Brunch with the Horses

At the beginning of September, Heidi got really sick really fast. She had a small cough for a few days that everyone, including her teachers, though was due to allergies. On a Thursday morning the cough got stronger and by Thursday afternoon she had a temp of 103 and was sent home from school. That night she started to complain of aches in her right side.

Friday morning she had pneumonia. She was given a very strong antibiotic and told to stay home and rest through Saturday.

On Sunday morning she felt much better and was very restless from being stuck in the house for so long.

The men in my family are active in the Zuhrah Shrine. That Sunday morning happened to be their Horseman Club's Brunch. So we headed out to their ranch in Greenfield MN to see the horses.

As we pulled up this horse started it's beeline over to us. It had been across the yard and when he spotted Heidi he trotted over to meet us.

We don't know his name but Heidi enjoyed watching him drink from the fountain and lick the salt lick!
After we ate Heidi wanted to go for a ride. Some of the Shriners were set up in the in door arena to give rides.
Heidi has gone on a few pony rides. The first time we bought her a ticket and she refused to get on. The second time she got on but was very timid. The third time she rode like a champ. The fourth time the pony was not attached to a circle and she rode up and down a path. After that she was sold.

This, however, was her first horse ride. She sat on a horse when we went to Makayla's horse camp but did not ride it.

I was surprised that she got on this large horse so willingly and then rode off into the sun without daddy.

This horse is called Pribo and belongs to a friend of my dad's, Larry.

After a break to check out the rest of the stables, watch a riding lesson in the out door ring, and an encounter with a snake, she was ready to ride again.

I think this horse is called Jedi.
And she is off! She was not ready to go on her own, she would not talk to the horse with the man she didn't know there.

Oh, yes, the snake encounter. How could I breeze by that so quickly? While we were watching the riding lesson in the outdoor ring some people found a snake. They were trying to round it up so it caught our attention.

Heidi and Shawn ran over to help. Terri and I stayed on the bench. Therefore, no pictures.

After someone caught the snake Heidi held it. She thought this was great. Terri and I did not.

I think it's called a Garder Snake. Or maybe a Garner Snake. But not a Gardner Snake.
Any time Shawn and Heidi see something that is drivable they get on it. They try to drive it or at the very least pretend to drive it. When we came upon this tractor in the hay barn they climbed right on.

**Side note, Shawn is wearing my dad's hat because he did not have sun lotion on his head which is now bald.
It was a fun morning out with my parents. Heidi crashed when we got home but I am glad we went out there. She now wants to take riding lessons. In addition to Skating, Dance, and Gymnastics? I think that's a bit much. But we do know people who have horse connections so we may be able to make it a fun hobby.