Not the Reluctant Schoolboy

Another Lovely Day

Weather to die for with temperatures up in the 70's F. 

I did have chiropractic and physical therapy in the morning and then I went to Kohls to get the adjustment on my purchase from Saturday.  I spent my $10 cash and the $8 back on a cardigan sweater and a swimsuit.  Might as well get ready for summer. With temperatures like this, it can't be far away.  And the swimming pool opens at the end of May--just on weekends.

When I got home, I went out to do some barn chores.  I used the tractor to strip all three stalls, clean the run in shed on Chance's side and start a cleanup of the run in on Tucker's and Toby's side.  I'd been keeping both fairly clean but the storms that came through did me in.  The hay that had been dragged out of the stalls had mixed in with the dirt, and then the rain had whipped in under the shed roof, making a soggy mess.  I am about half done cleaning it out, but I quit before I reached the point of total exhaustion.  The darn stuff is wet and heavy and it tends to roll out of the front end loader instead of being easily picked up.  So, I have to fork most of it into the loader by hand.  It's not an easy job. 

Once I'd managed to recover from that, I fed the Boys.  I'd planned on riding Chance, but the mailman finally came and he brought my income taz refund check.  Something got crossed in the process as I thought I was supposed to be a direct deposit into my bank account.  Then, it turned out the mailman had also left a letter I was sending, so I decided to go to the bank and the post office while the Boys ate dinner.

I stopped at the supermarket on the way home to get some salad fixings and onions to make soup.  I was hoping I could make a pot and take some over to my friend's house. She is recovering from surgery and she and her husband have entertained me more than once. That should be set up, so my soup is currently in the pot, starting to simmer. 

When I got back home there was still plenty of daylight.  I brought Chance in and saddled him up for a ride in the woods.  He is the only horse I have ever had that wants to trot and canter on the way out.  He is so full of enthusiam about trail riding/hacking that he simply cannot contain himself.  Most horses I've had tend to walk on the way out and try to speed up on the way home. Not Chance. No reluctant schoolboy he.  He slows down when he realizes we are on the way back!  Gotta love it. 

I did just a little work in the arena when we got back, but nothing too much. 

The only flaw in the ride was the gnats.  There weren't many, but they were annoying Chance in the woods and he kept tossing his head. 

The plus side was that we also saw deer leaping through the forest.  One ran across the trail in front of us on the way out.  Chance saw it, and simply stared, hardly reacting at all.  Then a bit later, on another part of the trial, three more deer leaped up and dashed off.  Again, Chance just looked and didn't seem the least bit excited about it. 

Wow! What a difference from Toby who goes bonkers when he sees deer, and Tucker??? Well, the less said the better. Let's just say I prefer not to be in the saddle when the "fangtails" show themselves in Tucker's vicinity. 

So, once again, Chance passed the "good retirement horse" test with high marks.  He is just plain fun to ride.