Nine got put to work! (for once...)

Well, it wasn't hard work...

Nine got to stand tied while I cleaned out the round pen, which really needed it! The wind blew all the manure from the other two pens into Nine's home so he had way more than his fair share. Anyways, he stood nicely and then let me clean out all four feet without even a second thought. That was his first time having his feet messed with while tied! He's usually either held by someone or just ground tied in the pen. After that I decided to take Nine with me to go get the cows who had escaped. We ended up walking far longer than necessary, but that was fine because Nine got a lesson in trotting next to me. By the time we found the cows Nine was trotting the perfect speed in the perfect position, and he slowed to a walk with just a touch on his neck from me. Once we got the cows moving, however, he wanted to graze... And since he wasn't being quick enough I just dropped the lead rope and got the cows back on the property myself. Nine was okay with that because he got to eat, and then he stood still while I gathered the rope back up. He went back into his pen just fine. He is shaping up to be quite the gentleman!

I had some other semi-adventures on the other two horses, though. I put a halter on Hammar to clean out his feet, then tried to get him to bow like I had seen other trainers do in Texas. He had it down within three minutes. So I hopped on and practiced some pivots and rollbacks. When Hammar caught sight of the donkeys I let him chase them a bit. But, he decided at the last minute to turn towards the gate, so i nearly fell off and he started slipping! The wind had blown away most of the soft dirt, leaving just a hard packed surface, which is not much good for a running horse. Then Ashley swung her hind end at us, making Hammar even more panicky! Luckily, Hammar is a good little Mustang, and knows how to get us how of such situations. He stopped trying to catch himself and just let his momentum carry us towards the gate (and also towards the feeder!). He saw this of course and just hopped over the feeder and stood there waiting for me to tell him what to do next, like a good boy! We did a little cutting practice with the donkeys (Hammar is actually getting kind good!) and I saw the cows making a break for the gate again!

So off I went from Hammar and onto Ashley, because with Hammar that riled I didn't want to try my luck in the open with only a halter for control! But I trust Ashley a little more for speed (or lack thereof). She was such a good girl and got the cows in for me. This time I remembered to shut the gate tight!

So, that was my day yesterday, and I am glad that all three horses got something to do.