A Little Rain Must Fall

Into every life, a little rain must fall. Why must it wait until my lesson?

At first it was merely annoying. I only once threatened to dump Brita in the mud and head to the barn. Then I staged a brief work stoppage over a very wet and suspicious looking weed.

But we soldier on....

Mom flees to the relative comfort of the front porch and hides between the hanging baskets.

OK, that's enough...everyone head for the barn!

Yes-Drill-Sar-geant

For Christmas, with the assistance of Mom an Uncle Dad, I got Brita a gift certificate for some riding lessons so she could learn to ride better. I think all horses should do that. After all, we can only teach them so much. What Mom failed to mention, is that I would be responsible for carting Brita around while she learned. There was a lot of trotting. It can be a bit monotonous. But, we both paid attention as the instructor explained what was wrong with Brita's position...

It was fairly interesting...

But eventually I fell asleep.





Then they began what seemed like experimental procedures with my bit ...

to stop me from doing this....

Sometimes I do it just right.

Mom

My sister Cocoa's people suprised me with some photos of my Mom.... Isn't she pretty?

We have a new little baby sister.




Even though I got my gorgeous color from my Mom, Brita still thinks I look just like my Dad. I'm so happy to have pictures of Mom. She's 24 years old, and still looking pretty darn good for her age. Ooops, sorry Mom, I probably shouldn't have told on you.

Make Hay When the Sun Shines

The heat wave has broken, and today was the most beautiful summer day ever. Crystal blue skies, cool breezes, sunshine ... The best sort of day to be a horse.

The best news is the hay fields are being cut for chopped haylage, and there is finally firm earth baking in the sun and drying in the breeze. Perfect for a gallop. We have not been able to enjoy the fields at all yet because of the record rains. No sooner had Brita mounted up than one of those awful big trucks went rumbling by on the road. We beat feet for the first cut field which had been put up yesterday, and we had just cleared the roadside when the second truck appeared on the horizon. I took a good look at that, and Brita had visions of the last time we were in this predicament but I was more interested in stretching my legs and minding my manners.

We got a good trot around the field when the rest of the haylage procession showed up. One big green chopper, two tractors with hopper bins, then two more big trucks! We headed for the road so we wouldn't be trapped as they seemed to need our field to turn around in. There was a lot of commotion, and engines revving, and chopping and dumping on top of the cool breezes and sunshine. I trotted up and down the road in perfect form pretending I was in the show ring at the County Fair with all the farm equipment and activity. I kept my head, and my I looked fine.

After doing our fields and road work, we headed to the riding arena for a quick canter and I'll have you know I did nothing naughty. I took each lead with perfection and cantered politely. I have learned my lessons well. I barely broke a sweat, and I'll bet Brita even made it back to her office on time. I was faced with a whole army of monsters, and I behaved like a nobleman. Yes, today is a perfect day.