The best part? This is their favorite horse. His name is Mick and they love him because "he is nice and he looks like a cow".
So we started off by brushing him down.
Then we got to ride. Yes, we. I took a turn too. K was a natural at riding. She is so calm and listens to instructions so well that she doesn't panic or confuse the horse at all.
Learning to stop and back him up. I had no idea when we started that this would be a full on lesson, but that is what it turned out to be. The girls learned to make him go, turn, stop, back up and hurry up.
K had control and he was listening to her so she was allowed to ride all by herself.
Em was all smiles and totally thrilled to be riding, but she was not allowed to ride by herself! She was so excited that she could not be left alone...she kept trying to use the reins to keep her balance and this ever so slightly confused the horse.
But boy was she happy.
The owner brought his face down low so she could pet him. Emily certainly has no fear at all and just loves on the horses.
Hugs for Mick.
Then the owner taught them to lead the horse. Now this, Em was a total natural at. Apparently most kids will lead the horse by constantly walking away from it. She was not intimidated by his size at all and took those reins and walked right in front of him. She was very assertive and he listened well.
K did what most kids do and kept walking a little away from the horse, leading him in circles. :-)
But she caught on.
So when it was time to put him back, Em did the leading and K did the riding.
That little pen they were in is called the round pen. The arena, which is much larger, is behind them and to the right.
Seriously adorable! They talked about it the rest of the day and now they are planning out the days when they will ride all of the other horses. I am guessing a horse is in our future...we DO have the land for it. :-) I just need the girls to get going on the chores around here so they can pay for the horse's board!
Well, we had what is becoming quite a typical day up here. We did a couple of hours of school, ran down to the barn to make sure the hay delivery was done right and pay the bill, rode the horses (well, that part isn't normal), ran into town to get some groceries and supplies, came home and played outside while getting astronomically dirty - (we have a whole new level of dirty here!!) - swam, showered and the day was over. I think we ate somewhere in there too. Oh yeah, dealt with the plumber too. I don't know. There is a lot going on theses days and keeping track is rough. If I just manage to get school done each day and keep the ranch in tact, I am generally happy. I would love to make some more friends soon, but that means getting out into the community more and until I get these two jobs under wraps and us completely moved in, it seems a near impossible quest. The pool is saving my bacon right now because the girls love to swim so much they don't ask for much else. The problem is that in the last week we have been cooling off at night and now the water is getting too cold for us wimpy ones.
Well, I hope this finds you well and trusting God in whatever is going on. We certainly are! Em's eye surgery is the 26th at 7:30am and it is to attempt to align her eyes somewhat to see if she will use both at the same time. All prayers are welcome! God Bless!
