Jeeze Louise…

Who said it was ok to turn the refer on again. Two days of misty rain, cold weather is more than enough, and we’re supposed to get two more days. I did get some house cleaning done today, it was just too ugly to be outside. If tomorrow isn’t too bad I’ll go out, and work on extending my hen house. I have twelve (yes twelve) baby chicks in my bathroom in a dog crate that is rapidly getting way too small for them. I can’t put them in the hen house as I have two older hens left (giving me one egg every other day), and the babies will get pecked to death unless I make the run bigger. That is I will, providing mother is feeling better. Doc Si (Dr. Seidel) is going to try to come over to see her. Her pain is still not under control. I’m giving her way to much Tylenol, and the Cymbalta just isn’t doing it for her. The new medication Dr Simmons gave did wonders for her until he increased the dosage. Now she seems to be going backwards, rarely talks, and half the time doesn’t understand what you are telling her. I have a call in to him too.

In betwixt and between all this I have to get down to the barn somehow, and spend some serious time grooming. All of a sudden feet are all chipped, and of course they need excess fur brushed out. I need to work the tush off of LBM. Rudy was home for a quickie, and went out to see everyone. Not only was LBM a pain, trying to bite, but he also started to rear. Boy did he get the finger (index finger), not only from me, but from Rudy. He has been such a good boy, and then this. He needs a serious attitude adjustment unless he wants to have his huevos cut off. Bad behavior will not be tolerated especially in a stallion. Can you believe he’s 14.2 already? He doesn’t look it, but Rudy say’s it’s because he doesn’t have any body mass yet. He still has a baby body, he’s only two after all, and shedding out quite beautifully. He has his father’s hazel eyes, and strange white stripes down his face extending from his star. It’s so faint I don’t know if I can get a picture of it, but I will try. I noticed it when I was giving him what for after he started to rear.

I’ve got Marina back on Pergaloid, and she looks fantastic. Rudy said Sadie had a big tush (ok so Rudy used another word), which I’m quite proud of considering she was skinny as a rail until I brought her back to the barn. Lizzie is finally putting on some weight. Now she needs to be worked to get it in the right places. Angel won’t be leaving for CA until probably October, and I’m working with a friend (who finally got her place in Il) to have at least two of the girls shipped up there. That will reduce my feed bill by two, get them broke, and possibly shown. If she takes three of them, I may get her yearling pony stud colt (who’s not all that little) down here to raise. She doesn’t get along that well with boys. She might try to talk me into taking her stallion too, but I’d have to loose one more horse to have enough stall space. I don’t know how Rudy will react to that. A baby colt is one thing, a new stallion is something else entirely. We’ll just have to see how it all falls out.

My house is still a mess with excess boxes, and furniture, my taxes still aren't started let alone done, my desk is piled high with unopened mail (why open bills you can’t pay), and I still haven’t taken any new pictures. I have on the other hand kept my barn clean, and bought flowers for my porch, and garden such as it is. Have you ever heard of Chocolate mint? It’s glorious. I have five plants in my flowerbed that is full of grass, and weeds, and I intend to get more. Wal-Mart also has tons of beautiful snapdragon plants which I found out the deer don’t like either, so I plan to get some of those if there’s any left when I go back to town next. I bought three daylily roots, which I know the deer won’t touch, that I still have to plant. How I’m gong to accomplish any of this I have no clue. It’s kind of like how we are going to survive until I get a job when even our Cobra has run out. I have lots of faith, and if you don’t believe in faith lets say I pretend a lot. For instance, a hundred years ago when mother, and I would go to Tucson, we would always look at the gas gage after the fact instead of before. If there wasn’t enough gas we’d pretend we had enough, and sure enough we’d get to Tucson just fine. Call it a positive outlook on life. I’m positive that somehow God will provide (remember that my Friend!), and since I refuse to believe anything else, He has no choice but to do so. It would be just too embarrassing after all. At least that’s what I tell myself. Things will all work out, it just may take a while. Meanwhile I will pretend a lot. Who knows it just may work!

It’s been forever...

Yes, I know that it’s been forever since I last posted anything, but at least I have a good excuse. I had my parents move from Tucson, to Roswell to be closer to us back in September. At the time mother was walking (with help from a walker), and talking with some signs of dementia. Things were going ok, but then Mother started getting weaker. Father finally got her to a doctor, then suddenly every week I went to see her she was worse. Finally Father said he could no longer take care of her. I moved them here, and at first Mother started getting better. I ran out of one of her meds, and the doctor refused to give her that medication insisting that her condition was skeletal, and not neurological or Fibro. Mother got worse, and was in terrible pain. I begged him to give her something only he ordered a narcotic (which she cannot tolerate), and to boot, one she was allergenic to. I blew my stack, and begged my doctor to take her as a patient. All this started the end of February. She can’t walk or even talk some days, and her dementia is markedly worse. Now my mother has a lot of problems (give me a break, she’s 83). She has had three brain surgeries, and numerous concussions along with Fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, emphysema and epilepsy (from scar tissue). I have an appointment for her with a neurologist, but that’s not until June. At this point she can’t even help me lift her to stand or anything. Thank God April was a nurse’s aid for 11 years. Without her I would be a total mess. God willing my doctor can help us get her back to where she was when she came here.  I hate seeing her in so much pain, unable to communicate, and unable to really think. Something is very wrong for her to deteriorate so rapidly.

Meanwhile I still haven’t started on our taxes. I feed the horses, and that’s about all the attention I can give them. I’m in constant pain, and totally exhausted. I can’t sell a horse to save my life, and I’m still not working. I owe so many people money I simply don’t answer the phone if I don’t know who it is.  See I told you I had a good excuse. Except for constantly worrying about my mother, I love having them here. Dad’s driving me crazy, but that’s why I refused to marry a man just like him. I love him dearly, but…

The horses are great. Star is now 14.2 hands, and has been relegated to the pasture, because she causes way too much trouble. I went to feed one morning, and I had three horses loose in the barn. I had watered the previous night so I thought well maybe I left the stall doors open. As crazy as everything is, I wouldn’t put it past me. Once maybe, but not twice, as two days later Star, and Ser-Haat were loose in the barn again. It seemed she decided that she needed company, and let the rest out for good measure. I put her between Regala, and Espree on the other side of the barn, only she helped Regala throw the barn door off its rails like daily. Lizzie needed to come out of pasture (she’s way too thin) so Star traded places with her. She’s doing great out there. Of course she did tear up the box I had covering the water spicket, but other than that, she’s been a good girl. Lizzie still hasn’t put on weight, and Regala is constantly trying to open the barn door, so I guess there are going to be some more moves.

Life continues to be crazy. Bear killed our little bull snake that has been living in the barn. I suppose it was bound to happen one day, but it was unexpected, and upset me a great deal. She’s been in the barn since she was a baby, and even though I didn’t see her very often, I stopped having problems with unwanted critters trying to get into the feed. I think her mother is the one that lives in the stallion yard between the kick panels, and the stall wall. Maybe some day there will be another little bull snake to take her place. One can always hope.

Sandy wants to take Angel to Ca for a number of years to use as a cross for her stallions. Angel has an unusual bloodline. She has all of Sandy’s foundation horses in her bloodlines. The one Sandy wants to add back in her breeding program is Ibn Awad. It seems Angel is the only one left that traces to him.  I don’t really want to loose Angel, but as things stand we can’t breed anytime soon, and it’s a shame to leave her open in her prime. Of course the same can be said of all our mares, but I can’t seem to either sell or lease anyone.

At first Sandy wanted Angel as soon as we could get her out there, but she has changed her mind, and wants to breed her next year instead of this year, so now she wants us to ship Angel in August. I told her that was the worst time to ship a horse through the desert in the southwest so we will have her till October hopefully. If I can manage to get some money I have another dream stallion (Warmblood) that I want to breed her to. Then when the foal is born I could breed Angel to Ibn, and Sandy could have the foal, and Angel. Ok so I’m dreaming, but it’s the dreams that keep us going. We’ll see what happens. My feed bill is going to increase again so that may be only a pipe dream, or not. I can always breed one of our other mares to Sagar. Of course first I have to pay our vet bill, come up with the money for the stud fees, and the insemination fees. Hey if you’re going to dream, you might as well dream big. If only we had a fairy godmother to help us along we’d be just fine. Anyone know of one we could borrow?

The latest exciting news is there seems to be a big cat roaming our neighborhood. Doc Sei’s mare jumped the fence, and ended up on Brewer’s land she was so scared. April has had signs of something scaring her horses, and twice our kids in the pasture were too frightened to come up for din din. I had to go get them, and bring them in. The ground is too hard, and dry to see any tracks, April, and I could barely make out the horses tracks. I think maybe it’s coming up for water. Our tank is right there for the horses, and there are plenty of trees for it to hide in. If I can ever find some tracks to follow I can call fish and game, and they will bring out their dogs, and track it down. If they can find it they can re-locate it. Unfortunately the dogs do need a scent to follow, and the way it is out here now, it will be difficult.

That sort of catches you up to date. I haven’t been able to take any new pics I’ve been run so ragged. The horses all need to be groomed, and the stalls grow higher every day with manure. One good thing, mother loves flowers, so I have been buying little plants for the porch. Of course right now she can’t go out on the porch to enjoy them, but hopefully soon she will be able to. The best plant of all is the mint I bought. I wanted some mint for around the porch to choke out the weeds, and grass. It’s hardy, and grows well up here. Good old Wal-Mart had all different varieties of mint including chocolate mint. It’s heavenly, and really tastes, and smells like chocolate mint. Of course the rest of my house is still a mess. Combining two households in an already full house is not the easiest thing to do. Oh well I never was a very good housekeeper so extra furniture here, and there is not too surprising. One of these days it will look like a normal house instead of a hoarder’s house. Hey at least you can walk through it. My barn’s clean if that counts. One of these days maybe I will get my house back till then, oh well such is life. There are more important things than an immaculate house!

Never a dull moment…

If the past few days were beautiful yesterday was gorgeous.  I went down to feed as usual only there was nothing usual about it. As I went to feed the pasture horses, someone was outside the pasture. At first I thought it was Sere, and she jumped the fence only Sere was in the pasture, there was one horse too many. I looked again, then looked at Ser-Haat’s stall, and sure enough his gate was open. Great, catching him was going to be real fun. I tried coaxing him to walk without a halter, something I can do with most of our horses only he was too excited (wonder why), and wouldn’t walk with me more than a few steps. I fed the girls, and tried quietly chasing him to his stall. You can guess how that went over. He started to go over to his dad, and I thought great I can coax him into the round pen. Yeah right. Ok I gave up, and called April to come over to help. What to do, he kept going over to Ibn so I thought ok, I’ll put Ibn in his stall, move Santa Fe into the arena, and maybe just maybe I can get him to go into Ibn’s stall. It has a long wide gate, and he can see Ibn’s breakfast, and maybe he’ll go in there by himself.

First I moved Santa Fe (don’t want Ibn next to a mare) then moved Ibn into Ser-Haat’s stall. Naturally Ser-Haat came round to Ibn in his stall. He was not co-operating (did you really think he would?). I went to swoosh him, and he went to visit Santa Fe in the arena. I walked around, and by the time I got round to the other side he was in Ibn’s stall eating Ibn’s breakfast. Finally. Now Ibn’s run is over 150’ long, trying to corner Ser-Haat was going to be next to impossible. He doesn’t like to be caught in his much smaller paddock so this was definitely going to be interesting. About this time April shows up (thank you Lord). At least I’d have some help. I wanted April positioned behind me to keep him from going the length of the run. I could then work Ser-Haat, and try to get the lead rope around his neck. He won’t let me halter him, but I can make a halter with the lead rope, and he does just fine.  I asked April to take Ibn to the round pen so once I caught Ser-Haat I could lead him back to his own stall.

Getting the rope around Ser-Haat’s neck is a long process. First I have to get it on his back (several times), then lead him by his neck for a while, and finally make a loop to put on his nose to form a semi halter. I’ve done this with him numerous times. He doesn’t like the halter, but will work with a rope. It takes us a while mostly because he knows he can charge April, and get past her, which he does more than once. For some reason he won’t work with April. She says he just doesn’t like her. At any rate I finally get him working with the rope halter, and we walk him down to his stall. April opens both gates, but has to back off before he will go through them to his own stall. I really want him to work with someone other than myself, but it’s not going to be today. We get everyone back to where they belong, and I give Ibn more Alfalfa because someone ate all his. The good part of this is now Ser-Haat isn’t afraid to go through the gate.  He also knows that you can have fun if you leave your stall. I will use that to my advantage making it a reward for putting on his halter. 

April has to go home to help her mother get dressed. They need to take her to the doctor in Alamogordo, and from there most likely to the hospital. She’s been really sick, and has gotten very weak. She said she’d be back, but I don’t really think so, it’s going to be an all day affair. I get back to the house feed everyone else, and just as I’m getting ready to call Rudy he calls me. He was starting to get a bit worried because it was so late. I explain my morning, and his comment was as usual they’re just too smart for their own britches. Now I’m going to have to get another stud chain for Ser-Haat’s stall. I’ve run out of chains, as I have them on most of our gates. Those little noses are just too nimble.

We talk for a while, and then I begin the rest of my day. Since April won’t be over I decide to clean Santa Fe’s stall. My back feels prettygood (nice sunny weather does wonders for my back), and my arm isn’t hurting too much. Quarter horses are so different from Arabians. It’s almost a joy to be able to clean a stall without the antics of the rest of our kids. Even when she was sticking her nose in the back of the gator she’d move over for me to get through. After a while she simply went to her paddock, and took a nap in the warm sunshine. She actually took a nap, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I was just about done (only had about one, and a half loads to go), and I decided to take a break. The barn was calling me. Since Rudy used to do all this stuff he naturally had everything set up for him. Gradually I have been making changes. Some of the changes have been because I simply don’t have the strength that Rudy has (big surprise there). Some of the changes are due to the fact that even though I love my husband dearly, he doesn’t really have things organized. For him it’s fine, but you know how women are, they always have to be rearranging things. It’s in our genes.

I had talked to Rudy about moving some things, and as we talked I came up with the idea of moving stuff we never use into the back stall. It doesn’t have a paddock area, and it’s there in case we need to isolate a horse. Now it’s a storeroom. As I move things I sweep out about a ton of dust, and I can’t even get to some of it. Some of the stuff (like the door that Marina demolished, and Rudy still hasn’t fixed) is too heavy for me to move by myself, and will have to wait until April can help me. I make a good dent in it though then go back to finish cleaning Santa Fe’s stall. It’s about 3:00 so I quit for the day. April comes over to check up on me, and to let me know that they put her mom in the hospital. She has a bad case of influenza. They’ll keep her for a couple of days get fluids in her, and generally just build up her strength before they send her back home. She’s actually a year younger than I, but has more health issues. Thank God I have a strong constitution.

Yesterday was the last of our nice days for a while. We are actually going to have some winter weather for a few days. The wind wasn’t supposed to start until later today so I figured I could get some work done outside. Thankfully all the horses were where they were supposed to be when I fed, but man it was cold. You’d think it was winter or something. April comes over sporting a thermal T instead of the light short-sleeved T from yesterday, and her coat. I myself have a sweatshirt under my heavy coat. It’s breezy, but not really windy yet.  The weather is good enough to get some things done outside, but not good enough to get Stormy, and Angel under saddle. The wind always makes them more excitable, and that’s the last thing we need.  I want to get the barn finished so we tackle that instead of working horses. We move things around, and sweep up another ton of dust. It’s amazing how rearranging things opens up the barn making it look large again, instead of cluttered.

Since we couldn’t work the horses I asked April about doing Star’s feet. We’ll be out of the cold, and she really needed her feet done. Her left front was way too long, and the right front wasn’t much better. She couldn’t even stand properly but was toeing out something fierce. She asked if she had been trimmed before, and I had to say I didn’t know. Soon enough we found out that she hadn’t a clue what to do. You could pick up her front feet fine, but the back feet were a different story, but I’m getting ahead of myself. We took her out to the round pen to get he edge off (even though I let her out on Monday) only it wasn’t enough so I put her with Marina in the arena and chased them both. Marina is way too fat, and Star is actually a bit plump herself.

Now that the edge was off, we started with her front right. Well she wasn’t doing too well so I put her against the gate so she wouldn’t squirm, and she had the gate to help her keep her balance. That worked really well. I learned that from one of our farriers who did some of our youngsters. Now that she had some kind of idea as to what we were doing to her, Star did much better with her left front. That toe was not only long, but misshapen. We went back to her right front to do her heel, which was lopsided, and she just couldn’t figure that one out. Now April is only about 4’11”, I’m about 5’4” so I told her to let me try. My legs are much longer, and that made a big difference. I got the heel on the outside down some, but I just don’t have the shoulder strength I need so April took over. This time Star did much better, and April was able to get the heel rasped down. She rasped the front, and she picked up the back bringing the leg back then forward. Next time we will work on using the nippers on the front, and rasping the back. Star is still young, and there’s no sense in going fast, and making her think this is a bad thing. She got lots of praises, got brushed as a reward, and all in all felt good about herself. Next time she’ll understand a little better, and it will be easier.

Next we went to Sierra. When he was a baby I worked with his feet only he has totally forgotten all about that, and it’s too difficult for me to try picking up his feet by myself. I have done it, but not for very long. With the two of us we would make much better progress. Star was just about perfect compared to Sierra. He was a little pill even up against the fence. I finally came up with the idea of putting the lead rope in his mouth for him to chew on. That made a big difference. First of all he wasn’t trying to nip at me (boys), and it kept his mind off his feet, and what April was trying to do. He wasn’t too bad with his left back, but kept trying to cow kick when she worked on his right back. We did front, and back several times, and he was getting pretty good, when disaster struck. He wasn’t against the fence (big mistake), and when she picked up his front left one last time he lost his balance, leaned against April, knocked her down, then fell down himself. She fell against the fence while I pulled him up again. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt (though her knee will probably beg to differ), but it really startled Sierra. He didn’t understand how he fell down. We calmed him down, and April picked up his foot again. This time he stood stock-still. He wasn’t going to go through that again. He got lots of pets, and we called it a day.

By this time it was 3:30, and the wind was coming up stronger, and colder. Come Saturday the winds should be gone even though it will stay cold. Tomorrow is my day for going to town so I won’t be able to do much more. All in all it has been a good week, and I got a lot accomplished. Next week is supposed to be sunny, and maybe April will actually get on Angelo’s back, and we can get the saddle on Stormy all cinched up. Between the two of us we make one good person. If she can get the kids safe, I can get them green broke. God willing by summer’s end all the horses that can be will be under saddle. Ser-Haat I will send to a trainer. At least I will when I can scrape the money together, and I can get the groundwork done on him. April is going to lend me her rope halter to see if that will help him get over his halter fears. Once that is accomplished I can start working him in the round pen, and maybe get him trailer trained. That should be real fun. Right now I have to go to bed. I was a long (though very productive) day, and my body has had it. It wants to go to bed, and so I shall acquiesce to it’s demands, at least for tonight.

Beautiful days…

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful. Sunday I didn’t do much of anything. I don’t know why but there are days when I’m just too tired to do anything. Sunday was one of those days. Yesterday was much better, and I decided to work the horses that April, and I hadn’t gotten to. First I took Lizzie out.  As I went past Jeri I discovered that either she was just coming into season or just going out. Normally she pays no attention to the stallions, not so yesterday. It wasn’t overt, but she nickered interestedly as we went past. She started out cantering in the round pen, all excited to be doing something different, then settled into a nice trot. At least for a while she did. In her old age she has gotten very lazy. I had to prod her some but we got in a good exercise session. Then when I put her back into the pasture she took off running, and bucking letting everyone know that she got to go out and play. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try putting a saddle on her.

Next came Sadie who despite her age shows no sign of petering out. She has the most beautiful trot, and will do it endlessly if you ask her. She has filled out quite nicely, but needs some exercise to fill out her top line. She now sports a round belly (not too unlike my own), a nicely filled out back, and good haunches. Her croup is still bony, and I’m hoping that exercise will take care of that problem. She’s a total fur ball, and absolutely filthy. I’ve brushed her out, but she manages to get muddy every time there’s even a little moisture on the ground. Marina (our other gray) always looks clean, and Sadie always looks dirty, go figure. Still, and all she really enjoyed getting out, and strutting her stuff like the hussy she is.

Next I took Sierra out. He walked out of his stall like a perfect little gentleman. Unfortunately since he now knew he could run, and play in the round pen he decided that he could do what he wanted, and not what I asked him to do. We worked a lot on the “reverse” command, and he sort of got it, but not quite. Hey it was only his second time out, and he’s still a baby. I did manage to measure him, and no he hasn’t really grown. He’s still 13.1, and he is totally downhill. Typical of a two year old he’s all out of proportion. They’re adorable as a weanling, and through their first year. Their second year you begin to wonder if you made a mistake, and try to keep them hidden as they never look like they will ever amount to the horse you had in mind. It’s not until they’re about three that everything comes together, and they start looking like the horse you dreamed about. Hopefully he will grow this summer. Even though his dam is only 14.3, his sire is 15.2. Accordingly to his measurement at about 6 months, he should come out about 15 hands, which is just right for my taste. Only time will tell.

Now all this time Espree is standing at her gate watching everyone but her get to run, and play. She doesn’t have a halter on because she kept rubbing it off one ear causing the other side of her face to rub raw. I finally just left it off. The only problem with that is that she doesn’t like to get caught. We decided years ago that she must have been ear twitched before we got her. Rudy got her to the point where he could put the halter on easily, but she has not been so good to me. It took forever for me to even be able to come up to her without her running away. Luckily she loves to be brushed, and I used that to my advantage. I wasn’t sure she’d let me put her halter on, but I was very patient, and after a considerable amount of time (playing her runaway game) she finally let me halter her. The funny thing is once you catch her she’s a perfect lady. She has wonderful ground manners. I worked her, and again I was amazed at the power of her stride. Espree is a powerfully built mare. She has filled out nicely, and is back to her normal weight. She needs to build up her shoulders, and chest a bit, but not much. Like Marina she is pure muscle only in a taller package. It will kill me to let her go before we have a foal out of her. Her only flaw is that she toes in slightly. Of course a lot of that could be corrected with a good trimming, but she has black hooves, and I know I don’t have the strength to file her feet. I have to depend on mother earth for that.

She had a good workout, or at least as much of a workout as I wanted to give her. None of the girls have been worked in a while, and just like us they can get sore muscles if worked too hard after not doing anything for a while. I kept all their sessions short, which left time to clean the barn, and get to Marina’s stall. All the stalls need to be cleaned, but just like the horses I didn’t want to over tax my muscles either. It was a good day. Even Marina, and Star got some exercise as I threw them out in the arena while I cleaned Marina’s stall. Of course I chased them first. They are beautiful to watch with endless energy. Marina is a bit stout just now, and needed the workout. Star is young, and so needs to run just to keep her sane. They both had their fun, and I left them to wander, and pick at whatever little dried grass they could find while I cleaned Marina’s stall, and paddock area.

That was yesterday. I felt great then, not so much this morning. I was a bit sore, but not too bad, or so I thought. April was supposed to come over today, only her mother was out of sorts, and she didn’t want to leave her alone. That was ok, I had planned on working Stormy, and Angel with the saddle, but as usual nothing works out the way I plan it anyway so it was no big deal. It was still a beautiful day so I went to tackle Star’s stall. God she’s a pill. Like all the youngsters when you come into the stall they think you’re there to play with them. To some degree they’re all pests, but she is exceptional. First she kept trying to get her halter off its hook, which she could just reach with the stall door open. The gator is against the stall door (for the purpose of collecting the manure), and every time I had a shovel full I had to move her out of the way. She dutifully moved with the speed of a snail, and then went back to playing with her halter as soon as I went back for another shovel full. 

That went on until she got bored, and started playing with the gate handle. That was considerable better since then I could go unimpeded to the gator delivering my shovels of manure. Well in playing with the gate she discovered that she could close the gate. That was way more fun because not only did I have to push her out of the way, but I now had to try to open the gate holding my shovel of manure. I finally got tired of that game, and chased her out of her stall into the paddock area where I was cleaning. This was still mildly entertaining. I’d chase her out, and she’d go right back in.

Finally (three loads later), my back was screaming in pain, and I said enough even though I had time to do at least one more stall. I guess I’m out of shape too. With the snow, the wind, and the rain I haven’t cleaned stalls for a while. My body was not pleased in the least. I proceeded to come back to the house, and my heating pad. Everything from my waist up hurt. Every movement was sheer pain. I couldn’t wait until it was time to take my pain pill, to which I added some Ibuprofen, and a Tylenol PM. That of course put me to sleep for a little while at least. When I woke up I could at least move. After feeding everyone I spent the rest of the evening on my heating pad (which I normally do anyway). It will be a difficult night of fitful sleep, but at least I got something accomplished, and that’s a good thing. Tomorrow I may try riding Lizzie before I attack another stall. She should be fine to ride. I just want to get her in shape, and make sure she’s rideable before I try to find a retirement home for her.  I’ll wait for April to come over before I work with Stormy, and Angel. Stormy will take a while before anyone gets on his back, but Angel should be fine the next time we work her. Rudy did start her once years before, and she was very good about it then. Still and all I won’t attempt it with no one here but me just in case. I’m not a total fool after all, or am I? One has to be at least half crazy to do all this stuff at my age without having the faintest idea of how to do what needs to be done. At least I’m enjoying myself, and lets face it, I never get bored.

Crappy weather…

Well we’ve had some good days, and more not so good days (freezing cold, rain, snow, and of course lots of gale force winds). We do have water thanks to warmer weather, and I have figured out a way to cut bigger wood though I now sport a nice blister on my thumb. What fun. Since my coffers are now full, and I’m not hauling water I’ve actually had time to work some of the horses. April now has physical therapy for her hand twice a week (they think she has severe tendonitis). Great, but not being a person to let that stop her she has been able to help me out some.

We took Little Big Man out to the round pen for the first time. He wasn’t too sure about leaving his stall, but he is very trusting, and led beautifully. Then there was that big leather thing (saddle) next to the round pen. He was sure it was going to attack him, and cautiously went around it through the gate. He didn’t know what to make of the round pen. After a little encouragement he figured out that I wanted him to trot in a circle. I’m sure he was saying to himself, this is really stupid, but quickly learned that for whatever reason, that’s what I wanted him to do. He let out a few bucks (after all he had to have some fun) then was trotting, and cantering like a pro. He is going to be a joy to ride when he grows up. He has the smoothest gate, and movement like his dam. In a lot of ways I can’t wait till he grows up, and I can ride him. Then again he will only be a baby for a short while. His temperament is still so mellow it’s hard to believe he came out of Angel. At his age she was a little wild Indian, and full of it. As an adult she’s sweet, and very sensible, but you wouldn’t have known it then. He got lots of praises, and cuddles when we were done, and I hope to take him out regularly, not too much because he’s still a baby but a little like maybe once a week or so.

Next was Stormy. He has gotten very good with April letting her go right up to him to put on his halter. He’s also getting the idea that a halter means he gets to go out, and play, which is probably why he’s so willing. He did very well so we decided to try the saddle. First came the blanket (that was a trip), but after a few tries we were able to put it on, and off, under his belly, around his haunches, and around his chest. We walked with it on, and he decided that wasn’t so bad after all. It really didn’t hurt the least bit. He did so well we decided to get the saddle. Now that was a bit more for him to get his mind around. I gently put it on, and he shied but accepted it at least for a minute or two, then he bucked that thing right off. Well that wouldn’t do so we started all over again, first the blanket, then that scary saddle. It took a while but he finally decided that it was ok too, and we walked around with it on for a bit. I didn’t cinch it not wanting to ask too much of him. He did a good job, and was well praised for it.

All that was last week. Today was a nice day so after April, and I got hay we took Stormy out again. Both April, and I worked him, and April noticed that his feet were a mess. Winter is bad because there’s snow, then rain then hard dry footing so the horses that are stalled (at least some of them), don’t get their feet worm properly as they do in the summer. They get cracks, and chips, and look terrible. April asked if he would pick up his feet, and I told her I didn’t know. He did when he was a baby, but after his incident nothing was ever the same. He’s a sweet loving boy, but is very wary. She picked up his one front foot, then the other, and then went to his back. The one side she didn’t have too much trouble with, and after a couple of tries he picked it up just fine. Then she went to the other back leg, and that was a totally different story. He wasn’t about to let her pick that foot up. She went to his front, and he was ok, then the back, and he said no way Jose. After several attempts, much cooing, and soft talking he all of a sudden decided that we weren’t going to stop till he gave April his foot, and let her pick it up just fine. Man did he get the pets, and hugs, and praises then. When something clicks in their brain you reward them by not making them work any more, and making sure that they know they did good. He was so proud, he knew he really did something special. We took him back to his stall, gave him more praises, and lots of hugs. He was a very happy camper. Next time we will work on getting the saddle on again, but it has to be fun so I don’t ask too much of them all at once. He’s still very young, and I don’t want to sour him.

Angel came next. Since we are going to have to sell or lease most of our horses (all but four) I need to get as many of them under saddle as possible. Rudy started Angel way back when we lived in Auberry, but that was like seven years ago or so. We worked her in the round pen for a while first. It took a few times for her to remember what she was supposed to do, but she did just fine. I settled her down a bit by brushing out her mane & tail, which are both very short since she’s been in pasture, and then I started with her feet. She used to be fine, got regular trims etc., but after the first time we went to breed her we haven’t been able to touch her back feet. Up until we moved out here we always used a breeding hobble on the mares. Well we put them on her, and as soon as she started to walk she freaked big time. We gave up, and bred her without the hobbles, and she was so good about it that we haven’t used them since. The bad part was that she wouldn’t let anyone get near her back legs for anything.  Well when we put her in pasture she had some differences with a few other mares (she won), and scraped up her back leg. I had to put salve on it for a bit, and she decided that ok, I could touch her back legs. I still hadn’t tried picking them up, so today after I brushed her I picked up all four feet, and cleaned them without any trouble. I was very proud of her. Next came the saddle. She was being such a good girl I couldn’t just stop with the feet. April brought out the blanket, and after a few sniffs, she let her put it on. She was a little unsure of the saddle, but April does everything extra slow, and we got it on, and cinched up without too much trouble. I worked her for a bit with the saddle on, then tightened the cinch, and worked her a bit more. Next April worked her while I went to the barn to get something to drink. When I got back Angel was standing stock still with no one holding her, and I must say I was impressed she was so good. April wanted to show off so she got the lead rope back, and she got up, and down in the saddle. She didn’t put her leg over, but Angel stood like a champ with her getting up, and down. I was very proud. Angel got lots of praises, and when we put her back in pasture she got more cuddles.

All in all it was a very good day. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice again, so I want to work Sadie, Lizzie, and maybe Espree, and LBM in the round pen. Sadie we don’t ride anymore for two reasons, first she has a huge knot right below her ear, which is melanoma in her gland right where the bridle goes. Secondly when she gets over excited she will colic, and go down. Then I have to give her a shot and, walk her forever before she’s ok again. That being said that doesn’t mean she can’t get a work out since she’s now getting fat in all the wrong places if you know what I mean. Lizzie is just as bad, she has this huge hay belly, and her haunches are sunk in. I know it’s age (they’re both in their twenties), and lack of exercise so they are going to start being worked again. Lizzie when I get her in better shape is going to get a saddle on her so I can make sure she is ridable. It will be easier to find a home for her that way. I want to get Espree under saddle this summer, and LBM just needs a work out. If I still have time, and it stays nice I may ride Marina. I had both Marina, and Ibn in great shape last year at this time, and now Marina’s a bit too chunky, and Ibn looks like a skinny colt again. He’s rather narrow, and unless he’s worked regularly he gets too thin. Marina on the other hand is such a powerhouse that if she isn’t worked all that muscle turns to fat.

If we weren’t in such financial straights all this would be so much fun, but it’s hard when you are worrying all the time about whether or not you will have enough money just to feed everyone. Between April, and I we could really make things work if we had the financial wherewithal to do so. Oh well somehow we will manage, and if I can get more horses under saddle maybe I can even sell some. It’s pathetic what good horses are going for these days.  Stud fees are way down, and there are more horses out there under $1000 than you can shake a stick at, and they’re not all crap horses either. Unfortunately horses are a luxury item, and in these hard times people can’t afford to feed them.  I have faith though, and we will survive somehow, I’m not sure how, but that’s not my job. I take care of the little stuff, and God gets to take care of the big stuff. Granted it feels like He’s sloughing off, but maybe He has a big surprise waiting for us, the good kind that is (just in case You’re listening), I’ve had enough of the bad kind for a lifetime or two.

That’s about all I have for now. Winter is boring, because you spend most of your time inside doing wonderful things like cleaning house or whatever. Not my idea of fun. Of course I can always start working on the books so I can turn in our financials to the tax accountant, but who wants to do that? I know I have to get working on it, but since there are sunny days ahead we’ll leave that for another day, after all I still have a couple of months to get it all done. Good thing I’m not a procrastinator!

2012

I have a tale of woe, but that is for a later post, for now I’ll try to catch you up on everything that has happened in the last two months, or at least what I can remember. Rudy has managed to stay away from hospitals, so my Father decided it was his turn. This time they put in two stints (about time). I recently talked to my Father, and since they changed his medication he has been getting dizzy (from lack of sleep), and finally took a spill himself. Mother is usually the one, and not to be outdone she took one too. He did a good job of it, splitting open his head, but no concussion (thank you Lord for that). He is buying us a 394 gal tank (Christmas present) that I can keep at the house so if we get into water issues again I can keep that water heated, and siphon it out as needed for the horses. Most of my time the last two months has been divvied up between hauling water, hauling ice to make water, and cutting wood. He also bought me a chain saw for Christmas only I can’t start it so it’s going back. I was going to take it back to the repair guy today, but the jeep wouldn’t start, and since it snowed last night I wasn’t too keen on taking the Fiero (gee I wonder why?). Anyway Rudy said I could use the reciprocating saw, and by gum, and by golly it worked. I now have some good wood in my pile instead of just small starter logs, and kindling.

April still hasn’t gotten full use of her hand yet so we really haven’t done much with the horses, besides I’ve been so depressed, and tired (wood cutting & water hauling) I haven’t felt like doing anything else. I did identify one water issue, the bathroom toilet was constantly running so that didn’t help our water supply. I have that turned off now, and even with the neighbors here I still have water. I even did laundry the other day without it taking all day. I put insulation around the pump house pipes as best I could, and I made a box for the pasture water faucet out of cardboard, a large plastic bag, and R19 insulation. If it works as well as the cover I made for the barn water main we should be in like Flynn. I put some insulation in the box in the barn, but that faucet is leaking so I don’t think it will be a problem anyway. I am assuming that our neighbors have turned off the pump at the dirt tank, and that is why we still have water. They left for a while because their pipes froze (city folk), and I didn’t notice a drop in water once they came back. Hopefully their water usage will be minimal for the winter.

Taggot got run over by April when she came over to feed for me while I was in Roswell (Father was in the hospital). It split his abdominal wall open so his bladder, spleen, and who knows what else was being held in by his skin alone.  The vet said it would be 6 – 8 weeks recovery time, but try to tell that to Taggot. It’s been less than two, and he’s back to his old self driving me crazy. Pena has some sort of fungus (I think) on her leg, and the little ones are filthy due to my water problems. What other wonderful things have been happening? The truck died out on me for a while, but it turns out that the last time Rudy drove it he had to use the pliers to start it, and it is now out of kilter by a quarter turn. Not knowing this I had actually been leaving it turned on draining the battery. I’ll find out when I go to get hay again whether the battery is truly dead or not. We’re hoping for not, but since I don’t want to have to put out for another battery I’m not in a hurry to find out. What I don’t know can’t hurt me philosophy.

On a good note the Mercantile started carrying compressed alfalfa for $10/bale. The only problem is they ran out so I paid $12/bale for grass the last tome I got feed. I only bought 10 bales hoping they’d get more in before I had to buy more hay. Jeri is not pleased, and has a whole pile of grass in his stall. He gets no more food until he eats what is already there. After three weeks they finally got the compressed hay in, and they raised the price to $12/bale so I’ll feed half & half (half grass, and half alfalfa) to everyone except Jeri of course (spoiled). I prefer feeding half & half anyway. I just liked the $10/bale price, who wouldn’t?

Everyone else if fine, and putting on some weight. Star has grown, she’s now 14.1 hands. She looks like a smaller version of her Dam with her graceful long neck (not too long), and long legs. I may just have to keep her forever. We’ll see what the new year brings. We could sure use some good breaks for a change, but that I suppose is too much to ask for. Let’s at least pretend it’s not, and somehow 2012 will be the bearer of happier days.

November 12, 2011

It’s hard to believe that it was only a week ago since my last post, but it was. I know I didn’t get it posted right away, but then again I never do. Somehow something always interrupts, in spite of my best intentions. We’ve had such fun this past week I just don’t know where to begin. Let’s start with the wonderful job I did on the hose splice. I’m not quite strong enough I guess to do it properly, because the pasture hose leaks. On top of that the hose is too short. I tried putting the foam tubing on the hose only to have it spray water everywhere. That was fun, or it would have been if it was summer, and hot instead of 50 some degrees out. The problem with cheap hoses is that they’re cheap. It makes perfect sense to me. The female portion of the hose spewed water everywhere if it wasn’t going straight down. Since I wanted the hose as short as possible, it went down, and then up over to the tank, which is higher than the spicket. That curve put too much pressure on the hose end so it leaked, big time. The other hose is all wrapped up so I have no clue if it leaks or not, we’ll pretend that it doesn’t.

Our wonderful neighbors came back, and for two days we had absolutely no water, then just as suddenly we had plenty of water. Their pump died. Once it was fixed we had no water again, but for a day it was wonderful. Now I have household water but little else so I’m hauling water for the horses again. The difference is it’s freezing cold out. I’m trying to find out if there is any way I can stop them from filling their pond. The amount of water allowed per well is way more than they are using. A friend of mine looked it up on her well permit, and you are allowed 3.0 water acres per well, and they have two.  That works out to over 6K gallons per day so that’s no help. The only thing might be that nowhere on the permit does it say you can fill a pond. I’m going to the permit office for Lincoln County, and see what their permit allows. I might be able to stop them that way.  Barring that I’m going to have to haul water whenever they are here. We have no problems when they are gone.

I also managed to cut more wood, but it disappears so fast. All I have available to cut is very, very, old (over ten years), very dry, and very small. Tomorrow in-between loading, and unloading hay I’m going to have to find time to cut more. I have nothing left but kindling, and the days, and nights are very cold. I did get one big project done. We moved the pellet stove (it died, how dare it) into the back room, and the wood stove that was there into the living room. The challenge was converting the stove pipes from pellet pipes to regular stove pipes. The pellet stove uses a 4” double walled pipe, and the wood stove has 6” single walled pipes. It was quite a challenge, and once again I had to become creative. Valerie from the Mercantile let me borrow a crimping tool so I was able to customize some of the pipefittings. We took the brick from the back room, and used that for a base. I was going to use the base from the pellet stove as wall backing, only it was home made, and very crooked. Every time I came out of the bedroom, all I could see was this off balanced slab of rockwork. I couldn’t stand it so I bought more red brick and made a very interesting backdrop. You see Rudy never did show me where the mortar blades were or how to use them. In order to stabilize bricks that are not cemented in I had to come up with a pattern that interlocked to certain a degree. I’m not sure if I will leave it that way or once I find out how to cut bricks go to a more traditional pattern. I kinda like it the way it is so it might just stay that way.

I had to move the stove a bit to line up the piping, and discovered I’m a lot stronger than I thought. The biggest worry was whether I would have enough draw since I went from a large pipe to a smaller pipe, with an S curve in the middle. Turns out it has better draw than our other wood stove in the computer room. The living area is quite open. There’s the living room, the TV room, the dining area, and the kitchen with no walls in-between save for a dividing wall between the living room, and the TV room. That one little stove (same size as the stove in the computer room), has the whole area up to 60 degrees. That’s impressive, or at least it is to me, and quite comfortable. Now all I have to do is clean up my mess, and do some re-arranging. I found a good use for the rock base that was under the pellet stove too. April came over, and of course I just had to show her what I was doing. She told me she wanted something for her little wood stove in her bedroom. I told her she was more than welcome to the one I have, and am not using. It’s better than trashing it, and she needs something. Besides then she can go crazy instead of me. Actually it’s not that noticeable when it’s on the floor. Because it was standing against a white wall, (it has black metal trim), it was glaringly evident that the angles were all wrong.

Speaking of April, she has three more weeks before she can go see the doctor, and find out if her hand has healed enough so she can start using it again. I’m going to have to rein her in when she can start doing things here though because I know good, and well that she is going to overdo it. Not being able to use her hand is driving her nuts. She needs, and is used to a very active life. Once she gets the go ahead, she’s going to want to do all the things she’s been wanting to do for the last six weeks.

The 28^th or the 29^th the hauler is coming for Cupid, and Aulina. Two fewer horses to feed Yeah! When they leave I’m going to put Rigalo, and Santa Fe in their stalls. I’ll get my arena back, and I can make repairs to the loafing barns. They have had a gay old time chewing the wood. A lot of the chewing was out of nervousness, and boredom, and it seems like they’ve slowed down, or it could just be wishful thinking on my part. The other good thing is that when I work one or the other they won’t get so panicky if they are with the rest of the herd. For one thing they will be away from each other on opposite sides of the barn. They will also have neighbors so they won’t feel so alone. All they know at this point is each other so new roomies will be good for them.  I just wish I had the time to ride them they way they need it. I’ve been so tied up with projects, hauling water, cutting wood or the weather has been bad so I haven’t been on their backs since I first rode them. The thing is I’m really excited about riding them, and teaching them the ropes so to speak. Pretty soon I will have to start working on tax preparation, and then I’ll have even less time to ride. It will all work out eventually, I just have to be patient. That’s what I tell Rudy all the time, I guess now it’s my turn to be patient. Ain’t that the pits!

Just a week???

It’s hard to believe that it was only a week ago since my last post, but it was. I know I didn’t get it posted right away, but then again I never do. Somehow something always interrupts, in spite of my best intentions. We’ve had such fun this past week I just don’t know where to begin. Let’s start with the wonderful job I did on the hose splice. I’m not quite strong enough I guess to do it properly, because the pasture hose leaks. On top of that the hose is too short. I tried putting the foam tubing on the hose only to have it spray water everywhere. That was fun, or it would have been if it was summer, and hot instead of 50 some degrees out. The problem with cheap hoses is that they’re cheap. It makes perfect sense to me. The female portion of the hose spewed water everywhere if it wasn’t going straight down. Since I wanted the hose as short as possible, it went down, and then up over to the tank, which is higher than the faucet. That curve put too much pressure on the hose end so it leaked, big time. The other hose is all wrapped up so I have no clue if it leaks or not, we’ll pretend that it doesn’t.

Our wonderful neighbors came back, and for two days we had absolutely no water, then just as suddenly we had plenty of water. Their pump died. Once it was fixed we had no water again, but for a day it was wonderful. Now I have household water but little else so I’m hauling water for the horses again. The difference is it’s freezing cold out. I’m trying to find out if there is any way I can stop them from filling their pond. The amount of water allowed per well is way more than they are using. A friend of mine looked it up on her well permit, and you are allowed 3.0 water acres per well, and they have two.  That works out to over 5K gallons per day so that’s no help. The only thing might be that nowhere on the permit does it say you can fill a pond. I’m going to the permit office for Lincoln County, and see what their permit allows. I might be able to stop them that way.  Barring that I’m going to have to haul water whenever they are here. We have no problems when they are gone.

I also managed to cut more wood, but it disappears so fast. All I have available to cut is very, very, old (over ten years), very dry, and very small. Tomorrow in-between loading, and unloading hay I’m going to have to find time to cut more. I have nothing left but kindling, and the days, and nights are very cold. I did get one big project done. We moved the pellet stove (it died, how dare it) into the back room, and the wood stove that was there into the living room. The challenge was converting the stove pipes from pellet pipes to regular stove pipes. The pellet stove uses a 4” double walled pipe, and the wood stove has 6” single walled pipes. It was quite a challenge, and once again I had to become creative. Valerie from the Mercantile let me borrow a crimping tool so I was able to customize some of the pipefittings. We took the brick from the back room, and used that for a base. I was going to use the base from the pellet stove as wall backing, only it was home made, and very crooked. Every time I came out of the bedroom, all I could see was this off balanced slab of rockwork. I couldn’t stand it so I bought more red brick and made a very interesting backdrop. You see Rudy never did show me where the mortar blades were or how to use them. In order to stabilize bricks that are not cemented in I had to come up with a pattern that interlocked to certain a degree. I’m not sure if I will leave  that way or once I find out how to cut bricks go to a more traditional pattern. I kinda like it the way it is so it might just stay that way.

I had to move the stove a bit to line up the piping, and discovered I’m a lot stronger than I thought. The biggest worry was whether I would have enough draw since I went from a large pipe to a smaller pipe, with an S curve in the middle. Turns out it has better draw than our other wood stove in the computer room. The living area is quite open. There’s the living room, the TV room, the dining area, and the kitchen with no walls in-between save for a dividing wall between the living room, and the TV room. That one little stove (same size as the stove in the computer room), has the whole area up to 60 degrees. That’s impressive, or at least it is to me, and quite comfortable. Now all I have to do is clean up my mess, and do some re-arranging. I found a good use for the rock base that was under the pellet stove too. April came over, and of course I just had to show her what I was doing. She told me she wanted something for her little wood stove in her bedroom. I told her she was more than welcome to the one I have, and am not using. It’s better than trashing it, and she needs something. Besides then she can go crazy instead of me. Actually it’s not that noticeable when it’s on the floor. Because it was standing against a white wall, (it has black metal trim), it was glaringly evident that the angles were all wrong.

Speaking of April, she has three more weeks before she can go see the doctor, and find out if her hand has healed enough so she can start using it again. I’m going to have to rein her in when she can start doing things here though because I know good, and well that she is going to overdo it. Not being able to use her hand is driving her nuts. She needs, and is used to a very active life. Once she gets the go ahead, she’s going to want to do all the things she’s been wanting to do for the last six weeks.

The 28^th or the 29^th the hauler is coming for Cupid, and Aulina. Two fewer horses to feed Yeah! When they leave I’m going to put Rigalo, and Santa Fe in their stalls. I’ll get my arena back, and I can make repairs to the loafing barns. They have had a gay old time chewing the wood. A lot of the chewing was out of nervousness, and boredom, and it seems like they’ve slowed down, or it could just be wishful thinking on my part. The other good thing is that when I work one or the other they won’t get so panicky if they are with the rest of the herd. For one thing they will be away from each other on opposite sides of the barn. They will also have neighbors so they won’t feel so alone. All they know at this point is each other so new roomies will be good for them.  I just wish I had the time to ride them they way they need it. I’ve been so tied up with projects, hauling water, cutting wood or the weather has been bad so I haven’t been on their backs since I first rode them. The thing is I’m really excited about riding them, and teaching them the ropes so to speak. Pretty soon I will have to start working on tax preparation, and then I’ll have even less time to ride. It will all work out eventually, I just have to be patient. That’s what I tell Rudy all the time, I guess now it’s my turn to be patient. Ain’t that the pits!

A good day…

Today was a good day, no snow, no wind, and no freezing temps, like 17 degrees. Yes it’s only the 4^th of November, and we have already had freezing temps. We had another storm front go through only this time it was only high winds. Actually it wasn’t all that bad, only maybe 25 – 35 mph winds. It was, however too cold with the wind chill to do much of anything.  Before the winds came I did manage to get one of the pasture tanks winterized. I also got the barrel we use to cover the water main winterized with R19 insulation. Hopefully that will keep the main from freezing. I still have the box in the barn to insulate, the pump piping re-insulated, and the other pasture tank to do. I had to cut the hoses I bought in order to encase them in the foam tubes. You can add slicing, dicing, and making new hoses to my growing list of ranch skills.

I also managed to cut all the wood in the garage, and clean it before the hard freeze came. Some of the pieces were too large for my miter saw, but I got all the rest done. Of course I am now out of wood again so it’s back to the woodpile (take your pick as to which one) to gather more wood to cut.

The winds came back so nothing really got done for a couple of days. Once the wind stopped the cold front was here big time, and we went from 60-degree days of sunshine to 24-degree nights. At least it was 24 by the time I got up. Other friends who got up much earlier said it was more like 17 degrees. The water froze under the house but it was clear by 10:00 am. The rest of the day was beautiful. I got a lead on someone who might be interested in taking Lizzie, only I haven’t heard back from her so maybe not. The woman is looking for a cheap horse for her daughter. Well the only cheap horses I know of are either starving, or old. Lizzie is old, and I just want to find a nice home for her. I don’t want to put her on the Internet because anyone you don’t know who is willing to only pay a few hundred dollars for a horse is probably not someone you want to have your horse. I figure your chances of the horse going to the wrong person are about 50/50. I’m not willing to take that risk, so I will either give her to a rescue or to someone I can trust.

After coming back from Capitan the day was so nice that as promised I decided to work Katie’s horses. I started with Rigalo (the paint). One thing I have to say for Katie is that she started them right. Rigalo is more nervous, and Santa Fe (the bay) is less trusting, she is also very impatient. Hum sounds like someone else I know. I figured Rigalo would be the more challenging because Katie told me she was “spirited”. She also said she was more willing to please than Santa Fe. Rigalo is fine, she’s just not sure what she is supposed to do, and that makes her nervous. Also being away from Santa Fe was very stressful for her. Other than that she was a very good girl, and I was quite proud of her. We worked in the round pen first to get to know each other better, or for me to see how much she really knew. She didn’t know reverse (or at least didn’t remember), but was reversing nicely by the time we finished. I brought her around to the barn and she saddled up just fine, or at least mostly. Katie warned me that they aren’t too fond of the bit just yet. It wouldn’t be a problem except that Rigalo is sooo tall. Give me a break I’m used to our Arabians, the tallest of which is only 15 hands, at least the ones I can ride. I got out the molasses, and that helped but not really, and in the end she simply gave in (they always do), and off we went to the round pen again.

I worked her a little with the saddle on, and she did fine. I also put weight on the stirrup, and she stood rock solid (unlike a boy I know). She was so good I just got on her, and started walking. Well she wasn’t too sure about that, and I had to coax her some. She figured it out eventually, and we walked doing schooling circles, and figure eights. They know walk, trot, and back. I didn’t want to push her (not on our first lesson) given on how unsure she was of herself. I gave her lots of praises in between, and told her what a smart good girl she was. She truly does want to please she’s just not sure how to do that.

Next came Santa Fe. I worked her in the round pen first, just like Rigalo, only she knows a lot more, and wasn’t nervous at all. I didn’t work her a lot as it was obvious she knew what she was about, then we went to the barn. My land she’s impatient. If I so much as went to the gator (just inside the barn) she sat there pawing, and raising Cain. I also discovered that she’s not quite as trusting as Rigalo. Both were rescue horses, and there is no telling what they’ve been through. Once I started combing out her tail all of that stopped. I don’t know what it is about the tail, but that seems to be the one thing they all love most. Maybe it’s just me, but that seems to be the one thing that calms them all down.

Well at least she was calm until I brought the blanket over. She wasn’t too sure about that, but she let me put it on her. The saddle was just a bit too much, and she shied away.  It took a couple of lifts before I got it on her, but once there she was fine. Don’t know what the issue is there but she’ll get over it. She was a little better than Rigalo about the bit, but not by much. I really want to get a bitless bridle. It makes so much more sense to me, but they are sooo expensive. I’ll have to wait a while for that one.

We got all cinched up, and off to the round pen. I worked her a little with the saddle on, but I knew right away that she would be fine. So on her back I went. She was perfect, that is until we went into a trot. She so reminds me of Marina. Next time we go out together, she gets the Martingale, she’s a head flipper. I have to nip that in the bud. I don’t expect them to collect at such an early stage, but the head flipping has got to go. I did have one very pleasant surprise, she has a very comfortable trot. It might be because she is so short backed (for her breed), as I expected that choppy trot QH’s have, but she was quite smooth, smoother than Ibn for sure, and even Marina. She had no problems with turning, and picked up on leg cues very quickly so we did some more advanced turns. She got frustrated, but eventually got it, sort of. That’s when we quit. She did what I asked even though she really didn’t know what I was asking, so her reward was for the session to end. One thing Rudy drummed into my ear was always end on a good note, and if they do well don’t over work them.

Next time I take them out we’ll work in the round pen first, and then I have no qualms about taking them to the arena. They need a lot of simple schooling, and flexing. We’ll do everything at the walk, and trot, then once they have that down we’ll try to cantor. There’s no sense trying to cantor until they are solid at the walk, and trot. Both girls are smart, and I expect them to progress quickly, but I won’t rush them.

Rudy has taught me a lot, and working with the young’uns has taught me just how much I have learned under his tutelage. I’m no where near as good as Rudy (probably never will be), but like the horses the more I do the more confidence I have, and the better I do. Luckily I have Rudy to keep me from getting a swelled head, and becoming overconfident. What it takes me what seems like forever to accomplish, he does in a few short minutes. What he can do with horses will forever amaze me. I can only hope to be half as good as he is. If I can manage that it will be enough for me.

Burrr…

Well it didn’t rain all night after all, it snowed. We generally have at least one snowfall before Thanksgiving, and last night was the night. I woke early as planned, and hit the snooze button not as planned. It was dark which confused me because there should have been pre-dawn light. When I let the dogs out I discovered why. During the night we got about 3-4 inches of snow, and it was still coming down. I took my shower, and went out to feed. The gator does really well in the snow, and very seldom do I have to lock the wheels. There wasn’t enough snow to cause a problem so I zipped on down to the barn. Marina was quite perturbed (even though I was feeding earlier than normal), sounding her displeasure all the while flipping her head the way only Arabians can do. It was only 30 degrees out, and they were all starving to death. Eating hay actually helps in the process of keeping a horse warm. Don’t ask me where I found that little pearl of wisdom, it was somewhere on the Internet. The process of chewing, and digesting hay helps to keep the horse warm, that’s another reason I prefer grass to alfalfa. Alfalfa is like candy, and just like little kids they inhale it. They will munch on grass all morning, which is a more natural way to feed. In fact if you can feed three times a day you more closely mimic their behavior in the wild.

I got everyone fed then went to check on the truck to see if the battery was charged enough to start. You can guess the answer to that, of course not. I put the charger on a higher setting, and continued with my morning chores. I was a little later than I wanted, but it really didn’t matter because it took another hour for the truck to start. The cold weather was working against me, and I couldn’t even jump the truck with the Jeep because the hood of the Jeep was frozen shut.

I got to Chuck’s a little after nine. He had a rescue truck he was putting tires on, but nothing more. Tommy got to the truck, and while he was working I called Rudy. It was done likity split. Rudy was surprised, but as I told him it was an easy job. The alternator is right there in front with only a few bolts. I could have done it myself if I had the strength to do it, which I don’t. I went over to the Mercantile after we were finished, and got the biggest round foam insulation they had. You can’t get it in sheets, and I needed to make hoodies for the field hydrants. The guy seemed to think that because they were freeze pipes, I shouldn’t have to worry. I found out last year (if you remember) that just because they are freeze pipes that doesn’t mean they won’t freeze up.

I already had ¾” foam left over from last year, of course the freeze pipes were 1”, but I made it work anyway.   I got a little creative, and was able to make a cover for the float using an empty anti-freeze container (yes I washed it very well before I used it). That was Rudy’s idea, and I used the ¾” foam around the hose. Unfortunately, the hose is 10’ long so I couldn’t cover it all. I used two pieces of the larger foam for a hoodie. I had duck tape to wrap around the foam, and that just wasn’t going to work, so I used my stand-by, vet wrap, which worked just fine. I used the duck tape to close the hoodie on top. Both girls (especially Ridalgo the paint) kept trying to see what was going on, and if perchance they could help. Horses are such curious creatures.

I only had enough foam for one hydrant so tomorrow when I am out, and about I’ll pick up some more. Now that I know just what I need to do what I want I can cover the other hydrants. I also have to re-cover the water main. I want to see if I can find some sheet insulation to put on the inside of the barrel we use to cover the pipes. I know if it gets real cold no amount of foam is going to be enough, but at least I can prevent most of the freezing.

It was still early so my next project was to cut more wood. I never did get around to cutting wood. I sawed enough to fill my inside boxes, and enough small wood for kindling. We only have one stove in the computer room, but that should be enough to keep the living room from being too cold. The other stove is in the Utility room where the dogs sleep,. It’s next to the garage, and cut off from the rest of the house so we never use it. The cats are now in seventh heaven with the fire going again. They pretty much stay right in front of the stove all winter long. In fact I have to keep booting them away whenever I need to put in more wood. Grudgingly they move, sometimes that is. They don’t seem to understand that it’s not perpetual heat, and to keep the fire going I have to add more wood. I guess it’s time to bring out more blankies too. They love my quilt, and if the fire isn’t going they are under the covers of our bed. “C” especially likes the quilt. Pretty much all winter long there is a permanent lump in the bed, and it’s not because I don’t make it. She just has to be under the covers.

One more little note, I was reading another blog, and they were talking about Pigeon Fever, also known as river rot, and a variety of other names I can’t remember. It seems a little late in the season for Pigeon Fever, but here is what I know about it. The first time we encountered it I freaked. I ran into the house, and told Rudy there was something wrong with Angel her chest was all swollen. He had never encountered it before so we called Troy (our vet in Auberry). He diagnosed it, and told us to leave it alone, and when it burst to wash the wound out with warm sudsy water, and an Iodine solution. He said it should take a couple of weeks to clear up.

I then called Sandy (who told me the same thing), and emailed other breeders I knew. I also read a lot of articles on the subject. There really isn’t much you can do for it. It can appear on various parts of a horse’s body, but the most dangerous is internal Pigeon Fever. Only then are antibiotics warranted. It is a bacterial infection. The bacterium is in the dirt so there is really no way of preventing it, and there is no vaccine. Some articles say it is only in California, and Texas, which is untrue. We have had one case of it here in NM, and in other states it is called river rot, same bacteria different name. We’re from Arizona, which is why Rudy didn’t know what it was.

It took a few days for the “pimple” to burst, and yes it was gross. We cleaned it twice a day, and I picked up as much puss from the ground as I could find. Then of course we had more cases. Not all the horses got it, but the worst case was poor Sadie, she got it in her udders. In Auberry we had an outdoor sink I could hook a hose up to so we had hot, and cold running water to bathe the horses with. I loved that sink, and so did the horses. I literally hosed out the puss in her udder, and then washed it with an Iodine solution. Finally the infection cleared up only to move over to the other udder, and so it went all summer long back, and forth. I think that was the worst summer of Sadie’s entire life. From talking to other breeders I discovered that once a horse gets Pigeon Fever, they then become immune to it. If you have a large herd, it may take several outbreaks before the whole herd is immunized, but eventually you stop having more outbraks. We are lucky to have a small herd, and until Stormy was about two we never had another outbreak. The minute Stormy swelled up I knew what was happening. It took a long time for the “pimple” to burst, and when it finally did there were actually several pimples all together. The others had several drainage points as well, but they weren’t so close together. Since the wound was so large, it took longer to heal, and it left a scar. His fur is so fine that in the summer you can see it, but in the winter his coat is thick enough to hide the scar. You have to really be looking for it as well. I read all sorts of articles on the subject, some with differing opinions. This was my experience, and how we dealt with it.  I don’t freak out anymore, and I consider it a nuisance disease. Luckily we have never had to deal with a serious case of it. For us it has been localized in one spot. Some horses are not so lucky, and can develop sores all over their body or the worst case scenario, they can develop internal sores. Since our horses are now immune, I don’t worry about it, and trust me I am grateful for anything I don’t have to worry about.