Lily is Home

Lily made it through four days of camp and wrote desperate letters home filled with the usual camp stories:

Day one:
"I can't believe you sent me here! It's scary! I want to go home! They made me run and run and run until I was a sweaty mess! Don't you love me?"

Day two:
"OMG, this mare over here is a total witch (I'm being polite, but you KNOW what I REALLY mean). She has chased me all over. Like I want anything to do with her gnarly herd anyway. I think you should come and get me. I'll be by the back paddock with my halter on. "

Day three:
"It is so boooring here. Do you know what I had to do today? STAND. In one place. Thought I was going to go crazy. Plus the other mare STILL hates me. I don't know what kind of "training" you think I'm getting, but let me tell you, it ain't happening."

Day four:
"If he wanted me to bend my neck, all he had to do was get a cookie. Seriously. Did you not leave any instructions? More running in circles. I didn't have to run quite so fast. And we did a little riding around. Mom, I promise, if I come home I'll be real, real good. Just break me out of this joint!"

So, I went and picked her up. (for the rest of the story, see trail rider's blog).

She hopped in the trailer and calmly stood there for me to close the door. I swear she exhaled in the trailer and gave a huge sigh.

When she arrived back at our barn, she was greeted with a chorus of whinneys.

The next day I made sure to follow up on the start that TR had worked through. Remarkably her round pen skills were much better - she was moving off a gesture from me, no racing around at all, complete control of all gates. Of course she and I know our signals very well, she knows what to expect. There's no whoa from the ground, but that's typical of this stage of her refresher course. I'll get the whoa in another week. We rode around and she was as smooth as glass and I kissed her up to a nice, calm canter in the round pen. She stopped on a dime. Lovely, Lily. Lovely.

I worked Smokey and it was so funny. All of a sudden all the power steering I had with Lily in the halter was gone with Smokey. She's so much more finished, he still needs that smoothing out. Then Smokey and I ponied Lily around the drive way for practice. I wanted her to get out and about a bit and wanted to see how it would go.

You know, you really need a horse that can neck rein before you go around ponying. Just saying.

Fortunately all wrecks were avoided, even when a huge beetle flew down the front of my shirt and had us all in a tangle while I tried not to scream.

Then Lily got a nice long bath and was giving me that feel. That coming back to herself feel.

Welcome home Lily. You'll be back in riding shape in two weeks. Then we'll get busy. :)