Something else rather important, and interesting, I forgot to mention about Desire’s performance in the Renegades. Where in Easyboots she has always forged, sometimes constantly, clock clock clock clock, so bad we rasped and gave the boots a roll to try to help the break over, as we’ve worked on her break over of course…well anyway in the Renegades, she forges *rarely,* in fact only occasionally uphill. A Renegade friend mentioned noticing that the Easyboot gaiter affected her horses break over and action, which came to mind when I noticed this in Desire. Interesting.

“mommy, what is all this crap you’re wearing?”

Keep up little filly–her ever growing toes got a nice rasping on the pavement heading out through the neighborhood

“wow, this is cool! I think?!”

Sheza is a piglet like mom Desire, phew! Makes things so much easier when even spookiness is over ridden by the Need for Feed.

Two generations of “Awww shittt” ears

Getting flaxen on that mane!

It’s looking like fall lately, despite the heat and smoke…lots of fallen, colored leaves..

Auto gate and greeting committee!

Desire and her Not So “little” filly

1 second later, an ADD moment so classic of these two–Who? What? Where? Food?

SuperTurkeys Clark & Lex, now part of the Mini/filly/Count Hector herd.

Desire was mildly interested in the proceedings, that is she turned her head away from her feeder a couple of times, anyway..

“okay Boss, where to next?”

WEEEE Look at MEEEE!!

Count Hector getting herded

1..2..3..strike a pose!

There was a sheet of metal that had been leaned against the fence as in impromptu shelter for the goats, now slid to the ground. After we moved the animals around I was on my way to remove it but first Sheza dramatically investigated it:

What is this shiny madness???!

ADD moment–look over there!

HSO: High Suspicious Objects. Sheza’s world is populated with many.

Petite, she ain’t!

 Count Hector keeping an eye on the nutty racing red beast

Drama eye!

These boots are made for trottin..

Some cloud cover rolled in and kept the heat tolerable

The welcoming committee as we ride up the road for home: Bay Boys Blaze & Joey

Of course you all know the real reason I’m excited about Renegades is that they come in so many fantastic colors! Like Burgundy Blitz, for example, which will fabulously match Desire’s tack 😉

I have other exciting things to post about but will save it for a separate entry since this will probably be wordy–I know, shocker! I just have to write about Joey’s session last night. I didn’t take any photos which translates in my brain to “It never happened.” so if I don’t get this post down now, it’ll disappear into the brain abyss and really, it was kind of a break through moment, not to be ignored.

Last night, Joey was a stubborn, naughty boy. Breakthrough, you say? Absolutely. One of the many things I love about my trainer is how she readjusts my brain to correct Arabian thinking. I’ll usually meander my way to the right answer eventually but often trainer B can just lay down some truth and speed the process way up for me.

Here’s what went down: Joey evaded B when she went to halter him. He was spooky with me walking (way) behind him on the way down to the arena, something he had gotten completely over in the last 2 sessions. He started out in the long lines well enough, but soon started getting stubborn, chomping at the bit and shaking his head when B persisted in asking him to do something he didn’t want to do, he even did a triple direction change spin move completely of his own accord, which resulted in him wrapped up in the long lines, tearing around the round pen like an idiot until he fell over. B got tangled for an instant and got a nasty rope burn across the back of her knee and on her hand. Wait, she did say breakthrough, right? I did.

B pushed Joey longer than ever before and harder than at first I thought that she should. It was hot out and Joey was being a pill and had worked up a dripping sweat, without showing any inclination to straighten up and fly right. The two of them were engaged in a pretty heady battle of wills–B quietly persistent, Joey being mostly uncooperative–for over an hour until Joey gradually, almost grudgingly, started to quiet down and do what she asked. Still it took another 15 minutes for him to complete a full circuit of the round pen at the walk, and though he had backed up in the long lines the first time she asked, earlier in the session, he got sticky about it again and refused to back when she was behind him. If he squirted around and got her so she was alongside him, he would quickly back without prompting, as if to say “See, I’ll do it, but only if you’re where I want you.” Of course that couldn’t be allowed and it was another 10 minutes of focused effort before he finally took a couple of steps backward in the lines with her behind him. B called it at that and turned him loose in the arena to roll if he wanted. He only grazed, and despite their heated session he hung out almost next to her in the big arena and came right to her to be caught. A nice long shower was a reward for both of them, as they were about equally sweaty and dirty.

So in all this sweaty, dirty, naught madness, what was the breakthrough?? The breakthrough, my friends, was the very fact that Joey had enough self confidence to be a complete little shit at all! Since the moment I got him he has been nervous, uncertain, just generally completely lacking in self confidence. He didn’t ever challenge us on things, he just *fled*  Even working in the round pen, his go-to reaction to new or confusing things was explosive exits. Over the last few months he has slowly started to ease away from flight and use more of his “thinking” brain. And then yesterday, from the moment that B entered his paddock, he was sure of himself and thinking about and questioning, if not challenging, her authority. Despite the nasty rope burns from the session, B was all smiles and happy to see this step forward for Joey as a confident, thinking horse instead of a nervous nelly prone to brainless flight. And as much of a struggle as the session was, even to watch, it was kind of neat to see little Joey say “hey bitch, what if I don’t wanna???!”

My beautiful White Wonder, GE Blazun Haatdesire (Desire), turns 16 years old today! She came into my life only a year and a half ago, arriving at the end of our driveway in January 2011 in a big transport trailer with a load of other horses destined for locations all over California. She was 8 months pregnant with my future filly, Sheza, but marched off that trailer with a purposeful stride I would soon come to love.

Arrival, January 2011

We got know each other over the next 3 1/2 months and then, at 11 pm on April 14th, 2011, Sheza Blazunhaat Xpres was born in the corner stall of our little barn. I found Desire with Sheza’s forelegs just popping out and my husband and I helped deliver the filly and wiped her off:

Desire was very puzzled by this eager little thing and had to be haltered for the first two nursings as she wanted to keep that filly up front where she could keep an eye on her! She soon relaxed and got the hang of it and became a wonderfully tolerant mother who never minded us handling her and the baby, together or separately.

I started riding Desire in the fall, ponying Sheza off of her

Riding momma Desire with last year’s pumpkin crop:

After a very mild winter that allowed for lots of training, Desire and I traveled to Cuyama Oaks XP for our first 50 mile endurance rides together. We rode days 1 and 3 and were foot stomping and bit chomping all the way to the finish both times. Phew, okay, lots of horse under me, time to work on the brain a little!

Cuyama Oaks XP 2012, Day 3, photo by Lynne Glazer

On Sheza’s 1 year old birthday, April 14th of this year, we completed and Top 10’d the very rocky Whiskeytown Chaser ride in Redding, CA. We had a fantastic solo ride and I had no idea we were near the front of the pack. I just enjoyed flying along my mare and was completely surprised to be asked to weigh in and show for BC after finishing. Desire rocks!

Whiskeytown Chaser 2012: