On the Crazy Train

Despite my better efforts, life is totally spinning out of control right now. Nothing bad, just feeling completely and totally overwhelmed. Like "I can't deal with checking my email" style overwhelmed. It's not fun.

Which made this afternoon particularly nice. The weather was perfect, high 60s and sunshine. The trees are changing to red and gold.

Dust dapples

Courage came out just great, very quiet. He's getting a little bit fuzzy right now. Not quite enough that I want to clip yet, but more than plenty to hold dust. I had to laugh when I saw this:


Yes. His dapples are made of dust. I don't think they really show up on his actual hair, but there must be a different texture to hold the dirt in that pattern.

Fall ears

Since we've spent the past two days pushing obedience and contact (and since I seem to have citizenship on the crazy train), today was supposed to be easy and low key, so both of us could unwind.

I opened all the gates to the pastures and we just hacked through them on a loose rein. Big swooping turns, no contact, just walking and taking in the season.

After a while, we both took a deep breath. We watched the neighbor horses play. We looked at the far borders of the back field. We took turns choosing where to go.

And it was lovely.

A softer look, usually for footwear

When I went to put him away, I finally had a chance to take my time. I put dressing on his hooves, did his stretches, scratched his ears, and fed him cookies. We tried on a different sheet, even. I think it looks quite dashing--the color really suits him better than Cuna.

I even took the time to finally clean my much-abused tack. I used to be so good about cleaning it every day, but there hasn't been time.

I love when the barn is like this. A place to slow down and take a deep breath and smile again before returning to the craziness of life. It leaves a little sunny, happy place in my soul that I can go back to when everything else feels bleak.