Kevin talked to Dan this afternoon while Kevin was at work. The horses had recently been ridden, and they had just been moved to a new location where they could be out to pasture (a good way to save on Hay cost). So, we decided we would see if Grandma and Poppy would keep the kids while Kevin and I went out to help Daniel then go riding on the 4 older horses (3 mares, 2 of which are still nursing mothers, and a Gelding).
Well we got there just after 5. Kevin helped Daniel add more panels to the corral that the 2 mares and 2 foals were in to make it larger. Cheri, Becky and I had the job of keeping the horses from getting out. That went off without a hitch. So we got the halters and started putting them on the mares and foals. We had just gotten them on the first 4 horses when the bottom fell out of the sky. The wind picked up and I swear it dropped about 15 degrees or more. The horses were already starting to spook, so we decided to go sit inside somewhere and let the storm pass. We sat at McDonalds for about 20 minutes or more.
We drive back to the horses since it is no longer raining. We just get the first 2 halters on again, and guess what happens. It started raining again. Luckily it stayed to a light rain, so we continued getting the horses ready to ride. After we had the first 4 horses haltered came the hard part. We had to catch Rigit and she was out in the pasture. It took 3 of us, but we go her. During the process of trying to catch her though, Princess, the yearling, bit Daniel. He screamed so loud. IT was kinda funny after I knew what had happened (sorry Daniel). So we get 6 of the 7 horses haltered (we are not taking the yearling this time).
We get the 4 horses saddled up and ready to go.... I am riding Rigit, a mare with a massive attitude who still likes to think she is the boss. Cheri is riding Baby, one of the nursing mom who makes Rigit look like an angel. Cheri is also ponying patches, Baby's foal. Kevin in riding Quesetta, but staying in the pen since he doesn't know how to pony yet. We didn't want her to have to leave her baby. Last, but not least, Daniel is riding Splash. We had just started riding, and Princess (the yearling) is NOT happy. She is running back and forth, bucking like crazy, and basically throwing a massive fit for being left behind. I am staring right at her when she backs up, takes a running start, and jumps the fence (into the pen with Quesetta and Sugar). Her back feet got caught up in the fence for about 30-90 seconds. I yell for Daniel as soon as it happens. We hadn't been riding for more than a few minutes, so he wasn't far. Princess kicks free while Daniel is running toward her. With the help of some neighbors, Daniel gets her wounds cared for. She cut her leg open and injured the soft spot in her hoof. We got lucky. It could have been worse.
While Daniel is taking care of Princess Cheri and I keep riding around. We are riding in an open field right by the pen and pasture. Do you remember that I mentioned that Cheri is Ponying Patches beside her mother?? Well, we are riding along, and Patches starts to fight and breaks the lead rope. So now we have a 3 month old baby foal loose in an open field not far from the road. Cheri and I get our horses facing her and start to move in on her (picture in your head someone herding sheep). We got her to walk back to the gate. Becky, who is also holding Splash, opens the gate, and we guide her in. We got lucky because she really just wanted to be with her friend :)
So, we go back to riding. Daniel is now done working on Princess, and he just got back on Splash. I was almost in exactly the spot I was in when Princess jumped the fence. Right at that moment, I look up just in time to see Patches, the 3 month old foal, jump the fence into the pasture. Although she is less than half the size of Princess, she is a much better jumper. She jumped the fence at a much higher spot, nearly 5 feet tall. She got her back hooves caught, but was able to get loose by bucking a few times. She nearly cleared the fence. Of course as soon as I see her leave the ground I yell for Daniel. He had only gotten about 10 paces away when this happened. It was like a scene out of a movie. In one motion, Daniel dismounted his horse, unhooked his reins and was running toward the foal. Luckily the foal wasn't hurt.
Wow what an experience. We were losing daylight, and we had barely even had a chance to ride. So, Daniel tells me to follow him. Did I mention the bad attitude of the horse I was on?? Or how about the fact that this was only my 4th time ever riding a horse and only my 2nd time on Rigit. So, I follow Daniel, and he is going toward the road. We get about 25 feet from the road and Rigit starts turning circles and heading back toward the pasture. I stopped her, told her I was the boss and proceeded to follow Daniel. We got withing about 15 feet of the road, and she did the same thing. I stopped her again, and told her I was the boss. We made it out to the road on the 3rd try, and we even got across it. She started to get spooked at this point, and their were cars coming. I decided that today was not the day to take changes, so I led Rigit back to the field we were riding in.
We unsaddled our awesome horses, gave them all a treat, and turned them loose in their pastures/pens. We only had one problem left to deal with..... Princess was still in the pen with the foals (the one she jumped the fence to get into). Daniel puts a halter on her and attempts to lead her back to her pasture. She leads just fine until you get about 5 feet from the gate. She is NOT leaving. Kevin takes the lead rope while Daniel get another rope and wraps it around her rear. They are both urging her out of the gate, but to no avail. She is not going. They continue to try everything they can think of. No luck. We had to leave to return home to our cranky kids (it was after 10 p.m. by now). I guess Daniel finally got her back into the pasture through a different gate.
Let's just hope our next horse riding trip is less eventful!
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