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????
Friday, March 23, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
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....
Friday, March 09, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
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.
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.
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