Frog Lake with Natty!

We’re in the middle of a hot spell finally – I thought summer would never come – so we loaded up the horses and headed for a beautiful mountain lake. I’ve been totally focused on Chance all year, getting him out and exposing him to things, so that left poor Natty sitting home while we were out having fun. Due to circumstances, however, it was finally time for Natty’s first outing! Lauren, our ride everywhere, just traded in her 2-horse trailer on a larger 4-horse model that Natty actually fits in, and Chance has a puncture wound in his leg so I didn’t want him in a lake right now. Plus, I know Natty loves water because I’ve seen her troop through swamps and roll in ponds time and again. Natty has never been anywhere except to move – she was born on the PMU ranch and lived there until she was loaded up to come to me, and since I’ve had her, we moved to a new boarding facility once and then to the house when I bought it. This means Natty has never been loaded up for a day trip and taken anywhere strange and asked to work. Still, I didn’t hesitate to take her to the lake with Chance out of commission because she’s such a good girl, always. This time I was SOOOO proud of her! She was even better than usual, a real rock star. She loaded in the trailer without hesitation (even walked up the spring-loaded ramp, a first for her!), rode like a champ the whole way, backed out like she’d done it all her life, and …drumroll please… Natty stood tied quietly in the parking lot to be groomed and tacked up! This is extra-special because Natty HATES to be tied and also really does not like to be groomed. I was just so proud of her – she couldn’t have been any better. I led her most of the way from the parking lot from the lake since she’s barely green broke and I wasn’t sure how she’d act on her first field trip, but she was great, totally relaxed and just checking things out. I found a nice stump to use as a mounting block and rode the last stretch and down into the lake. She isn’t a bit afraid of water, but she had no desire to carry me out into the middle of the lake when there was green grass on the bank, so I ended up leading her out by hand. As she loves to do, she tried to roll in the lake (saddle and all, ugh) twice. I was glad I wasn’t on board for that part! At one point, we got into an area with deep sticky mud. Natty lost her footing and decided we should head for shore, and I was doing my best to keep up wading through the deep mud in boots and jeans. Naturally, I tripped over a rock and face-planted in the lake… sweet Natty finally decided to stop and wait for me then, lol. I did get back on after that, and Lauren led us out into deeper water for a quick photo opportunity. Several times, groups of kids ran up to us, and Natty took it all in stride, thank goodness. At one point, a loose German Shepherd ran up, and she didn’t mind that either – this is a no-spook horse, that’s for sure! Some folks had a remote control boat they were running, and she focused in on that boat and watched it like a hawk and wouldn’t take a step in any direction, but she didn’t spook.  On the way home, we stopped for dinner and left the horses in the trailer, and she did great for that, too – maybe she was tired, or maybe she’s way more patient than I realize. She did whinny a greeting when we came out of the restaurant, so I’m sure she was ready to get back home. She is such a good girl, and this was an awesome first outing for us! Natty is my horsey soul mate – I just love her

Not sure what she was more interested in – the bright red chair or the people in the boats

Getting her feet wet

Are we having fun yet?

I knew it was just a matter of time…

Not again!

Sopping wet me back in the sopping wet saddle

My beautiful girl is ready to go back to shore

Frog Lake must be named for these little guys who are all over the shoreline

Our partners in crime – thanks for taking us along with you!

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