And so it goes...

I've been meaning to blog for several days however life is busy and so it goes. :) Nothing terribly earth shattering to report other than the fact that D and I are in rather regular training and somedays it goes well and other days are a bit more
interesting. :) On Wednesday there was a lot going on and D expressed his concern with a pretty good buck but thankfully my
heels were down and I was sitting up straight so I mostly looked cool. :) When he reacted a second time I moved to the other end of the arena.
D and Gracie have been hanging out a lot. She hangs out in the stall with him and runs all around without affecting him a whole lot. I am hoping her antics will start to de-sensitize himto some of the random noises that occur around in the barn. We shall see...
Once we get fencing figured out she'll spend time outside with him as well which I'm hoping will help with her energy level- we've created a bit of a monster- she is SUCH a happy goat. So that I don't bore anyone I will end here since I don't really have anything relevant to say. Enjoy the photos.

Demetrias' Gracie

My mind is a muddy mess of thoughts. The weather is completely messing up my plan for this week, sigh... It seems as soon as I get back into a routine the weather gets bad or my schedule explodes. Such is life... tonight is one such occasion.

Gracie is getting bigger and much more comfortable around the horses. We have not solved the coyote problem so for now she stays in and is not with Demetrias which is sad but cannot be avoided. I wish I had a picture of them interacting but instead I will include a few of her. She knows her name now and has become hard to photograph, she'll do about anything for a piece of granola bar. :)
I let Gracie loose on Sunday and had D out for her to interact with. She doesn't like to be by herself and so letting her loose went just fine. As she and D were hanging out she stood on her hind legs, tail wagging, to touch his nose, wish I'd had my camera. D thinks she is wonderful and she is wise but extremely comfortable around him. I need to attach a bell to her harness so that he can keep track of her.

D learned quite clearly why it is important to listen when on the longe line. We've had a lot of rain as of late and he completely wiped out on Saturday. I was just getting ready to stop because he wasn't listening and was in such a small circle he was either going to kick me, bow a tendon or, well, fall. If a horse can look mortified my horse personified it. I hated to see it but at the same time it was going to happen eventually.

On Monday after 4 days off due to weather and life we had a pretty successful lesson and I finally know how to do a turn on the forehand which is rather exciting. He was relaxed and patient and never once tossed his head in frustration which was encouraging.

In short, our journey continues. Some days are bumpier than others but we now have a year under our belt. March 4, 2010 was the day D received stitches for an accident in the field and the cloudiness in his eyes was noticed. He is a year older and we are both getting wiser in handling his impairment. He is healthy and happy and those are things we wish for any horse not just one who has to see with his skin and ears rather than his eyes...