My horses have arrived! And thank goodness—24 hours with not much to do and I was starting to twitch. They arrived at 8 this morning—an extremely civilized hour—and crashed immediately in their stalls; they’d been on the road all night.

So when I threw the Red Hots out this afternoon I figured they’d be a little dozy.

Oh, wait. They’re CHESTNUT. They’ve had almost a week off. And they’re naked for the first time in months.

WHEE!!!!

I must confess that, even though my heart was in my throat waiting for the crack or the falter or the crash, it brought my heart such joy to see Ella kick up her heels and bolt across the field, and to watch Midge prancing around, tail up over his back, ears in the clouds. They looked SO happy.

Tres didn’t get to participate in the leaping and plunging, but he’s more of an energy conservationist; I don’t think he minded. The farm has a rule against stallion turnout—the fencing is lovely and safe, but not electrified, and while I know Tres is PERFECT and would never DREAM of bad behavior, I totally understand the rule. So Tres and I just went for a walk in-hand. He says the grass tastes funny.

They did all get a nice roll in, so all three got MAJOR baths today, and will certainly need another tomorrow, and possibly another the day after. Tuesday I’ll get on everyone, but I think the boys will just hack. Ella had enthusiasm to spare today, so she might do a little walk-trot-canter, because I think it will help her settle. She’s fine, just herself. Red-headed women, you know the type; never keen on rest.

I took advantage of the down time to snap some photos, and I’ll take my camera with me tomorrow on my hack. A friend is in town to cover the George Morris horsemanship clinics, and when I gave her a tour around White Fences, she noted it was like one of the Hollywood Star Tours. Maybe I should produce a tourist map?