DAY 13, 14 & 15 - Busy!

Saturday, I was booked to play a show an hour away from noon to 4, so the most I did with Possum was take him out in the morning for a short hand graze and a quick grooming. I cleaned his paddock and fluffed the stall, and just before I left, I loaded up the field and his stall with flakes and flakes of hay. Donna had gracious agreed to come down in the late afternoon to feed him his pellet ration. Later, I found out that just as she and her two boys were just about to leave my barn, a blast of rain came driving down! Her smart daughter had run down here with two umbrellas to save the day.

We had driven down to the Tailgate for the going away / welcoming party after our afternoon gig and played another one hour set, and finally headed for home after a few hours, arriving back around 8:30. Possum was content, munching away in his stall. I could see the effects of the driving rain, as there was run off in the driveway all the way down to his paddock.

Sunday morning, though fairly sleepy, I got him groomed and tacked up by 11:30. We had a pleasant amble down to the bottom of the hill, stopping at Dr. Doyle's old place, and turning back with a short trot around the corner. We wandered back up the hill, with a little trotting, and back past our place up to the Dodge barn. We visited with Big Mack, but he was way more interested in his hay then he was with visiting~

Visiting with Big Mack on Sunday morning.

 I took him for a spin around their big field, and even threw in a few trots and canters in circles both ways. He was pretty good. Then we ambled down to Lenny's, and I found a hole in the stone wall that led through the open pine trees. We walked up the hill, but there was no opening in the stone wall up there, so we had to turn around and head back the way we came. Then walked back up the road, waving to Donna as she and her kids drove by on their way back from church. Possum was excellent, and we walked back home. I took him down through the back behind his paddock, and we picked up a trot and hopped over the little fence, then walked back to the barn. We were out for an hour.

Enjoying the view behind Lenny's on Sunday morning.

I brushed him off and dosed him up with fly spray and took him out for some hand grazing. Soon I had to get ready for my gig, so I let him loose in his paddock with plenty of hay, and he seemed content. He got his early "Sunday supper," and off we went to work.

Yesterday, Monday, I was still pretty spent from the busy weekend, but I got going early and ran my errands and was back by 1:30. I got out to the paddock and decided to pick up the poops first, as well as scrub out and refill the water buckets. Then, I put on my boots, tied him to the tie in the stall and gave him a good grooming.

Once he was all tacked up and I had my chaps and helmet on, we walked out to the stump in the paddock and we walked around for a few minutes. He was ready for action. We turned left out the driveway and once again, headed down the hill. I'm hoping to get him conditioned, if anything, by all of the up and down hill walking.

We walked half way down New Road, then turned back, throwing in some short trots here and there. I even attempted to sit the trot for a bit.. thinking, all along, about Denny Emerson grilling his mantra about being able to sit the trot without bouncing.. easier said then done! I sat quietly for a few strides, then starting flopping again like a rag doll, so I went back to posting so I wouldn't kill his back!

We walked up the hill, then took the right onto the path behind Dad's house. I tried to get him to canter back up from the dip and on into the field, but he was a bit more sluggish today and only trotted. We took the path behind the wild raspberry patch and cut across Dad's driveway and turned out back to the road from the secondary driveway.

We trotted up to Holly's driveway, then marched right past the loud, barking Newfoundland's without batting an eye. We marched past Big Mack, who was grazing in a makeshift paddock Donna had set up, and then ran into Donna and the baby in the stroller, who had picked up her daughter from the bottom of the hill. Instead of driving down to pick her up from the school bus, she walks down and back! Nice.

After chatting with them for a bit, Possum and I continued down the road and took a left behind Lenny's again. This time, we walked further down into the field and enjoyed the beautiful view on a beautiful afternoon. We walked back up the hill through endless milkweeds, and Possum did his best to nibble at everything he could as we walked. Then back to the road from the other side of the house, and up for a quick visit with Big Mack, who once again, was really not too interested in seeing us! He had grass to graze!

It had been about an hour, and so we turned for home. I sponged him lightly with water and took him out back to graze for half an hour. He got his pellets by five, and more hay, and he was happy. He loves it, too, when we hang around the stall area. Even miss Spooky is getting more comfortable around Possum.

I'll see what happens today. Thursday morning, I've got another lesson with Ryan.