Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 110th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 110th LESSON

Every single television station was telling me it was going to shower today, but my computer
told me they were full of Bologna, so, since that's what I wanted to hear, and since the
sky was going along with it, I listened to the computer and went for a ride on Flossie. It
was a very satisfying ride, too.

When the mare first saw me, she appeared to be wondering what I was doing there after only
three days; she tentatively took a step towards me, but there was no conviction in it.
After a while she changed her demeanor as if she had thought it over and decided she
didn't mind the idea of my being there again and having another ride after all. She
certainly worked as though she was enjoying herself today.

I've learned Flossie works better if I warm her up first, walking/trotting/pacing/even
cantering around an 'arena' length area in the paddock before taking her to the
track. I don't believe in hopping on a horse and asking for a fast gait first off. I
usually walk her around the track, first, but I've discovered the walk gives her too
much time to contemplate her surroundings and a chance to find something to spook and/or
balk at. If I work her in the paddock first, get her on the bit, and get her totally
concentrating on me, then keep her moving at a nice clip, once we get to the track, she
doesn't balk at anything; not even when the tractors/bulldozers/etc are working around
her.

I like to circle her in the corner near the old abandoned barn. The road runs alongside
this corner and there's always a truck or a bus or a motorcycle going by, but when we
circle there, Flossie is virtually oblivious to the commotion. Even when the bulldozers
started up today while we were on the circle, she didn't even blink. She loves
circling, anyway; she takes the bit, chomps away on it, concentrating on every footfall.
Since the ground was no longer soft from all the rain we had two weeks ago, I was able to
work her there, which I was unable to do on Friday. The ground is uneven in some spots,
sort of clumpy, so we really have to watch where her feet go.

Later, when I went out to the paddock to play with BamBam, he saw me coming and ran up to me
as if we were old friends. I don't know if he thought I had a carrot for him or not; he
certainly didn't look for one. He saw me approaching from far off and cantered straight
up to me!

Des told me that yesterday he had Gary and Sharon helping him to move BamBam into the little
paddock which Blaze was occupying not too long ago, but he refused to follow Bambi out of
the yard and through the gate. They're supposedly going to try again later tonight but
I don't know what their strategy will be. While they were at it, Des thought he would
lead Flossie out of the paddock, too, thinking if both mares were led out, the colt would be
more apt to follow, but it never happened. Flossie is very protective of BamBam and she
suddenly tossed her head which brushed up against Des. The buckle on her halter scratched
him on the arm and now he has a big bandage on it. He said he's on blood thinners for
his heart which tends to make a simple scratch bleed as if it were something more serious
than it truly is. His entire arm was black and blue.

Des had to put a metal strip down the topsides of three new boards he just put in between
two stalls because Billy's mare started chewing on it already. Des is putting in
another stable because he's expecting a horse from Mackay to occupy it as soon as the
moving restrictions have been lifted. Because of the flu epidemic, no horses are allowed to
be moved probably for the next week or so. The illness has spread into Tamborine, which is
the next suburb over from Waterford where Flossie lives.

While I was waiting for Norm to come for me, I spent some time with Billy's horses. I
love to talk to them and give each one at least a scratch behind the ears. Justin, a great
big giant bay Standardbred, loves to be tickled and rubbed on his muzzle. I stood against
his fence with my back to him and he kept nosing my hands and arms and nibbling me on my
back and neck and blowing in my ears. He tried to pull my shirt sleeve, but I promptly put
a stop to that. I liked the nearness of him; the smell, the touch, his inquisitiveness.