Ride 76 - Double!

I rode Chrome bareback for about twenty five minutes.  We've been super busy this weekend cutting firewood, grocery shopping, blowing the leaves off the roof, using the tractor to clean all the horse poop and wasted hay out of the barn so we can put a new roll in, etc.  Busy, busy, busy.  I didn't get pictures, sorry!  We just walked and trotted around the yard.  I was weaving him between the fire we had burning, the tractor, the log splitter, the four wheeler, the wheel barrow, etc.  He did great.  He eyeballed a few things, but he never spooked or refused to go.  We also walked around out in the woods.

The interesting part is I asked my hubby to get on behind me because Chrome has never been ridden double and I wanted to see how he would do.  I lined him up next to the bumper of my car and hubby slid on behind me... but he had his foot on the bumper... and I asked Chrome to walk away... and hubby grabbed the car (I have rails on top) and let himself be dragged off LOL!!  I asked him why he did that and he said he didn't want to put too much weight on Chrome's back!  I told him that when I did the calculations of my weight along with my tack I was only 15% of Chrome's weight, so with the two of us we would still be under 30% which is the top weight a horse should be asked to carry.  So I asked him to get back on.  He did and I asked Chrome to walk off.  He walked about six steps and then stopped.  He had his head up and his ears back (until a neighbor horse neighed and he looked over there lol), but he wasn't scared.  He was just confused by all the extra weight I think.  Hubby was pushing me painfully up against Chrome's withers so I asked him to slide off.  His back was hurting too so I wasn't going to ask him to stay on long.  So it was only six steps, but technically Chrome has carried two people now hehehe.  He's such a good boy to put up with all the weird stuff I do.  I slid back to sit on his hindquarters and he didn't care.  Then I got back in the normal spot and laid backward with my head on his hindquarters.  Then I leaned forward with my arms around his neck.  My dad laughed because Chrome likes to duck his head when I do that and I have to hang on so I don't slide up his neck hehe.  Then I laid back again and rubbed his neck with my shoes, so he reached around and nibbled on them. He's so silly.

He got his hooves trimmed yesterday and he was a snot at first because the flies and mosquitoes were bothering him, but after I fly sprayed him he was good.  His hooves look great.  My trimmer only used a rasp because of all the riding we've been doing on the asphalt he didn't have enough excess wall to need the nippers.  :D  He was totally sound today so I'm looking forward to getting back out on the road, but I don't know how much I'll be riding in this crazy cold front that's coming through!!!  Our highs are going to be as low as it normally is in January or February.  Brr!  I'm not ready!

What are you guys doing to make sure your horses drink enough with this sudden cold front?  We have to shut off the water outside so it doesn't freeze, but I'm thinking about making him some beet pulp mashes inside and carrying them out to him or something to get some extra water in him.  Stay warm everyone!!