Wednesday, May 13, 2009

TODAY IS ALL ABOUT ABBE....

We finished the chores by 8:15 this morning...that's the record so far in '09.


It was very bright this morning and the temperature went up to 74.

Gary has five of the six fruit trees we bought yesterday planted.  It turned into quite a time consuming job.
Our first Iris has bloomed and some of the tulips and daffodils have started to fade.

Went to chorus this morning and at 2pm we had our first performance at a local nursing home.
The people really enjoy listening and participate in a singalong when we finish our program.
The past director of the Senior Center is now employed there.
We were all very happy to see her in a place where she is so appreciated.
One of the songs the Barbershop "Quartet" (8) sang was the old doo wop song "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight."  I find it very hard not to sing along.
Of course we messed up a couple songs!  We had so many to learn this semester, it was difficult to be ready at the time we had to perform.



NOW FOR THE ABBE PART....

As soon as we finished singing I drove out to Glen Darach Farm.
Andrea was ready to start working when I got there.
I sent this plastic tubing, along with her other gear, when Abbe went there.
Andrea hooked them together with baling twine so she can hang the tubes on either side.
Today some adjustments had to be made and Abbe was getting anxious while she was waiting.
After they worked inside, Andrea took her to the area outside the indoor, where she drove her on grass and stones (strange sounds) and around objects. I was totally impressed and think the way she is using the tubes is very clever.  They are not attached to the surcingle and tend to move around so Abbe has to get used to a shaft like situation.
Her condition is getting very good and she will probably be hooked in the next couple of days.
I can't say enough about Andrea's ability as a trainer.  If I could only do everything as well as she does.

7 comments:

  1. What gorgeous photos - and such a beautiful horse. You always make me feel like I'm right there with you! I sang with the Sweet Adelines for several years, and "goodnight sweetheart" was one of my favorites!

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  2. What a clever way to get Abbe acclimated to the driving apparatus!

    I look forward to seeing her progress.

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  3. I love Abbe's pose towards the end. She is soooo proud!

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  4. you are very busy...your horse is so pretty...pretty iris...I have purple and white...they have all stopped blooming now...sure enjoyed them

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  5. Yea Abbe! She is such a beautiful horse! Maybe it's the romanticism of the white horse, but she looks like a dream...

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  6. Those tubes do look like a good idea for training for cart. I actually think it could be a good training exercise to desensitize to noises, bumping, and movement.

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