All Good Things Must Come To An End

"Hanz, Sami, Rosie & Blue"

Rosie and I had a nice ride down "The Alleyway" last weekend

 

  

      I started this blog on October 25, 2007 to interact with like-minded horse people, to exchange ideas, and hear other people’s opinions on everything concerning the horse.  Along the way, I’ve met some really smart people who are dedicated to bettering themselves and their horses' lives.  We’ve discussed how to improve our riding and solve problems relating to our horses.  I’ve met some very good horse people who I now consider my friends.  After all these years, it’s not as though I know all there is about horses, but it seems more people have gone to social media to interact and that’s just not for me.

     So, I’ll be ending this blog for now unless something very interesting happens around here. In the meantime, I plan to keep riding and learning. I’ll still check in with my favorite people and their horses when I can. It’s been fun, but for now I’ll say goodbye. Be safe and thankful for the horses in our lives.    

           Since I celebrated a milestone birthday last month which "officially" makes me a card carrying old lady,  I think this poem now applies to me!

 

What’s Going On

Basically, not much has been happening around here.  We’ve had heat waves and rain and the weather is all over the place.  I would say our main job is taking care of the horses in the heat and we haven’t really been riding.  Although, the other night when it cooled off my daughter took Rosie for a walk down the alleyway for the first time.  She was a good girl as usual; nothing seems to bother her. Even when the geese landed in the pond next to her with a big splash, she just looked and said "ooh" and kept going.

"The Alleyway "

 

Blue continues to be the laziest horse in the barn.  They come in every night and stand under their fans.  All the other horses have no problem eating out of their hay nets, except Blue has found a better way.  He throws his hay net out the window, so he doesn’t have to go through the bother of bending his head down to eat.  He always finds a better way for him to relax and take it easy.

 

"You got a problem with this"

 

Last week we got a text from the neighbors saying, “If you’re outside you might want to go inside!”  Seems there was a bear casually strolling through their back yard.  He/She’s not a small one by any means. We didn't actually see the bear, I'm thankful it didn't decide to come here for a visit.  ( Hope the video works.)

                                                "Excuse me, just stopping by for an afternoon snack"
 

 

 

Quote for Today

 If you want a stable friendship, get a horse.  ~Author unknown

 

Something Different

 

"Rosie"

Recently, I’ve been riding Rosie in the small outdoor arena, but this past weekend I opted for the indoor.  It’s been raining for a few days and very cold (45) and windy.  So, riding indoors was a no brainer on Saturday. Just as I was adjusting the girth, Rosie did a huge spook.  Now, Rosie never spooks, so running backwards with her head up and the whites of her eyes showing was very different from her normal behavior. 

 

 

My daughter and Hanz entered the arena and she pointed out that at the end of the arena there were two small foxes hiding behind the stone wall jump.  Aha! I didn’t see them, but apparently Rosie did.  The foxes scampered out under the back door after a few minutes and things seemed to calm down.  I hand-walked Rosie around the arena a few times to give her a good look around.  She seemed to be calmed down, so we went to the mounting block.  Well, she was having none of it and kept jigging around every time I put my foot in the stirrup.  After a few minutes of this, I suggested that my daughter get on her while I held Hanz.

Good plan. It took her a while, but she did get on and walked her around a few times and dismounted.  I’m thankful I have my daughter to help me out when I need it!  In the past I would have persevered and eventually got on her but I’m getting older and less flexible. I don’t bounce as well as I used to, so I decided to let it go for the day.  There’s always another day to ride.

 

Our resident foxes

 We seem to have a lot of baby foxes on the farm this year. I have no idea where the moms are.  Three of them live under the feed shed and two (that I’ve seen) live by the indoor.  They come out and play, wrestle with each other, and take any horse brushes left unguarded to play with.  We’ll find the brushes in the grass or up in the outdoor arena. After this incident, I would prefer them to leave, but they are keeping the rodent population down, so less ticks to deal with. We’ve noticed a big difference already this year.

 

Quote for Today

“When you’re young and you fall off a horse, you may break something. When you’re my age, you splatter.” – Roy Rogers. 

 Our Herd

 

The herd has decided that they are now officially feral horses.  Mind you, they all have grazing muzzles and fly masks on in a nod to being semi-domesticated.  They do like their comforts, after all.  But they have mutually decided with the warmer weather and breezy nights they’d rather stay out under the stars.  Apparently, they don’t need no stinking barn to be trapped in at night. They are checked on routinely.  Blue and Sami need their medication for Cushing’s which we cleverly disguise inside stud muffins. They are happy and healthy and have access to water and as much grass as they can stuff into their bellies with muzzles on. So, if they prefer to stay out, and if it makes them happy, that’s fine with us.  They are living the most normal way of life for horses and we feel that’s the way it should be.  Everyone who comes to our place always comments on how happy and calm our horses are, and I think just letting them be horses is a big factor in their temperaments. 

 

"Did I hear something about treats"

 

" Really, all that work for a carrot and stud muffin? Just not fair!"

 

 

On Mother’s Day, I did get to ride Rosie.  Whenever they see the Kubota drive up, they all come moseying over because there are usually treats involved.  Well, this time there were treats involved but also saddles and bridles... much to Rosie and Hanz’s dismay.  Once Rosie was tacked up and brought into the ring, I mounted up and off we went for our ride.  Everything was going just fine until Hanz and my daughter rode in.  Well, Rosie's ears went flat back. She was making faces at the poor guy and just trying to avoid him at all costs.  Hanz is so sweet and innocent he couldn’t know what to think or what he did wrong. He’s the kind of horse who likes everyone and just wants to be a friend. She was having none of it and, in truth, she was being a real bitch.  I didn’t put up with her antics because she’s just got to get over herself and learn to get along with the whole herd. This is something we’ll work on until she can tolerate another horse in the ring with her and learn to be a little more gracious and sharing of her space.  Once she figures out that I’m not going to play into her nonsense, she’ll be little miss manners in the ring like she is in the barn.

 

 

Quote for Today

  A bad day riding is better than a good day fishing. 

HAPPY EASTER

 

 

 

All I Needed to Learn about Life I learned from the
' Easter (Bunny )Horse'!
 

Don’t put all your grain in one bucket.

Walk softly and carry a big carrot.

There is no such thing as too many treats.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hair/hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like apples on trees.

Keep our hooves off others treats.

Good things come in small packages.

The grass is always greener in someone else' s paddock.

An Easter bonnet can cover the wildest mane.

To show your true colors you have to come out of the stall.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey... molasses flavored stud muffins.

Happy Birthday Blue

"Mr. Blue"

 

Today is Blue’s 24th Birthday. We’ve had him since he was a youngster of 4 years old. How time flies. What can I say about Blue that I haven’t already said? Blue is one in a million. He can be stubborn and grumpy, but he also has the ability to make us laugh all the time with his antics. There has never been a horse we’ve known who is as funny as Blue. Let’s not forget how smart he is, like the time he knew I was going to ride him, so he hid behind the run-in shed and peeked out once in a while to see if I could find him. Or how he refuses to let anyone interrupt his daily naps. This would include being braided at a show while lying down or having the vet administer shots in the same prone position. Blue marches to his own drummer and doesn’t let anyone stop him from doing what he wants. A horse with a mind of his own, he’s always been Mr. Personality! 

He’s showing his age a bit with arthritic hocks and Cushing’s, and he is slowing down a bit, but he’s still our Mr. Cool Dude. Happy Birthday to one of the best horses we’ve ever had the privilege to serve. 

 

I think we should rename this  celebration: "The Festival of Perpetual Treats"

Quote for Today 

On the first day god created horses, and on the second day he painted the good ones.

A Little Indoor Fun

This past weekend we took the horses down to the indoor in pairs to let them stretch their legs a bit.  With all the snow we've had they basically just stand around and eat hay out of the hay baskets and are generally "pasture potatoes."  They may occasionally mosey to another field, only to find there's still snow there too. Then turn around and come back ever hopeful that tomorrow there will be grass.  

This video is of Hanz and Sami.  Sami got a little snorty and nervous but he did get some exercise.  He's like the little kid that doesn't want to let go of your hand at the playground.  Sami likes to be on the lead line and directed.  He kept coming over to me and then running to the door asking if we could go home yet. 

 

"Hanz & Sami"

 

Next we brought down Blue and Rosie, this is about as excited as they got:

Blue stopped in front of the jumps then decided to go around each one

"This looks like work"

"Nope, not falling for that"

"Just moseying around"

"No Rosie you can't eat that!" Rosie: "Well it looks like grass but has no taste"

Rosie followed me over all the jumps and wherever I went.  It was like having a shadow. She even trotted over a few. Good girl Rosie!

 

"Whew! That was quite a workout!"

And Blue still retains his title as this barns laziest horse with his daily 11 a.m. nap.

Quote for Today

 Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.