If I won the lottery..

I'd develop a dream property like the one that I visited today, owned by a L4 student!

Lanier is an older fellow that I met at the Carol Coppinger clinic, along with his wife and a neighbor, Jennifer. Both Jennifer and Lanier are PNH students, and they happen to live in the town next to mine. (Too bad that it takes about an hour to get there pulling a horse trailer due to the windy mountain roads!)

This morning, Guinness and I met up with Lanier and his mule mare (Josey?) and Jennifer and her QH gelding, Trouble. After following Jennifer around the property, we wound up at his large western-style arena (tall fence & deep footing) with toys! Adjacent to it were a round pen and a PNH play area.

Jennifer and I took our time tacking up while Lanier rode, and then we joined him in the arena. I took the opportunity to practice riding with one stick and no reins, and was really pleased with how Guinness did (we haven't tried this since the Carol C. clinic). Then we successfully opened and closed (almost!) a gate while mounted.

After that, we played a bit on the playground. We left to offer the horses a drink from the creek and then hit the trails. It was a lovely and relaxed ride.

When we pooped out, we stopped at the campground on the property (utilized by a local glider club) to have lunch in the picnic shelter while we turned the horses out in a small paddock. Instead of leading the horses back to the trailers, we decided to walk to get the trailers and drive them back to pick up the critters.

They loaded right up and we headed home. What a fun day!















PS - This is a photo of my cochin hen, Feathers, and her adopted Guinea keet, Cue Ball. This is the first baby that she has brooded and raised!