Today we had a ground work only session, that means no riding on top of the horse. There are so many different activities with horses besides riding, I teach an entire college class about horses with no riding.
We had two girls today and both have been to Pegasus before so it was an easy day. Pawnee has never been a riding horse so it was no different for him. He’s this energetic, semi-retired paint horse whose markings make him always look a little surprised. He craves attention and gets a nice walk around the property and a roll in the arena.
The horses have been going through a bout of pigeon fever, a virus that humans do NOT get or transmit. It comes from flies and several of the horses have come down with the condition. During this time we give the horses time off from riding since they have pigeon bumps all over their bellies. However, they still line up for grooming, hand walking and general love. The students are happy to oblige. We also had fun with the mini donkeys, Fiona & Daisy, because these little cuties are only with us temporarily, they go home at the beginning of November.
Then, to make sure we all had big fun, we finished up with some stall cleaning - in other words ‘scooped poop’. The right tools and washing up when done make this not such a terrible experience, and besides we are helping the horses.
(Names are changed for anonymity)
