It seems, as the Summer is going quickly by, that my days are getting busier and busier.  Life here at home is FULL of activity with all of our animals and the possibility of some more in the next 3 or 4 weeks, if things go right.  I would have to say that busy-ness is my natural weight loss formula…..LOTS of activity with the animals, and not much time to sit down and take a break some days.

Have gotten a halter on Alice the last 3 or 4 days!!!  Wouldn’t you know it?  She actually leads, and she has NO fear of a lariat!!!  She also, at SOME point, has apparently either had some rope training or has been tangled up and/or hurt in a rope or something similar.  My partner and I have been picketing her out in the pasture and letting Pheline be loose out there because we figure Pheline isn’t going too far as long as Alice is staying put.  I’m KIND of interested to see how she reacts to saddle blankets and a saddle.

Got some goats the other day.  Someone was getting rid of them because they aren’t “show worthy” anymore, so now we have two adult female milking goats and a little buck (the son of one of the females that’s not weaned…YET).  It has been interesting the last few days because they have actually been eating on the black locust trees that we have out in the pasture….thorns and all!!!  WORKS FOR US!!!!  Maybe they can help us get the things killed!!!

God Bless!!

The day before yesterday, I rode Chikala again.  We went out for a ride on the dirt roads that we have been riding on, but we went a different route for part of it.  Instead of turning around and heading back towards the house, we kept going “around the block” when we reached the halfway point.  This included two roads that we haven’t ridden before.  It was a GOOD ride!!!  The only problem I had with her was when I was trying to mount, again, and she kept backing away from me, but I am working on that here and there, and have an idea that I will hit it pretty hard either later this week or early next week to see if I can break her of that bad habit.  Chikala has finally settled down about as much as she’s going too, I think.  And she seemed glad, in a way, to not have to take the same route that we have been taking.  She embarked on the “unknown” of the new roads with a curiosity that is a sign she would make a GOOD trail horse for someone.  We crossed two or three different bridges on this new route, most of which had a hollow sound when she stepped on them.  The sound did not seem to bother her at all, and neither did the road signs.  She passed the road signs by keeping her eyes on them as we passed, but she didn’t shy away from them.  Then we road the shoulder of a more travelled, paved road.  Out of the 8 or 10 vehicles that passed us, the only one she even laid her ears back at was a semi with a rock bucket…..and she heard him coming because he let his jake brake engage several times as he came up behind us on the opposite side of the road.  But laying her ears back was ALL she did, even when he passed us.  All in all, Chikala has proven herself to be a good horse, in my opinion, for trail riding for an intermediate rider.  I am just taking a guess, because it is SOOOOO hard to compare beginner and intermediate riders sometimes, but I would have to say that a more…..inexperienced intermediate rider would be acceptable for her.  I would have to guess that, except for the problem with her backing up when you try to mount, she would and will prove herself a good mount for someone who is just wanting a good, steady horse who doesn’t spook at all of the horse-eating mailboxes and such.

Anyway, we had a good ride on a BEAUTIFUL day!!  Hope to do it again SOON!!!

God Bless!!!

The gal that owns the most of the horses that are here on our property sent me an e-mail the other day and wanted to know if I would evaluate a gelding that she’s got to see what kind of a rider it would take to ride him.  She brought him over late Saturday evening.

Boomer is a red sorrel gelding with a blaze down his nose.  He’s over 10 years old, but, after riding him, I find that he’s still got ALOT of spunk left in him, which means he will make someone a GREAT riding horse for several years, if he’s taken care of and things go right.

Boomer was kind of excited when he got here.  Of course, it’s probably been a little while since he was trailered.  I found that he was trying to walk past me when I led him over to where I saddled him.  That was about the only thing from the ground that I didn’t care for, but with a little training, someone should be able to get him to stop doing that.

I rode him in our North pasture for about 20 minutes, to get the feel of him.  I don’t think he’s used to having a hackamore bridle used on him, but he was doing alright.  He neck-reins pretty decent.  I did find one quirk that could get someone hurt if they didn’t understand what the “problem” was….I found that when I nudged him with my heels to get him into a trot, he would do a baby buck or, as my Dad called it when the Mother to my mare did it, a “crow-hop”.  It took me a couple of times to figure out that someone has trained him to NOT take the nudging of the heel in his side as a cue to go faster…….instead, he has apparently been trained to take a “verbal” cue…a kissing sound.  I have NO doubts that Boomer would buck someone off if they attempted to use their heels instead of the kissing sound to make him go faster.  After I figured out that little quirk, I have to say that we had a pretty good ride.  I took him down the dirt road from our house for a little ways after we got our time in in the North pasture to see how he moved with more space.  My partner followed me in his pick-up as an insurance policy, in case anything happened.  It was a BEAUTIFUL sunset!!  His gait is nice and smooth, even in the trot.  I even got him to canter for a short distance.  We went through a marshy area coming back towards the house, and he didn’t once hesitate stepping into the water.  We had a car come up behind us at one point and that didn’t bother him any.  We also had a diesel pick-up with a long, gooseneck trailer meet us at the corner of two roads.  I got Boomer off the road a little ways, and turned him to watch the pick-up, and I found that he didn’t really want to stand to watch it go by.  But that was really the only thing that I found him “bothered by”.  We went by some sheep, lamas, and a couple of other horses, and he was as cool as a cucumber.  I would have to say that he likes to get out and go, because I let him set his own pace most of the way, and he went at a trot.  Got him warmed up nicely!!  We probably rode about 3 miles or so out on the road.  I was really pleased with his performance, since it was in question about his ride-a-bility.  Supposedly, the gal that owns him was told that he’s been in parades and such….I kind of doubt that he’s been in very many parades, but he HAS been ridden quite a bit from the looks of things.

We had a GOOD ride!!  Thank you, K.C., for bringing him over!!!  I think he will make someone a GOOD riding horse, as long as they understand his quirk.

Time to get moving, all…..Have a blessed day!!

Springtime has finally arrived, once again, and we have started seeing babies everywhere out here at our house!

Last week, when we were loading an acquaintances trailer with some of the manure that we have from our stalls, I stuck the shovel into our pile to fill it so I could walk it over to the trailer, and the pile started making a WEIRD squealing sound.  I couldn’t see anything….and, with the coming of Spring, I’m thinking snakes would be the biggest possibility to be out there in that pile of manure.  After about 2 minutes of trying to see what was squealing, my partner and I finally uncovered a nest with baby rabbits in it.  Talk about weird!!!  You would have thought that Momma Rabbit would have sent us some baby announcements or something that said they were planning on moving in.

Have a BLESSED day, all.

Just got done riding a mare that goes by the name of Chikala again, for the second time this week!!!  Chikala is one of the horses that was here when we moved in, and we have become a sort of “foster home” for them, and I work with them and see what they know and what they DON’T know, in hopes that it will help the woman that actually owns them.

I first rode her for this Spring this last Sunday afternoon.  My son, partner and I all got outside to enjoy the NICE weather, and my son and partner worked with one of the donkeys that is here that goes by the name of Jasper.  We have adopted him as ours.  While “the guys” worked with Jasper, I combed and saddled Chikala.  Then we walked up the road and back, which was about three-quarters of a mile, and then I got in the saddle and we rode up the road to the corner and went West for about a mile, and came back home.  When I got in the saddle, Jasper got put away and my son and partner got on the 4-wheeler and followed me, just in case there were problems, but mainly to run interference for the traffic on our road.  Chikala didn’t think anything about the 4-wheeler, or my partner’s dog that went with us and was running up in front of us and back behind us….she didn’t think anything about the 1 or 2 cars that passed us, or the horses in the pasture that we passed, or the barking dogs that we went by that started to come down towards the road.  She was calm and collected, and a pretty good ride, except for the fact that she holds her head ALOT higher than what I like when she’s trotting.  The biggest problem I had with her was when I went to mount…she has a BAD habit of backing away when you go to get in the saddle.  I would say she’s had some bad experiences with saddling and mounting at some point in her life.

Today, we had a BIG problem with her backing away when I went to get in the saddle.  Not sure how to stop her from doing that, but I WILL figure out something.  Time to do some research when I get a few minutes and see what kind of ideas I can come up with.  I got frustrated with her today when she backed away from me, but I HAVE to remember that it’s probably NOT her fault that she does that.  She learned to do that because of some other stupid human.  If I have it figured right, we rode ABOUT 4 miles today, in just about an hour and 20 minutes or so.  We had 3 or 4 cars pass us, and we went down past another horse of the male portion of the species and he got ALL excited when we went by, and Chikala started to show her attention in that direction, but I was able to bring her attention back on me without too much problem.  We went through a marshy area in somebody’s pasture that’s not fenced today again, just like we did on Sunday, and she hesitated, but she did go ahead and step into the water without any problem.  I took the lead rope off of her halter today when I rode her.  Up to now, I have been leaving it on as a “back up” in case I came off and needed something a bit longer than my reins to hold on to her with.  But I took it off today, thinking that the weight of it was the cause of her holding her head so high when she trots, but she still held her head high without it.  So I figure that’s just the way she is (and some horses are).

About time to grab something to eat and maybe a shower before I have to leave, so you have a BLESSED afternoon!!!  Maybe I’ll post a picture or two of the horses one of these days!

I really don’t want to say it, but I feel a declutter bug about to hit with a hurricane force (I hope).  I have even thought of decluttering the bathroom when I clean, though I won’t declutter my make-up or prevera or anything like that, I don’t think.

This last Sunday, we went for a ride of about 4 miles total!!!  It felt good!!!  I was going to try to ride again yesterday or today, but I don’t know if I will have time yet or not.  SOOOOO many thing on the To-Do List!!!

Have a BLESSED afternoon, all!!!

*sings*…Hush, little baby, don’t say a word….Mama’s gonna buy you diamond engagement rings….

Well, life around here has been busy, busy….as usual.

I’ve had a job situation change the last 2 weeks, so I’ve been able to spend more time at home during the day, so I have been working with a couple of horses that are out here….Alice and Pheline (her 18 month old filly).  Alice is a character with a story ALL of her own!!!  When we moved in here, Alice had been basically untouched for who knows how long.  And Pheline had never been touched, as far as we know.  Last week, I had hands on Pheline 2 or 3 different times….only the nose, though….but that’s a start.  And then, I decided I NEED Alice moved from where she is at, which happens to be in my “round corral” that I’ve created, so I started working with her….VERY slowly.  I had hands on her 5 or 6 days in a row up until it was raining in torrential downpours yesterday!!!  She prefers to be approached from her off-side at this point, and you CANNOT approach her face.  But in that 5 or 6 days, I DID finally get her to where she wasn’t jumping every time I touched her!!!  And I had gotten to where I could rub her neck, and shoulder, and about half of her back and upper belly, AND I HAD gotten to where she was accepting me rubbing the OTHER side of her neck and letting me put my hand on her nose!!!  That translates into BIG steps for Miss Alice, even though I am NO WHERE near ready to attempt to put a halter on her.  A few minutes here….a few minutes there….and not pushing her into territory where SHE’S not comfortable yet.  I have NO doubts that if you push her into some place where she’s not comfortable, she WILL hurt you (as I suspect she has done with other people in the past).  She is beginning to trust me more, though, or she wouldn’t be letting me touch her, so that is a GOOD sign!!!  A couple of more weeks, if the weather will dry back out, and I will have her haltered and moveable to another pen/area, and I MIGHT even know how close she has ever been to being ridden!!!  One SLOW step at a time, though!!!!  I use the opportunities that I have had to get my hands on her and get close to her to clean the mats out of her mane that have been there since God knows when…..and I use the opportunities to help shed out her Winter fur that’s still hanging around because it’s matted and such.  A couple of weeks, I should have her mane cleaned out completely!!!  And she will be a prettier girl than she is now!!!

And Pheline is a WHOLE other entry!!!

God Bless!!!

It seems like it’s been a LONG week and should be at least Friday by now!!!  Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve been running all week either!!  Not sure if I’m running tomorrow or not, job-wise, but have a couple of different engagements to attend,  so may decide to bow out on the job for tomorrow.  Will see what morning brings, I think.  Maybe I’ll be recuperated and ready to go again?

Haven’t had much time at home this week, but have gotten some things done here, as well.

I had hands on a little filly that’s about 18 months old (from what we are told) yesterday and the day before.  This is the FIRST time this filly, which we affectionately named Pheline, has had someone touch her, from what we’ve been told.  Pheline has JUST enough curiosity in her that she has gotten a bit of courage and just a TAD of trust towards humans over the last 6 months or so since we’ve lived here.  I have been watching her over the last few months, as she has been getting closer and closer when I have been out at their stall.  (She is still in the same “run” that she was born in with her Mother, H.B. Alice, though that “run” has increased dramatically in size over the last few weeks!!)  The day before yesterday, I was feeding Alice and Pheline a bit of grain, and Pheline came close enough to let me feel her breath on my hand.  I stretched my fingers out (of course, she is doing this from as far away as possible), and she sniffed my fingers and barely rubbed her nose against them.  LAST night, though, I was just standing out there talking to them from outside their gate, and both Alice and Pheline came up and was standing there.  Pheline stepped closer and was sniffing my arm.  When she pulled her head back slightly, I VERY slowly extended my hand out towards her.  She again sniffed my hand and bumped my fingertips with her nose.  She didn’t pull back any farther than she was already, so when she moved her head to the side slightly so that she wasn’t touching my hand anymore, I ever-so-slowly matched her movements with my hand.  I then intentionally touched her nostrils as she moved her head a bit more to the side.  She didn’t bolt…she didn’t back up…she didn’t even lay her ears back at me!!  This is a BIG step for this little filly!!!  A few more days of that, I think, in between rain storms, and I will have hands all over her and I SHOULD be able to move towards her to pet her, if only to her forehead to start!!!  It has been a LONG 6 months or so with these two horses…..such pretty girls and SOOOOO close, yet SOOOOOO far away right now because of their “history” which has seemed to have made them “untouchable”…at least until we moved here.  I didn’t get to go out this evening to see if I could touch her again because it started raining JUST as we hit the house after school.  I didn’t even get to the mailbox from the driveway before it started raining.  But there IS tomorrow!!!  As for H.B. Alice, well, she is going to take a bit more time and patience, but she, also, has come a LONG way since we moved in!!!  No longer does she lay her ears back whenever anyone comes near her or her “run”.  No longer does she try to grab hay out of our hands when we are trying to throw it in to her!!  No longer does she go to the other end of the “run” when people come near!!  And no longer does she try to “protect” Pheline from us!!!  It’s amazing what a difference of attitude towards a horse can produce sometimes!!!

I got the final panel put up on what was going to be our “third run” which is now our “second run”.  I took the gate that was between the two runs down, such as it was, on Monday and let Pheline and Alice in there to munch what little grass there was.  That was Pheline’s first taste of grass that she didn’t have to push her nose under the fence to get too!  And Lord only knows when Alice had a taste of grass that she didn’t have to get through the fence!!  They BOTH seemed to enjoy the extra room!!  Now, my “round pen” is all set, except for a different gate between the two pens!!!  Now all I need to do is get the weather and the schedule to cooperate and I will have hands on Miss Alice!!!  One step at a time!!!  This next week, if I’m not working on a remodelling project, I SHOULD have a couple of days to work with Alice AND to ride at least one of the others that are in our pasture!!!  I’m kind of getting an itch to be back in the saddle, which is probably a GOOD thing, considering the number of horses I have lined up to work with throughout the Spring!!!  But, I have to get Alice and Pheline to where I can move them around in the pens, if need be, so I can have my “round corral” to work these other horses if I need it.  That, in itself, has kind of moved Alice and Pheline to the TOP of the list….at least to get halters and such on!!

Other than that, not much going on here….as if that’s not enough!!!  It’s about time for bed, me thinks, since it’s raining and windy outside again tonight.

You all have a BLESSED rest-of-the-week!!!

I went to town the other day, in amongst all of my other running and got a couple of insurance quotes that I’ve been needing to get, but hadn’t done yet.  GOTTA love all the “necessities” of life and trying to see into the future and make sure all of the major things are taken care of!!!

It has been dry this week.  We have NEEDED the sunshine, in more ways than one!!!  But today, it is raining again.  It was kind of needed though, because we have had a stiff wind blowing most of the week that has REALLY dried the ground out, maybe a little TOO much.

But with the sunshine and dry weather this week, we HAVE been able to work on fences and reseeding part of our pasture and little things like that!!!  Fences are REALLY starting to come together, I think.  We will be able to keep the horses off of what we have just seeded, and give it a chance to grow a bit AND I will be able to have a “corral” to work horses in, which is something that I am DEARLY in need of for the ones that have never been handled.  It’s not QUITE as good of a corral setup as I could have, but then again, it’s not costing us anything except some manual labor.  And, who knows?  It MIGHT work better than what I would have wanted anyway.  That is ALWAYS a possibility!!!

God Bless!!!

My day was another busy one!!  I started out running this morning, and my day continued like that ALL the day through the day, with a couple of spur-of-the-moment changes that SHOULD help me have a couple of hours of “free” time tomorrow.  When I say “free” time, I mean time to finish putting up the fence that I’ve been working on, or taking one of our other ones down and moving it some place else.  I don’t think I’ll have time to separate horses tomorrow after I get the fence done and use my “round pen”, but if I can get the fence done, it will be waiting and ready for me to do that on Saturday or Sunday or next week when we are actually supposed to have some drying weather!!!

One of the things I did today in my running was to stop by the insurance lady’s office and get a couple of quotes.  I guess I should have gotten a term life insurance quote while I was at it. I don’t think you can ever have too much life insurance, in certain cases.

Hope you all had a BLESSED day!!!