If I have Stress in My Life

I completely forget about it when I'm in my happy place.

Riding Stormy on the motor cross trails last night at sunset she decided to stop at the top of a hill (which usually is the case on a big hill.) The view was too lovely to not take my phone out and snap a picture.) And I don't care if anyone thinks Oklahoma red dirt and weeds aren't lovely. Put anything between a horse's ears and it becomes scenic in my opinion.

Confession Time

It's sometimes said that a dog's personality is a reflection of their owner's personality. I hope that's not true of horses. I was told this weekend that my horse is a bully.  

I took it to heart, and am working on nipping it in the bud. She has become very herd-bound, and really gets agitated when I try and ride her away from the other horses. I knew that much. However, I hadn't noticed how much she just pushed me around. She's great in the barnyard, but when I take her on the trail she's pretty bad. So I got a lesson on Friday from my farrier-who-is-also-a-horse-trainer on what to do when she starts throwing a temper tantrum. (That's the best way I could think of how to describe what she does). She demonstrated just how bad she can be, and I got told how to fix things (and that if I don't it will only get worse.) She's going to be going through horsey boot-camp now. Lots of riding like I've said before, and there's going to be a zero tolerance for outright rude behavior (she's bad about trying to rub her face on me.)

*Just to note, she wasn't actually being crazy when the first picture was taken, she was in the process of turning to look at something. And of course in the second picture she had just taken a drink of delicious leaf-filled water and was just liking her lips.

Trail Ride

Today was an excellent day for a ride.

This is cookie (the cat) and Stormy (my horse). This is stormy's first time wearing saddlebags...and the cat didn't really go a long for the ride. This cat is obnoxious (to say the least)--always wanting constant attention, so he doesn't mind getting stuck weird places if it means he's getting petted more frequently. I often end up setting him on top of stormy while i'm brushing her to keep him from being underfoot/climbing my leg to get to my hand. He is a sweet cat, just sweet in a very pushy sort of way.