Saddle Fitting & Goat Bullying

While the rain has stopped, it's still been dark, gloomy, cold, and intermittently windy and/or sprinkling in the last few days. I've been playing around with my saddle fitting, re-watched the DVD for a refresher and dug out my notes from when I had the demo model. Due to one thing and another I haven't gotten it actually out the door and onto Blaze but we're getting there. I've got plans to meet N at the lake tomorrow for a ride and I haven't decided whether I'll take Desire or Blaze, since I now have that option. Blaze needs to get back on the conditioning program and now that I've got the Specialized and some Easyboot Epics to try on him, I'm feeling the self-imposed pressure to get him out, though I just LOVE flying down the trail on Desire. I am reminding myself that I have two wonderful, very different horses, and I'll just have to strap on my kidney belt and get Blaze going again. Not to discredit him, he is a doll, but the smooth powerful ride of Desire has spoiled me on his choppy gaits, I won't lie. Still he loves to get out and about and I'm hoping to do some gymkhana and team sorting on him this season as well as a few LDs. My first LD goal for him is probably Hat Creek Hustle in June, where my hope is to ride the 30 on him one day and the 50 on Desire the next.

I'm sure I've mentioned on here that we're boarding two little goats for our neighbors who have gone back to southern California for the winter--and let me just say they are, ahem, entertaining. First let me say, I am NOT a goat person. Various experiences from my own childhood and a friend who owned a herd of goats when we moved to this area 4 yrs back, well, it just cemented my annoyance with and dislike of goats. I find them obnoxious and the whole escape artist thing tickles my "Respect My Fences" pet peeve (be it a goat escaping or a horse leaning on them, if you disrespect my fences I get MAD, Lol). Luckily these two little goats are fairly low key, they do BAH obnoxiously any time they see you anywhere on the property but so far they satisfy themselves sliding under the gates from pasture to pasture, but haven't actually gotten OUT. They do like to be *let* out and will run around following you like dogs which is kind of funny but they have a tendency to branch off and end up on the porch chewing on things they shouldn't, so I'm not a huge fan of that. After the big storm I moved the horses from the barn out into the big east side pastures so they wouldn't tear up their soggy smaller paddocks here on the house/west side of the property, which meant the horses were out with the goats for the first time, which resulted in those funny pictures I posted last time.

The goats for the most part hang out in Sheza's pasture and they all tend to graze together now, with Sheza giving the goats the occasional run-around for entertainment, but when I feed the goats have a tendency to come flying over and slide under the gates to get closest to me. This morning they did that and ended up in Desire's pasture, where they promptly decided one hay pile was good as another. Desire pinned her ears to tell them to keep away from her hay but the female goat reared on her hind legs and offered to headbutt Desire! The surprise and confusion on Desire's face couldn't have been any clearer and it was pretty darn funny. Apparently that was enough to seal the deal because Desire and the goats began sharing the flake of hay, though Desire's eyes were riveted on the goats and we'll see how long the truce lasts. So far the goats haven't tried to bully into Blaze's hay and I really recommend they don't for their own good but no doubt they'll try it. Blaze and El Bandito keep their warfare skills pretty well honed in their daily love-hate relationship so approach with caution, goats! I really wish I'd had my camera to snap the photo of the goat rearing and threatening to headbutt Desire, these goats are VERY small and the juxtaposition of tiny she-goat vs. big she-horse was pretty great. Oh by the way, Sheza is showing some real flair for herding her goats around, maybe she'll be a good cow horse in the future ;)