Today was a perfect day! The third one we’ve spent here in Heaven, I mean, Hidaka, and so much happened today it’s hard to fit it into one story! Today, Inoue-san let me go out into the mountains solo, which was very fun. I managed to not get lost or fall off in the convoluted trail system. I got FIVE horses ridden today: Steve, Takishin, Sandori, Handsome Boy, and Green Green! Steve, Takishin (my favorite horse so far), and Sandori are all Endurance Arabians, so I did nice training rides on them. Handsome Boy is a trekking horse, so I got to ride him up and down the mountain for quite a bit! Green Green is a very young horse that likes to buck and be naughty, but I did some of the tricks I learned in Mongolia and managed to ride her for an hour or so this evening. They have almost every saddle known to man here for riding, I keep going back and forth between an old cutting saddle and a small Stubbin jumping seat I dug out of the garage, depending on the horse. Additionally, there are dressage saddles, Podiums, endurance models of all kinds, treeless saddles, traditional Chinese saddles, Stonewalls…anything you could possibly wish to ride in. I’m going to try them all out! On the foal front: Every morning around 3am, Inoue-san lets the mares and foals out of their stalls. As I was walking to the barn, one of the mamas came back, her foal limping on three legs! She had either been attacked by something or gotten into some wire, but her leg was very sore. We brought both of them into a stall and iced the baby’s leg, hoping she would get better. In between rides, I would notice the baby laying down, and the mom getting progressively more agitated. I was the only one working with the horses today, and didn’t know what to do! Finally, I realized that the mare was agitated because she was full of milk, and the foal couldn’t get up to drink. Mayhem ensued. First, I tried to help the baby stand, but there were too many legs all over the place! Then, I got out a bucket and milked mom. That definitely helped mom, but when it came to getting the milk into the baby, well, most of it went on the floor, despite baby and me trying our best! Finally, I enlisted the help of Ben and Scott to help me lift the baby with a blanket, and we succeeded! We will repeat as necessary with this new tactic. Additionally, today as we were closing the barn for the night, one of the mares showed up with a newborn she had given birth to on the mountain. She was barely hours old, spindle-legged and damp, and I am glad she is ok considering the next part of my story! While riding Handsome Boy, I came across some fresh black bear tracks. They were very cool to see, although they made Handsome snort and not wish to go forward. I managed to make him go a bit more down the trail, but not a minute later, we heard a deer’s death scream. Nothing could make Handsome go any further down the trail after that! So I trusted his instincts and kept my bear viewing for another day. I did get to see a Kitsune, wild fox, driving back from the onsen. Yes, you read that right. I drove on the wrong side of the road for the first time, and we went to a Japanese hot spring! The onsens are very cool, ours had both a hot mineral bath and an ice bath. They are gender separated, and yes, you do get naked in front of strangers! Luckily, I’m not shy and it was a great experience! Also fortunately, the ice water and the mineral water seem to have cured any stiffness I had as a result of riding all day long and waking up at 5am this week! So tomorrow, I will be good as new! That’s all for now!
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 12:21:09 +0000