It was cold and slightly overcast this morning. By this evening it was warm and sunny. A perfect evening for a ride. So Pete rode Tyra and I rode Raudi. The low angle of the sun made both of them, grazing, look like they were aglow. They appeared to be in peak condition. And now that they have shed, they are not ponies; rather, they are horses.

Though it’s been cold, the grass is now green and lush. A major distraction for the mares. They each think – I eat, I poop, oh yeah, I carry a rider.

Tinni

The green grass reminded me of my walks with Tinni. I thought this evening, if he’d made it through winter, I’d be taking him for grazing walks. I did not let him graze enough because I thought he needed the exercise. If only we, together, could go back in time.

I also have been thinking (and maybe I can now articulate it) about his death. If I were to have done things differently, I would have put him on out of state hay the minute he started coughing. We just kept giving him local hay.

I would have routinely taken his temperature, pulse, and respiration. Most likely things were amiss well before I realized it.

The day he died, the day Zach checked him out, Tinni was close to death. I won’t belabor the point and go into detail, but he was bad off, and I should have been able to foresee this.

Tinni, at 33, was a long-lived horse, but he easily could have lived longer.

When I graduated, then with an Associates in Light Horse Management, I decided not to get a horse. What came to mind was what I didn’t know, which was how to balance a ration, fit a saddle, detect the various types of lameness, shoe or trim a horses’ hoof. Yes, I was very much aware of my shortcomings.

I still am. It was also made evident to me that I was not at all a good riding instructor. I kept hitting roadblocks when I attempted to move up in the ranks as a Centered Riding instructor.

So now I have three mares that I tend to on a daily basis. They’re all looking good, and amazingly, all good riding horses. I am aware of what they don’t know – again, my doing. None of the three tolt. Raudi canters nicely, but it’s never a sustained gait. Hrimmi trots and seldom canters. Tyra is now trotting and has a rough canter.

All three are pocket ponies and are treat obsessive.

In the right hands, these three mares would be superstars. It has to be enough that they are good trail horses. They do not spook and will alert if something is amiss. I have to attribute this to genetics. And on the eighth day dog made Icelandic horses – this was an afterthought, but a good one.

Lots to think about, for sure.

Next: 167. 6/18/23: An Honest to Dog Summer Day