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The Apprentice

Like most farms pretty much anywhere in the world, a weekend doesn’t mean time to stop work: it means the kids get to help out WITH the work!

Today, despite it being Sunday, we got together some cattle that will be trucked out early tomorrow morning.  And when I say ‘we’, I mean my boys: my Dad (Bruiser) my husband (Mr Incredible) and my son (Dash).

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For those of you who have followed along here for a little while, this photo will be particularly interesting… yes, that’s Dash on a new horse. (Read about his last horse here.)

Well, he’s not really new (Lachlan and Callum have been riding him here for a while) and he’s not really ours (my uncle owns him) but ‘Chimichanga’ (Chimmy for short) fits Dash beautifully.

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He’s little (which means my hubs cannot ride him), he’s kind, he’s gentle but responsive, and he’s tough…

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He’s not pretty, and he’s totally the bottom of the peck order amongst the horses (and bears the scars) but Dash and he are going swimmingly so far…

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Even before we lost the irreplacable Pickles (who should have gone on for many years teaching nervous young kids to ride) Dash was ready to move up to something more ‘go-ey’.

He wants to campdraft, so today’s activities suited him perfectly…

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Watching Daddy cut the cows out from the mob, to take them to another yard…

muster_1486 EThen Pagi (Bruiser) in action too. Not bad for a 74-year-old eh? He cracks me up, either cracking himself off (when he doesn’t get the cow out he wants) or giving himself a top score (‘THAT was a 22!’) when he puts in a few good turns.     There is nothing my Dad loves more than coaching a grandkid in the art of campdrafting…

muster_1472 eAnd Dash and Chimichanga did very well…

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He even got to go solo… pretty cool!

Then it was time for Dad to count them out …

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And then for the two hour walk to the main yards – just another Bush Sunday…

muster_1545 eSome call it work. We call it Bonding time.

muster_1541 fWhat did your Sunday hold for you?

12 Comments

  • KAddy

    Nearly got a tear up watching Dash cantering along 🙂
    My Sunday went kind of like this…..everyone yelling “Mummmmm!!!” all day and me just looking at them when they finally came to see me…why is it that when you can’t talk everyone wants an answer!! I like your Sunday much better!!

  • Colin Huggins

    Not nearly as exciting as your Sunday.
    I thought from a previous horse photo – the grey eating the green grass near your homestead that was Dash’s new steed. Looks like it belongs to “Mr.I”.
    Dash’s new horse looks pretty good even if at the lowest level of the horse pecking order.

    So I watched this afternoon it trying to rain, some fell, maybe the grass did get wet??? For the record no back breaking movements of my “Pot Plants”!

    You sure have a swag of “dawgs” for the mustering.

  • debby

    I’m curious what it is that makes a horse not ‘pretty’. I was thinking to myself, what a perfect fit for Dash, and then, “and they look good together”. By the time that I got to your”he’s not a pretty horse” I had to go back and look at the pictures again. I don’t see what it is. Tutorial, please.

    Oh, and PS, William says, “That cow. That many, many cow.”
    debby´s last blog post ..His Mysterious Ways.

  • Nancy in Iowa

    I think Chimmy is beautiful! And he and Dash are such a perfect fit.

    My Sunday is just beginning, but I can tell you what I’ll be doing – going through more boxes of paper and books, tossing what I can (paper – never books!), putting books aside for a guy who wants them, etc. Diane will be here in 3 weeks, and 3 weeks from tomorrow I should be on my way to Savannah, Georgia to live near Diane and my grandson!

  • Kelly

    When you said “we” and listed your men, you failed to include all those lovely working dogs milling around in the photo. I’m sure they did their share, too! 😉

    And like Debby, I need filling in on why that horse isn’t pretty. He looks mighty fine to my untrained eye.
    Kelly´s last blog post ..Crockpot soup

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