Another hot day, and the grazing continues to suffer. The girls are all very hungry, and come flying to the gate when they see my car bumping down the dirt road, but they are definitely doing better for having had that entire bale of alfalfa split between them on Tuesday. I may order some chaff to add to the ration balancer of the three younger mares to help tide them through till the rains come.Ā
To Saharaās great joy, she was worked with today. It was not much - just walking I had sweat running into my eyes, and the mares were all damp on their haunches. However, it was still activity and training and mental stimulation for Sahara, who demonstrated that, as long as I give an aid she approves of, she learns it immediately. I did some of the basic in-hand work with her that my trainer had shown me with Shakira, starting with having the reins over her head and walking backwards in front of her, with the carrot stick used to direct her from a distance. Sometimes I forget that Abbaās sharpness is not justĀ an Abba trait, it is inherently Arabian, and Sahara reminded me of that today - a small cue can go a long long way with a horse with centuries of ancestors living in the tents alongside their people.Ā
Once I thought Sahara had the idea down, I switched to the second position, at her head, with one hand on the closest rein, and the outside hand holding the stick. When I cued her to go forward with a tap from the stick, absolutely nothing happened; I kept tapping very lightly, and Sahara simply grew tight and obstinate, so - knowing that if I push this mare, she will eat me alive, with no compunctions - I stopped and thought for a moment, and then released the string at the end of the stick and waved it in the air near her haunches. This, in Saharaās view, was an acceptable aid, and she moved forward off it. I immediately praised and rewarded her, and we repeated it twice more on the near side, and then did three repetitions on the offside as well. She was very quick with the waved stick cue, and I decided to call it a day there, as I am a firm believer in both latent learning and not cooking in the midday sun.Ā
Before I put Sahara back in the field, I dabbed the benzyl benzoate cream on two bald spots on her belly and haunch, and then smeared it on her upper legs, where there were bot eggs. She was relatively unfussed by that, so I attempted to use the bot block on her, which she tolerated better than before, but still did not like. Progress is glacial, but I suppose it is still progress.Ā
Shakira came out for a little in-hand work as well, in which we practiced the first position and the third position from Tuesday. She was very enthused and I had my work cut out for me trying to stay ahead of her at first, but once we switched to the third position, after a little confused stickiness at the start, oh, we had a very good, if very brief, session. Shakira was happy to move off a tap at the girth, on a draped rein, and I had better co-ordination with the reins and the stick, so could use the stick to reinforce the rein aids more effectively.Ā
Kizzy had waited patiently all this time to see if she too would come in for some interaction and treats, and she did, though to her disappointment, it was just more sunscreen on her nose. She has a sore spot at the top of her sunburn, which I have clearly been missing, so I tried to get the cream on there as well, to her indignation. However, she did land up with her nose thoroughly coated, and received her due reward of carrot pieces, and a crisp red apple in her lunch.Ā
Abba had been turned loose on the sheep folds when I arrived, and once Kizzy was done, I thought I might go ahead with riding Abba. So I drained my water bottle, and went out with her halter to bring her back to the car. She was iffy about being groomed, trying to shuffle off, and by the time I had removed the bot eggs from her girth and chest and forelegs, I was sufficiently hot to be inclined to agree with Abba that we didnāt really needĀ to ride today.Ā
One of the gyrocopter pilots was overhead as I put the bot block back, and I stood with Abba, half hugging her, half leaning on her for balance while my blood caught up with my head again, watching the gyrocopter curve around above the maresā field and then head out to sea. Once it had gone and I was less dizzy, I decided that I really should do Abbaās mobilisation exercises, as I have neglected them for months, and that they would suffice for her work today. She was a little stiff during the first exercise to mobilise the shoulder and elbow, but she was clearly comfortable enough with the work, as she will take her legs away from me when she is too tight or sore to do it. What thrilled me, though, was when I came to the last exercise, which is for the tail, as she was loose and supple, even though I havenāt handled her tail in ages. A far cry from the mare who spent years clamping her tail if I tried to touch it.Ā
We then did a pair of belly lifts and some carrot stretches, while Kizzy moved along the fence to find the best vantage point to observe from. I do wonder whether she would let me do some of the exercises with her, having watched me with Abba; the other girls definitely do learn through observation, and Kizzy did demonstrate that she knew exactly how to solicit a game of tag with me when she first joined Abbaās group.Ā
Once I was done with Abba, I gave the mares their lunch, and put out five flakes of their carefully rationed alfalfa. I am trying to find eragrostis for them again, but we have a hay shortage, so it is proving difficult at the moment. I would like to be able to put a bale of hay out daily right now, so that they have something to munch on that isnāt Tribulus terrestris, and that will last them longer than the alfalfa, as it took them maybe an hour to hoover up the full bale they got on Tuesday. Eragrostis is just boring enough that they pick at it, and what they waste goes on to cover the bare soil and burnt grass, as protection from the heat and the sun.
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