Making Another Deposit

My mom moved from Oregon to Mississippi a year ago. It's not like I got to see her regularly when she lived in Oregon, but at least it was a drivable distance. Her husband's family threw a family reunion this month, so they drove their motorhome from Mississippi to Oregon, but along the way they visited all of my mom's family. Since we were in Croatia, my mom saved our house for their last stop as they head back east.

I wasn't able to go to the barn the first day my mom arrived which worried me a little bit as I had only just felt like Izzy was back to normal. My mom loves horses, but she loves me more so whenever she's here, she always seems to enjoy going out to the ranch with me. Because I didn't want Izzy to feel any pressure, I played around with him in the round pen instead of riding. I made sure the "work" we did was a deposit into our trust bank. My mom was very impressed with the commands that Izzy knew. It was fun to show off what he can do.

Since Speedy has been feeling a bit neglected, I worked with him the round pen for a few minutes as well. The round pen work that I do with Izzy is usually about getting control of his mind which means I keep things very quiet and slow. If he's just being a jackass, the work might involve making him move out, but that hasn't happened in a long time. Round pen work with Speedy is about letting Speedy show off, something he loves to do. 

Speedy had a good old time showing off for my mom. Right away he started blowing and went straight into passage. His tail flipped up, and he let it rip. I chased him, he chased me, and we both got to have some fun. It's been years since I've let him play in the round pen. For a long time, I've just let him loose in the yard where he occasionally lets loose with a few canters and bucks. He enjoyed the audience in the round pen way more than being loose in the yard.

My mom is heading back to Mississippi this morning, and I don't know when I'll see her next. Her husband's health is starting to decline, so future trips cross country in the motorhome are not likely. We've already decided the next visit will be by plane. Whether it's her flying here or me flying there hasn't yet been decided. Hopefully we'll see each other sooner rather than later.

Safe travels, mom. Call me when you get there.