Diary of a Cowgirl - part 3

Started the new week off with a very hard training session with Magnus. Due to being so young and still learning, he can be wary of things at times. Well, as it was once again some insane degree of cold outside, we were once again at peach schnapps guy's barn to train, and he has a few machines parked inside the barn. Magnus took a particular disliking to these and turned into a petulant little child for the entire lunging session before I rode him. At one point when I gave him the cue to lope (canter) he literally stopped, turned to face me and just pulled backwards very suddenly. I got him back on track and taught him that this behaviour was unacceptable, but not before the lunge line had ripped the top of my pinky nail from the nail bed and split my finger down the side of the nail. Ouchie :( but we ended the session very well. By the end, he was starting to follow my cues more, he was listening to me and he actually neck reined slightly! A huge achievement for him and for me :) 

Elsabe and I took Magnus and Tuxedo for a few fantastic long trail rides through all the wheat fields in my last week with her, and towards the end, Magnus was being so good that I even stood up on his back and he was completely not phased by it! In fact, at one point, he was actually yawning! So cute, I love his personality! :) he's so eager to please and friendly and full of spunk! A very cool experience (and I mean that literally and figuratively because it was once again arctic temperature outside!) was working cattle on horseback! I took Magnus (of course!) despite Elsabe's concern that he had never seen cattle and might freak out. I had decided that he and I understood each other so we'd be fine :) and I was so right! He was fantastic. I felt like a real cowgirl this time! We rode out through the reservation again with two people from a neighbouring ranch who had offered to help. The reservation is VERY hilly and full of streams and mud patches. Took the horses a bit of time to adjust, so we had a few side splitting moments when one of the horses leapt vertically into the air to avoid a puddle, or leapt about ten meters across a puddle that was maybe 30cm wide! Everybody who wasn't on the leaping horse thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. Mostly I wasn't one of the everybody because I was being punched in the gut by the stupid saddle horn while Magnus leapt about like a flipping frog. 

We eventually made our way through all the scary little slivers of water and found the herd of approximately 40 cattle. We herded them across the reservation and out onto the road and then walked them a few miles down the road. It involved a lot of mooing from the cows and us shouting and charging straight at them to chase them away from the fences and the roads! At this point it was just the two of us (because the neighbours had decided it was too cold for them so they had gone home) and Jorden and his dad in the Ranger and a pickup respectively. We basically had to keep the whole herd walking in a long line in the ditch between the road and the fence. To quote my favourite animated tow truck "I swear, cows is so dumb". Well, he said tractors, but it's the same thing in this context :) we both lost our voices from yelling at the darn things so much because they kept stopping or heading for the fence or road! The horses got really into the chasing part though! Diggity started pinning his ears back and really going for the stray cows until one kicked out at him. He was a bit more hesitant after that :) Magnus mostly just seemed to be thinking "what the heck are these black things and why are they yelling at me?!" But he did so well :) we herded them to a new pasture and herded them in before heading off to work the next herd. 

On Saturday night we had a really awesome "skaap braai" with even more South Africans than the previous braais! Elsabe and I made a very yummy potato salad and drank Amarula (nostalgic and homesick!) while getting ready. One of the guys also had a bottle of good old brandy at the braai. The South Africans made quick work of it :) unfortunately, not all of the South Africans there were of the cool variety, and the one guy (same idiot that had bugged us at the two previous braais... Not sure why he kept cracking an invite!) got absolutely motherless (as seems to be the norm for him) and started looking for a fight with Rhyno, our host. Now you must just understand, Rhyno is a proper goeie ou Vrystaat boer. Hy vat geen kak van niemand nie! And this was some little twenty-something punk with a huge mouth and no manners. Rhyno literally had his phone open and 911 typed into the call screen while they were having a full-on argument in Afrikaans (I felt like I was back at varsity :-P). He just wanted the kid gone, he didn't even want to fight. It was pretty intense. I half wanted him to call 911 just so I could see the whole 911 response thing in real life :) but luckily the punk eventually got dragged into a car by his mates and disappeared. 

My last night was a really fun but bittersweet affair. We watched movies while lazing around on the floor by an awesome fire. I split the wood myself! Another badass moment :) Kenzley is just too precious. Every night she gives everybody a "drukkie" and a "soentjie" and says "I yuff (love) you, dedda saap (lekker slaap)". This night when I said "lekker slaap, I love you!" she replied with "dedda saap, I yuff you buddy!" I want to take her home with me! :) until her first tantrum... Lolsies. 

And so ended my amazing, wonderful, life changing stay in Halliday, North Dakota with my new lifelong friends :) I shall miss them so much! But I know I always have a place to stay now :)

Next update, my trip to LA... The trip from hell. 

Stay classy! c",)