It was a normal day at the barn I worked at.
You know, give the horses their morning feed, turn them out then rake out the crap and replace it. That was mainly it, after that I either rode, trained or helped the trainer and owner, Liz with lessons.
Today I decided to train my buckskin American Quarter Horse gelding, Argo. I've ridden a lot of horses in my life and Argo is possibly the best one. When I say best, I also mean versatile. He's been trained for western riding, show jumping, cross country, trail riding, and we also started dressage. In our free time, we do liberty. It's a great way for us to stay fit and bond at the same time. He can be a stubborn jackass sometimes, when he decides to throw a temper tantrum, That's why he's not used for lessons, his fits are kind of unexpected and a bit brutal.
Anyways, the round pen was empty so I decided to do some work in there.
Liz had a pretty nice facility. The place rested on 100 acres. There were miles long trails and one led to a large pond filled with fish and beautiful plants. You go down the gravel driveway which leads you to the property. There were 2 16 stall barns side by side which both led out to a large pasture. The cool thing about the barns is that they were connected by an office. There were a few small run in pastures and in each barn there was one breeding stall and two foaling stalls. Of course there were cross ties, grooming and wash stalls, and a tack and feed room. Right by the left barn there was an indoor arena with a lounge and viewing area and behind the barns was the outdoor arena, primarily used for jumping. There were actually two round pens, both by the right barn. Only one was smaller. I preferred using the smaller one. There was a small storage barn to keep the jumps and dressage markers in. Liz and her husband, Mike lived on the property with a gorgeous farmhouse and they kept the machinery in their shed.
There was never really any barn drama, which was a plus. My best friend, Mandy, also boarded and worked here. She had a black overo paint mare named Nakota, who was a state champion and 4-h winning western pony. Of course Mandy also had those titles.
Ok, I think I should really stop getting off topic now.
Argo was boarded in the left barn, near the front. And no, we do not stall our horses up all day. The only time we do is overnight, during really bad weather, and if one was on stall rest. We actually did have a horse on stall rest. A very old white arabian named Buddy. Buddy was reaching the budding age of 23, and damaged a tendon while in the pasture. He was probably the most friendly horse here, and usually had his head poking out of the stall.
I passed him and scratched his nose, which he really seemed to enjoy. Reaching Argo's stall, I peeked in through the bars and saw him rolling. Laughing to myself, I grabbed his halter from the hook hanging on his door underneath his stall sign and slid open the stall.
Argo was up now, glancing at me. He stretched his head over and extended his lip, searching for treats.
"Guess what Argo?" I said, reaching into my pocket. I pulled out a few red apple slices and gave it to him. Scratching his muzzle, I clipped his halter on then the lead rope. I led him over to the cross ties and groomed him. It only took about 30 minutes in all.
Now it was time for his tack. We would be riding english today. I whizzed into the tack room and grabbed his black dressage saddle and matching bridle.
"Ready for some dressage, boy?"
"Ah, Ah, Ah," Mandy walked by, leading her prized pony Nakota. "Today's the day with the guy who wants a private lesson for like a video, I think."
"What?" I asked, completely confused. I do not remember anyone tell- Oh wait, yeah, Liz told me. I'm going to give this guy some lessons for like almost a month.
Argo squealed, stomping his hoof loudly.
"Argo!" I exclaimed. "Stop making a commotion."
I turned back to Mandy. "So what time is the lesson anyways?"
"Actually, pretty soon. He should be here any minute."
"Mandy! Thanks for the warning!" I grumbled sarcastically.
She just laughed and resumed grooming Nakota.
"Sorry Argo, this is going to have to wait." I unhooked him from the cross ties and placed him back into his stall.
Please don't roll, I silently beg him.
Great, now I'm gonna have to find a horse for this guy.
I gazed at a few different horses before deciding on Promise, a 15.3 hh thoroughbred chestnut mate (pictured above).
I figured to just take her up to the cross ties closest to Argos stall. It was also closer to the tack room, so yay.
He can groom his own horse to be honest. I got the grooming supplies I needed.
As I was setting them down, I heard the barn door open.
Heavy footsteps sounded, and I knew they weren't Mandy's.
Promise snorted at the smell of a newcomer, I stroked her face and turned around.
"So you must be my helper, I'm Sammy."
