Sometimes the days are long......

Today's been busy. Spin Guild met this morning (no complaints there, I love my guild); few errands to run and then home before the older kids must leave for work. A few minutes spent catching up on emails and replying to posts on Ravelry, then out the door again running kids to grandma's house. A stop at McDonalds for dinner and at 6:30 finally home for the evening. I am tired but there still chores to do and on Friday evenings all my helpers are gone. Taking care of the chores involved with 6 horses, 16 sheep, and the rabbits, dogs and cats seems a bit daunting tonight.
Off to the house to get my chores boots, then out to the barn I go. The geldings are happy to see me and nicker in hopes that will encourage me to get their grain to them faster. Once they are grained I head out to feed Molly and Pepper, the mother/daughter duo. I am tired and I just want to get in the house and finish the last of the day's work, but alas not tonight. Pepper decides that standing patiently for her grain is not a good idea and pins her ears back at me! (In horse language this means "I'm mad and if you don't watch it I may just do something about it!) Obviously unacceptable behavior.

A bit of a background: Pepper is 8 years old and we have raised her from a baby. Back in the day we rode almost daily. It wasn't unusual to go on 4 or 5 hour long trail rides. We rode with the neighbors and mostly we rode with our kids. Then our son died, and I pretty much stopped riding. Gone was my friend and my horse wrangler (he was the one who rode my horse when she was getting too naughty). In his place was a depression that I have battled for years, while my horse (among other things) was ignored. My other kids still ride, a lot in fact, but I have lost my love for it and my confidence. I really hope to have it back one day.

Back into the barn for a halter and lead rope so we can deal with this attitude quickly before it gets out of hand. I drop the grain in the feed bucket for Molly and Pepper and I walk circles. And walk circles. And walk......you get the picture. Finally Pepper decides I can be boss mare for one more day, it's just not worth losing her grain over, and reverts back to her normally sweet self. I have a distinct feeling I have won the battle, but the war's not over yet.

And I am off to finish feeding the sheep, hoping that nothing else goes wrong tonight. :)