Bareback again!

Diamond is very patiently allowing me to ride him bareback.  I say this because even though I am light, I am bony.  I think he would prefer if I had a bareback pad on him to give us each a little cushioning.  Friday morning was fun though!  We did a bit more trotting than Thursday.  However, Friday evening....I went to feed Diamond and in his slow feeder was a muskrat!  Do we have muskrats in Arizona?  I don't know but he was definitely a muskrat.  Poor lil guy must had crawled up the side and accidentally fell in.  Luckily, my dad made the feeder with a removable bottom so I simply had to lift one corner and out the bottom he slid.  Diamond seemed unfazed by the rodent so maybe they are friends lol

Today we just did a nice 2 mile walk and I got a few great photos.  I am hoping to get up early tomorrow so we can do some riding in the arena.

Researching senior horse care

Yesterday I did some more research on senior care.  There is always talk of how important regular exercise is and I couldn't agree more.  I really like the idea of timing our warm ups to be sure he is getting enough exercise per day.  This morning, I had him walk in the round pen for 15 minutes and then trot for 5 minutes.  I could tell he was feeling a bit stiff in the beginning but loosened up nicely after the 5 minutes of trotting began.  Without halter or lunge line, he was trotting in a tight circle around me, collected and calmly with his head down.  I hope tomorrow I can get out to the stables early enough to warm him up and do some riding in the arena.  The mosquitoes are absolutely taking over the trails so I think I'll stick closer to home.