The horses are all very polite and stand quietly while I unhalter the four of them. Then they all walk off in search of some good grass. Usually, Nadia or Annie will stand and watch me leave, until I'm out of site, and then they put their heads down and eat.
If anyone is interested, this is the way I walk from the field back to the barn. Leaving the field, I head down the lane.
It's just about 1/4 a mile on a little dirt road. Here the lane gets really narrow and turns rocky from old broken tiles thrown into the lane to make it less muddy in wetter times. Then I make a right turn at the open field between the arroyo and the trees.
In the next picture, you can see my big tan barn with the white roof.
We head towards the barn, watching out for stickery cactus and yucca plants. The other day, Yalla! walked into a tree stump. OOops!
It may seem like a simple enough walk but there's always something new and interesting for the horses to see along the way.
For some reason, Annie is scared of this trailer with the siding. In back, is my garden, an old fenced dog run. Fortunately, the plastic (bag) ribbons that flutter in the breeze to keep the birds away from the plants don't seem to bother the horses anymore. Well, for that matter, the ribbons don't seem to bother the birds either. ;)
Then we walk down into the arroyo (ditchbanks or dry riverbed) and back out, up the little hill, towards my barn gate at a narrow point between the trailer (above) and the gates. It doesn't look it but there is a steep embankment on either side of the arroyo and a large bush next to the fence that limits the width of the area we can walk through. Notice the really green grass? That's down in the arroyo. It's an interesting maneuver with the four horses. I always feel like a teamster guiding the horse team to back up, move over, and get in position. Then getting them through the gate is another challenge. I open the eight foot gate and then turn them loose one at a time as they go through the gate.
It's just about 1/4 a mile on a little dirt road. Here the lane gets really narrow and turns rocky from old broken tiles thrown into the lane to make it less muddy in wetter times. Then I make a right turn at the open field between the arroyo and the trees.
In the next picture, you can see my big tan barn with the white roof.
We head towards the barn, watching out for stickery cactus and yucca plants. The other day, Yalla! walked into a tree stump. OOops!
It may seem like a simple enough walk but there's always something new and interesting for the horses to see along the way.
For some reason, Annie is scared of this trailer with the siding. In back, is my garden, an old fenced dog run. Fortunately, the plastic (bag) ribbons that flutter in the breeze to keep the birds away from the plants don't seem to bother the horses anymore. Well, for that matter, the ribbons don't seem to bother the birds either. ;)
Then we walk down into the arroyo (ditchbanks or dry riverbed) and back out, up the little hill, towards my barn gate at a narrow point between the trailer (above) and the gates. It doesn't look it but there is a steep embankment on either side of the arroyo and a large bush next to the fence that limits the width of the area we can walk through. Notice the really green grass? That's down in the arroyo. It's an interesting maneuver with the four horses. I always feel like a teamster guiding the horse team to back up, move over, and get in position. Then getting them through the gate is another challenge. I open the eight foot gate and then turn them loose one at a time as they go through the gate.We're walking down the street of chance - song: Baby, artist: Iggy Pop and David Bowie, album:
6 comments:
Thats a long walk to let your horses out. It reminds me of turning horses out in Ireland. I helped a few times, walking four 17hh horses at once down the road to the fields.
That long walk will keep you in shape for sure. I'm glad our turnouts are right outside the barn now.
That's quite a trek with four horses in hand. Glad it goes smoothly.
Yeah, I always take it very slow. Sometimes the neighbor's dogs bark at us or there's a recycling bin on the curb or the dumpster lid is down. For several days we had to walk past an RV. I always walk with Annie and Yalla! in each hand and let Nadia and Scout walk on the outside or behind us. Even when they get startled they've been good except for Annie stepping on the back of my heel a few times leaving it very, very tender. We've walked it in the dark and in rainstorms too. Walking the four of them keeps them calmer than walking them two by two. They're never in a hurry and Nadia keeps everyone steady. I am often amazed at how easily Annie will lead in strange places as she is such a high strung horse.
A long walk with the ponies,I bet it is doing YAlla lots of good with manners and leading
Good horses. Good handler.
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