Spring has Sprung

As my brother has pointed out, I stopped writing. We’ve been very busy.

I went back to work for a week. It was quite the vacation, there were grown ups to talk to and I could get things done with out near as much help as here at home. Cleaning a bathroom is nothing compared with getting The Goblin Child dressed to go outside. I was still glad to be done once the week was over, I missed my rotten little Goblin Child.

Speaking of which, she and I have gotten a fair bit of riding done. On trusty old Coyote not her pony yet. Having The Goblin Child under foot makes me appreciate Coyote all the more. I give her the reins and she leads him all around. With me hovering right next to her of course, the old boy is trust worthy but spooks happen. He has had lots of experience with very small creatures underfoot. Years ago when we used to calve for real those baby calves often got confused about who was their mother. It was a different gelding that got suckled, lucky for Coyote, that poor boy was standing very carefully squealing every time the calf got hold.

Avoiding that embarrassing fate doesn’t mean that Coyote hasn’t had them under his belly and wrapped around his legs. He is very careful of the child, leaning down to sniff her every time she stops. I complain about how spooky he is when we ride him but truthfully he does pretty good. I spend most rides without being able to use the reins. The Goblin Child leans clear forward onto my arms, one hand clings to the main to hold us on and the other holds the reins but mostly holds onto the main too, helping to support the dead weight laying on them. I don’t know how anybody can survive with out leg reining.

The Goblin Childs pony did get some riding time last weekend. The whole family was up for Cades birthday (Happy Birthday Cade!!!) and Ava wanted to go for a ride. That made me very happy it seems like as she’s getting older she wants to ride less and less. Odie hadn’t been ridden in months so I saddled him and rode around in a circle or two then threw her up on him. He went as nice as could be, zipping along for the first circle around the yard. Ava wanted to keep going so we went again, he slowed down a bit. Cade decided he wanted a ride, I told his mom that I didn’t feel comfortable putting him on a horse that I had barely ridden. So we did anyway and made another trip around the yard. By then poor old Odie was really dragging. Apparently that was a lot of exercise for a horse that had stood around in a small pen all winter.

I need to start getting him in shape. First though he has to learn how to step over, to mounting blocks or say my pick up so I can get on. Yet another thing I don’t know how people live without.

It’s hard to find time to keep up with all the things I want to write now that the weather is nicer and one of us wants to be outside all the time but I am going to make an attempt.