Happy Hooves Day Is Upon Us, Again.

Saturday is upon us and six kids are due anytime now. Make that seven. Never mind, Ty will keep them in check. First, Ty showed them how to muck out, then how to clean the tack. I could tell by some kids faces that they would rather be riding then listening to rules and regulations. That would come later. 
 Now came the time to sort which horses the kids would be dealing with for the day.

Tony with Lady

"This is Lady. Tony, you will share her with Leroy. Just remember she's a bit ticklish under her belly." Tony, was in a quandary as to how to get Lady to pick her feet up for him. Ty showed him how to stand to one side of the horse and touch Lady's leg, the one that was needed, so as she would raise it in readiness for cleaning out dirt and stones or just to inspect it. I had been through the process with Ty earlier that morning, telling him which horse didn't like this or that also showing him which brush to use and for what. He had wrote it down and put the notes in his pocket just in case he had said.
 Ty continued, "Some horses don't like certain parts of them touched, so you have to be gentle with 'em talking to 'em, letting them know you ain't gonna hurt 'em." 

Leroy, Jessica and  one of the twins...Stacey I think?

 "How do you know which parts they don't like touched ?" This came from Jessica, the chubby kid with hair color like Kate's which was tied in two bunches.
 "You'll soon find out" grinned Ty.
"Yeah, when they kick or bite you." came back Leroy, the only black kid who had enrolled.
 "Right, here are the brushes and hoof-picks." Ty looked round at some worried faces, "Don't worry, I'll show you first, you won't get hurt. This is Flint." Ty had a quick look at his notes from his pocket. "He loves getting brushed and will pick his feet up for anyone. He's a softy. Who wants him ?
 A chorus of, Me! Me! Me ! greeted Ty's ears, so he chose the twin girls, Stacey and Larna. Better him then me I thought, not wanting to be the 'evil man' who wouldn't give them the horse they wanted.
 "Who gets Drifter, the pretty Palomino ?" The rest of the kids without assigned horses chimed up.
 "Sorry, he's not being used today. It's his day off and he's feeling a bit under the weather." Ty told them.
"Jessica, Smokie is yours, he's a 'gentleman', you'll be okay with him".
 "Now Pepper is rather tall but loves attention, so you boys, Jimmy and Johnny,(also twins) had better use the mounting block to get to the hard to reach places." Ty signalled to them calling each boy by the other ones name. "Gee, you two look so much alike, I'll get a name badge made out for you to wear".
  "We want one too." sing-sunged the other kids.
 "That's okay, I'm on it." Kate responded. She had been listening on the side lines.
Kate came back with the name badges and handed them out, when, "Whoops! Wrong twin." Kate quickly switched the badges over.
Ty, who's really good at sketching gave them each a pencil, crayons and an A4 paper to draw a picture of their respective horses and then color them in. This would keep them busy for a while.

Kate cooked the hot dogs

Lunch time...We left Kate cooking the hot dogs while me and Ty took the kids over to see Storm and her foal. I had put them in the field on the Holiday Let site. It was a good size with plenty of room for the foal to run-around in, about 3/4 of an acre or a little more according to my 'eye'. The kids loved watching the foal playing and galloping about around it's mom, and wrote their suggestions on a card for a name. Of course I told them how Storm had come with no name and how she got hers, the lucky winner would be told by email or over the phone in around two days time.

Storm and her foal

 "Okay kids back for hot dogs and ice-cream. The kids yelped and whooped all excited.
 Then Kyle, Kate and Ty, brought out the saddles and bridles. Saddles are heavy to pick up let alone swinging them onto the horses backs. At this stage I pointed out, how to do up a saddle.

Too heavy for kids to lift on their own

 "The Cinch keeps the saddle in place so it's important to tighten it up just right for it to stay put. Too loose and the saddle will slip leaving you hanging off the side of your horse or on the floor. Too tight and your horse won't be comfortable, it may even try to buck the saddle off and you in the process. This is because they must be able to fill their 'bellies' up with air to breath." I had serious little faces hanging on my every word. So with happy kids going round and round the manege and twins sharing their horses, till the parents turned up to take them home. Some tears were shed...by the kids not wanting it to end.