Thistleblooms Rambles

[thistlebloom]

You might have just answered your own question as to why the dog is moving the horse. She feels it's her job to get her moving when your not home or out in the yard. Is the dog always present while you do ground work? Have you changed the frequency of time spent on ground work? I don't think anything is wrong with the dog? I think she is intelligent and thinks the horse needs to be moving.

She is intelligent, which is why she chooses to do it when I'm not there to catch her.
I haven't been doing as much ground work since I've started riding Syringa, but Wren did this on infrequent occasions when I was working her daily.
She was "present" in that she was not in the run and loose on the property, but the dogs aren't allowed in the roundpen when I'm working.
She shows zero interest in Syringa otherwise, no observation, or herd stare, no slinking around the perimeter. Nothing. And when we go on a group walk with the horse and dogs are free to run around and sniff there is no following behind the horse or any sort of action that would be seen as her attempting to work or help.

Whatever the reason, I know how to keep it from happening, and that is to keep Wren from being able to access the horse corrals when I'm not home.
Not a big deal in the long view I suppose, nobody has been hurt and I'm going to keep it that way. Just annoying.

 

[Bruce]

I don't think anything is wrong with the dog? I think she is intelligent and thinks the horse needs to be moving.

Oh, Wren is a horse trainer!!!! Maybe you need to let her have the lunge line so she can do it properly.

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh, Wren is a horse trainer!!!! Maybe you need to let her have the lunge line so she can do it properly.

Of course! Why haven't I realized that before? Lol.
Get outta the way human, let me show you how it's done!

 

[thistlebloom]

I was a mountain goat today. My big job is located on the shore of a lake and has a substantial drop and steep bank down to the water. There are stairs down to the dock, and even though I seem to count them every time I come up them I still can't remember exactly how many, but I think it's 70, or 72. It's steep and makes me huff.
...Not to get off the subject but does anybody else find themselves counting a lot? I catch myself counting things that don't need counting - the scoops of manure to fill a wheel barrow - the number of firewood logs I'm loading - the pairs of white socks dh has that I'm folding .
It probably means I'm losing my grip and will soon be insane.

Back to the bank. I avoid getting involved if I can. It's not "landscaped" just planted with a variety of mature shrubs and native plants to hold the soil, which is sand basically. So it doesn't need maintenance, just a little attention now and then. Last time it needed help I hired my teenage neighbor boys, and everybody was happy.
But I missed the window of opportunity on that this year and now they aren't available.

There has been scotch broom growing insidiously on this bank the past few years, and it's getting big enough now that it has been disturbing my peace of mind and interfering with my sense of responsibility.
(that's me, counting scotch broom, lol.)
Scotch broom is an invasive, and apparently the seeds can remain viable for 50 years.

So today I pulled up my socks and tackled the darn bank. Did I mention that this is a steep bank? I cut down, dragged up the hill and loaded my truck, cab high, (mashed down and squashed into submission and held in place with criss crossing tie downs) with a load of just broom. I wouldn't have guessed there was really that much, but I think I got it all. And I didn't tumble down the hill and land in the lake, but there were a couple slide episodes when I was frantically grabbing for anything to stop me..

So I'm feeling a little heroic. Cleaned up the invasives and lived to tell about it! Yay me.

Nine (!) years ago. It's grown in totally now. I feel old.

 

[chickens really]

Wow! That looks really pretty. Is that at your house? Those stairs look expensive and well maintained

 

[thistlebloom]

Wow! That looks really pretty. Is that at your house? Those stairs look expensive and well maintained

Haha! No not my house. It's a property I do landscape maintenance on.
I couldn't afford the property taxes even if I gave up eating.
The bank pic was from 9 years ago, it's all covered with shrubbery now, you can't see the dirt.

 

[chickens really]

Haha! No not my house. It's a property I do landscape maintenance on.
I couldn't afford the property taxes even if I gave up eating.
The bank pic was from 9 years ago, it's all covered with shrubbery now, you can't see the dirt.

Oh I get it now!
Very nice place though..

 

[Ridgetop]

You are not OLD! Old is when you can't climb all those stairs. And especially can't climb all those stairs with all that brush you cut!

I say again - YOU ARE NOT OLD! Tired maybe, not old!

Just be sure to put those future cutting dates on the calendar so you won't be caught without those hefty teenage helpers!)

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks Ridgetop, I'll keep repeating that!

 

[Ridgetop]

Remember - you are in your prime. My prime moves with my age!