On Sunday we decided that sleeping in for a completely ridiculous amount of time was worth it and we ended up not having enough time to hook up the trailer and go anywhere. So we tacked up Eugene and Levi and headed out to the hills ear our barn.
We first had to pass the special needs camp which was having some sort of event. There was a ton of screaming, boat horns, cars, and general chaos. I ended up getting off and walking past that section, but Levi was pretty good. We climbed the hills and took a short trail that goes no where. And we saw 7 people on the trail. In the almost 5 years we’ve been at this barn, I don’t think I’ve seen that many people on this trail combined. On the plus side, we got one of them to take our picture.
I really should have put Levi on the downside of the hill. He’s not actually that much taller than Eugene, though he is quite tall for a Mustang.
On the way back, we stopped to talk to some mountain bikers, which was great as Levi hadn’t seen bikers before and he got to see them going slow and talking to us. He was not at all bothered, but he still needs to experience them running into him on the switchbacks.
When we got back to the barn, the ponies were drenched in sweat, so we put coolers on them and talked to fellow boarders who were filling their stalls with gravel. Then we took them up to the upper arena to roll and run around.
The rolling happened, but then they just stood around doing nothing. Eugene went off to scrounge grass from the edge while Levi was trying to be in my lap until I got him a cone to play with.
Levi was still pretty wet so I ended up having to leave a cooler on him and come back after dinner to put a dry blanket on him. I am really trying not to shave him anymore, since I won’t be riding much after December. Does anyone know any magic tricks for keeping horses from sweating or for drying them off quickly without shaving?
Looks like a lovely way to spend the day 🙂 They look so happy rolling after the ride!
Rolling is their favorite.
There needs to be a magic drying blanket!
That’d be awesome
I have no tips for drying damp horses, though I’ve tried a lot of things. Sounds like a nice ride – Levi is so awesome
He’s a good boy.
I have no wisdom on drying. However, I also don’t get really worried if they are slightly damp- my theory being that if they run around when we’re not there they also get sweaty or if it rains.
That’s probably true, but he only gets a sheet at night so I feel like he’ll be cold under there if he’s damp.
I use a cotton waffle sheet and a fleece cooler over top, seems to help them dry fast and stay warm!
I’ve never tried the cotton ones, but that makes sense. Maybe I can pick up a cheap one at a sale. Thanks.
I often rub them down with a towel if they’re pretty wet. It’s not magical, but it does help get them a little closer to dry, and getting the fur unclumped helps get some air going through the hair which dries it faster.
I’m totally smitten with Levi and his fabio-like forelock. He seems like such a good, sweet guy. I’m sure they’re not all so good, but you guys sure make owning mustangs look fun.
I think he’s a little too easy. Honestly he’s easier than the mule and she’s been broke for years. And he’s easier than Eugene who we’ve had a lot longer, so I think that’s just his personality.
(I’m really behind on reading blogs…sorry this is out of nowhere!)
When I bought my clippers, they came with a hair dryer which I thought was super weird. But turns out, it’s really quite useful! I’m not sure if your horses would tolerate it or not, but the ones that do, it dries them off quickly!
We have no electricity. I suppose we could hook up the car battery converter. I don’t know if they’d tolerate it.