Hey all!!

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while! It seems like it has been a busy week. So..... I rode Abraixo today and it was exactly what we both needed. I don't have any pictures : ( sorry but I plan on riding him a lot more so pictures will come!! So, Julianna has ridden him the last 3 times and he has this problem where when you get him saddled up, he already begins to get nervous, then when you put the bridle in his mouth, his head is so high and eyes wide that he looks like he may bolt or something. The last few times Julianna rode him, he gets very nervous when you try to get on him so he either backs up quickly or can't stop moving. So, today, I saddled him up; he really needs to be talked to a lot and just reassured it seems, so I put his bridle on and took him to the arena to lunge him for awhile. He really does so well with me, it makes me proud of all the groundwork I have done with him and how much trust I have earned! Then, after lunging him for awhile, he had really calmed down from the saddle and bridle so I did a little groundwork with him, then decided I would work with him on getting on him without him getting anxious. It worked wonderfully!! After a few times of him backing up and me reassuring him and calming him down, I got on him without a step forward or back, and his head low and calm. It was so nice to see work pay off!! I know it may seem simple, but he has apparently had this problem for a long time because I was told he used to have back issues, so I think he is afraid it may hurt him when someone gets on. Anyway, that was an awesome accomplishment. I have to tell you all about this chicken, Pato Pallo. Oh my gosh, so she (we found out it was a girl!) is the one-legged chicken here that I posted a picture of awhile ago. So, about a week and a half ago, the vet was here and her dog attacked Pato, but it didnt seem like it did much damage, Pato just seemed in shock. UNTIL the next day, when Bernd noticed the chicken could not use her good foot, which obviously is not good news. The family thought it best to just keep her inside for awhile to see if she recovers. Well, she didn't. She just kept getting weaker and weaker. So, Bernd decided to take her to the vet to possibly put her to sleep since this isn't a very good life for a one-legged chicken such as herself. I said my goodbyes and was very sad. Bernd came back later that afternoon, and lo and behold, WITH PATO!! The vet and Bernd decided to take x-rays of Patos leg to see if it was somehow fractured with the incident. Well, the next day we got a call from the vet that the good leg was indeed broken! So, Pato went into surgery wednesday morning and came back that night. Only 40 euro for chicken surgery, imagine that! The pictures I have posted are what Pato has to be in for the next 3 WEEKS, and the other pictures are of me riding Besado, my lesson horse. Poor chicken, but, Bernd says if it can give her the chance to a good life, then he will do what it takes. Julianna and I were trying to come up with some sort of harness that could suspend her to allow the leg to heal, like a Jumpin' Johnny for little kids but for a little chicken, but Bernd did a pretty good job. Can you believe this! How nice of Bernd to give this little chicken such a shot at life. So, that is the most recent news I can think of. Julianna and I did some fencing today to allow parts of the pasture to grow up, its getting colder and colder still and has been freezing at night when there is no cloud cover. We went to town today to buy corn and Gerste, this other type of grain, and Bernd let me drive his older land rover and it was SOOOO nice to drive! I miss it so much. Other than that, Julianna and I are leaving for 3 days beginning on Sunday to start our island trip. We are staying at one monestary and one hostel, and renting a VW Golf for 30 euro for 3 days! Great deal. I am housesitting just at night for Stephy the trainer from Thursday to Monday so that will be a nice change. I am in need of a break from here just for a little while, so the trip will be perfect. I booked my flight to Dublin on January 6th and will arrive at my hosts on the 8th. I wanted to arrive a couple days early to sight-see and stay with couchsurfers or hostels to have a little fun before I begin working. Sorry this is such a long blog! I forgot how much I wanted to tell all of you. Thank you guys for the emails and comments, I try to respond as quickly as I can! I hope you all are surviving the crazy weather I have heard about, holy moly I am glad I am in Spain! The weather has been amazing lately, a very warm 65 degrees with plenty of sun. I know, sorry! Not to rub it in or anything! Much love to you all!! Liebe gruesse- that means goodbye with love to friends and family in German!