Bonding With Murphy

Just another horsin' around post...

While yesterday started out with iffy weather – cloudy & raining in the morning – it turned into an absolutely gorgeous afternoon: low 60s and sunny. After taking Zada on an hour-long walk around Lake Como, I changed into riding clothes –  it was the perfect November day to head out to see my horse, of course :) –  and zipped up to Hugo to Lakeview Farm.

 I was hoping to latch onto anyone who was heading out on the trails, since I haven't been out on them yet (minus the first day when Marla gave me a 4-wheeler ride at break-neck speed). There wasn't anyone around when I got there, however, so I decided to work Murphy for a bit in the round pen.

However, I noticed right away in the round pen he was a bit lame – I couldn't tell on which leg, at first, but since it was to the right it was his front right (club) foot with the crack. Disappointed but with spirits still high I finished tacking him up and headed out to the huge outdoor arena (150ft x 250ft) where a few girls were riding their horses.

He was just fine at the walk, and after a little warm-up I asked him to trot and he was fine. I even ended up loping both ways and he never put a foot wrong – of course, the huge area meant he wasn't going in small circles, so that helped.

At one point the girls all left and I debated going with them – after all, Murphy and I are new in our relationship & I wasn't quite sure how this 4-year-old would react to being left behind. While he was very interested in where the other horses were going, he still listened to me and didn't neigh or act out...what a good boy :)

I didn't work him long – I didn't want to stress his leg – and he was a bit sweaty from the warm temps so we headed back to the stable (it's about a 5-8 minute ride just to get out there...maybe slower on the way OUT, away from the barn :).

When I got back there were several people and horses at the hitching rail so I just sat on Murphy, taking in the scenes and waiting for my turn; frankly I was just enjoying the beautiful day and being on my horse!

After untacking him – and a good rub-down with the curry comb – I decided I wasn't quite ready to let go of the day yet so I let him graze and nibble stray grain while I took some shots with my point-and-shoot camera and chatted with a few of the other boarders.

It was a lovely afternoon and I'm so thankful I was able to enjoy it on the back (and at the side) of my horse.