As soon as I bring Bestie in, she goes to the rear window in her stall to gaze back at her pasture. Just in case she might have missed something in the few moments it takes us to walk to the barn.
Before I start whining about Bestie, I have to admit that my barn visits have been pretty sporadic over the last couple weeks. House stuff has picked up speed, so I've had a few days of driving the hour and a half to the new house in Culpeper, and depending on the timing of the meet up with a contractor, I often just can't make it to the barn. Throw four days away for Thanksgiving in there, too. And a couple of days of heavy rain.
Since I had been away, I went to the barn on both Saturday and Sunday last weekend. Bestie whinnied when she spotted me, which is always heart warming. I planned to ride on Sunday since I had more time and it was a really beautiful day. Just can't get over the warm weather in November - nothing like Vermont!
After I saddled her up, we walked over to the ring, meeting ring owner Cindy and her gelding en route. Upon starting to walk with them, Bestie was positively beside herself - I don't know if it was the novelty of seeing a gelding after a few months with mares, or what. I couldn't get her settled down. I ended up walking her in the ring for about a half hour. She seemed to calm down after about 15 minutes, but when I brought her over to the mounting block she got all kooky again. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was different from the previous week, except the weather was better. No scariness. NOTHING. Very frustrating.
The next three days I was tied up with house stuff and there was heavy rain, so today was my first day out. Again, I squared away the ring plan and looked forward to a ride.
As I walked out to get Bestie from the field, she and Mia came trotting up from the lower part, then turned and stared back at the woods. There was a regular hooting noise and the crashing sound of brush from the woods. I went ahead and brought Bestie in, and Mia hung out by the gate, looking back toward the woods, but not worked up.
Once we got in to the barn Bestie was really agitated. She kept circling and looking out the back window. I finally put her lead rope back on and walked her in the stall for about 10 minutes. At some point the hooting and crashing stopped and she calmed down, but then got worked up by Percy and Jazz goofing around in the front field. Between the agitation and the time it took me to groom her, I shelved the plan to ride. I ended up walking her down the road for a short stretch, then turning her back out with Mia.
And now I'm off to New York for three days. Inconsistency with her is not a good thing, but I don't see my schedule settling down at all with the house projects kicking off and the holidays looming. Foreseeing more mare moments in my future. Yay.
