Blimp go home

I groomed and saddled Sparkler this morning, then walked her down to the road and around the drive. We went around the flag stick where we practice chipping golf balls. No problem. I had a tarp in the makeship arena in back and after a few tries I had her walking on it. As I went back to the barn to get her bridle, I saw her kicking wildly. At first I thought, Oh, oh, she's trying to get her saddle off. Then I saw Red in the next pasture doing the same thing. In the same direction.

It was a Met Life blimp passing overhead that they were both kicking at. And they did chase it away. Once it left I tried to mount. At first Sparkler wouldn't stand still. Finally, when she settled I got on. She would not respond to the reins at all. Finally, with Bob calling to her from the ground, I got her to move around. I had better luck with backing.

Fall Loomis horse auction

This summer we went to a horse auction at Loomis' and could not believe the low prices. Out of curiosity, we went again. Bob would like to have a third horse - one he can just get on - gaited or not. The first one that caught his eye was a 16 hand buckskin Spanish mustang. He was VERY pretty and Bob wanted him. He also wanted the 15 hand paint mare (great attitude) with badly cared for hooves and the 14 hand mare by the same owner. When he started talking about getting auction numbers, that's when I said time to go. I'm just not sure about an auction horse, and with Red still around, I'm not ready to make a quick decision. Believe me, I know how hard it is reverse it.

Riding whip

We stopped at Stockmans after the auction to find something for Grandpa's birthday. I picked up a short riding whip to keep in my back pocket so I can have 2 hands free and something to protect myself with when I need it.