Kara's First Solo Ride on Charisma

These are pictures from Shelley was here in November. This was Kara's first Solo trip on Charisma. A good possiblility that Charisma might be Kara's walk/trot show horse for this upcoming season!

News

Thank you to Shannon Ryan for coming to the barn for lessons and training. We are happy to have her and look forward to working with her. We will be doing lessons on every other Saturday - next date is this Saturday, Dec 8th. Please contact me for scheduling.

Also, I posted previously about our new filly, Sugar. Well, sadly, she was diagnosed with Wobbler's Syndrome, which is a neurological spinal disorder - which is incurable. Fortunately for my pocket book, I was able to take her back to the owners, and picked up a new filly. Her name is Dafnie and her registered name is "Zip With Me". She is very sweet and gentle, and I really like her alot. She is also, my Gus's half sister - they share the same sire. I also got to meet Gus & Dafnie's "daddy" at the breeders, and it was really cool to see him. Here is a picture of Dafnie from at the breeders. I haven't gotten around to taking any photo's of her at home yet.

I LOVE feeding under the lean-to....let me tell you!!!!!!!! After the snow this weekend, I could just go under the lean - feeding grain and hay without plowing thru snow, fighting off hungry horses, searching for frickin feed buckets in the snow, carrying bales of hay....all that - GONE - .....was it was worth $60,000.....a STRONG possibility.....

I haven't ridden much in the indoor arena, as I normally don't ride much at all in the months of December and January. It is a well earned rest for my horses, and a very good mental break too. Before we built our own place, I had lived for 8 years at a place that had an indoor riding arena. I normally would get started in February, riding 3-4 days a week to start conditioning the horses - often spending the first couple of weeks on ground work and not riding at all.

I'm anticipating the barn to get really busy starting in February. I have had recent inquiries about openings, so that is good. Randy is busy digging in the water lines in the barn.... better late than never right??? The plan was to run automatic waterer's thru the new stall barn, but we've run out of $$, so he is running the water pipes and stubbing up to where each waterer will be. We needed to do this BEFORE doing the stalls, as once the stalls and footing is in, it's alot more difficult and expensive to do. He is also running water hydrants to the back turn-outs. Right now we are dragging 150 feet (yes, not a typo) - out to tanks in back. Can we say MAJOR Pain-in-the-ass.... Of course, as my friend Paul, has pointed out - why would I need Curves or other weight loss programs - with this extra work.... Ha Ha I say!!!

Bo received a C on his big Biology test last week and an A on his binder. He wasn't happy with a C, but I pointed out to him, that he had a big FAT F on the last exam along with a zero on his binder - so that was a great improvement.

Kara is loosing her two front teeth....very SLOWLY..... she was playing with Twinkle and bumped her mouth and was all bloody and gross, and wiggling that tooth for all it's worth, and still stayed in... I have vague repressed memories of my Dad just yanking those out......I haven't the heart to do the same.

I best be getting back to work!

Too Many to Pick From!

The photoshoot with Shelley Grabow was a lot of Fun - despite a gloomy cold day. Several people showed up to take pictures.
We coaxed Kara out on Charisma too!
The indoor arena footing is complete - and we can ride inside. There is a few more days of electrical work to be completed before the lights are on - but I've been promised before "turkey-day" on completion.
The lean-to area is wonderful and I can't wait until its done. We've been "frantically" fencing since the excavater has left. Unfortunately some slow going - as we are putting in "permanent" fence - which involves digging holes, wood posts, gates, etc etc. Randy has spent alot of time thinking things thru and measuring ....while I'm in hurry up mode, as I HATE feeding horses in the dark...lol....
Once the lean-to's are complete, and the indoor walls are up - we will then start the new stall side of the new barn...
I have to hold off on posting pictures - they are too big of file....
Until later!

Champion 2007

Kara was Reserve Champion Leadline for BHSA in 2007

And Grand Champion Leadline for Red Ridge Pleasure circuit 2007

Sugar

Our new horse - a yearling filly - registered paint - her name is "Pleasure the Moment" - Kara has named her Sugar - as she feels that the brown sugar and the white sugar got all mixed up.

The weekend looks busy

This weekend looks crazy busy - we will start putting fencing up and clean up. Hope to sneak out for a couple hours on Sunday to go trail riding too. Kara has karate on Saturday, which she seems to enjoy alot at this point. Here are more pics of the new building!

Bo had a lot of fun at the homecoming deal. He hooked up with friends (not that I could tell you ANY of their names) and went to the football game. He also attended the dance - but a crowbar is needed for any more info on THAT...

Pictures

They set trusses on Friday.

And of course, had to toss one in of the puppy too!

The Farrier Saga

Most of you close to me, know Gus has an on-going "hoof" problem for the last couple of years. Well, just call Gus the money pit - :

Chronologically:

Wore shoes all last winter to help "solve" his problems. He started having even longer toes and underrun heels really becoming obvious in March or so.

Roman Miller, my current farrier, who I respect and feel has always done a good job - I now feel maybe not so good about. So in June of this year, I haul Gus over to Dean Johanningmier - the specialized farrier who also works at the UW Madison Vet School. He resets in him in a shoe that is 2x bigger than what Roman was using and a wedge pad on his worse right front to balance him. Dean J and I both feel that Roman would be able to continue after that. This was $175.00

Mind you, that Gus has not been the show horse of the last few years, he was cranky, didnt want to work, seemed high strung all the time and just wasn't himself.

Anyway, I decide to go to re-setting Gus every 4 weeks this summer to try to get control of that "runaway" toe he was growing...

Gus's last reset was on September 5 - after having been reset - his toes are longer than they have been all summer.... I'm SCRATCHING my head, as I dont know what to do... here I'm paying EVERY MONTH $150 for his front feet & trim the back, and feeling that its not working..... Of course, I do not say much to Roman (ummm...chicken shit is a good description here).

So about 3 weeks ago, another boarder had a "natural hoof trimmer" come to the barn.... I think to myself and I did some research on line - and it all makes sense to me - so I have this guy look at Gus. He swears that Gus has such a bad of case of thrush that it will take 3 to 4 MONTHS to treat and that I will more than likely NOT be able to ride my horse for almost a year - while he works on him on a MONTHLY basis to correct his feet. He explains it all to me (and at the time, it does make sense) - and leaves me medicine and etc - to the tune of $100.00 and, by the way, didn't trim his feet at all.

Well, at this point, I'm more than a little disgusted, but I spend at least 4 days wrapping and medicating Gus's hooves. I think and think on this, and then some of the other boarders are going to have Dr Meyer out for fall work. I make the decision to have Dr Meyer (who is a vet that i have routinely used for 15 years) to have Dr Meyer look at Gus's feet.

Dr Meyer was running late that day, and I had to leave and go back to work - but Randy was able to be there for him. Lo and behold, the VET says there is NO thrush in my horse at all, and that his angles of his hoof to his leg are whacked (well not the word he used)... and he suggested x-rays and then take the x-rays back to Dean Johanningmier to have his feet done again. This was $144.00

So today, I took Gus to Dean Johanningmier - explained to me about the wrong angles and such - per an X-Ray - Gus's COFFIN bones are out of alignment from the other bones in his leg by about 4 degrees....which is a huge difference. So Gus is again wearing shoes again - both feet match in angles and toe length. However - it is funky looking that's for sure - he has a HUGE pad under his right foot along with some foam stuff to support his frogs (which are messed up too). This shoe job cost $209.00.

Most of what Dean J said to me hasn't really sunk in on the technical side of things - but the most important thing was to make sure that Gus's feet match and that Gus more than likely will never grow a "normal" foot again....he might get correct enough to not have to wear such "funky" shoes, and we should know if that will happen some time in the next 6 months.

The most promising thing is that Dean J said I should see a huge difference in Gus in the next couple of days....and that he should be going totally sound on his fronts. That sure sounds better than not riding my horse for a year.

So, the moral here is stay away from the "kirby salesman" - and feel free to sink all your extra money (all right not extra) - into the horse that you love.

Current arena progress

The Retaining Wall

The great sand box....isn't the Puppy tiny!

Spot & Ronny - Very interested in the activity!

Wow!

Charisma and I out in the pasture this afternoon - she's relaxing and having a well deserved day off.

We competed Saturday at the Wisconsin State Horse Council Championship Challenge Show, and received Grand Champion in Western Pleasure, 3rd in open walk/trot pleasure, and 6th in Trail.

Past Due News!!!!!!

Hi All!

Much is happening around the farm! Murph has started the excavating for the indoor arena. We had several contractors out to give estimates as this one of the most important parts of putting up the new building. Most told us they would have to bring in more dirt to make it work - which was additional cost. Murph was the only one that told us that he felt we had enough there and could make it work. BOY WAS HE Right! The dirt pile in the back of the property would make the most incredible sledding hill. They had to keep going and going to level and the hillside is now a 8 foot embankment (which creates a new set of problems). It looks so completely different. I have taken pictures which once I get them off the camera I will share.

Randy & Curtis are building the retaining wall - which also includes the footings/beams for the building. We were thankfully allowed to borrow Jessica Cole's post hole attachment for her tractor. Well - the rocks were big and plentiful....Murph, the excavator, felt sorry for us and came out with his skidsteer & post hole digger... Well, THAT didn't work either, and they still had the CAT there and dug a few,,,ummmm, BOULDERS out with that! So thankfully all the holes are dug, and Randy has most of the posts in the holes - but they all have to be filled and packed to finish - then he has to put up the wall part. Randy thought he could get this done in a couple of days....and yeah, though he doesn't drink - he sure was delusional in regards to THAT!

So, we have piles of dirt which we have to find a home for - so the outdoor arena is going to get an overhaul - as this dirt has a lot of regular dirt/clay texture - and we will scrape of a few inches of the broken down sand on top of the arena - and bring in this dirt and level it out more. I've been blessed to be able to keep riding even with diluges of rain - and the goal is to keep that as best we can.... my fingers are crossed!

The builder is scheduled to start October 8 - and he states he should have it all up in only 2 weeks. So the end of October is going to be very busy for us - we will be putting in the back wall, stalls, shavings storage room, and a new tack room.

Charisma is riding extremely well - I've very proud of her - we have several "bigger" shows to go to yet. Tomorrow we are heading to Elkhorn to show at a WQHA sponsored open show. Then on the 29th is the Wisc State Horse Council Championship Challenge show. Charisma is qualified for the Western Pleasure class - which is grouped by rider's age - so I will be in the Sr Sr age division. We will also be doing the Trail classes at these 2 shows. I'm also considering taking Charisma to Crown Point, IN on October 13 & 14 for a AQHA sanctioned show. I have a few weeks to decide though.

Gus is still having continued lameness and hoof problems. I tried a new farrier yesterday who is a "natural" hoof trimmer - and he pointed out that my on-going problems with thrush in Gus's front feet have to be addressed 1st and foremost before anything else can occur. Poor Gus. His heels have contracted alot over the summer and I have just not been able to get the thrush totally cured. So we have pulled Gus's shoes, and have packed his feet with medication and vetwrapped and he is wearing easy boots. This new guy stated to me that it could take 3 to 4 months of daily medicating and wrapping to cure it up - then another 6-12 months for the heels to come back to where they belong. He honestly told me that he felt Gus should be completely UNRIDDEN for at least a year..... (Ummm, that will be hard)..... He also suggested that we x-ray his fronts for navicular changes - as he is showing "slight symptons" of navicular. But it could also be soreness from thrush/contracted heels ...SO - will do that this Tuesday ( cuz at this point what's more vet bills???)....... And will keep you posted....

So, anyway, with the saga of poor Gus - Could this explain his poor performance this summer and his "attitude" problems etc? I'm thinking so...... So, if this works, and then maybe I'll have my horse back......

Sammy left Wednesday for his new home with Susan LeMay. I got teary putting him in the trailer, but I was happy with Suzan and she was very comfortable on him, and he was LAZY for her - so time will tell, but all indicators of a good match and great home for him. She has promised to keep me posted.

Ace has been sold to Jessica Julson and she will be boarding him with us. Jessica already loves him and has been out several times to brush and play with him, and she is intending on showing him next season. Many thanks to Kathy C who spend time with Ace over the summer so he wasn't a wild mustang....

And yes, if you've paid attention - I am down to only having 2 horses, Gus and Charisma. I'm tentatively shopping for a horse for Randy. Though he hasn't shown much interest as of late, so I'm not sure how hard I will be shopping, but it's ALWAYS fun to look.... the catalog has been posted for the Sept 30th Cannon Falls MN QH sale, and there are several good ones listed....so I might make a trip to that sale or hold off to the October cataloged sale too. Or who knows!!! ha ha....

Until later!

Chicago Vacation

Some snapshots from our 1st family vacation. Many thanks to Carol & Cindy for holding down the fort!

News

We are currently waiting to hear back from the bank on exact amount we can finance for the new building. Once we get those numbers - we hope to start on that project. We will be putting up some "temporary" fencing and moving horses around to accomodate to excavator and building the retaining wall - so bear with us in these next months of construction.

There is current openings for rough boarding and I'm taking reservations for stalls that should be ready in November this year.

I'm personally cutting back just a little to make room for new horses - So Sammy and Ace are for sale. If anyone is interested, please let me know. Ace is at Kathy Cummings house - getting excellent care and pasture and looks really good.

I'm also selling a couple of my saddles - a 16" Billy Royal Pleasure saddle and my 15" Janet Stover barrel saddle - if interested, please let me know.

We will be showing (depending on weather) at Red Ridge on Sunday - for the 4th show in the 5 show series. Hopefully we dont get rained out.

Until later!

New Addition...........

Kara has been asking for a puppy for MONTHS.....

And the Winner is.......

Charisma & I won the DCHA riding futurity this past Sunday. She gave me an excellent ride. The arena had standing water and mud - and she was a trooper through it all.

2nd Annual High Pines Farm trail ride & picnic is set for October 6th! Please plan on attend - we had a bunch of fun last year!

Wow!

I spent the this past weekend at a barrel clinic being taught by Ed Wright. It was a tiring weekend, full of drills, individual works and a total change of riding style "vs" the old way of doing things. I have to be honest and say I struggled with it on Saturday. But on Sunday, really got it and really drastically improved my turn on the barrels. It will, of course, take practice, and I'm sure slips of doing it the "old" way, but hopefully the changes will show their results on the time clock.

Randy & Gus went to Red Ridge pleasure show with out me & Charisma. They did quite well in the English - winning the Sr Hunter Under Saddle Class. But the western classes didn't go as well, as Gus & Randy are still having "show nerves" to work through together. They did however, remain consistent and win the High Point of the day.

Kara's first solo ride

Kara & I went on our first little trail ride together on Sunday. This is Kara's first solo trip without "mom" having a grip on whatever horse she is riding. Kara is riding Red, my old barrel horse from when I was a teenager. It was very neat to watch Kara ride him and brought back all those memories of our times together. It was also a bit sad, as Red is 26 years old now, and no longer has the "shape & pep" as the old days. Which, fortunately, enables Kara to ride him with no trouble by herself. In the days of old, Red was a handful for anyone, but was a fast one doing the speed events. We are planting the seed for "grandpa" that Red should come live with us for Kara to ride and take care of...

Other news:

Showing is going good - Randy is qualifed with Gus to go to the Wis State Horse Council Championship Challenge Show. Though Randy & Gus have had some "partnership" issues, I think they are starting to figure each other out.

Charisma and I are not qualified yet - though I've had some great rides on her. We were 2nd place at July 1st Portage show in Jr Horse Western Pleasure in a very large (and somewhat scary) class, but that is not a qualifying class for the championship show. I've had some really nice rides and have put her away on those notes - vs continuing to show her and having a problem crop up. I have until Sept 9th to get her qualified and about 5 shows left to go to that I can compete at with her. She has made great progress in the last 4 weeks in her training and is really coming into being a "show" horse.

The Horse Show

I want to thank the following for all their help at the pleasure show. Without them - we couldn't have got it done - and we had many compliments on how well the show was run and organized. So hat's off to all of you!

Carol - our awesome announcer!
Cindy - "announcing assitant"
Tracy - Ring"woman"
Kathy - announcing & entry stand
Dee - awards presentation
Darcy & Mark - Gate handlers
Shyla - Gate handler
Tom - announcing assistant and clean up.
Jackie - my mom - entry stand
Shelley - entry stand & trail class
Paul - trail class
Chuck - trail class

We ended with 347 entries. Our cost to put on the show was $1,255.00 We made $987.00 - so the farm is in the hole $268.00 to put on the show.

It was alot of fun to do, and I glad of the experience - but until BHSA will let the clubs/individuals raise the entry fees - we will not do it again.

We're Parents!

Aren't they cute! Thanks to Kathy for gettina great shot!

Bo made the improvement honor roll for the 4th quarter. YEAH!
His reward is to get up at 4 am and go fishing with Grandpa this weekend.

Randy was high point at Red Ridge last weekend with Gus - there is improvement there and he's starting to ride a little more during the week. I usually groom, and saddle Gus and hand him the reins!

Charisma received a 2nd place at Red Ridge in her 1st ever 3 Gait class. Even though she'd had a "learning" set-back this past couple of weeks, we seem to have gotten over the hump, and made it through the show. She doesn't go out again until July 1 - at Portage.

We got a swimming pool for Kara last week - she seems to be enjoying that! Myself, I need it to be warmer water and hotter days!

Waiting to work

Charisma & Sammy - waiting their turns today.

And Griffin - catching some shade!

Tack Room Pictures

Here are some pics of the new tack room - it has a full sized door so I can keep the kitties OUT!

And here is the bridle rack Randy built - it's cool and probably so much better than the one in the catalog!

I think I FORGOT I had one of these!!! Oooops!

Ok - so I've pretty much ignored blogging/writing anything of late. Shame Shame Shame!

Newsworthy items:

Charisma won her 1st class Memorial Weekend - class size of 12, and though only a walk/jog - it was impressive to me - as it was only her 2nd time in the show arena. Lots of buzz about her after her win - so as I've "matured", the decision to take her and hide at the trailer until next time - was a wise one... it's best to go slowly with these young horses, and have LOW expectations! So when something really GREAT happens - don't try to do it again in the same day YET!

At the same show, Gus & Randy won their showmanship class, and he took 3rd with Gus behind "me"...(evil laugh he he....) in one class, and then things fell apart rapidly, and I ended up "schooling" Gus in a few classes, then competing again to win 1st in a class (I also won the trail class), and we put Gus away after all that too.

Gus is very upset to have Charisma leave him at any time during our stay at the show. This has perplexed me on his attitude until I realized that this is the first year that we have had TWO horses to take to shows....so will have to work through this, just like anything else.

Though Gus has also come up lame since before the show - with a tentative diagnosis of a hoof bruise of some type. It's not gushing Blood - so who the hell knows! That's my take... ANYWAY - he's been resting after having a series of 5 days of bute and foot soaking. He seems better these last couple of days - but will give him the remainder of this week on vacation and bring him out to see if he's going to stay sound to show on the 17th.

Sammy has been running barrels fairly decent this year - this past weekend we won $85 at the NBHA District show - and have even picked up a few points at the BHSA shows we've went to. This might seem funny - but I took him all last year, and never placed at a show.... So we've made improvements - and hope to continue.

Kara won her 1st leadline class of the year - and also took Gus in showmanship - it was very cute, and Mom & Dad were proud. The next show, I think she spent too much time talking to daddy and not being serious enough, but she still received 4th - and Mom really has to chill about these things- as she is only 6.....I will expect more out of my 7 yr old next year...ha ha...

Bo has managed to at least get a C or above in all his classes this quarter! This is a VERY big accomplishment and helpful heading into high school next year. Bo has also been helping do barn chores everynight - and has been a HUGE help to me every night. Why didn't I think of this sooner???? Bo leaves this weekend for his dad's for the summer, and will be missed (and not just cuz of chores).

Randy got his newer and bigger skid steer this past weekend. He's happy with his new toy. So I figure, that frees up about a $4,000 spending allowance for me next year....so I can be happy too!

Unlike my photographer friend, Kathy, I have no pictures to share at this time - I will work on that - and promise to post more often!

Also - remember our show on June 24 at the fairgrounds in Portage - your volunteer help will be MUCH appreciated!

Until next time!

Life Lessons......

Bo was to turn in the money for the school fundraiser on Monday. Well, apparantly he is short $8.25 Bo states to me that "I" must have underpaid, and would I give him the money. I had wrote a check, and I knew that I had paid the correct total. Apparently he can not have his award or pizza party with being short on funds.

Well, I told him the fundraiser money was his responsibility and that if he was short, that HE would have to dig in his own pockets for it. I told him that I was sorry that he must have made an adding error or didn't collect from someone, and did he double check his math and keep track of who paid what. Of course not.....

So, again, I am not winning the "mother of the year" award, but is there a better way to learn how to be responsible than paying out of your own pocket for mistakes??

T.

The Clinic was Great!

The clinic was great and I learned alot of different ways to actually USE the crap floating around in my head. Taking the sidepass and pivot and making lots of different manuevers and excercises out of them to get more out of the performance of our horses. It was definitely worth going to.

Even with the weather crap, and nothing is dry - except the riding arena (thank god), we've been busy riding as much as possible. Charisma came home from Jessica Cole's on Saturday. She's very fit and ready to go. I'm very happy with the work that was done with her, and she's in a great place to continue her education.

Gus is riding awesome. His lope has improved at least 25% since the clinic. I'm very excited about this year with him. Randy will keep some serious "butt", including mine I'm sure.

Kara had her first "official" riding lesson at Jessica Coles on Saturday. Within 10 minutes she was posting on the lunge line. What a hoot! The plan is to continue having her go to Jessica's to ride at least 1x per week until our schedules get too crazy. She only rode for about 15 mins on Saturday, but she is only 6! Kara is already starting to practice for Showmanship fo rthis year, and was leading Gus around yesterday. Nervous Nelly Mom was right alongside her to watch out for her feet - which look alot smaller than Gus's shod hooves. I had been working with Gus all winter to teach him to lead with his head "low" to accomodate Kara's height, and it really worked, and I my heart flutters to watch.

Randy has been busy building the new tackroom in the barn. And getting estimates from excavators for doing the site for the indoor arena. The stump (ha ha) in the plan is all the trees that will have to be removed....sigh.... Even though I KNOW my dad planted all those when he was young, there isn't much options. We can't exactly leave one in the middle....

News

Hi All!

Been fairly quiet around here, well, except for the slopping noises of marching thru spring mud & guck! All the horses have started to shed, and that's such a beautiful thing!

We have a new addition to our horse family. A yearling paint gelding named Ace joined us last Sunday. He was a freebie, and supposedly has a sore rear foot, but we really haven't seen much signs of it. The owner stated that she, her vet, and her farrier all felt that he would come out of it. He's a nice boy, but right now he is a little "shy" around us humans. Randy has been working with him almost daily since Sunday to bring him around.

I brought Gus home from Kari's yesterday. I do believe that he's happy to be home....or it could just be me...ha ha....

I'm off to the clinic tomorrow - 2 full days of many hours of instruction....I'm so looking forward to it. Though Gus & I probably aren't in as good as shape as we could be, I think we are as ready as we were going to get for only the end of March. I really wish I could video tape most of it.

I'll post after the clinic, and hopefully have some cool stuff to talk about, otherwise, why did I pay that $400????

I Didn't Ride.....

Sunday was beautiful - and though hard to swallow, I spent most of it at CHURCH...lol... My niece, Heather was baptized at the River of Life Church in Portage on Sunday. If I was to be a firm believer and go to Church regularly, I think it was fun and "modern" service....though as the hours drug on, I couldn't quite control my restlessness, and fidget....I think alot of the kids were probably more contained than I was.

We got home around 2ish, and I told Kara that we had to go over and visit Gus, and Kara said she wanted to ride (wow)....so packed up her little saddle and helmut and off we went. So, I was in the rare position with my child, where I was the observer and not the participant.....it feels strange, but I was very pleased to be there. Gus was very well behaved and packed her around like a trooper...in fact she had a hard time getting him to move! There was a neighbor shooting "guns", and though I was a little nervous, Gus handled it all well.

As by looking at the pictures, it's time to move her stirrups DOWN...she hasn't ridden since last fall in her saddle, and her legs have grown considerably!

Kara even jogged Gus. This is really the first time that she's been on the length of the lungeline. And steering mostly on her own. Kara will start riding lessons at Jessica Cole's soon. Where she will learn how to ride English style first. I firmly believe that learning to post and ride in that discipline - teaches more balance and leg position and strength, than in a western saddle. Too many kids just grab the saddle horn when things are not going "right", instead of learning to use their legs and bodies, and THINK!

So, I was the proud mama, snapping pictures... ha ha....

Warm Warm Warm

Its supposed to be in the 40's this weekend - what more is there to talk about?????

The Animal Auction

On Saturday I was lucky enough to go to Leudlow's animal auction. Cindy, a current boarder, had heard that there was going to be a paint horse for sale there and wanted to go check it out. Carol who owns Griffin from the barn, and Tanya (Cindy's friend and a past client of mine) also came along.

Too say we had a lot of fun is an understatement, as Cindy was carrying baby goats around and I myself was bidding on Wilbur the pig, and 2 mary "lambs". Of course, I wouldn't go over $5.00 so I did not buy any critters. Though, I was really tempted to buy that darn pig....I could smell the bacon....

On the sad subject of the horses attending the auction....they were a stellar example of why some people should not be able to breed their horses....sigh.....there were 2 registered quarter horse fillies, both coming 3 years old this summer. Neither could lead or tie or were friendly, as they were frightened by the environment they were shuffled in and were more than positive that the human beings staring at them were envisioning the evening meal. They were not horribly thin - they obviously had food, but their hooves showed that it had been some time, if any, that they had been trimmed, and they were definitely showing signs of some serious worms. One filly had serious clouding in one eye, and when I finally could get closer to it - I'm sure there was sight loss. When they came through the auction ring, they didn't even bring a bid of $25.00 And sad to say, they were not worth the $60.00 that the auctioneer bought them for.

Cindy was really eyeing the one filly and when the bidding started, I told her that her hospital bill or deductibles were going to be much higher than $60.00

So the paint gelding that was there was in about the same shape as the 2 fillies (as they came from the same place) - however someone in his short life had spent the time to teach him to lead and tie. And that human's might still be predators - that we were NOT going to really eat him. This gelding is also registered and very colorful. Cindy had named him and kissed him well before the bidding started. Cindy had never been to a "horse" auction (and we'll just call it that loosely"), and I bid on the horse for her. Cindy now owns a 2 yr old registered paint gelding for a mere $95.00 I will have to post some pictures of him here. She has a bit of project for herself, but I think there is some promise here.

We picked up the paint horse on Sunday afternoon and he loaded fine and came off the trailer pretty good. Unfortunately after he got off the trailer, he dragged Cindy to the nearest snow pile and promptly started devouring snow....Cindy took him to the water tank and he submerged his face and didn't come back up for air for some time. It appears that they didn't even bother to give this animal a drink of water, for who knows how long.... We took him a bunch of hay, and I'd have to say the horse hasn't moved from the hay or water tank. There is no other tracks in the snow.....sigh....

On other farm news - it is terribly icy around the barn - so all be careful!

Gus & Charisma are both riding well. Randy came over with me and rode Gus for a little bit too.

Until later!

T.

Yearning for....

I know that I have more than most and less than some....but.....I'm really hoping to get the indoor arena up this summer. We've had business "requests" for boarding that have went elsewhere due to not having an indoor to offer. But most of all, is the fact that I have one horse at a trainer, and now Gus is at Kari's boarded only because of the lack of our own indoor arena. I moved Gus over on Saturday, and went and rode Sunday and today. Though a bit nippy, it was still about 20 degrees inside and it was soooo nice to ride. Even though Gus was more than a bit NAUGHTY...lol.....

So, I'm in the dilemma of having to borrow around $60,000 to make it happen. This would make the mortgage on the farm around $225,000. A hefty sum it feels to me, but darn it, people all over the freaking country are buying $350,000-400,000 homes.....how do they do it? I've explored the business aspect, as in what I would have to have for total number of outside horses to pay for it, the raise of current rates to account for more amenities, and the limitations of only 13 acres....sigh..... My overwhelming fear is A: I dont get the horses/clients here and B: people dont pay their friggin bills....

So, I'm still waffling.... Randy of course says to pull the trigger and just build it....but then he rarely concerns himself with if the bills are paid or paid on time or credit card balances....so he's not much help....sigh..... though, I'm sure if I said I wanted to go buy a $15,000 reining horse, he'd having something to say about THAT!

I know that no one can help me make this decision......I just want my Mom to tell me YES or NO...lol....

Worry Wart....

So, I haul Gus over to Jessica Cole to meet with Dean J - farrier to investigate his cracks in his heels of his front feet. Dean J is an awesome farrier - whom I used for 4 years when I lived at the barn on Military Rd. I haven't used him since (almost 7 years) as we moved and Dean J became the resident farrier at UW Madison Vet Hospital. Jessica Cole has been fortunate to be one of the few barns that Dean J still does "house" calls to.

Dean had wonderful things to say about Roman Miller, our current farrier, and stated that he was doing an excellent job with Gus's shoeing and feet conditions.

A little background on Gus, is that he has had contracted heels for about 2 years. When Roman came to our barn a year and 1/2 ago, he suggested going with a Natural Balance shoe. In about 6 months we saw marked improvement on Gus and his contracted heels. This last year, I have been battling re-curring Thrush in Gus's front feet. This is a common problem with a horse with contracted heels, as there is a deep crevice for the bacteria to thrive. Its seems once the Thrush goes away, it comes back in about 3-4 weeks and we go thru it all over again.

This past July, Gus was having some right sided issues, mostly evident at the lope. When Roman came out mid-August - Gus was unlevel on his right foot - it was lower than the left. Roman put a very small wedge pad under his shoe to balance him back out. In time, the hoof should catch up and we can take it off. That did solve his problem and Gus was back riding like a million bucks. The wedge also seemed to be improving some of the contraction in that heel, and after another re-set we saw some positive growth. The decision was made to leave the Natural Balance shoes on for the winter.

In the last couple of months, Gus has had small cracks or "fissures" running up from this frog area into his heel. These have gradually gotten bigger and more of a "concern" to me. This is what prompted me to haul to Dean J - and get that all important "Dr's second opinion".....Sigh..... I'm happy to report that this is "cosmetic", and is a result of the on-going battle with Thrush. Dean J states that the cracks is where the infection "broke", and that there is positive live tissue and it will go away in time.

So the most important thing that I learned yesterday is in regard to treating Gus's chronic thrush is to basically throw away the "over-the-counter" thrush medicines. Dean J states that most are too caustic and drying - causing additonal problems (aka cracked heels)...and to buy some plain ole iodine at the drug store....His remedy for Gus is to soak small cotton balls in iodine, and pack them in the crevice areas of Gus's hooves. Sure sounds simple to me....can't wait to try it! And lesson here is "if its not broke, dont fix it".....

I also got to see Charisma work yesterday. I'm very happy to report that after being there for only a little over a week, she is very content and quiet, and is learning to learn.... can't ask for more than that!

Kara & Horses

Last night as we were in the driveway alongside the new pasture - Gus was running alongside the car...I hollered to Kara - and said " look at Gus loping along side of us!"...Kara laughed and then asked me if Gus was "HER" horse.....hard question to answer, as it feels like forever that I've wanted to hear her say something like that. Alas, I answered her that "No, Gus was not her horse, he was the whole family's horse". Kara made a big sigh and looked disappointed at that. I then told Kara that if she really spent time with Gus and learned to ride and liked it, then I would give Gus to her then.

I hope that was the right answer......

Machinery Dependence.....

To my stall boarders: I'm sorry the stalls are not very clean right now... The manure spreader was full - and Randy went to take spreader out Wednesday night. HOWEVER - the main component necessary to running the tractor was missing....your right - it was the KEY!.....Sooooo, no starting of the tractor..... I didn't clean stalls yesterday .

Randy did come home yesterday after work with a torch and a propane tank and proceeded to melt the snow under the tractor in search of the KEY.... He started up the torch when I had 3 horses left to bring inside....you can imagine the the funky noise and lights as the tractor is parked right along side the barn, fairly near the back door. I asked Randy to cease & desist until I could finish bringing in the horses. After I had everybody in, he started the torch back up....wow - what a way to light up the night and get EVERYONE in the barn stirred up....I went thru and shut up the stall drop-downs to ensure no one could escape...lol...

Now, Randy was SUCCESSFUL in finding the small key (which has prompted him to want to install a toggle switch on the tractor), and took out the spreader of manure. So now the spreader is empty for use. BUT the stalls have went 2 days, and it is now Friday. The plan is to let them go today - and Saturday morning have a strip it party....and I will have lots of clothes on....ha ha... Most people know I'm picky about the stalls and being clean....but its been a bit of vacation to just let them go!

Charisma leaves tomorrow to go to Jessica Cole's for training. I'm praying that she's not a freak about being moved to another strange place, but I have full confidence that Jessica will handle her fine. I did call her past owner, as I still had not received her registration papers and its been almost 3 weeks since they cashed the check. I left a message to her about that, and she called back this week and told me she was sorry to have "forgotten" them, and was wondering if she had settled down yet. I have not returned the call at this point, as I have a feeling that she knew Charisma was like this and didn't disclose that to me (even though I specifically asked if she had any "vices"). Well, too late now, and hopefully she is a complete star under saddle, and we can "deal" with her stall weaving when she is upset. Luckily she doesn't seem to do it ALL the time.

Well, if anyone wants to come to the "strip-it" party tomorrow.......

Have a good weekend!

Brrrr.......

It was very cold doing chores this morning....I bundled up and headed out at 6:30 to feed all 20 horses - which is quite a few when its only 2 degrees... As I was doing the chores, in my over-alls, boots, gloves, hat etc...marching thru the bit of snow with wheelbarrow filled with hay - and broke out into a sweat....who needs Curves??? I just need to spend about 20 minutes a day pushing the wheelbarrow thru the snow...ha ha....

All the horses were happy to see me, which is always nice...there are 8 horses in the barn, and even with the low temps - the 2 buckets that are not heated only had only a little bit of ice...I have 6 heated water buckets - which I love even if they give me just a little bit more work in the AM's - as I go thru and empty and unplug them for the day. It just doesn't seem to make much sense to have them plugged in all day when no one is in the barn. But it does add another 5 minutes to my crazy mornings.

The outside horses were in good spirits this morning too, so they were more than prepared for the cold snap this week than us humans.

I am anxiously awaiting time to ride. Gus leaves in 2 weeks to go to Kari's - and I will start riding him every day to get ready for the "clinic".. I dont want to spend $400 to go with a fat horse and a fat me.... Lee Barthel, who just brought her show horse before Christmas, is going to attend the clinic with me, so we can split gas costs. We decided to haul in each day vs staying overnight, as Germantown isn't that far away.

I spent some time looking at show schedules last night...and its hard to see which way the summer is going yet in January. I have about 6 NBHA shows that I want to attend for sure, and a barrel bash in the end of October. I want to go to more NBHA & 4-D format shows this year vs going to BHSA or open shows. With Sammy already running at the top of the 4-D division with little seasoning and exposure, I'm hoping to see some 2-D times by the end of summer. Shelley & I are going to ride share when we can, and Amanda Coyle has also expressed interest at ride sharing to some shows with me too. So hopefully can save on the gas bill when I can.

This is Kara's last year to ride as a "leadline" rider - as the ages is 6 & under. So will probably get her to as many of the BHSA pleasure shows for her to ride in that class. She will be riding Gus again. And I hope that Randy will be showing Gus mostly this year, and I will be riding Charisma. I'm hoping that Kara will be showing more interest in riding by the end of summer. I've been anxiously awaiting that to happen...I've done my best to tone it down and not push for her to ride....

Charisma

I actually made time to work with Charisma this weekend. This is the first time since we brought her home after Thanksgiving that I have done anything with her besides lead her outside and brush her on occasion.

I started with some basic round pen work and she did very well. She was extremely sensitive to the whip - to the point that all I had to do was pick it up and she'd take off at a run. I wouldn't say she was frightened of it, but she certainly understood that whip=go.. so I spent considerable amount of time desensitizing her with the whip. I've been a fan of Clinton Anderson for quite a few years and really believe and understand most of his concepts. BUT some of its easier said than done! lol... Charisma really hated having me move the whip over her head...she would take off running. Ok - Clinton says to NOT take "it" away, until the horse stands, then remove the scary object at that point. Soooooo, picture me holding the line, the whip swirling over her head, and her running away....the difficulty here was trying to hold crazy said horse and keep whip moving, which was just at that point making her go faster...ha ha.... it eventually worked, and I think I only tied myself up 3 times, and only whacked myself in the head once.... This was Saturday. She was much much better on Sunday. Her ears were flat back on her head, but she stood for it.

My boarder, Cindy, was there riding and her fiancee stood on the fence and watched Sunday's session with what I felt was a great deal of interest. He asked some very good questions and really seemed to understand why I would want to desensitize her to the whip (which even I know sounds a little backward). No mind you, that HE is a beginner, and only has ridden a few time.

By my end session with Charisma on Sunday - she was flexing on both sides really good, grasped the idea of yielding her hind quarters, was reversing by me switching hands on the line, and would stand for the whip being moved all over and swung over her head. She never got sweaty, crazy or silly. I am pretty impressed with her at this point. Plus what an athletic little thing she is. She could slide to a stop and roll back faster than a lick. Plus she can lope a circle around me on a 6' length of rope....COOL....

Truck Whoas ( oh Woes)

After several weeks of silence from Hill Ford - we got a call today that we can pick up our truck tomorrow... complete with a newly rebuilt engine....they replaced, gears, pistons, rings, bearings, and other more complicated pieces that I can't recall off the top of my head.. Anyway, lets hope that we no longer use a quart of oil to go to the friggin gas station...haha..... After all, we just spent $17,995 on the damn thing...and that is of course considered a cheap truck....but not to me!

Thankfully, the whole engine deal only costs us $100.00 - lets bless that warranty thing! And the fact that I said lets drive the damn truck every day of that 3 months....he he....

Though previous dealings with Hill Ford had always left a bad taste in my mouth - I have to give kudos to the Service Dept there - they were excellent and very willing to do what it took to make it right. So heres to hoping its right....I think we've got about 2 days left of that warranty!

Who invited the FLU for New Years?

For several years now, we have gotten together with Shelley and the Bandt's for New Years, and have rotated houses every year. This year was hosted by the Bandt's. We needed to pick up Bo from his Dad's in the Dells and had him by 6:30. On the way to Bo, Kara said her stomach felt sick. Well, she was watching her new DVD player and I didn't know if that might make her feel queasy. She said that maybe she was hungry....I told Kara that we would eat when we got to the Bandt's. Let me just say she was NOT hungry... we got into the Bandt's house, where Kara promptly threw up all over the living room....and I mean ALL OVER! It's bad enough when they get sick on your OWN carpet, much less anyone else! YUCK....course a bucket or bowl never came until it was too late....and my ownself happened to already be parked on the toilet anyway.... so we get everything cleaned up, and lay her down. We did manage to eat dinner, but Kara was sick again, so we went home. We were home before 9 pm. Kara was sick all night and pretty much slept all day New Years Day.

Of course, I had to catch this silly bug, and was sick all day Tuesday - HOWEVER - due to year end closing and payroll, I had to go to work anyway....now that was nasty.....I left early, and got home about 4:30 and went to sleep, and didn't get back up until 6 this morning. I feel much better today....thankfully!

So much fun ringing in the new year!