a bunch of b's. . .

And by B's I mean birds, bugs, bites, breaks, braids, boards, boats, bulls, barn animals, and best friends. 

Let's start with best friends. My husband's best friend is visiting from Tulsa and staying with us. Along with his dog. Maggie generally does not get along with other dogs, but she is doing really well with this dog. Lucy is a beagle mix and much smaller than both of my dogs. But she does not let them bother her. So for the next week, my house will be a mess of dogs and best friend belongings. My escape will be the barn.

While his best friend is in town, my husband decided to buy a boat! Exciting! We live right on the intersection of Lake Erie and the Detroit River so a boat is something my husband always wanted. I got a horse, he got his boat. 

Soon I will be sailing the open seas. . .think Shy can fit?

Looks like me and Shyloh will be spending a lot of time working on our line driving. Beth broke her foot when Bob stepped on it the other day. Ouch! But today, I took some much needed advice and did some fun things with Shy. I taught her a new trick! Of course, I forgot my video camera, but I will get it on tape.

When I took Shy down the aisle to show Kathy and Terry, I rubbed the top of Shy's mane as we were walking. I felt something hard. I picked it off and was like what the heck is this? Terry, science, animal, and horse person extraordinaire, took a closer look at Shy's mane. Then she pulled something else off it. . . it was a bug, specifically a tick! Ugh! Makes me shudder just to think about it again. 

Where the tick was. Yuck, yuck yuck!

How did I not see this before? I have been to the barn everyday this week and I groom Shy every time I go out. How long has it been there? Could this tick be the reason she has been very "eh" this week? Questions abound ran through my head. I shook them out and cleaned the area, then but some anti-bacterial stuff on it. Terry could not find a lighter to kill the tick, so she smashed it to pieces. She promised me it was NOT a deer tick. Even more scary is two of the horses at the barn have been tested for Lyme disease because they are having otherwise unexplained problems. Scary!

After the tick removal, I somehow managed to do a really good mane roll on Shy's hair! I am getting better. Then I put Shy in the arena to play around. As I was walking in, I saw a baby bird in the sand. Poor guy fell out of his nest and he was hungry. Robin had just rescued two other baby birds yesterday!

Hungry birdie

And yesterday. . .the bull that hates me broke out of the fence! I am so glad I was just left the barn when this happened or who know what that bull would have done! Attacked me for sure! Ha!

The bull in all his glory. See his ring and chain?

To end the day of all things B, Shy broke another 2x4 on her quest for grass. This horse will stop at nothing for a blade! What a day! Can't say going to the barn is ever boring!

Glad she didn't go through!

Barn cats, Barney and Bubba

Random smashed snake I found in a flake of hay!

breaks, braids, and barrels

We started the day on a bad note. . .I had Shyloh running off some excess energy in the arena before her lesson. Since she just wanted to hang out the barn doors and eat grass, I had to make her run. Once I got her going, she was running and bucking and having herself a good old time. So good that she continued running straight through the 2x4 that that blocks the barn doors and off into the deep, deep grass. I got her corralled into a pasture and went to get her. 

 Crazy horse, who does she think she is? Haha! I'm glad that she did not get hurt though!

Before the lesson, I worked on my mane roll. This was the best one yet! Still needs a lot of work and it kinda fell apart near the end, but we are so close to getting it right!

For the lesson, we decided to do something fun. The barrels were out for Markie, so Beth wanted to see if she could make Shy a barrel racer! Fun! But going into this, you have to realize. . .1) Shy can't pick up correct leads consistently; 2) Shy has not yet been taught lead changes, and 3) Shy has never gone into the canter from a stand still.

I present to you: Shyloh the Barrel Racing Haflinger!

I think it is safe to say that she prefers dressage over barrel racing, haha! But it was fun and she was a good sport about it.

I got on Shy next. She was so good, again! I walked the barrel pattern, but attempted the trot at the end. Oops, I had the reins to loose and Shy took full advantage as she tried to exit the arena on her own accord, head in the air. I did get her to stop and we worked on some more turns on the forehand. And I did get her to trot again! She is hard to control when she is trotting. Beth agrees (but Beth has so much more experience, she can handle it) and said it is just something we need to work on. . .balance and control at the trot. 

I am so surprised at two great days in a row riding Shy!