Bruja here…..

With…..

Your Monday Morning Bru!

I feel absolutely great today ( and yesterday ). We, the Bruna got to be across yesterday. The little water tank was full and He put out hay for us here and there ( as usual) with a small handful of hay pellets on each little flake of hay. We really like that. It’s like desert first. A treat with the meal. The weather was perfect too. Sunny but not hot. Just comfortable for naps on the round pen sand in the sunshine. Luna and I had a very relaxing day. Wren and Moon were in the big paddock together. They like that because they are friends. Their friendship is not a tight as Luna and mine but it is good that they have each other as a friend. In the horse world friends are very important.

Near the end of the day, before feeding time, He came in the round pen and cleaned out my newly trimmed feet. ( luna’s too). It always makes my feet feel better when He trims them and makes them look nice (and feel better).

He brought the hoof pick and I did like always and had Him let me smell and look at it. I’m naturally suspicious of any mechanical thing and like to check it out first to know what it is. He didn’t put a halter or hackamore on either of us for foot picking. We just know to pick up each foot when He wants it. We don’t need to be tied up or held. He really likes that. Even just picking out our feet makes us feel better.

Next, He got my hackamore and as He was getting in position to put it on me, Luna got in the way because she wanted it on too. ( one at a time please! lol ) We both like the hackamore so much that we help Him put it on our faces. Having the hackamore on means riding and fun. He always lets us graze some when we ride. That makes it even better. Dandelion is getting harder to find but the summer grass is abundant and tastes oh so good.

With my hackamore on, He led me out of the pen, leaving Luna behind. Having me stand at the tack shed, He brushed me with the soft brush and then the hair brush on my mane. I like being groomed. He makes me feel pretty and He is close to me ( I always like Him close). He always uses mouth sounds to tell me how beautiful I am. I don’t completely understand the mouth sounds but I do understand His tone and intention. He loves me lots.

The saddle was next. He likes it to be just so and makes sure it fits the way He likes it. He first checks to make sure my back isn’t sore or that I have my season cramps. He is quite conscientious that way.

Back in the round pen, we did our usual walking around and a bit of liberty play. It lets the saddle settle in before riding and He does that to be sure i’m in the mood to do riding. He put luna’s halter on her and threw the lead rope over her back. She was at liberty then. When He walked to and got up on the mounting block, I came over and got in place for him to get on. I love doing that and it truly pleases Him too.

We went around the pen a bit and then He had me side up to Luna and He grabbed luna’s lead rope He had left over her back. I didn’t understand at first what we were doing or why. He then put pictures in my head so I could understand. We’ve never done this before. With pictures from Him of what to do, I wasn’t scared.

We spent about half an hour going around the pen, leading Luna behind us. It felt pretty good. I learned it quickly. We did turns both directions and stops and backing up. He is also teaching me what He calls “neck reining”. It’s a little different from the two handed reining we usually do. He had luna’s lead rope in one hand and my reins in the other. With Him using only one hand, the signals are a little different and I get confused at times. I do like learning new stuff and, I like have Luna go with us. He told me we will do lots more of this to learn it better. He called it “pony-ing”

I felt pretty proud of myself for learning to lead Luna. For a first time doing it, He said I was great at it. He was really happy. He wants to “pony” Luna more and, He says He wants to “pony” me while riding Luna. ( soon I hope)

We also did the gate trick when He thought we had done enough ponying. He had me back up to the panel and push it open with my butt so we could ride out of the pen. It was harder than usual because Luna was kinda in the way and didn’t understand. We’ve never done this before. We did finally get it and rode to the front of the tack room. It all worked ok.

With the saddle off, He put us back in our big paddock and we all had supper. It left me (and Luna) feeling great. I hope we do more soon. I am very happy.

Feeding yesterday and today is just Him. She is gone and has the dogs with Her. I can feel Her but She is far away with human friends that are her herd. They have fun together. I do miss Her and the dogs. Taiga especially, he is a spirit brother to me. He has such a happy heart. Sometimes Taiga puts his ball in my feed dish and I pick it up for him. He’s very cautious about getting near us horses sometimes. If the ball is near our feet he will bark loudly to try and get Them to get the ball for him. I won’t kick him but he is cautious anyway. The other horses sometimes warn him away by lifting and cocking a leg in warning. He is smart enough to understand ( most of the time). I think he may have gotten kicked once when I wasn’t looking.

I hope you still have green grass to eat. I remember when I was little, this was the time of year where I lived with my mom, the grass would get dry and brown.

Windy weather here now and feeling like rain soon.

May you be happy and enjoy learning new things!

🙏❤️🐎🐎🐎🐎🐕🐕‍🦺🐕