Thanksgiving Morning

It is Thanksgiving morning and it’s gorgeous outside, although a bit chilly. The best weather for riding.

I arrive at the barn late today. I spent a leisurely morning with the kids. I made pancakes for breakfast with scrambled eggs, English muffins and fresh strawberries to round out all the butter and syrup.

I am excited to bring my son to the farm. I love having him there with me. I also relish in the fact that he is outside, breathing the fresh country air, and doing chores (and away from his dreaded video games!).

This morning, given the hour, I fear we may be too late for water duty. We arrive and sure enough Peter confirms my thoughts. “They are all done,” he says with a smile.

Bobby sweeps the stable aisle

Bobby found a broom and is already sweeping the aisle.  It looks like most of the sweeping has been done too. It seems they got an early start for the holiday and we missed the boat for “boy duty.”

A thought then occurs to me as I am getting J ready for our ride. Why not teach Bobby the fine art of  grooming? So I ask if the idea of making tips was of interest to him, he perks right up from his sweeping. Yes, he says. “You can groom for me this spring at the shows and for your sister and her friends too."

"Grooming is good money, if you do it right.” He is really listening now. “Ok, so this is the deal, it’s pretty simple really; you brush and tack the horses and ponies for their riders. Let me show you.” I hand him the curry and instruct him on how to use it. Same with the brush and hoof pick. He is a natural, albeit a bit tentative, but I don’t blame him Jaliska is 16.2 hands.

He already loves J. One morning he was coming to the farm with me to water the horses when I told him about “J’s’ pre-ride ritual.” "Watch this," I tell Bobby. "When I say hi to J she will poke her head out her window and whinnies to say hello. She will then swing around, and if we run really fast and look in her stall, she will be peeing in preparation for our ride.” He laughs at the thought and sure enough when she whinnies, Bobby takes off running down the hill to the lower stable where he then quickly pulls open the sliding stable doors to peer into J’s stall. Sure enough, she has "assumed the position". She knows the drill.

Bobby thought this was hilarious and laughed for a good while. To this day whenever we refer to "J getting ready for her ride," he laughs. Watch J getting ready for her ride!

After we finish grooming her, I show him how to put on her front boots, the saddle pad, saddle and how to tighten the girth. After I put on the bridle, I show him how to fasten the straps. He does a great job and I think he likes it.

Bobby mucks J's stall

Next, it’s time to muck her stall (which had already been done as well, so there is just some fresh manure to clean up).  When he was finished, I told him that by spring he would be a pro at mucking stalls too. His expression let on that he thought that was an OK goal.

I told him "great job" and that he could now "hop on home.” I don’t hop mom, he said. Deadpan. This caused me to immediately grab, kiss and hug him. He seemed to be OK with my spontaneous burst of affection too, although at 13, I knew my days were numbered.

I bring J to the outdoor. Zoe, Lisa, and Catherine are riding. I say hello and happy Thanksgiving. It was so beautiful out. I could not stop smiling.

When cantering J she kept switching up her lead. Zoe thought it might be the mud, I told her “she has been doing this lately on her right lead and I don’t know why.”

I think to myself that she is confused somehow by my instruction, the thought depresses me. Zoe suggests that I “lift my right hand and put weight on my outside heel when going around the corner to support her.” I try this and it seems to work.

Zoe on KEC Amoura last spring

Zoe at the young age of 16 is destined for greatness, after all she won the 1 Meter Circuit Grand Championship at the 2011 Vermont Summer Festival on Jaliska. She is my hero, for only two months prior she had lost her beloved horse KEC Amoura to a freak illness. Amoura was J’s half sister.