Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Fantastic Lunch Break

Sometimes working a few kms from the farm and having a 2 hour lunch break works very much in my favour! Today was one of those days! It was a gorgeous day, especially for early November - it used to be on my blacklisted months along with March. Today was TShirt weather for a few hours. I ate at work, fed the cows and then had plenty of time with Linus to take on some more tasks. He eagerly watched me get set up and was a great sport the entire time. We improved some things from yesterday and did great at some new things. 
I picked up all 4's yesterday from his right side and he did that with no fuss. To switch it up we did all 4's from his left side today and that had him thinking a bit more, but he soon figured it out and gave easily. I think Linus  loves figuring out a challenge as much as I do!

Can't go around it without first checking it out!
I rode a bike over to his corral to get him. He watched with his head up, but he wasn't nervous. My nephew rides his bike past the same spot all the time. But he enjoyed getting another up close and personal visit with a bike.

Bike seats are tasty!
I did a very small jump with Linus in May's challenge, he's much bigger now so I "raised the bar" a bit for him. It's still a very low key jump and he steps over it more than jumps over it. So he has graduated from a pool noodle across 2 pails to a rail across the bottoms of 2 adirondack chairs. Worked beautifully and even though it looked funny, he handled it no problem. I directed him over it on the line and he figured that meant he could eat grass once on the other side!

What a goof! 
When we were all finished, I dropped his rope to let him eat grass around the trailer. I started putting things away. I store my cart in the trailer and as I was putting it back in I was greeted to the above scene! Linus stuck his head in the side door and was investigating. There is a delay on my camera phone but this one timed perfectly as he was knocking the feed bin over! You can see his lip curled up as he pushed it over! Such a comedian...I bet he would load through the side door!


Windy day...great for points!!
Yep, it got pretty windy so I tried something new with Linus. I wasn't able to get a picture because of the wind. What we did was really fun but if you try it, make sure you trust your horse!! I covered his body with a tarp and then turned so the wind would blow it around. Linus actually enjoyed the game and kept trying to pick the tarp up. He is very comfortable with tarps so it was a neat way to up the ante a bit for him.

Look closely and you can see Linus down in his corral watching me get set up for some tasks!
I swear sometimes as he watches me get things ready his expression says "Alright, what crazy things am I going to do today". Or, he is watching and mentally preparing, thinking about what he will be asked to do and figuring it out so he can score some treats and millions of rubs in his favourite places!! He is a very clever boy...I just love these challenge months!
Donna & Linus
Ontario

4 comments:

  1. Donna,
    I have been following your adventures with Linus for a long time. Let me tell you something: The expression on Linus' face just gets more and more lovely and more and more filled with thought with every post. He is blessed to have your guidance and love.
    Penny

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  2. you got a lot accomplished during lunch break ! :)

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  3. Is he biting the frickin' bike seat? Thanks for the reminder to pick up all fours from teh OTHER side, I totally forgot!

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  4. Its different from the other side, I even lost my balance....yes he's biting the bike seat......

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