a word from the herd
brought to you by sunny, tireachan, caoinlean, and si gaoithe
we just concluded a very busy weekend with our humans.
they suddenly had this overwhelming desire to bombproof us. (??)
sometimes we think our humans are far too easily influenced by the printed word.
this was one of those times.
however, with nothing better to do we went along with it.
day one:
people… they brought equipment.
at first we thought they were going to paint the arena.
then we thought they were going to make us paint the arena.
no. turns out the only paint involved was dry spots on the tarp.
we felt that we had to play along because they had brought company.
the company was pretty nice, so it was our pleasure.
plus they also had all four of us together,
so when it wasn’t our turn to do something stupid interesting
we got to watch each other.
that was kind of fun, actually.
things got a little more interesting when the big boys got saddled up.
when we had finally convinced them that we were fearless in the face of the tarp,
they hung it on the fence to try and confuse us.
we weren’t having any of that. confusion, we mean.
we were ON it.
you would have thought we’d won the lottery for them.
praise, praise, praise. (blah, blah, blah…)
but then we got to go out for recess, so it was well worth it.
day two:
wouldn’t you know it?
there they were again this afternoon.
with more equipment, no less.
these people stop at nothing.
when we refused to be alarmed by these things once again,
THEY PICKED THEM UP AND DRAGGED THEM!!
so we kind of played along and chased them.
that got a laugh.
once again they upped the ante.
now we were supposed to wear the darn things.
seriously?
seriously?
seriously.
we thought that charlie and jan had made it perfectly clear that
gypsy horses do not need blankets!!
yeah. and if we did we would prefer natural, organic fibers.
oh, for cryin’ in the night…
sunny thought they were going to teach him to fly.
sunny is simple.
now– at this point would you not think that we’ve had enough bombproofing for one weekend?
no. our relentless humans were enjoying the springlike weather.
they dreamed up yet another variation on a tarp challenge.
oh, this is priceless. they constructed a tunnel, no less.
in we go. out we come.
times four.
finally it was time for recess.
yay!!
out went tir. out went caoin. out went sunny.
WHUT!!!!
how did i get picked for AP training????
this is a dubious honor.
what are you doing?
you’re kidding. you want me to what??
oh, sh**!!
oh, easy!!
look mom– no hands!!
boo!!
now can i have recess?
crazy humans.
whew.
p.s. just between you, us, and the fencepost, it was actually pretty fun.
not all that challenging. but fun.
they say the weather is going to hold all week…
goodie.
“just between you, us, and the fencepost….”
ain’t that how it is supposed to be??!!
[janet: i love that you know EXACTLY what your horses are thinking!]
xx
we really had fun together this weekend.
i am all about relationship-building.
that’s probably why they share their thoughts with me like they do…
They are so WOOLIE and glorious! I really want to ride one someday. Can we make that happen?
Looks like the training work is going beautifully.
Those babies are going to be bomb proof by the time you’re through with them:)
All love!
xx
of course we can make that happen!
i would love it.
yes, the work is indeed going beautifully,
because they are so incredibly willing and trusting.
i love them.
Hi Janet,
Although I may be somewhat biased in my opinion, I think this is your best post and pictures yet!
Our Gypsy Horse club held a “bomb-proofing” session out at 8th Heaven Stables a few years ago, led by the man who was responsible for bomb-proofing the Denver mounted police patrol. I had to laugh at the pictures of Caoin and Si Gaoithe on the tarps because it reminded me of that session: the non-Gypsies in the crowd were very leery of the tarps and other objects in the arena, while the Gypsies were trying to determine if these strange things were edible! The Gypsies figured out the hollow bridges and teeter-totters on their own while the instructor was trying to get my son’s blue roan to step on the tarp. The instructor had to work very hard to come up with things on the next day that would cause the Gypsies to even hesitate before trying to play with them or eat them. While Gypsies are less “spooky” by nature, it is obvious that they trust you and the tall girls, which makes you all successful partners in your horse endeavors – keep it up! Charlie
hi charlie!
i must say– it was great fun! we’re planning to continue with balloons, balls, pvc pipe constructions (an arch), etc. we hope to build some cavalleti and rig up some kind of small bridge as well.
and yes, they all had to check and see if perhaps the tarps were edible or if they might be able to paw off the paint spots! i was pretty sure that a couple of them were going to roll on the tarps!
we are definitely looking forward to nicer weather and the opportunity to spend more time with them now that we have daylight longer in the evenings.
very much looking forward to saturday– see you then!
janet
What a fun weekend the kids had! Thank you again for allowing me to meet them! And here’s to more “Sunny” days!
i’m so glad that you came! let’s set a date in june when it’s warm and “sunny” and green to walk the kids over to golden ponds and perhaps enjoy a picnic while they munch on grass. it’s so pretty out there!