We started with Bailey, decided to lunge her with some weight to see how she would do since she had some trouble balancing weight last time we worked her. We started her with some feed bags with grain, no problems.
Then moved up to some truck tires. She did great with them, only gave a little buck at a lope, told her no, and she was perfect the rest of the time!
Black mooching scratches at dinnertime. He loves his shed, he can stick his head in the barn through the feed door and watch all that is going on...
Then we got Hannah out and worked with her:
She is practicing being patient while we visit with the neighbors.
Then we got to ground driving, she did great, though we had to remind her how to step over a log... (Like be somewhere near it first!) But that resolved quickly, so we hooked up the single tree and did some laps just pulling weight on it, which she acted like an old pro at (She has been hitched to a vehicle once).
So we went ahead and had her pull her first log! She was a champ! We had already driven her over the route 5 or 6 times since she had to step over limbs going in to the tree and duck under low branches where it needed pulled out from. Jarrett led her for her to pull her first one since it would be a little bit of tricky ground to pull over. He had to reassure her just a little as she first put her weight into it...
But once it got sliding she decided it was no big deal and walked right out.
She is such a fast learner!
Then we just drove her around the loop a few more times with no weight to teach her it isn't all hard work. We couldn't be more pleased with her.
I had to get some pics of Holly, she is developing a really pretty dappling pattern, unfortunately it isn't quite as clear in the pics (the sun was getting low so I didn't get it well) but she is turning an almost smutty palomino with dappling on her belly while staying her regular color up top...
And Serina... still holding out on us... For those interested this is an excellent article about due dates in mares: http://www.equine-reproduction.com/articles/overdue.shtml While average gestation in horses is approx 340 days, anywhere between 320 and over 400 days is normal. The longest recorded gestation resulting in a live foal is 445 days, so we are sill well within that range. Older mares tend to carry long (Serina is 23) and some people say colts will cook longer. She is getting bigger, but the baby has not dropped into position yet. Her muscles are starting to loosen a little and she is walking a little funny, she has a half developed udder with amber fluid, and that little baby just drives her nuts some days, but likes to hide when I try to feel. I still get a few kicks out of it every once in a while though.
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