Deerly appreciated

I was hand walking my injured horse when I heard a friend ask, "Do you want to go on a trail ride?"

The question seemed like it was addressed to me, but I knew it wasn't. It's been a long time since I had a horse who could go down the trail. No one asks me anymore. 

I listened wistfully as my friends made their ride plans. 

I thought, "I miss that."

Also, "I miss those trails."

The next day, I brought Piper to the barn with me.

She watched as I took care of Sage.

Then we hit the trail.

We walked alongside the golf course, past the no-longer-red tree, down to the stream, along the path and finally, back to the barn.

It was a nice walk, but nothing special.

We were just about to turn down the alleyway when I heard a twig snap. I looked up, and right there in front of us was a deer.

He was so close!

I took a couple big steps backward and pulled out my camera.

Piper was completely nonplussed. When I say this dog has zero prey drive, this is what I'm talking about.

We hung out with the deer for a little bit.

Then we carefully made our way around the corner and walked back to the barn.

What had started out as a pleasant semi-suburban stroll ended as an almost-trail-ride experience.

Thank you, my deer friend! I needed that.

Being Lee

Since I am currently unemployed, Lee asked me if I could fill in for him while we has out of town.

Of course, I said yes. Who wouldn't want to be Lee for a week?

I have spent five of the last eight days feeding and/or turning out Lee's crew, which consists of Ahji,

Alex,

Canela,

Emma,

Guaranteed,

Jiggs,

Joey,

Kafre,

Malik,

Merlin,

Princess,

Sunny...

and Texas.

Additionally, I've done turn outs for Luna...

and cared for Sage, who unfortunately, needed a lot more care than usual this week.

Girl, why?!?

I've had a lot of fun being Lee, and I've really enjoyed getting to know some of these horses better.

Lee will be back tomorrow. I guess that means I need to get back to job hunting!

The scariest Halloween costume, part two

For the past year, our barn party desensitizing courses have included a giant inflatable unicorn.

This was everyone's favorite obstacle.

Maybe not the horses'...

but definitely the people's.

We all wanted a picture of ourselves and our horses under that unicorn!

In June, one of those photo ops took a turn.

RIP friend. You are missed.

In its place, Linda decided to bring back the Scariest Halloween Costume.

This may not look scary to you, but that's only because you're not a horse.

Linda set up in the corner where the unicorn once reigned supreme, and even the most bombproof horses did a double take.

Of course, in Sage's case, that double take lasted approximately twenty seconds. 

As soon as she realized Linda had treats, she was all in.

This was also the case with Breezy,

Dango,

Jet...

and Tazz.

Linda's horse, Gambler, took a little more persuading.

"Mother, what is going on?"

Eventually, however, he reluctantly stood with his inflated sibling.

They even went for a walk together!

The only horse who really objected was Ari's Pebble.

He wanted no part of this.

A lot of patience went into this picture!

This was a fun day, and I enjoyed seeing the Scariest Halloween Costume again.

Still, I miss that unicorn!