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December 27, 2020: Upstairs

I generally inhabit the upstairs of our two-story cabin. I have a home-made standing desk and am flanked on four sides by bookshelves. I am not alone; Ryder has become the upstairs dog. She rests on her dog bed, to my right, when I’m up here working. The room has southern exposure. My desk faces south, so I have access to the morning light. At midday the room grows dark. Then in the early evening the low-lying light shines in the window behind me.

Pete generally inhabits the downstairs area. He cooks in the kitchen and works at his desk in the kitchen addition. He listens


Alys and Tyra

to music. Pete’s not alone, Shadow has become the downstairs dog. She rests on her dog bed, to his left when he’s working. And she’s close by when he’s cooking.

Once in a while, the upstairs/downstairs order changes. Last night Pete went for a lengthy three-hour bicycle ride that sounds like it was fairly strenuous. So right now, he’s taking a nap. Shadow is curled up next to him. She thinks I’m okay, but she sees him as being her human. I’m just fine with this. It’s still a dog and pony show around here.

It was business as usual here today. My good friend Pam Nolfe may have saved the day again. She was the one who assisted me in finding Tyra. And she was the one who gave us the lead on Synergist Saddles. Pete is a very good consumer-related researcher, but Pam has him beat.

Pam also has a wonderful gelding named Blessi. She was the one who inspired me to begin doing enrichment training with my horses. The pair’s main commonality is that both are extremely inquisitive and enjoy learning new things together. Pam is also a good writer and marketer – those who can do both are rare.

Anyhow, Pam sent me an email yesterday with a link to a company that’s selling non-slip horse pads. They go under the saddle. I sent Pete her email and he checked this out. We ordered one. This combined with the new cinch (on order) may solve Tyra’s saddle fit problem.

In the meantime, Pete’s now riding Tyra using Hrimmi’s saddle. I can ride Hrimmi in it but not Tyra, for my shifting around would throw her off balance.

The very cool thing about having Pete ride one of the other horses is that I then get to see how that particular horse is moving. All that work I did with Tyra, with the goal of getting her to lower her head and therefore use her back muscles, has paid off. She appears very balanced under saddle, as do the two other mares.

So, Pete rode Tyra and I rode Raudi. It was a nice ride. I then rode Hrimmi and had a second good ride. The targeting is also going well. All the horses go to their stations when I enter the pen. There, I treat them, and if need be, put halters on before taking them out of the pen.

I like my upstairs space because here I relive the day’s experiences.

Next: 357. 12/28/20: Back in the Saddle Again

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