Tuesday was an off day. The weather was dreary and overcast and I just felt pulled down by the world. I was still pretty bummed about Monday and I just didn't want to do anything with Cricket.But I made a commitment and it is very important that I see it through. I need to prove to myself that progress is possible and that is going to be a test of my resolve.
When I'm not feeling up to par, it's very easy for Cricket to see through any facade I might offer. It's not worth the battle of wills that results in me getting mad and her getting offended. So another day of relative undemanding time.
I decided to take on of the 10-minute tips and just do some carrot stretches with her. Cricket is pretty flexible already but I figured this would be a constructive way to love on her and give her cookies. I don't know if I spent a full 10 minutes with her or not. It doesn't matter. I enjoyed her company and she enjoyed mine.
When I let the horses out for the night, part of my plan to keep one horse up went badly astray and all the mares were out together. I debated about just leaving her but I knew her owner was coming out to ride and I wanted the mare to be up. Revising my plan, I decided to prepare the stall next to Cricket's so the owner could easily turn the mare back out and not have to wade through the muck and mud in the dark.
Cricket was on her way out of the run when I opened the other stall door to clean the area for the other mare. She turned and came back to me. How precious! She finally realized I was busy and she headed out. The mares were milling in the catch pen part of the pasture and I figured as soon as I was done with the stall I could head out and catch the other mare.
Just as that thought ran through my mind I heard thundering hooves. All four horses were tearing around the field, headed for the back corner. Great! There wasn't anything I could do so I kept cleaning the stall. More thundering hooves as all four mares ran up the run where I was cleaning the stall. Blowing, tails flagged, prancing. And my precious Cricket in the lead.
I walked out of the stall and offered Cricket a cookie and then another horse and then I approached the horse I wanted. Nothing doing. Cricket turned them all and out they went again. As pretty as it was to see my beautiful girl galloping around the field, I was trying to figure out how to catch the mare I wanted.
Finally they settled in to the catch pen area and I went out to halter the mare. Cricket came right up to me and wanted to follow me around. When she realized I wasn't there for her, she went off to graze.
It was a good day to reconnect with my mare and see that despite a not-so-good day on Monday, we're still all good.
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