Rosie's Big Trail Ride

Poppin in for a little mo.... I know I haven't gotten to this lately, but I will try to do this more as I get my schedule in line for once (oh sure, well, I can dream)

This last Friday, it finally happened. Dad. He let me take the truck. And, of course, I ran off to Dona's with Ma for a trail ride. WOO HOO!!!!

Now, this was kind of monumental on several levels. 1)I got the truck for an afternoon 2) Mom went with me 3)We got Rose on the trail.

I was tickled. I didn't bring my camera, well, because I love it too much to have any possible chance of dropping it. The slight possibility of falling off a 16hh horse to me, constitutes too much of a risk. So, no pictures. Here's how it went though.

We were late right out of the gate, even though the horses were great to load, because Dad decided at the last minute to change the drop on the hitch. It WAS for the best, the trailer rode much better that way, and we always seem to be late anyhow.
When we got to Dona's, we ended up riding in the arena for a while. Velvet was, well .... velvet. Rosie, after two laps around the ring wove the barrels and walked over the ground poles without any hesistations. Fly spray on, and off we go. Down the road, over the bridge, and to the trail. We didn't ride much on the trail, but took some much more fun 'off road' type trails that wove through the woods, fields, and lots of road riding. We walked over smaller fallen trees, branches, through ditches, and portions of fields that were over grown with weeds so tall that the horses couldn't see over them. The only incident I can report is on the way back, Rose decided she wanted to take the center of the road, even if the Minivan had the right of way, she was ready to sit or shit on their hood if they got too close. Funny girl.

My fly spray was nearly 100% perfect too. I missed the base of Velvet's ears, and she was the only one without a fly mask on, but after snapping a little tree branch off, she held her head still so I could knock off any deer flies that irritated her.

We will be going again soon .... maybe I'll have someone take pics of us leaving or returning?

Days 16 - 17

Day 16 is a Picture of someone who inspires you - easy. I'll even pick someone that I'm not related to/consider family. In fact, I'll pick 4 someones that are incredible to me. Then, of course explain myself.

Stacy Westfall.

She is SUCH an incredible horsewoman. Her reining performance with her horse, Roxy, makes me cry every time I see it because it so perfectly illustrates what riding your horse is SUPPOSED to be. Pure trust & partnership. GOD I love her.
Westfall Horsemanship

Chris Cox.

This gentleman inspires me just because his training style is very much like the one that I was taught to use. He explains things differently than I do, but I love the man's style and after meeting him, I have to say, he really IS the class act he appears to be. God Bless 'im.
Incredible gear, and dvd's can be found here: Chris Cox Horsemanship

Ree Drummond

The Pioneer Woman. Radical rambunctious redhead of Oklahoma. I found her website quite by accident, before all the hubbub about the cookbook, and love story came out. About 6 months before, so I can't really say that I was a fan from the get go. I found her site by finding her love story. That was the first exposure to PW for me, and I was hooked from the story --- and then I saw her recipes!!! I never .... NEVER try other folk's recipes. It's just not me, but I tried hers, and she is good. She cooks in a style similar to what I'm used to, and I have learned from her website - some cooking, but mostly photography & PS tutorials. Thanks, PW, even though you do not know I exist. :D You can find her at The Pioneer Woman

Maggie Dammit

This woman right here..... this woman is inspirational, strong, and OH, so supportive & sensitive. She is the founder for Violence Unsilenced. It is another blog that I found quite by accident, but it totally changed my outlook. It helped me in ways I didn't know I needed help, and let me speak out as well. Thank you, Maggie. You are so loved by so many. Please, keep up the great work!!! She also bloggs at Okay, Fine, Dammit.

Day 17 is a pictureof someone who has made a huge impact on your life. Well, that's easy too. Only, I don't have pics of all of those folks. All I can do is name them: Larry, Larry, David, Daddy, Ma, Gramma Flash, Grampa Clyde, Gramma Lil, Grampa Harry, Gramma Valenti, Dona, my MIL - Barb, and FIL, Larry (though I never did get time with them before they passed), my sisters - Laurie & Jennyfair, my BFF's Jennie, Deanna, Nikki, Jenn, Blondie, Amy & Crystal. Mrs.Ball, Alex & VK. Huge, important people, and there are so so many more. I have been blessed.

Really, Girls? Do I have to referee ALL the time?

This morning, I went to feed my girls, check their water levels, give them a quick brush, feed the chickens, and Dean-O - like I always do. And, as usual, my sweet girls were waiting for me ever so patiently. Looking like they hadn't really seen me in days rather than the hours since their last feeding/brushing, etc.
I walked into the barn, and headed towards the hay as usual, but when I looked towards their section of the barn that serves as a run in shed .... I was irritated.
They kicked the access gate to the run in. Which, broke the post that holds the hinges of the access gate. And, they cracked the post on the latch side too. One of them did, anyhow. No way to tell for sure who the guilty party is, though I think I know who it is.

This is not the actual post, but it pretty much illustrates what the little booger did. To top it off, because of their confinement to the paddock (I can't let them loose in the pasture. Not without being there 24/7 to watch them. They always seem to break the wire fence this time of year, and they could be 2 counties over before I figured it out right now) they are chewing wood making me think that they are not really the purebred quarter horses, and paint horse they appear to be. They must be some twisted Dr.Mephesto crossbreed of horses and beavers. Oh, sure they look equine enough, but they could fell a tree they way they've been going lately.
Flat wood is not safe either. It's not just fenceposts & 2x4's. Oh no. Wood walls are getting it too.

They chew away at the boards, the posts .... I have the paddock wired for sound just to keep them from totally destroying the barn around their ears.
*****************not my pic, or horse here.
For some reason, even treated wood is tasty to them. Though, they are quite smart enough to do it when I am NOT there. They know they're not supposed to. Even when I am there for several hours, and their food is long gone, they don't chew when I am there. They just wait for me to leave.
******************not my pics, nor my horses
So, while they squabble .... really, it's Dona & Rosie that are squabbling. They are fighting for the no. 2 position in the herd, and Velvet is uninvolved, strangely. It changes from day to day. One day it's Dona, the other it's Rose. Velv likes both of them, so it doesn't really matter much to her. Rose is feeling her oats, Dona doesn't want to be stepped on. I think eventually Dona will win just from sheer size though. She will be nearly as big as her mom, and Rose, well ..... rose is just around 14.2. But, a scrapper. They both have bite marks, and I know they've both been kicking.
So, long story short .... I kicked them out of the run in until I can make the repairs and cover all the walls in sheet metal. Should take me a couple days. The entries are now hot wired to the fence. They will be fine. They won't be too happy with me, but I'm not too pleased with their Royal Beavernesses at the moment either.

****none of the pictures in this post are mine. I have had no time to photograph lately. I skivved these off the web *****

Prepping for the Weekend

Almost a month ago, I went to a local fun show to snap some pics, get my name out & have a little larf. The feedback I got from the kids & adults I snapped pics of was very encouraging, so - I'm headed back this weeked to do it all over again! My plan is basically to take pics for nearly ALL of the 4th of July weekend. Between snapping pics of my kiddos, the horse kids, and the fireworks, I should have puh-lenty to edit come monday.

Last month, I showed up a hair late for the beginning of the festivities, but did manage to get a few good pictures of the kids doing showmanship, and some of the pleasure classes. Some of my favorites from that part of the day were the ones waiting to show - like this girl here....

She looked so intent on what was going on in the arena. So serious.
At some point, there were a couple horses being ridden by kids that I know, who apparently wanted to say hello to me - so I snapped their pics too. Check out the eyelashes. what fun!!


And the glassy-glossy reflection - you can see my flannel shirt, and another horse in this one's eye. Wild.

Of course, some were just plain tired of all of it. This boy cracked me up. I swear to you, when I crept up to snap a few pics, I did NOT wake him up. I'm somewhat sure he was snoring as I left. Yes, horses snore .... some of them.


I got a much better pic of this little girl and her horse (the one ON the horse, that is) but already, I'm getting picture heavy here.

Some were a little anxious from time to time....


No good reason to put this one in here, other than to say that this boy was a stud not too long ago. Not just any stud. The daddy to the two foals I raised here on the farm. I am particulary fond of him. Hims a good boy.

And, of course, there were lots of pics to be taken in the speed classes. This girl was one of my favorites of the day .... she turned the barrels right, didn't look too aggressive or scared during the run, didn't whip her horse (that I saw), and the color scheme she chose flowed well with both her & her horse's coloring. You don't think that matters? Oh, it does. To me anyhow. Look at the important parts of the picture. Really. Her expression is concentration. She is sitting well in the seat, not leaning too far one way or the other, good loose rein, and as a result - a willing, ready to please horse. Look at his ears. They are bright, and attentive, one locked on to her looking for her cues. Great.

There were actually, quite a few good shots that day. Just about every rider I snapped gave up at least one good shot.

Anyhow, I'm getting ready to do it all over again.

Stay tuned for more!!!

Is it really that hard to measure a horse??

No. No, it's not that hard to measure a horse, unless of course, you have been imbibing on too many adult beverages.
So why is it that so very many horse people seem to have no clue as to how to measure their horse for sale? Or, should I say, the horse they're selling for their brothers' friends' sisters' neighbor.
I think it's just laziness, or just plain stupidity. It's not hard. The toughest part is making sure your measuring device is plumb (that's square 2 different ways) and that the horse is squared up and on a level surface. They even sell these handy dandy devices - some of them even have little bubble levels built right in so you know you're getting the right number!

All ya have to do, is measure from the highest point of the withers to the ground. Like so ...


Here it is in plain black & white - top of the withers ..... to the ground.....



After that, it's just a matter of simple math. Divide by 4, and whadda ya know - BOOM! That's how tall your horse/pony/ass is. lol. So, if your horse is 44 inches tall - he's 11hh. If your beloved grade arab/appaloosa is 57 inches at the top of the withers, she's 14.1hh. Oh, so - .1? What is that? Well, it's an inch. A hand is 4 inches, and anything between hands is expressed as .1, .2, or .3. There is no such thing as 15.4 hh. Or, 13.5hh for that matter. The .5 is, I belive someone trying to say 'half a hand' but it don't jive that way.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been told how tall a horse is only to go look at it, and find that no, it's not a horse, it's a pony.... 14.2hh(58" - that's just shy of 5 feet! at the withers!!) is the breaking point between the animal in question being considered a pony or a horse and, well - even that is debateable from one area of the country to the next.
I know it's a long way around, but for the sake of the sanity of most people that have half a clue, measure the horse before you tell someone how tall it is. If they really want a horse that 16hh, and you tell them yours is 16.2, but measures out in reality at 14.3 - don't be all shocked & shaken when the people that came out to look get ticked off and just leave.
It's irritating & misleading to the potential buyers.

NOW, after having gotten that all off my chest - I do have a horse up for sale, and have no idea how tall she is. But, I don't claim to know. I will one of these days take the time to haul my arse out, square her up & measure her. Probably tomorrow, in between messin' with pony, riding Velvet, and irritating the younglings... I'll update ya on a post just about her.

Thanks so much for letting me get that out. I was gettin' a burn on.

'Round & 'Round & 'Round We Go ...

This is the part that makes me a little sad. My little boys' little pony is not quite enough for him. I love this pony. He's my little friend. He's a sweet old man, with a heart of gold. I have never met such a good fella, but my boy is supposed to go to fair, and well, Champ just isn't up to it. So, with a very heavy heart, we have put Champ up for sale. I am praying that he finds a home that will love him as much as we have. He gave my little boy some confidence, and taught him a little about horses. He snuggled my boys (the baby too), my nieces, and even my teenage nephew isn't afraid of him - an he is terrifed of horses for some unknown reason.

Yes, we will certainly miss the shaggy ol' fella. He tends to snuggle on little kids, or even just go stand by him. I have no idea what corner of heaven he came from, but I sure am glad that my older boy's first horse was such a great one.

I am so going to miss moments like this:

Yes, he's calm enough for my little guy to lead alone, and the boy's got the confidence to make him behave on line. (notice the boots)

But more than that, I will miss moments like this one:

He insisted on bringing his pony his 'dinner', and then sat down right next to the grain bucket so he could talk to him. I don't know what he told him, but he kept petting him & loving on him. Just looking at that picture makes me a little sad. It's almost as bad as when we sold my first horse. I was heartbroken. I don't know how Larry will handle seeing Champ move on to a new home, but - I don't think he'll have too much of a problem. I sat down and talked it over with him before hand. I was prepared for tears, anger & rage. I was so NOT ready for total calm, and a response of 'Ok. As long as Champ will be happy.' WOW. What a level headed, mature kid. He knows he's getting a different pony - still not 100% SURE on which one, but he's alright with letting the pony move on while he does the same. It's mindblowing to me. I will post more on the new pony when the choice is cemented, and we've got a name. Right now, I am being very sentimental over my little old man friend & his sweet little pony face.

Frustrated ... Again

Have you ever had a day where you end up more confused and irritated than you started?
Seems to be a common occurrence around here lately. Not that I wake up confused, but once people & critters start poking themselves into my peripherals & interacting with me I sure have been watching the stress level rise.
For instance - Wheezy. Holy wah. OK. She's blind in one eye, suffers from heaves, and I believe that she has some sort of other malady as well. She just doesn't keep weight for beans. Doesn't matter how much she eats, it just doesn't go anywhere. Everything has been done. Veterinary intervention, supplements, medications, weight gain, special senior diet, even though in years she is no senior by my measure.
None of it matters. She will not hold weight. Add to that the simple fact that this one eyed business is the pits. She has NOT adjusted to it. That has to be adding stress. The other horses pick on her - I can't say if it's because of it or not because frankly, she was always low horse on the pole. I just don't know what the hell to do with her. It would probably be easier to handle if she were a snuggly, friendly, warm, engaging animal. But, she's not. Sure, she can be friendly. She can be sociable - but easy going & fun to be around - not likely. She can be most of those things for a little bit at a time, but truth be told, most of the time she is a cantankerous bitch.
She has at one time or another - and sometimes, all at once: bitten me (no biggie) charged me, tried to bash me with her front, and her back end, she's reared up at me when I tried to give her hay, struck at me when I walked up to open her gate, and most recently - after turning her fool ass around in her stall, waited until I walked past her gate to try to kick me with both barrels so to speak. She got the stall door, but she sure did tick me off.
Now, I have not beat this horse. I have not worked her over. I have actually been an advocate for her, and come up with new ways to try to improve her health that she has looked forward to - generally involving food.
But she continues to try to take a shot at me. I'm sorry but that just pisses me off. Never again will I be her advocate when someone seriously talks about putting her down. I think it's time. Her health is not going to improve. This is just fact. If pouring on food does her no good, supplements don't dent it, and meds do not help her - I'm thinkin' we're at the end of the line.
It's not my call though. It's not my horse. I have not told her owner (mom) about this last indiscretion of her horse. Every time I mention how she has tried to nail me, Ma's reaction is always the same - incredulous shock as all she can say is "Wheezy?!?" As if that particular mare is so far above that kind of behavior. NO. I'll let it continue until she decides it's time to put her down or I end up with a broken leg - unless of course, one of the kids enters the picture. But, I really don't think Wheeze has that much time left in her. We will see.

Lady Part 3

I called up Dona right after I got a good chance to try out Lady, freshly back from the stallion's pen. It was not encouraging for me. She didn't know any leg cues, and was very reluctant to turn to the left. Or the right. I didn't realize it earlier, since we had never gone out alone. It was always Lady & Me with Molly & Jenny. WOW. She was hardly green. A hardly green 5 year old. YIKES!
Dona had an opening in her training schedule, and came and got her - she was gone for a month, but I saw her nearly every day, travelling to her house just so I could groom her.
I was told she gave Dona's friend/colleauge Jim a real ride, and tossed him once or twice pretty good. He told me later he's used to horses that have one 'trick', turns out Lady had several. lol. Not to mention - she wasn't really 5 as we had thought. Jim put her at 7.
After nearly a month, Dona told me I could come and start taking lessons with my horse. She had gotten to a point that she could be worked. I couldn't wait. I loaded up my monster roper and headed out. When they were showing me how far she'd come, she couldn't take her eyes off me. She nickered to me while they were trying to talk to me, and even joked about how she wanted to see her mama. She stood stock still for me to mount, and rode so nicely, it was unbelieveable. I loved it. But, they weren't done with her yet. She had to stay a little longer as Dona had confided to my mom that she was nervous about Lady still. That should have been a clue for me. But I was still smitten, and just wanted to ride my Lady love. We rode at Dona's for 2 weeks before I took her home, with Dona telling me there really isn't much that can be done for her training wise clue number 2.
We did fine, we rode nearly every day, as instructed. And the emergency stop that Dona had taught me came into use at least once nearly every time we rode. Get a hint, sweetie.... something is wrong here!
The following June, she foaled a gorgeous palomino filly. Experienced horse breeders told me not to bother trying to catch her having the baby. It's too hard to catch. But, catch it I did - kind of. I came out, and Lady was down in the foaling stall, all I could see in the darkness was her form, and a slightly lighter form ... with a big blaze wobbling away, back legs still in mom, but trying to stand all the same. Welcome, Trixie.
As soon as it was safe to do so, Lady and I rode together, foal at her side. We didn't trail again until Trixie was weaned, but we still rode. All was good in the world - well, all except for her mad fits now and again. She still spooked for little to no reason, and there were several times that I know she did so just to see if she could get me off. All in all, I've only fallen off of Lady 2 or 3 times. But the frequency of her trying was getting much higher.
But, I should back track a little bit. There is big piece of our story I passed by.
While Lady was being bred for Trixie, I took some more lessons from Dona and I fell in love again - this time gradually - with a big black bay mare named Velvet. She was one of Dona's and I rode her for my lessons while Lady was out. She wasn't much to look at - that is to say, she is NOT flashy at all. She was BIG, and kind, and has the prettiest head ever on earth. Big feminine features and the best part - boy, did she ever ride nice. She didn't spook, when I asked for something she DID IT, or at least tried to figure out what I wanted. We learned to jump together. lol. When I found out she was for sale my heart leapt. But I couldn't afford her. A friend helped me get her, and I paid her back by helping her learn to ride, and handle a horse. I learned what a good horse felt like in Velvet, and I needed her for easy rides, for continuing my lessons and for days that I couldn't handle the stress that is Lady. Dona was glad to see Velvet go with me, she had said. I think she knew, even then that Lady and I were not a perfect match, as I thought we were. Besides, I needed a horse to ride while Lady was heavy with foal. It was great. I had two incredible horses, one a firey red head, the other a laid back unassuming brunette - much like myself. Then when Trixie came, I had a palomino to round out the group. Perfect. The more I rode Velvet, the more I wanted to ride Velvet. The more I rode Lady, the more I wanted to make her like Velvet. That would never happen.
But I would try and try and try.
While Lady was nursing, Velvet and I went for a trail ride with Dona and Jim. Jim let slip that the stud that fathered Trixie was to be gelded. They planted the seed in my imagination of an incredible colt from him and Velvet. The prospect was more than I could resist. My incredible, super sweet, sane, calm talented girl with that same sane sweet, talented drop dead gorgeous stud! Velvet went to meet Spirit. But I had second thoughts, and picked her up inside of a week's time. It was too late. Sweet, sophisticated Velvet went and got all trampy when no one was looking. She showed heat all through her pregnancy, though I did figure out she was pregnant right around Thanksgiving while I was weaning Trixie. Velvet foaled a lighter version of herself - a buckskin filly - whom I named after my friend.... Welcome Little Dona.
That summer, while Velvet was nursing Little Dona, I rode Lady mercilessly. She was now doing trails - though never ever alone. She went through water knee deep, climbed hills, past by deer, and turkeys, cars, and dirtbikes. We were doing good. Although, if I remember correctly, she could NOT lead at all on the trail, and hated to be last. She had to be in the middle, and it took at least a mile for her to drop her head enough that I could look straight forward without her head blocking part of my view, and she would spook at a lot.
Her spooks were incredible. The split second before she spooked, every single muscle, tendon, and hair on her body would tense. Then the whole horizon would rise up about 3 feet as she dropped. As soon as she'd dropped, she would jump sideways about 6 feet. If I didn't have her head pulled around by the time her feet hit the ground from the sideways jump, she would bolt, then buck - with her signature twist. I didn't let it get that far most of the time. When I had things under control, she would drop, jump sideways, and as her feet hit, I had her head around, and was making her move her butt - we spun like a top. If she wanted me off, or the spook was just a test (often it was) as soon as she stopped, she'd do it again. Sometimes this went on 4 or 5 times before we could take a step forward.
This was our routine. And, I was alright with it.

Lady Part 2

The first few nights were pretty sleepless for me, with this big beautiful animal home. I could hear her calling for a friend as darkness came, and I was afraid she would break through our meek electric fencing. To avoid any lost horse issues, I put her in the barn over night, so she would know where home was. She was so nervous the whole time in the barn. She paced, and sweated, and was hardly through her hay by morning. I figured she was nervous since this was the first time that she had been pastured alone, with no other horses in sight, so I didn't worry about riding her right off the bat. She was too worked up, and besides, I didn't have a saddle lined up, and I was a little rusty after a few good long years off. I was in no rush. In the mean time, my older sister took an interest, and wanted to get a horse of her own, if, of course, we could house it for her since she lived in the suburbs. I loved the idea. A friend for Lady would give her some company and probably chill her out a little bit. It didn't take long to find Molly, the ex-racehorse. Jenny was in love. She always had a thing for black horses, and loved to run, so the racehorse was a perfect fit. The day Molly showed up is another one etched in my mind. Partly because I was excited to be able to trail ride with my sister again after both of us had a long break in suburbia, but mostly because Lady would have company when I could NOT be at the barn. This was so important to me. They seemed to make nice to start with. Lady was excited to see another horse - her ears were bright, and she was downright friendly with her, she came over and they sniffed each other, and she trotted around the old girl - all was well until, Molly decided she didn't want a friend just yet. She kicked Lady squarely in the flank, badly enough to make a perfect hoof print of Lady's blood. From that day forward, Lady had nothing to do with a new horse. I can't be sure she wouldn't kick the crap out of them anyhow, but until Molly kicked her, she had not shown any aggression. Irregardless, she made it a point to be the head of the herd come hell or high water.
A little time passed before Jenny got a hold of a saddle, and I dug out my old saddle. The seat was too small, but it was a pleasure saddle, so as far as I was concerned, it would work for now.
We went out, and brushed them, tacked them up. All was fine. I went to mount her, and she started dancing. Not badly, she just didn't want to hold still as I got on. I had to have someone else hold her so I could mount. Not a big deal, plenty of horses have issues with mounting. Once I was up, we were kosher. We rode in the pasture, in the bigger field (that is now a pasture) and we were headed to the woods. Jenny wanted to go fast, but I was not yet comfortable in the too small saddle, and after all, Lady and I had not gotten much of a chance to get to know each other under saddle. I have always been a somewhat cautious rider, having grown up with tales from my parents and the troubles they had with famous horses in our family - Sugar & Charlie, amongst others. Mom's stories still ring in the back of my conciousness when I come on a new horse, unfamiliar to me. Caution is always better than broken bones, or worse.
Jenny & Molly trotted off, Lady and I fell back, not intentionally, but she only wanted to be by Molly. When I tried to tell her no, and called out to Jen to wait up, she went full on rodeo. Started with the twisted buck that is her trademark. As soon as her feet hit the ground again, she went into a tiny bucking/rearing/crowhop/spin combo that I couldn't sit out in the small, ill fitting saddle. I hit the ground flat on my back. Knocked the wind out of me. Jenny watched me fall in slow motion, she said later. She came to my aid, and asked if I wanted help back up, but I knew the saddle was insufficient, and besides, I needed a block to get on her, so I walked Lady back, Jen walked with me, afraid I'd injured myself. This scenario did not repeat itself, but what little confidence I had at the time was pretty well squished. But, winter was coming, and riding time quickly disappeared before I knew it.
I knew something was off, and after working with her some more, I was sure her training was lax. Far more green of a horse than I had originally thought. Not a problem, I knew we'd have work to do together.
I spent the next few months looking into natural horsemanship, watching RFD-TV and exploring her past.
I found out that she had been from somewhere out west - the foal of some pretty heavy duty halter horses (that explains the nervousness I thought). Her 2nd owner brought her to SW Michigan/Northwest Indiana area and put her to pasture as a 2 year old. Her family had some illness and the horses went by the wayside. She didn't bother pulling the colts to geld, and before you know it, Lady was pregnant by 3 or 4. She was sold to the woman I got her from, and she foaled there. She said it was a gorgeous palomino colt, and that she was sure that Lady had kicked it in the chest - why the foal was never given veterinary care until the wound was protruding, and the colt could not breathe was not explained, but the blame was set squarely on her shoulders. The colt died, and was immediately removed, Lady didn't get to see it before they pulled it out. She never got to say her goodbye, or acknowledge his death. (Yes, I do think it's important for even a horse to get that chance.)
She was immediately sent to training with a back woods jackass that beat the hell out of her with a 2x4 to get her to cooperate. When she got wild from that, he drugged her with bute so that she would be calm enough for him to ride, and possibly more submissive when he beat her.
My husband signed me up to do a clinic in Cummings, GA with Hannah Campbell, a certified Monty Roberts/Join-Up instructor. What a wonderful experience. I came home from the clinic inspired and itching for the ground to thaw enough to put up a round pen. Our first Join-Up was magical, and immediate. That spring, I also decided to breed her. I wanted to see if it helped her disposition(it did) and if she would calm a little seeing a foal to fruition (she did). I started taking lessons from Dona Sherman, to regain my confidence, and learn a little more finesse. I picked up a second hand roper saddle, and we went to work on my 'lessons' at home between lessons from Dona. It wasn't long before I realized the extent of Lady's training was about as deep as a teaspoon.

Lady Part one.

written on August 23, 2009
Today, I took a moment to work with my Lady Love. I have loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her. She has loved me too, I think.
I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on that horse. Mom and I had been looking for the right horse for literally, years. We had gone on countless excursions, examining horse after horse, test rides, and conformation critiques. We'd met some wonderful horses with unrealistic owners, and some insanely hopeful owners with some seriously untrained or damaged horses that they said were 'great for the whole family'. On that fateful day in August, 5 years back, we were working on a hot tip about a horse that wasn't even advertised yet. We HAD to get that first look. We went to Dowagiac together, ready to go through our well worn routine. Mom talking up the owner, asking lots of questions, me eyeballing it's behavior and conformation trying to judge soundness, build, and whether or not the animal was drug free. When we walked towards the barn, there was one lone window out of a stall - and sticking out of it was the most gorgeous equine head I have ever seen. My thought at that moment was 'oh, it can't be that horse - it's gorgeous.' After a minute or two of chatting with the owner, she led us into the barn, and brought out what was, and is still, hands down the most breathtaking specimen of horse flesh I had ever laid eyes on. She was muscled, tall, pretty straight, and just breathtaking. I was in love. Please, God, just tell me she can ride. Even if she's rough, I can work it out, God willing!!! When the woman went to show her, *gasp* she brought her to the mounting block and hopped on her bareback (oh!! my heart!! She rides bareback!!) She kicked her forward, and tried to take her around a very badly placed pile of lumber. The horse bumped her hindquarters HARD on part of the l-shaped barrier, and leapt over the lumber. The woman tried an emergency stop (not easy bareback) and promptly slid off her, apoligizing as her feet hit the ground, while she went to get a saddle. Mom was spooked, but she didn't see the horse hit the posts. I showed her where - it hit her hard enough, she had a fresh cut. I know, because I watched it. She didn't scare me, because I knew she had been hurt. Any horse would react that way. I sure would.
When the lady came back, she saddled her without incident that I can recall, and she rode beautifully. I tried to get myself back into critique mode, but clearly, my heart was already stolen. Mom rode the horse, as usual, while I looked at her legs as she walked away, and back to me. This horse wanted nothing to do with the woman, and was fairly friendly with mom, but was snuggling me. Whatever I may have held back from her was gone at that moment. We had an instant connection. And I was gone. Gone, gone gone. We talked it over in the car on the way home. Mom had reservations because of the spook, but I was totally smitten. We took her home a week later.
She was the first horse in years to be on the farm, so the week before we brought her home was filled with fixing the horse barn up again, securing fencing and hay, buying a new water trough .. the hundreds of things needed to house a horse. We didn't have a trailer, so we called an old friend to see if she could help us out - she was happy to, and even she was happy to see such a pretty horse when we picked her up. 'You girls got a real good deal on her - she's awful pretty... how does she ride?' Truth is, she rode ... ok. Not great, but not bad either. When we got home with her, my husband was still putting the finishing touches on the pasture where Lady would live. I put a rope on her, led her out of Dona's trailer, and walked her over to the pasture. I tried to let her graze a little before hand, but she was too nervous. Her head was high, snorting, and very nervy. She stuck to me like glue. We got into the pasture, and I walked her all along the perimeter, stopping when she wanted to. After we went all the way around the other way, I gave her a pet and let her go. Cautiously, she took a few steps away, then came back, and nudged me. I petted her again, and motioned for her to go on. She trotted off a ways, then she ran. Not a little. I mean, she dropped down, and barrelled up and down the length of the pasture. She ran so hard, I could hear her every breath as she pushed as hard as she could. When that wasn't hard enough for her, she started to buck, and bolt, and just show how big she was. Larry came by me, and we watched her in her pasture as she ran. I was in love and awestuck at her grace. She ran like hell, and half way across the pasture, she stopped, and walked to me. I petted her and sent her off again. She ran & ran, then headed for me again, running a little closer this time. She did this over and over. Larry was shaken after a little while, but I let her keep it up until she was running within 20 feet of us. Then I stopped her. She got the picture, and never did it again. She just walked up and I petted her. When we started to walk towards the gate to leave, she followed me every step, and when we left, she trotted off, found a good spot and rolled. She was fine after that, and her first few months here were pretty uneventful. I didn't have any tack, so I didn't push riding her right off. We worked on manners, and bonded. That was enough for then.
It wasn't until later that I figured out that she was from an abusive home. I didn't know that she'd been beaten with a 2x4 as part of her 'training', or that when she continued to act up, her original trainer simply drugged her. I couldn't have seen that she had ulcers from too much bute. Or, that she had some sort of hormonal imbalance. Since she was the first horse here, how could I know that she was far worse than 'mareish'? I did know that she could be sweet, loving, and downright snuggly. She was/is the perfect equine example of the girl with the curl in the middle of her forhead - when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. (more to come)

arabs can be fun

I can't do all my barn work myself, but thank goodness I have such a great hubby (don't make me regret praising you, hon.)

Tonight, my Dearest went out & cleaned all the stalls (except one that needs attention before the snow flies) and spread lime for me

Lucky me! Show me a girl that wouldn't appreciate that, and I'll show you a snotty little shit.

Mom went out with me to help handle the horses, and give them dinner, tuck them in, etc. etc.....

The usual course of action is: distribute grain & hay, then move the Arab stud, bring in Ma's paints, then my girls, then the weanling & pony. The weanling, I believe has not really been handled much in his short life, and has some serious trust issues with people. So, I am working with him slowly, and steadily to gain his trust, and teach him that people are good. Because of his breeding, this must be done very carefully and calmly - he's an Egyptian Arabian, which I have been told can be a little hot blooded lol!! I will tease about him, but he just doesn't understand life with people yet. He's comin' though.

I decided after watering everyone and latching their gates that I wanted to go in & see how spooky he really is. Yep. Me & my curry comb. Hey, the little guy was a disaster. He needed it. Dirty, skinny, loosing his foal coat (he's almost 6 months old) and he SOOOO needed it.

Well, he was apparently not imprinted, or if he was, it wasn't done properly or as thoroughly as I do. He got a crash course tonight though!! One hand with the curry, the other on his halter, and with a little nervous dancing on his part, it wasn't long before I had one side brushed out, worked on his belly, and some little de-sensitizing done. Mom came in & tried to settle him with some baby talk & coddling while I did the off side. I don't think it helped much, so I'm going to try to either do it alone, or get her to lay off the coddling for a while.

He did well, and he's substantially lighter in color already. Above are the old pics. I'm callin' him Sparky. I think that will work for now anyhow. I'll try it for a few days and see if it sticks.

His Daddy is from a world famous Arab barn in England. Mom is much more local. Mom's barn name was Claudia, Registered name is SHS Mar Norusa. She's the dark grey to the left....

Dad's registered name is HS Tadeusz. Pictured above. He was bred by Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones. I'm thinkin' Sparky's going to look like Dad color wise..... Suggestions for barn names would be appreciated

Never really tried this one before....

Never really been much of a blogger - usually it's only when something phenomenally strange happens, but seeing as I have little to do at the moment, I'll give it a shot for a little while at least.

My hubby & I are going through a pregnancy for our 2nd child (which, incidentally is why I don't have too much going on right now business wise) who is supposed to be a boy - but we'll see in January for sure! I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes a few weeks ago for the 2nd time - which in laymans terms means I'm diabetic now until the end of this pregnancy. How bad is it? well, time will tell for sure, but you can bet your ass I'm probably going to have to get a blood glucose meter of my very own, and use it for a few weeks anyhow to see if it's something that can be managed with diet alone, or if I'll need pills or insulin. Been through this before, and it was no biggie, but I'm dealin' with a bunch of super drama-queen-prone docs this time around, so stay tuned, I'm sure it will become a big fat hairy ordeal before it's over. But, I promise, I will be sure that I will make a mark on these people before it's done ;)

I have 2 horses here at the farm that are very rideable (by me anyhow) but I have had to put that on hold for the moment as I have started to loose my balance. Damnit. Hopefully all goes well with this baby, as I have a 4 year old that needs to learn how to trail ride, and a soon to be 3 year old that needs to be started under saddle, oh, and if I don't find a good home for my mom's rescue Arab, he'll need to be started in the spring as well - as a 4 year old. If you don't know what all that means, ask me or another horseman.... it's easy enough to explain.

Hunting season is looking particularly gloomy for me, anyhow. I have 2 arrows for my bow. Yep. 2. If I loose one, well, it will be a real pain to get in a second shot if the opportunity presents itself. Or with target practice, even. Damn. Just waiting for shotgun to open, and hoping it's a nice *warm* morning. Otherwise, I probably won't be doing too much hunting (hard to climb a tree with a budda belly goin' on - how DO those big redneck guys do it????)

Ugh. Enough for now.... more later.