Centennial Weekend

My friend Trish & "planned" a horse sick day.  Her boss understands the need for these sort of days.  My boss on the other hand does not.  I guess htat is the difference of working for an independent employer & working for a big box.  None the less we were both "sick" that friday.  We headed out to the Caja to gather firewood for the Centennial trail ride in San Acacia.  We came back to town to make good use of my Starbucks gift card.  There we both had a carmel Maccichito & a sconce & muffin.  I needed to stop by the bank on my way out of town for a bit of cash.  While puling into the bank we saw the Wells Fargo SEMI that hauls the horses & Wells FArgo Wagon.  We toook off like crazy women following it right over to the fairgrounds.  They had only brought the wagon, no horses for the centennial celebration at the capitol  We visited with the driver for a little while.  I discovered that he & I shared many common friends in the draft horse world.  After that excitement we drove south to San Acacia for a FANTASTIC weekedn of trail riding, eating & friend making.  Dacodah was a fine host for this event & everyone had a fantastic weekend.  there were people from all over New Mexico, Utah, & even Oregon!!   By the third day of riding I was exhausted.  I chose not to ride on Sunday as I had many things on my mind & didn't mentally feel up to riding that day.  After the group left I found myself on a chair in the horse ppen with about 15 horses including my Macho.  This was VERY great for me as I got to watch horses being horses while I shared space with them.  I watched as they ate, drank & carried on the ever subtle conversations that horses have in herds.  I learned lots that morning.  I learned that one does not have to ride to learn about horses. 

Happy 100th birthday New Mexico may we all have a fantastic year of celebration of the VERY young New Mexico statehood.   Remember to be nice to each other & live every day with no regrets!!

Cooper's' Hawk

Ok I was so excited in my earlier post that I left a few things out.  At the end of the session with Susan Smith we were sitting sharing space with the horses when a Cooper's Hawk passed by.  She/he landed on the fence post long enough to say hello & flew off to hunt the open lot behind my property.  Susan & I were able to watch her as she hunted.  She scared up a large group of smaller birds.  I am sure she got lunch there but they were far enough away I didn't see for sure.  Cooper's Hawks & Sharp Shinned hawks are quite common they are very similar small hawks.  The sharp shinned is about the size of a dove.  The Cooper's is a bit larger.  They are difficult to identify from each other when seen individually in the wild.  Still quite Awesome to see in my back yard.  Susan has said she will have videos soon!!!!  I am so excityed that she captured todays work on video!!!!  Got to sleep now I a, going riding tomorrow with Dacodah in San Acaia!!!  Getting ready for the New Mexico centennial ride!!!

Awesome Day!!!!

Had a 2nd session today with Susan Smith teaching me the Waterhole Rituals by Carolyn Resnick.  Macho was an absolute pill!!  Finally someone saw the Macho that I know.  He was acting very much like a stud with Susan.  He would trot towards he with his neck arched & tail up & wheel, turn, buck & run away.  There was a couple times he actually charged Susan.  I have had a hard time interpreting wether this is dominant aggressive behaviour or play.  Immediately after he would be chargy he would turn right around & walk up politely & greet with a sniff & really want to engage.  This behaviour of Macho's is so hard to describe to people as they always see the "good" Macho.  That is not to say that this is a "Bad" Macho just a different Macho.  What I see is a Macho that did not have other foals around when he was little & he did not get the chance to buck & play with other horses so he is trying to do this with humans.  However this can indeed be VERY dangerous & sacry as a human.   After the work today I was able to end the session with a good effort of leading from behind.  Macho & Kodi were both relaxed & responsive.  As Susan & I were talking at the end of the sesion Kodi was falling asleep.  Hard for me to put into words just how awesome the day was for us!!!!