98/365 Taking her sweet time

Shep has an interesting personality.

She's a Quarter Horse, while both Oprah and Xena are Paint Horses. Quarter Horses were and are bred for sprinting. They're the fastest horses when it comes to short distances, and when Shep chooses to show it, there's no question of her breeding.

It may not be a race track, but the pasture regularly becomes a makeshift sprint track. When all three of the horses are out, usually at the far end away from the barn, one of the three will spur the others and say, "Go!" They take off running, full-out, up to the barn, cued at the same moment.

If Shep wants to win, she will. Hands-down, no contest, that girl can run.

And she likes to win. As the dominant horse of the little group, she enjoys leaving Xena and Oprah in her dust.

But there's another side to her. When it's time to come in for the night, Shep is routinely the last to come in. She enjoys taking her sweet time, ambling up to the barn at her own speed, not caring that someone may be waiting for her.

And no one walks slower than she. To walk beside her, I have to consciously slow my steps to match her pace.

I guess she's just a woman who likes to do things her own way. I can't fault her for that.

Camera: Canon 40D, 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 100 at about 8:00 p.m.

148/365 Back to work

Shep injured her foot in June, which mandated that no one ride her for at least four weeks while it healed. It wasn't serious, but it did put a halt on training.

It's been eight weeks, so Mom and I took her out to the round pen yesterday morning to see how she's healed. We didn't notice her limping or favoring her foot, and she seemed relaxed, calm and responsive. We were able to call it a completely positive morning.

And what was the first thing she did after she was completely unsaddled? Found a nice open patch of dirt and rolled in it.

Nothing changes.

Camera: Canon 40D 1/125s, f/8 at ISO 100 under overcast skies at about noon.

8/365

More horse training today! Now that the weather is (hopefully) improving, we have our noses to the grindstone trying to get ready for a week-long trail ride in May. The Girls (as we affectionately call them) got in and out of the trailer perfectly -- no more rearing up or struggling for 4.5 hours. Oprah (here on the right) is still getting used to backing out of this spot in the trailer, because she has to bend around a wall and then back out, but she did a marvelous job. We rode them for a couple of hours in an indoor arena a few miles from our house. Oprah's biggest challenge was staying focused amidst a giant salad bar: hay stacked ceiling-high on two sides of the arena. But we walked in circles, in straight lines, in figure eights... every way we could walk and stayed in line. Both she and Shep got to come home earlier than expected because they did so well. This was my first day riding since before Thanksgiving. Back in the saddle!

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD1000. Outside at about 1:00 p.m., overcast skies.