Swedish people and their IKEA bags

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! :))

I still owe you a photo of one of the chairs

that we bought at the second hand store... nice ha?!

Well, yesterday was a very satisfying day.

I was in the stable, getting ready for mucking the boxes and was just about finished installing a shelf for our little stereo...

Mucking is more fun with music in the background, isn't it?!

And the horses love music too!

:))

My mobile phone rang and it was Carola, she asked "What's up for today?"

I told her about our plans and asked her "why are you asking?"

"Well," she said, "How about we (she and her two girls) come up for a visit and I could work with Indigo as we talked about.."

I said "of course! That would be fun!".

Then I heard Carola asking Moa "How about we go up to Micky and Ingrid for a visit?"....

Moa started screaming in the background..: "YEEEEEES"

So we had a deal.

One hour later...

We picked the ladies up at the central bus station in Kristianstad, just 10 minutes from here AND went straight to MacDonalds for LUNCH!

After a shopping trip to "EKO Hallen" we had coffee at our new (old) table! and Edith got to drink her "NengNeng" (the baby formula).

We had a little chat about this and that,

THEN it was time for some horsetraining. :))

Carola has been training and starting MANY horses throuhgout her career as a horse- therapist, -trainer, -specialist...

A couple of years back, we had just met Carola a few months prior, we bought that miserable looking horse that we call "INDIGO" today.

He was a rescue from Spain and soooo cute!

Carola was visiting us on our little Farm in Austria and when she saw Indigo for the first time she just said "WOW"!

"He's so ugly and beautiful at the same time, he's going to be such a fine horse to ride some day" she said.

"Look at his legs!" she said. "So perfect!"

It has been Carola's wish to work with him since day ONE and she always wanted to be the ONE to school him some day....

That picture was taken the day we first saw Indigo, wet, miserable and tired from his former (tuff) life in Spain...

Carola did work with him a bit about 3 years ago, when he was just 2,5 years old the, ...basics...

but hadn't had the chance to do more until yesterday.

She decided to start with the very basics again just to see how he was doing physically and mentally, and to find out what to do next. She checked him for blockages and how well he would react to body language, wanted to see how well he would focus on her...

Indigo is 5 now, he had time to develope nicely into a horse that is READY to carry a rider, not just mentally but also physically.

AND HE IS READY!

OK! HERE IS SOMETHING INTERESTING!

Swedish people LOVE their IKEA BAGS!

They put all kinds of things in it, not just IKEA things.

Amongst other purposes they use it as a hay bag for feeding horses...

AND

They use it for HORSE TRAINING!

Isn't that cool?!

Indigo liked the bag so much, he wouldn't move a bit

and enjoyed the "massage" very much! :))

After longing from the ground, from the chair, after desensitising him with the IKEA bag and after a few kisses he got saddled, which doesn't stress him at all anymore.

He seems to love this colorful saddle cloth (that Auntie Trixi bought for him).

:))

Carola continued to desensitise him by "slapping" him with her hands all over his saddle and back, (he's still a bit insecure over harsh movements in his back area) and by jumping up and down on her chair...

He did really well and stood still like a tree and it seemed that he was inviting her to "hop on" at the end...

But that's gonna happen the next time!

It was time for a "thank you" - hug and a BIG KISS!

WELL DONE!

Midas had the plesure of being brushed by Moa again, and then he decided to babysit ("sassy" - that's her new nickname) Edith for a while.

:))

Moa played jumping with her invisible horse!

And then she enjoyed a "back rub" from "Auntie" Ingrid.

Back in the house, on the sofa, a very happy (in love) Carola and a hungry Edith enjoying a new bottle of "NengNeng"...

Thank you Moa for brushing Midas and thank you Carola for working with INDY!

:))