throat. Hopefully I can shake this in the next day or two, because...

The big Youth & Yearlings event is this weekend! I know, I know...3 months have passed and now it's time for the kids to show off what they've learned, and most will be saying goodbye to their dear little friends. If you're in the area, please come out and support them at Black Raven in Arlington.