My sis and I were thinking it would be fun to say hi to any horse loving bloggers that are going to be at the Expo this year. If you are going to the Western States Horse Expo this week please leave a comment, we'd love to chat a bit! We will be at the Magnificent 7 on Friday night and all day Saturday. Sacramento here we come!
L
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Back again briefly
Hi everyone, just a little update to let you know we're fine. TONS going on lately, but most of it is good and I just haven't had time to post anything lately. Hopefully soon I'll have a free hour and a half or so to upload photos of the horses and do a real update!
L
L
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Two posts in March - oh well.
I have now gone riding with the lady on her Morgans three times. I am still having a ball and my body is getting used to it MUCH quicker than I thought it could. Even though I'm only riding once a week which technically is not enough to build fitness of any kind, I am hardly sore at all today after riding a bunch yesterday.
One thing that's nice to discover is I am so far doing good at my posture and not reverting to the "fetal ball" posture that new riders/out of shape people do. Yesterday Mister did a couple of interesting things that made me think. On the first ride I discovered that his flexible little self (used to be a park-type show Morgan) tends to duck his head behind the vertical when he wants to evade the bit, and he also tends to veer a bit left when walking/jogging. I do my best to always ask as lightly as I can to accomplish something and always reward immediately, but I doubt such a tough problem could be fixed at his age unless the owner worked really hard at it. He is also a cribber and has VERY STRONG neck muscles. Well, yesterday we were loping along a dirt path and all of a sudden he veered to thel left. I got off balance, recovered, and after loping an S-shape we got back on the trail.
She said he just did that with someone else too and neither of us is sure why.
For the rest of the ride I paid really close attention to him and myself, as I was afraid that I was not balanced on him and causing him to veer to get more balanced. Instead, I noticed that whenever he does not want to slow down he immediately bends his ribcage rightward and ducks his head leftward. So, it is not my fault. Interesting little acrobat!
We agreed that for now I won't worry too much about keeping him slowed down at the lope (the owner doesn't want to go too fast) but instead I will focus on using my legs to keep him straight and make sure to breathe deep. That will make him go faster, but it should help a lot with the ducking and veering.
By the way, I just love old horses! There is something so "soft" about old horses and how they relate to people. Mira, of course, is a perfect example of that. :-D
Meanwhile, I have started handwalking Andolu again and it seems to me that he is now sounder than he has been since I got him. Boy howdy, he is finally acting like the racehorse I expected when I got him! Let's just say that snorting, blowing, and tip toe ready-to-sprint with bug eyes describes him quite well lately. I have never been able to ride him very fast before - he never volunteered to do more than a slow lope before, but now that he is feeling so good I have a feeling that has changed. In a week or two I am going to start riding him again, as fast as he wants to go. Yeeks. However, I have a plan! My brother #2 is going to hold Mira at the bottom of a really steep dirt road and let her eat some hay there. I will have warmed Anatolian up and also let him eat some of the hay. After a bit, I'll take him back a little ways on the flat and encourage him to go. Going away from Mira and up a steep hill should keep a limit on his speed and endurance and I will do that the first few times I lope/gallop him so as to keep me relaxed and just going along for the ride and so as to teach him that when I do ask him to slow down it is so as to save him work.
I am looking forward to learning to ride his rather *big* canter/gallop but I want to do it safely for both of us and do it in a way that teaches him to listen to me about the speed and direction and hopefully keep him from developing any bad habits. I also plan to trailer him over for some lessons soon with the local trainer. She can work on him and work on me and hopefully help us do this right.
So, that is where I'm at lately. So many good things going on that I don't have much internet time. I miss everyone and hope to get caught up sometime soon.
L
One thing that's nice to discover is I am so far doing good at my posture and not reverting to the "fetal ball" posture that new riders/out of shape people do. Yesterday Mister did a couple of interesting things that made me think. On the first ride I discovered that his flexible little self (used to be a park-type show Morgan) tends to duck his head behind the vertical when he wants to evade the bit, and he also tends to veer a bit left when walking/jogging. I do my best to always ask as lightly as I can to accomplish something and always reward immediately, but I doubt such a tough problem could be fixed at his age unless the owner worked really hard at it. He is also a cribber and has VERY STRONG neck muscles. Well, yesterday we were loping along a dirt path and all of a sudden he veered to thel left. I got off balance, recovered, and after loping an S-shape we got back on the trail.
She said he just did that with someone else too and neither of us is sure why.
For the rest of the ride I paid really close attention to him and myself, as I was afraid that I was not balanced on him and causing him to veer to get more balanced. Instead, I noticed that whenever he does not want to slow down he immediately bends his ribcage rightward and ducks his head leftward. So, it is not my fault. Interesting little acrobat!
We agreed that for now I won't worry too much about keeping him slowed down at the lope (the owner doesn't want to go too fast) but instead I will focus on using my legs to keep him straight and make sure to breathe deep. That will make him go faster, but it should help a lot with the ducking and veering.
By the way, I just love old horses! There is something so "soft" about old horses and how they relate to people. Mira, of course, is a perfect example of that. :-D
Meanwhile, I have started handwalking Andolu again and it seems to me that he is now sounder than he has been since I got him. Boy howdy, he is finally acting like the racehorse I expected when I got him! Let's just say that snorting, blowing, and tip toe ready-to-sprint with bug eyes describes him quite well lately. I have never been able to ride him very fast before - he never volunteered to do more than a slow lope before, but now that he is feeling so good I have a feeling that has changed. In a week or two I am going to start riding him again, as fast as he wants to go. Yeeks. However, I have a plan! My brother #2 is going to hold Mira at the bottom of a really steep dirt road and let her eat some hay there. I will have warmed Anatolian up and also let him eat some of the hay. After a bit, I'll take him back a little ways on the flat and encourage him to go. Going away from Mira and up a steep hill should keep a limit on his speed and endurance and I will do that the first few times I lope/gallop him so as to keep me relaxed and just going along for the ride and so as to teach him that when I do ask him to slow down it is so as to save him work.
I am looking forward to learning to ride his rather *big* canter/gallop but I want to do it safely for both of us and do it in a way that teaches him to listen to me about the speed and direction and hopefully keep him from developing any bad habits. I also plan to trailer him over for some lessons soon with the local trainer. She can work on him and work on me and hopefully help us do this right.
So, that is where I'm at lately. So many good things going on that I don't have much internet time. I miss everyone and hope to get caught up sometime soon.
L
Friday, March 20, 2009
Quick Update and Exciting News
Hi guys, (all three of you faithful ones :-D) I wanted to pop in real quick and let you know how things have been going this last month. Crazy, satisfying, and surprising would all accurately describe recent events. First, Anatolian is almost completely sound again and starting to canter around the pasture again! Major relief and hallelujah there! Second, I met a lady a few miles away from me who has a couple darling little Morgans. She has people who come to ride with her on a very large ranch she has access to, so that she can exercise both horses at once. She needed somebody to start riding on Mondays with her so I got to go try it out this week! From the beginning I liked her because of how many questions she asked me and how organized she was. She is 73 and has had horses for several decades now. The gelding I rode I will call Mister - the one she rode we'll call RC. Both chestnut, both with some degree of feathering as well as the typical gorgeous long Morgan tails. Mister is rather swaybacked as one would expect from a 24-year-old guy and he is slightly on the small side for me at under 15 hh, but he is in great shape and full of energy.
We led them across the highway and then mounted up over there. Then we followed a small road until we got to trails that wound around all over the area - it is interesting b/c some of the time we were on the ranch which is a huge old open area but still has neighborhoods bordering it, and sometimes we were on dirt roads going between lots of houses. We crossed the river (in Western terms - it is about 15 feet wide max) and an adjoining stream several times, which was fun. I love water and going through it on a horse is so neat! The horse she rode tends to be a little bit harder to control so that when we would canter sometimes he would try to go as fast as possible and my horse wanted to keep up so he would be going practically flat out and I would be trying to coax him to take it easier. Neither of them was bad, just happy and eager to go. The funny thing is it has been so many months since I was able to "really" ride that I was slightly nervous I would be horrible at it and feel tense when loping. However, I guess the opposite happened - I was so glad to FINALLY get to RIDE that I just reminded myself to breathe and have fun and I did! Also, Mister spends a lot of time jogging to keep up with RC's walk, but his jog is incredibly smooth. About 2/3 through the ride we got off the horses for a while and had a snack and gave the horses a snack. All told we rode for at least 2.5 hours and I had an absolute blast!
One thing that was cool but could have been bad was when we were going past some houses and someone right behind one of the house fired off a gun twice, about 30 seconds apart. It was close and both horses spooked, but I just gave Mister enough rein to jump and move out of there a few steps and then slowly drew him back to a walk and then the second time it went off he barely spooked at all.
I really enjoyed talking with the lady and she said she had fun too. The best part of the whole day was that she is NOT the kind of person who is effusive or goes around complimenting people naturally, but she said several times that I was a naturally good rider. She actually sounded kind of surprised as she said it, and I knew it wasn't just flattery. That means a lot to me because I have often wondered if I think too much of the compliments people have given me on my seat in the past, if I blew them out of reality, and wondered if I really have any talent at all in riding horses. I have yet to actually go to a show and get judged on that, but this really restored some of my faith that I can learn to ride really well if I keep working on it.
The next couple of days after the ride I was quite, quite stiff, but it was worth it. Monday is coming up again and I can hardly wait to go again! This is such a cool opportunity and I intend to make the absolute best use I can of it - so cool that I only have to pay for gas! I still want to see if I can get some longe lessons for my seat from the trainer I was going to go to, but getting to ride every Monday for free is way cool. Like I told my brothers, I got to go riding so hyper me is here again :-D
L
We led them across the highway and then mounted up over there. Then we followed a small road until we got to trails that wound around all over the area - it is interesting b/c some of the time we were on the ranch which is a huge old open area but still has neighborhoods bordering it, and sometimes we were on dirt roads going between lots of houses. We crossed the river (in Western terms - it is about 15 feet wide max) and an adjoining stream several times, which was fun. I love water and going through it on a horse is so neat! The horse she rode tends to be a little bit harder to control so that when we would canter sometimes he would try to go as fast as possible and my horse wanted to keep up so he would be going practically flat out and I would be trying to coax him to take it easier. Neither of them was bad, just happy and eager to go. The funny thing is it has been so many months since I was able to "really" ride that I was slightly nervous I would be horrible at it and feel tense when loping. However, I guess the opposite happened - I was so glad to FINALLY get to RIDE that I just reminded myself to breathe and have fun and I did! Also, Mister spends a lot of time jogging to keep up with RC's walk, but his jog is incredibly smooth. About 2/3 through the ride we got off the horses for a while and had a snack and gave the horses a snack. All told we rode for at least 2.5 hours and I had an absolute blast!
One thing that was cool but could have been bad was when we were going past some houses and someone right behind one of the house fired off a gun twice, about 30 seconds apart. It was close and both horses spooked, but I just gave Mister enough rein to jump and move out of there a few steps and then slowly drew him back to a walk and then the second time it went off he barely spooked at all.
I really enjoyed talking with the lady and she said she had fun too. The best part of the whole day was that she is NOT the kind of person who is effusive or goes around complimenting people naturally, but she said several times that I was a naturally good rider. She actually sounded kind of surprised as she said it, and I knew it wasn't just flattery. That means a lot to me because I have often wondered if I think too much of the compliments people have given me on my seat in the past, if I blew them out of reality, and wondered if I really have any talent at all in riding horses. I have yet to actually go to a show and get judged on that, but this really restored some of my faith that I can learn to ride really well if I keep working on it.
The next couple of days after the ride I was quite, quite stiff, but it was worth it. Monday is coming up again and I can hardly wait to go again! This is such a cool opportunity and I intend to make the absolute best use I can of it - so cool that I only have to pay for gas! I still want to see if I can get some longe lessons for my seat from the trainer I was going to go to, but getting to ride every Monday for free is way cool. Like I told my brothers, I got to go riding so hyper me is here again :-D
L
Monday, February 16, 2009
Ideas percolating...
We sure did get a lot of snow with that last storm. At least 4 inches, but probably more like 6. For our area, that is a very heavy snow. It has turned back to intermittent downpours now, but the snow was so beautiful! Fortunately, despite the horses' liking to stay out in the snow/rain when not eating a meal under the shelter, they neither of them got very cold. I didn't really see any shivering this time, so that is good.
I think I just might have had an idea about Andolu and the hoof boot situation. It could be a great idea or it could be a total flop - so I am going to test it a whole lot before I tell my idea, if ever. I am pretty excited about trying it, though.
Meanwhile, back in the house while snow piled up outside, I had fun this weekend. I was able to get my work done quicker than usual and we had company, which is always fun. I actually got to play a board game - Risk, which I love, although I didn't win this time. Must be losing my touch...
I am trying more and more different recipes and ways of preparing old favorites. I thought I was a pretty good cook, but now I am learning so many new things with this different style of cooking that we have had quite a few "interesting" meals lately. Fortunately the boys don't mind. It probably helps that they have both had their own not-quite-as planned meals too lately! I am really having a ball though, much more than I ever expected. I always felt kind of bad that I wasn't one of those girls who talks about how much she likes cooking. I wanted to be interested in it, but didn't really get why some people thought it was so cool. For you horsey people, just think of it as searching for the perfect supplements to add to your horse's diet, or the pleasure of getting an area totally clean and free of manure, or taking the time to groom until the horse's coat gleams. For lack of a better word, the housework is very "zen" to me just like horse chores are, although of course my counters lack fur and a personality. Thank goodness! :-D
None of us has much time to do chores, though, so we are still trying to get the living room and some other areas clean and organized. Right now my living room has my saddle, bridle, a couple new brushes, some wormer, and SmartPaks in it. I think that's fine, but I realize most people feel more comfortable sitting down in a living room not a barn, so I will need to relocate that stuff soon before we have company again. Bummer. The kitchen and dining room are probably the cleanest rooms nowadays. We'll just keep trying to take little bits of time here and there to clean things and hopefully the house will start to look really nice and neat soon.
I hope everyone had a good Valentine's day. The weather should clear up here soon and I want to take some pictures of the horses to put up as soon as possible.
L
I think I just might have had an idea about Andolu and the hoof boot situation. It could be a great idea or it could be a total flop - so I am going to test it a whole lot before I tell my idea, if ever. I am pretty excited about trying it, though.
Meanwhile, back in the house while snow piled up outside, I had fun this weekend. I was able to get my work done quicker than usual and we had company, which is always fun. I actually got to play a board game - Risk, which I love, although I didn't win this time. Must be losing my touch...
I am trying more and more different recipes and ways of preparing old favorites. I thought I was a pretty good cook, but now I am learning so many new things with this different style of cooking that we have had quite a few "interesting" meals lately. Fortunately the boys don't mind. It probably helps that they have both had their own not-quite-as planned meals too lately! I am really having a ball though, much more than I ever expected. I always felt kind of bad that I wasn't one of those girls who talks about how much she likes cooking. I wanted to be interested in it, but didn't really get why some people thought it was so cool. For you horsey people, just think of it as searching for the perfect supplements to add to your horse's diet, or the pleasure of getting an area totally clean and free of manure, or taking the time to groom until the horse's coat gleams. For lack of a better word, the housework is very "zen" to me just like horse chores are, although of course my counters lack fur and a personality. Thank goodness! :-D
None of us has much time to do chores, though, so we are still trying to get the living room and some other areas clean and organized. Right now my living room has my saddle, bridle, a couple new brushes, some wormer, and SmartPaks in it. I think that's fine, but I realize most people feel more comfortable sitting down in a living room not a barn, so I will need to relocate that stuff soon before we have company again. Bummer. The kitchen and dining room are probably the cleanest rooms nowadays. We'll just keep trying to take little bits of time here and there to clean things and hopefully the house will start to look really nice and neat soon.
I hope everyone had a good Valentine's day. The weather should clear up here soon and I want to take some pictures of the horses to put up as soon as possible.
L
Friday, February 13, 2009
Now for Snow!
Wow, it is coming down HARD out there. It looks to me like several inches before the storm is done. I guess this will be a four or five meal day for the horses. I try to save bran mashes for days like this, so I'll probably do a nice hot bran mash in mid afternoon. I guess I'll also be going through some rags drying them off - Just now as I was looking out the window getting pictures of the snow I noticed that they were both standing under a tree (which gives about three inches total of shelter) and had quite a bit of snow on their rumps. Well, if that's what you prefer!
By the way, Anatolian is almost back to being sound on asphalt. He's such a weird horse! I'm not going to try to exercise him for a few days though, I don't have the "worry energy" right now.
Gotta go. I hope everyone is having a nice, snug day.
L
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Rain, sleet, mud...
I'm very grateful for all the rain in the last few days. It is much needed and I was really hoping for a good rain. Of course, I had just given Andolu a bath with shampoo right before it rained. Below: His tail then and his tail now - that is about the cleanest part of him, as he keeps rolling. I took more photos of him today, but he's too muddy even after getting some of it off to ride. Sorry, I'll get cleaner pictures of his whole self soon! 
I did ride him today since the rain cleared up long enough to go out. It is rather frustrating though, because lately he has been off again on the left front. He is somewhat tender anyway with being barefoot again, but on wet, slightly soft sand his left front still was not happy. I have wondered about his knees ever since I got him and I am wondering even more now. So I hardly rode at all today, basically just enough to say, Yup, he's not sound. Mira was happy to be out, though - as usual. She kept (politely) asking my brother who was holding her to let her run. After a bit I handed him Andolu and took Mira running up and down a bit. She has always been so sound around the legs that if it weren't for her arthritic back I'd still be able to ride her. It is fun to watch her trot really big. Of course, when they lope together she is like a dainty toy next to Anatolian's big motor. :-) Anatolian was snorting and "getting big" as he usually does when watching her run, but he didn't try to pull my brother in order to follow. So yeah, he's not comfortable. If I thought shoes would help I would have him reshod, but it does NOT seem like a foot issue other than a bit of tenderness on harder ground.
The other frustrating thing is that after all this time he still really hates his boots. I have not been able to get him used to them at all, really. He tolerates them but does not like them or go well in them.
Oh well. Mira is happy and he at least is healthy, if not earning his keep. One of these days I'm sure I'll get Andolu's knees and fetlocks x-rayed to see what exactly is going on. Hopefully he'll snap out of this and be better soon, though.
And I am really, really hoping to start taking lessons in March so I can ride whether or not he is sound at the moment.
A few days ago I went out after dark, I believe to let Mira out after eating, and it had temporarily stopped pouring rain. I could see dimly that Andolu was lying down in the (COLD - why is that better than dry pea gravel?) mud and I had to go past him to get to Mira. I talked to him a bit as usual and he moved his head as I went by, but didn't bother getting up. After letting Mira loose I came back past him and said good night and he just looked at me. When I was almost to the house I heard him get up and mosey over to check to see if Mira had left anything, but he didn't bother to move until then. It was nice to see that he doesn't feel the need to jump up when I come by :-)
L
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
I am Horsaii!
Mugwump coined this word here and I think it is great. Read all the comments, they are very cool. I was going to comment but then I decided to put it into a post. Like the other horsaiis that posted, I cannot remember when I fell for horses. I probably saw horses first in story books. Anyway, I do think I was born with horsaii, because I don't remember ever discovering that horses were cool - they were always amazing and wonderful to me. The first time I ever got to ride one was when I was seven or eight at a circus. We were in the US on furlough and my grandparents took us to a circus and I got to ride the pony ride. (The adults knew they couldn't escape their fate as soon as I saw the ponies!) I believe my pony was a black pinto. I remember wishing desperately that they could untie the pony and let me ride him around. I was sure how I would do great and the pony wouldn't be bored then. I sat very solemnly the whole ride and petted the pony and tried to soak everything in as much as I possibly could. My little brother was really nervous on his pony, I remember that, and my older brother didn't want to ride, as I recall. Weird kids... I talked to the pony some and petted it as much as I could before I absolutely had to leave, looking back the whole time.
My second time riding a horse was later that same summer. My cousin, who was a teenager, had her own horse. I thought she was the luckiest person ever! He is still alive as far as I know - a bay pinto quarab named Classy (just about Mira's age, as a matter of fact). I got to ride Classy two or three times on our visit there, and got to experience my first fall there, too. It wasn't his fault, he just tripped when trotting fast and I flew off in a graceful arc and landed in a clumsy heap, losing my glasses. Maybe that was when me being horsaii was confirmed. I remember feeling really stiff and sore as I got up, but no WAY was I going to WALK back to the house. I couldn't lose my precious and limited riding time just because I fell off. So, I got back on right away. Classy was cute - he obviously was surprised and sorry that I fell off and happy that I was OK.
When I couldn't ride him, I spent every minute available out next to his paddock feeding him pieces of grass and talking to him and, yes, drawing him. I learned a lot about horse conformation during that visit and finally started drawing identifiable horses! :-)
My mother fortunately saw to it that us kids had plenty of books, including lots of horse ones, when we were in the jungle and I spent lots of time playing I was a horse, drawing horses, wondering how much it cost to feed them and how much land an acre was and trying to figure out how tack was arranged from pictures, and hoping as hard as I could that I would see a real live one again soon. Meanwhile, I read all the Black Stallion books and others and absorbed every possible bit of horse handling knowledge. At one point I remember that for a month or two I even collected all the weeds and tall grass I could find and put it in a pile behind our house and hoped and prayed that a "stray" horse would come wandering along (in the slum?!) that needed a home. If I was prepared already then of course my parents would have to let me keep it! Eventually my parents wouldn't let me keep stacking it up anymore...
What is your story? Do you remember the first time you saw a horse, petted a horse, rode a horse? Tell us about it!
L
My second time riding a horse was later that same summer. My cousin, who was a teenager, had her own horse. I thought she was the luckiest person ever! He is still alive as far as I know - a bay pinto quarab named Classy (just about Mira's age, as a matter of fact). I got to ride Classy two or three times on our visit there, and got to experience my first fall there, too. It wasn't his fault, he just tripped when trotting fast and I flew off in a graceful arc and landed in a clumsy heap, losing my glasses. Maybe that was when me being horsaii was confirmed. I remember feeling really stiff and sore as I got up, but no WAY was I going to WALK back to the house. I couldn't lose my precious and limited riding time just because I fell off. So, I got back on right away. Classy was cute - he obviously was surprised and sorry that I fell off and happy that I was OK.
When I couldn't ride him, I spent every minute available out next to his paddock feeding him pieces of grass and talking to him and, yes, drawing him. I learned a lot about horse conformation during that visit and finally started drawing identifiable horses! :-)
My mother fortunately saw to it that us kids had plenty of books, including lots of horse ones, when we were in the jungle and I spent lots of time playing I was a horse, drawing horses, wondering how much it cost to feed them and how much land an acre was and trying to figure out how tack was arranged from pictures, and hoping as hard as I could that I would see a real live one again soon. Meanwhile, I read all the Black Stallion books and others and absorbed every possible bit of horse handling knowledge. At one point I remember that for a month or two I even collected all the weeds and tall grass I could find and put it in a pile behind our house and hoped and prayed that a "stray" horse would come wandering along (in the slum?!) that needed a home. If I was prepared already then of course my parents would have to let me keep it! Eventually my parents wouldn't let me keep stacking it up anymore...
What is your story? Do you remember the first time you saw a horse, petted a horse, rode a horse? Tell us about it!
L
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Mira Today
Here is a photo of The Spoiled One. I picked a bunch of grass today so they had fun chowing down on that. While they were doing that I used the new camera to take what is seriously the best ever head-on picture I have gotten of her. I have GOT to clean her up really good and try this a bunch more times now. With the right grooming, pose, and background it would look fabulous. I love her ears, and Andolu's too. Does anyone else just love seeing their horses perk their ears as they watch you come over? I do!
L
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Fencing photos
Here are some photos of the finally finished fencing project. It SOO nice to be done with it. There are a few little details left, of course, but it's done! I suppose a fencing professional would cringe, as it is definitely not perfect, but it should be strong enough and safe enough to do its job, so I consider it a good job.I am discovering a downside to my wonderful new camera - everytime I take pictures of the horses I always cringe later at how much dust you can seen on them! I hate to immortalize bad pictures of them; on the other I probably shouldn't get so perfectionistic that I'll only post pictures right after a bath and thorough grooming and before they've been able to roll...
Meanwhile, they are doing well, although a few days ago when I went out to feed we had a little incident. Ever since it got dry and sunny I drastically cut back Andolu's feed amounts from when it was cold, in order to help him lose a little weight. He has gotten somewhat grumpy with "only" getting about 15 pounds a day. Anyway, they saw me come out and came running over to the fence, but Andolu, for whatever reason, suddenly double-barreled Mira. I saw it happen and saw her stagger but I was too far away to throw anything at him, so I yelled at him and then went into the house for a couple minutes (bad behavior = no food). I got some first aid stuff and went out again. By the time he was settled eating and I could tend to her, she had already developed a larger-than-my fist bruise right behind her right front leg and there a bleeding wound on her shoulder. Argh! The wound was already clotting but I put alum on it to help the clotting and then iced all the bruised areas for 20 minutes 3 times a day for the next day and a half. After that I did heat for a couple of days, and now I'm just watching it. She was definitely stiff the first few days, but seems back to normal now. I'm really glad it didn't require a vet visit!
The grass around here is growing really nicely so far. I've been taking some to the horses and I hope to start doing some rotation grazing soon.
L
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Sun? Really?!
Wow, today we had nice sunny warm weather the WHOLE day - not just for a teasing hour or two. It was nice. :-D
I haven't posted new photos of the horses yet because, well, they both are enjoying sleeping and rolling in the mud. Mira is quite thoroughly grimy and Andolu somehow managed to get his legs completely muddy again right after I had thoroughly washed and dried them. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow I can get them presentable enough for pictures.
My brother #2 and I are almost done with the fencing project, finally. Only a bit over 100' of fencing to go. It would be super fast to do except that this is the part where the ground varies so much that you have to do each section separately. It should take us only one more session, though. I'll try to post pictures of the new fencing; it looks nice. I am definitely a fencing freak. I just adore sturdy and safe fences. I do not, however, like white board fencing or some of the other "classic" fencing, simply because I can't help thinking how much work it would be! My ideal fence would be a nice thick 5' or 6' high hedge...
The other day I called Sis in Washington and let her talk to her dog, Kippy. It was Kip's first time hearing a phone call (outdoor dog) and she was hilarious! She kept trying to lick the phone and as Sis kept talking she started looking around in all directions and barking intermittently. Obviously she recognized the voice - I felt sorry for her that she could not see Sis, but oh well. Maybe she or they can visit this summer.
L
I haven't posted new photos of the horses yet because, well, they both are enjoying sleeping and rolling in the mud. Mira is quite thoroughly grimy and Andolu somehow managed to get his legs completely muddy again right after I had thoroughly washed and dried them. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow I can get them presentable enough for pictures.
My brother #2 and I are almost done with the fencing project, finally. Only a bit over 100' of fencing to go. It would be super fast to do except that this is the part where the ground varies so much that you have to do each section separately. It should take us only one more session, though. I'll try to post pictures of the new fencing; it looks nice. I am definitely a fencing freak. I just adore sturdy and safe fences. I do not, however, like white board fencing or some of the other "classic" fencing, simply because I can't help thinking how much work it would be! My ideal fence would be a nice thick 5' or 6' high hedge...
The other day I called Sis in Washington and let her talk to her dog, Kippy. It was Kip's first time hearing a phone call (outdoor dog) and she was hilarious! She kept trying to lick the phone and as Sis kept talking she started looking around in all directions and barking intermittently. Obviously she recognized the voice - I felt sorry for her that she could not see Sis, but oh well. Maybe she or they can visit this summer.
L
Friday, January 2, 2009
Two Years Horse-Blogging
So, as of yesterday I am starting on my third year of blogging. I was thinking about my horsey goals for this year just now, and decided I might as well put them down. Here goes...
That is a good starting place, I think. I guess the most important thing of all though is that he stays sound and I keep having time to ride!
Below is my original post and last year's New Year's post.
http://me-mira.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-year-new-blog.html
http://me-mira.blogspot.com/2008/01/one-year-anniversary-and-happy-new-year.html
Happy New Year to everyone! Hopefully 2009 will be a good one for us all.
L
- Get into a routine of riding Andolu at least a little for four days a week. I hate to say that is a goal as if it was work, but I do need to schedule it or else I tend to try to get all my chores done first, which means it doesn't happen.
- Build Andolu's endurance up slowly and keep him sound if at all possible.
- Learn to post well and post without stirrups regularly.
- Take lessons at M's, especially longe lessons to develop my seat.
- Pony Mira at least twice a week with both horses staying calm and obedient.
- Finish the fencing project.
- Teach Andolu to bow.
- Get Andolu strong enough to be well balanced and comfortable changing leads at the canter.
- Go on a trail ride in the mountains with both of them!
That is a good starting place, I think. I guess the most important thing of all though is that he stays sound and I keep having time to ride!
Below is my original post and last year's New Year's post.
http://me-mira.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-year-new-blog.html
http://me-mira.blogspot.com/2008/01/one-year-anniversary-and-happy-new-year.html
Happy New Year to everyone! Hopefully 2009 will be a good one for us all.
L
Way cool... A great Christmas present.
This is so cool. My aunt and uncle (the nice and indulgent ones that I always stay with for the Horse Expo) came up yesterday to exchange presents and celebrate New Year's. Our present from them was the exact camera we had asked for!!! It was rather expensive so when we told them about it we said a gift certificate toward it would be great, but they went ahead and just got it! It is a really nice 8 MP, 4x optical zoom camera with some video ability, and when my brother was doing research it was said to be one of the all around best in its class. So, pretty soon when it stops raining and I can clean the horses up a little again I will be posting new photos!
Today has been a really nice day for a lot of reasons, even though it is now raining again. All that nice mud makes me sooo excited. Not. :-) But I haven't had any work to do today, which means I can just clean stuff and get caught up on important things like sleep. Ahh. I hope everyone else is having a good day too!
L
Today has been a really nice day for a lot of reasons, even though it is now raining again. All that nice mud makes me sooo excited. Not. :-) But I haven't had any work to do today, which means I can just clean stuff and get caught up on important things like sleep. Ahh. I hope everyone else is having a good day too!
L
Saturday, December 27, 2008
I'm back!
Wow, has it really been that long since my last post? Yikes... First, thanks you so much to everyone for your comments on The Dude's anniversary post. I am grateful for the well wishes, even if it took me this long to respond.
My excuses for my absence are probably best explained with a complete update on the horses, the house, and the Three Left Behinds (me, brother #1, and brother #2).
The horses have been doing well. The weather turned cold and frequently foggy/rainy/frosty several weeks ago so Mira's meals are all made with hot water now. (Andolu gets stuffed with grass hay to keep him warm). I've ridden Anatolian several times but haven't gotten into a routine yet. Bad me! He isn't making grumpy faces any more when ridden, which is a real relief because it tells me his occasionally bad attitude before the laminitis attack was from his feet, and now they feel better. I had measured his mouth a few times in order to get him a new bit. Mira's 5" snaffle always seemed too snug at the corner of his mouth, and besides I wanted a french link (double jointed) bit, since they can be really nice and mild. I bought this bit, but the 5.5" is definitely too large. Oh well, the joys of mail order! I need to return it for the 5" now. He did like it, though. I actually tried riding him in his rope halter (just in the driveway for a couple minutes) and he was quite responsive in that, too. So far so good. If it'll stop raining long enough I might get to ride tomorrow - I hope so!
Andolu was a bad boy in one thing though this last few weeks. I am almost finished replacing all my fence so that it is all 2" x 4" welded wire with electric tape on the top - I only have a couple hours and about 150' to go. However, with all the new grass Anatolian decided at one point that the double shock from a section that was still just two strands of tape was worth the grass... and yes, he pushed the posts and tape enough that he got through. I heard the dogs start barking really loud and looked out and absolutely freaked to see him milling around on the road. He was perfectly easy to catch, but I think it scared a couple years off my life! That part was immediately replaced to keep him from getting more ideas. Eek. Not a funny trick.
Mira recently popped a splint on her right hind. It is right below the one she had two years ago. At first I was totally mystified why she was lame - no obvious cause for a stone bruise, no swelling on the leg, etc. etc. Then I found a little bump below the old splint and realized it was tender. So that got iced for a few days and I am still trying to keep her from moving much, but she has been trotting around as normal as one can in this mud we have. However, it seems like every time I go out there I think the bump looks bigger than a couple hours ago and I always have to feel it to make sure it really is the same size. I swear Mira likes getting fussed over, though. The more I hover around and poke and prod and come out every couple of hours the happier she is.
The boys and I are going to go in on a new camera, so hopefully pretty soon I'll be able to show you guys pictures of the horses again!
Now, imagine this picture - everywhere I go outside nowadays there is a gray tabby running right in front of me, a fat pure black cat running all around me, and a smaller pure black cat lurking at a distance, all meowing at intervals and giving me meaningful looks. I am now the Feline Pied Piper. When the parents left I took over feeding the cats, which happens at least twice a day, sometimes more if it is extra cold. I haven't really spoiled them a whole lot; I do stick to a schedule, but I guess they are always hoping for more, because they won't leave me alone!
Brother #2 and I also feed and water and walk the dogs every morning and water plants (fortunately not necessary lately). With the animals and various other outdoor chores, it has been quite a juggling job to get everything done at the right time every day and still do my other responsibilities. It's funny, parts of the house are staying super clean and organized and parts... need some work right now. We've also discovered that none of us "kids" seems to remember to build a fire until it gets to be about 50 degrees inside. Once we start a fire, we do keep it going all day, but we haven't gotten in the habit of doing it every day yet!
I never thought of myself as someone who loved to cook for fun. I enjoy it, but there are always other things I would rather be doing. Well, I've been discovering that I really like running the kitchen and making healthy things. I've been making soup the traditional way regularly and am having a lot of fun with other dishes also. When I get the time I plan to try making eggrolls. Any other fun dishes you guys want to suggest I try?
Christmas was quiet but good. It snowed on Christmas day, twice! That happens about once in a blue moon in this area! That was fun. The parents up in Washington had over 20" by Christmas day, and my siblings are enjoying it, although it is weird to have to shovel pathways. It's mostly melted into mud now around here, as yesterday was mostly sunny.
Overall, it has been a very hectic couple of months as I have been adjusting to life "sort of on my own." I really didn't have time to blog, and maybe it was a good thing to take a break for a while. A little vacation. That is my story and I'm sticking to it! Anyway, I'm finally back!
L
My excuses for my absence are probably best explained with a complete update on the horses, the house, and the Three Left Behinds (me, brother #1, and brother #2).
The horses have been doing well. The weather turned cold and frequently foggy/rainy/frosty several weeks ago so Mira's meals are all made with hot water now. (Andolu gets stuffed with grass hay to keep him warm). I've ridden Anatolian several times but haven't gotten into a routine yet. Bad me! He isn't making grumpy faces any more when ridden, which is a real relief because it tells me his occasionally bad attitude before the laminitis attack was from his feet, and now they feel better. I had measured his mouth a few times in order to get him a new bit. Mira's 5" snaffle always seemed too snug at the corner of his mouth, and besides I wanted a french link (double jointed) bit, since they can be really nice and mild. I bought this bit, but the 5.5" is definitely too large. Oh well, the joys of mail order! I need to return it for the 5" now. He did like it, though. I actually tried riding him in his rope halter (just in the driveway for a couple minutes) and he was quite responsive in that, too. So far so good. If it'll stop raining long enough I might get to ride tomorrow - I hope so!
Andolu was a bad boy in one thing though this last few weeks. I am almost finished replacing all my fence so that it is all 2" x 4" welded wire with electric tape on the top - I only have a couple hours and about 150' to go. However, with all the new grass Anatolian decided at one point that the double shock from a section that was still just two strands of tape was worth the grass... and yes, he pushed the posts and tape enough that he got through. I heard the dogs start barking really loud and looked out and absolutely freaked to see him milling around on the road. He was perfectly easy to catch, but I think it scared a couple years off my life! That part was immediately replaced to keep him from getting more ideas. Eek. Not a funny trick.
Mira recently popped a splint on her right hind. It is right below the one she had two years ago. At first I was totally mystified why she was lame - no obvious cause for a stone bruise, no swelling on the leg, etc. etc. Then I found a little bump below the old splint and realized it was tender. So that got iced for a few days and I am still trying to keep her from moving much, but she has been trotting around as normal as one can in this mud we have. However, it seems like every time I go out there I think the bump looks bigger than a couple hours ago and I always have to feel it to make sure it really is the same size. I swear Mira likes getting fussed over, though. The more I hover around and poke and prod and come out every couple of hours the happier she is.
The boys and I are going to go in on a new camera, so hopefully pretty soon I'll be able to show you guys pictures of the horses again!
Now, imagine this picture - everywhere I go outside nowadays there is a gray tabby running right in front of me, a fat pure black cat running all around me, and a smaller pure black cat lurking at a distance, all meowing at intervals and giving me meaningful looks. I am now the Feline Pied Piper. When the parents left I took over feeding the cats, which happens at least twice a day, sometimes more if it is extra cold. I haven't really spoiled them a whole lot; I do stick to a schedule, but I guess they are always hoping for more, because they won't leave me alone!
Brother #2 and I also feed and water and walk the dogs every morning and water plants (fortunately not necessary lately). With the animals and various other outdoor chores, it has been quite a juggling job to get everything done at the right time every day and still do my other responsibilities. It's funny, parts of the house are staying super clean and organized and parts... need some work right now. We've also discovered that none of us "kids" seems to remember to build a fire until it gets to be about 50 degrees inside. Once we start a fire, we do keep it going all day, but we haven't gotten in the habit of doing it every day yet!
I never thought of myself as someone who loved to cook for fun. I enjoy it, but there are always other things I would rather be doing. Well, I've been discovering that I really like running the kitchen and making healthy things. I've been making soup the traditional way regularly and am having a lot of fun with other dishes also. When I get the time I plan to try making eggrolls. Any other fun dishes you guys want to suggest I try?
Christmas was quiet but good. It snowed on Christmas day, twice! That happens about once in a blue moon in this area! That was fun. The parents up in Washington had over 20" by Christmas day, and my siblings are enjoying it, although it is weird to have to shovel pathways. It's mostly melted into mud now around here, as yesterday was mostly sunny.
Overall, it has been a very hectic couple of months as I have been adjusting to life "sort of on my own." I really didn't have time to blog, and maybe it was a good thing to take a break for a while. A little vacation. That is my story and I'm sticking to it! Anyway, I'm finally back!
L
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Whole Year!
Wow, it has been exactly one whole year today since I got Anatolian! I can hardly believe it has already been that long. He's such a smart guy and I'm so happy to be able to ride him again... Phew! I'm working on building his fitness up carefully again.
One of my favorite things about the Racehorse Dude is that he enjoys laughs and will work to get them. Thus, he taught himself how to do various things like his lip flapping trick because everyone always laughs when he does it. He likes to test his boundaries a lot, but the longer he's here the smaller the "tests" get - which is good, because I didn't like it when he used to try to nip! He kind of rules Mira too thoroughly (and she's too timid), but it has been very good for her to have him around, in a lot of ways.
One of my favorite things about the Racehorse Dude is that he enjoys laughs and will work to get them. Thus, he taught himself how to do various things like his lip flapping trick because everyone always laughs when he does it. He likes to test his boundaries a lot, but the longer he's here the smaller the "tests" get - which is good, because I didn't like it when he used to try to nip! He kind of rules Mira too thoroughly (and she's too timid), but it has been very good for her to have him around, in a lot of ways.
He's a good boy, and as he is only 6.5 years old I hope to enjoy many more anniversaries with him.
L
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Rain and mud and other fun stuff
Wow, it's been really hectic around here! The parents are leaving tomorrow... Sheesh! Today my sis will get one last ride on Andolu. I feel bad that he finally gets rideable again just before she has to go away. Neither of us has gotten to ride him much yet, and now it'll be quite a while before she gets to. Oh well. Her dog is staying here too. But they'll have a lot of fun up there, especially as there are a bunch of kids their age really close by up where they are going. We've had a lot of company the last couple of weeks as everyone tries to say goodbye to each other.
The horses are doing well. It has rained a lot in the last couple weeks, which has been nice. Of course, it's amazing how uniformly brown they both look now. I think Andolu especially loves waiting 'till I come and knock the dried mud off and then sneaking off to roll again. :-D They really love the pea gravel I bought and have been spreading around and Mira loves lying on it, so I'm sure I'll be buying more eventually to put in even more spots.
I have wheat planted and a few other things. I am not finished yet with what I wanted to grow this year, though. I'd still like to do potatoes and a bunch more peas! The grass is already up and I have been taking the horses handfuls; can't wait to take them out to graze. One of these days I do need to get pictures up again soon.
Well, later y'all. I shall return after the excitement dies down around here.
L
The horses are doing well. It has rained a lot in the last couple weeks, which has been nice. Of course, it's amazing how uniformly brown they both look now. I think Andolu especially loves waiting 'till I come and knock the dried mud off and then sneaking off to roll again. :-D They really love the pea gravel I bought and have been spreading around and Mira loves lying on it, so I'm sure I'll be buying more eventually to put in even more spots.
I have wheat planted and a few other things. I am not finished yet with what I wanted to grow this year, though. I'd still like to do potatoes and a bunch more peas! The grass is already up and I have been taking the horses handfuls; can't wait to take them out to graze. One of these days I do need to get pictures up again soon.
Well, later y'all. I shall return after the excitement dies down around here.
L
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Happenings
The below article is my last post on politics for a while. I try to keep my blog just a fun place to talk about horses, but I wanted to get this out. Please feel free to not read it if you will get offended. I am not trying to bash anyone, just stating my viewpoint about what our country needs versus what it has chosen.
Well, we have a new president now. I am glad the suspense is over. I am just going to hope that either Obama is very ineffective or that he manages to get a whole bunch of his agenda done at once. If he gets a lot of his agenda accomplished quickly it will make Americans very, very mad and maybe wake people up. This country is like the frog in a boiling pot that has not noticed how bad things have gotten. I still can't believe we actually voted for a socialist/communist to run what is supposed to be a free country, but we did and now we get to experience the joys of socialism. It's worked SOO well in places like Russia, Cuba, most of Europe (with its extremely high levels of depression, an almost majority of people who never even try to get jobs, and hardly any children being born - getting taken over by immigrants), and all those other places it's been tried. (Yes, the sarcasm is a little heavy!) And don't quote China as a socialist place that is doing well. Their increasing prosperity is DIRECTLY correlated with every move they make towards a free market society.
Oh well. At least some good bills got passed, for a change.
I had a hard time before the election just leaving things to God. I know He is ultimately in charge and whatever happens is in His plan, but I felt like I was watching somebody stab themself over and over and I couldn't make them stop. Watching my country deliberately do such self-destructive things is really hard, but now it's done and it is the time for me to pray harder and keep living my life and doing the things I know I am supposed to do. One of which includes respecting the office of the president and showing some class towards the new president with whom I have almost nothing in common, unlike the majority of liberals the last eight years. I don't want to call names or things like that.
I also hope that this might actually clean up the Republican party. They have gotten so liberal leaning and so wishy-washy lately that it is disgusting. We need people with spines, who will articulate what and why they believe and who don't go around trying to make people like them but who actually do the things they are able to do and don't back down just because someone accuses them of being mean. If you believe something is best for the country, then TRY TO DO IT and don't let whiners stop you! At least now the GOP can see that pandering didn't help them win.
At least one good thing is that we have finally elected a member of a minority as president, so hopefully that will settle a great deal of the angst about racism and associated issues.
I am going to miss President Bush. I really am.
In the toughest of tough political climates with a media that functioned as an opposing lobby and with very little support from his own party, he still managed to do some amazing and audacious things. He stuck by his principles and his decisions consistently during the whole eight years and was consistently gracious to hateful people who stopped at nothing to smear him. Having been very involved with the Iraq War news and Iraqi blogs for about two years (not so much anymore) I am still dumbfounded at the completely biased way the media has misrepresented the efforts over there and what really has and hasn't "been found" and all the straw-men that were used to discredit our strategic purposes over there. I am amazed at how everything, even the weather, has been spun so as to try to find a way put blame on Bush, and cannot believe the way people would actually openly wish for bad things to happen to America just so that they could use it against Bush. I also am quite disgusted with the Republicans for not having the courage of their convictions and for not really trying hard to get the conservative message out.
I still am amazed we were lucky (blessed) enough to have President Bush for eight whole years and I hope the rest of his life is good. I disliked his big-government policies, but I respect him a great deal and am not looking forward to having a new president who is wobbly and inexperienced on some things and on others firmly set on courses that will be very, very bad for our country long-term.
Finally, the current financial crisis is something we all share responsibility for. It has been building for decades and warned about thousands of times. The problems come from a combination of programs trying to fix things by throwing money at problems, laws trying to regulate things to make them safer and less risky and/or more fair, and a general (natural) human desire to get fun stuff before the right time. The government can fix its share of the problem by allowing citizens more freedom (and thus opportunity), by not trying to "make" fairness happen, and by not trying to solve every problem for everyone. Then it is up to us, The People of the United States, to work on our own problems with the tools we have, which are many.
Most of my readers are horse people. Hay prices have gone dramatically up in recent years. The price spikes are actually quite predictable (and have been predicted many times) due to policies that started during the Great Depression and that have gotten more involved over time. Farmers in our country produce a great deal of the world's food - in fact, America produces 25% of the world's GDP every year! However, being either a small family farmer or a big farmer in this country presents many, many challeges. Meat and dairy inspection laws in most states favor only the large producer, such that a $500,000 state-of-the art slaughter plant would be required if a family wanted to sell 20 chickens a year to their neighbors, already processed. The laws could be modified so that farms could produce and process meat (and dairy) just as hygienically in a clean room with stainless steel and concretee and good refrigeration. However, the tangled bunch of laws keep getting more tangled. When the powers that be decide that too many farmers are planting corn in a year, thus bringing the price down, the government will PAY some farmers NOT to plant corn. Huh? What is with that? As a result of all the tinkering by the USDA and other buraucracies, milk prices paid to dairy farmers have stayed almost the same as in the 50s. Everything else went way up, though, so farmers now have a very, very small margin of profit on each cow, and must have thousands rather than dozens of cows, and feed antibiotics and growth hormones to try to get slightly more profit out of the cow before she dies at 4 or 5. If the government had not been messing with the market economy in farming, we would be paying a lot less taxes, but quite a bit more at the grocery store. However, the food we bought would be from farmers who were actually earning a living most years and who were able to raise the food in a healthy manner with far less pollution, chemicals, and environmental impact. We all want that, but we keep electing people who make laws that take us farther and farther away from any chance of that. Hmm.
Below are various random links:
http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/11/may-have-been-t.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110403872.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebeltway/2008/11/05/congress-obama-senate-biz-beltway-cx_bw_1105legislate.html
http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/11/06/coburn-obama-conservatives-oped-cx_tc_1106coburn.html
http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/11/04/dateline-2012-the-waning-days-of-the-failed-obama-presidency/
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=4853
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/
Anyway, enough with the ranting now and thanks if you managed to read it all! I'll get back to planting wheat and playing with the horses. Hopefully I can do a more fun post about The Spoiled Ones tomorrow.
L
Well, we have a new president now. I am glad the suspense is over. I am just going to hope that either Obama is very ineffective or that he manages to get a whole bunch of his agenda done at once. If he gets a lot of his agenda accomplished quickly it will make Americans very, very mad and maybe wake people up. This country is like the frog in a boiling pot that has not noticed how bad things have gotten. I still can't believe we actually voted for a socialist/communist to run what is supposed to be a free country, but we did and now we get to experience the joys of socialism. It's worked SOO well in places like Russia, Cuba, most of Europe (with its extremely high levels of depression, an almost majority of people who never even try to get jobs, and hardly any children being born - getting taken over by immigrants), and all those other places it's been tried. (Yes, the sarcasm is a little heavy!) And don't quote China as a socialist place that is doing well. Their increasing prosperity is DIRECTLY correlated with every move they make towards a free market society.
Oh well. At least some good bills got passed, for a change.
I had a hard time before the election just leaving things to God. I know He is ultimately in charge and whatever happens is in His plan, but I felt like I was watching somebody stab themself over and over and I couldn't make them stop. Watching my country deliberately do such self-destructive things is really hard, but now it's done and it is the time for me to pray harder and keep living my life and doing the things I know I am supposed to do. One of which includes respecting the office of the president and showing some class towards the new president with whom I have almost nothing in common, unlike the majority of liberals the last eight years. I don't want to call names or things like that.
I also hope that this might actually clean up the Republican party. They have gotten so liberal leaning and so wishy-washy lately that it is disgusting. We need people with spines, who will articulate what and why they believe and who don't go around trying to make people like them but who actually do the things they are able to do and don't back down just because someone accuses them of being mean. If you believe something is best for the country, then TRY TO DO IT and don't let whiners stop you! At least now the GOP can see that pandering didn't help them win.
At least one good thing is that we have finally elected a member of a minority as president, so hopefully that will settle a great deal of the angst about racism and associated issues.
I am going to miss President Bush. I really am.
In the toughest of tough political climates with a media that functioned as an opposing lobby and with very little support from his own party, he still managed to do some amazing and audacious things. He stuck by his principles and his decisions consistently during the whole eight years and was consistently gracious to hateful people who stopped at nothing to smear him. Having been very involved with the Iraq War news and Iraqi blogs for about two years (not so much anymore) I am still dumbfounded at the completely biased way the media has misrepresented the efforts over there and what really has and hasn't "been found" and all the straw-men that were used to discredit our strategic purposes over there. I am amazed at how everything, even the weather, has been spun so as to try to find a way put blame on Bush, and cannot believe the way people would actually openly wish for bad things to happen to America just so that they could use it against Bush. I also am quite disgusted with the Republicans for not having the courage of their convictions and for not really trying hard to get the conservative message out.
I still am amazed we were lucky (blessed) enough to have President Bush for eight whole years and I hope the rest of his life is good. I disliked his big-government policies, but I respect him a great deal and am not looking forward to having a new president who is wobbly and inexperienced on some things and on others firmly set on courses that will be very, very bad for our country long-term.
Finally, the current financial crisis is something we all share responsibility for. It has been building for decades and warned about thousands of times. The problems come from a combination of programs trying to fix things by throwing money at problems, laws trying to regulate things to make them safer and less risky and/or more fair, and a general (natural) human desire to get fun stuff before the right time. The government can fix its share of the problem by allowing citizens more freedom (and thus opportunity), by not trying to "make" fairness happen, and by not trying to solve every problem for everyone. Then it is up to us, The People of the United States, to work on our own problems with the tools we have, which are many.
Most of my readers are horse people. Hay prices have gone dramatically up in recent years. The price spikes are actually quite predictable (and have been predicted many times) due to policies that started during the Great Depression and that have gotten more involved over time. Farmers in our country produce a great deal of the world's food - in fact, America produces 25% of the world's GDP every year! However, being either a small family farmer or a big farmer in this country presents many, many challeges. Meat and dairy inspection laws in most states favor only the large producer, such that a $500,000 state-of-the art slaughter plant would be required if a family wanted to sell 20 chickens a year to their neighbors, already processed. The laws could be modified so that farms could produce and process meat (and dairy) just as hygienically in a clean room with stainless steel and concretee and good refrigeration. However, the tangled bunch of laws keep getting more tangled. When the powers that be decide that too many farmers are planting corn in a year, thus bringing the price down, the government will PAY some farmers NOT to plant corn. Huh? What is with that? As a result of all the tinkering by the USDA and other buraucracies, milk prices paid to dairy farmers have stayed almost the same as in the 50s. Everything else went way up, though, so farmers now have a very, very small margin of profit on each cow, and must have thousands rather than dozens of cows, and feed antibiotics and growth hormones to try to get slightly more profit out of the cow before she dies at 4 or 5. If the government had not been messing with the market economy in farming, we would be paying a lot less taxes, but quite a bit more at the grocery store. However, the food we bought would be from farmers who were actually earning a living most years and who were able to raise the food in a healthy manner with far less pollution, chemicals, and environmental impact. We all want that, but we keep electing people who make laws that take us farther and farther away from any chance of that. Hmm.
Below are various random links:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122611181065310615.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.htmlhttp://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/11/may-have-been-t.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110403872.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebeltway/2008/11/05/congress-obama-senate-biz-beltway-cx_bw_1105legislate.html
http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/11/06/coburn-obama-conservatives-oped-cx_tc_1106coburn.html
http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/11/04/dateline-2012-the-waning-days-of-the-failed-obama-presidency/
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=4853
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/
Anyway, enough with the ranting now and thanks if you managed to read it all! I'll get back to planting wheat and playing with the horses. Hopefully I can do a more fun post about The Spoiled Ones tomorrow.
L
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Major Changes
Big things have been happening here lately.
Backstory: For the last couple of months my dad has been out of work. Not one of his usual clients have had work they were ready to give him yet (a couple of them had projects they wanted to do but weren't able to go ahead with yet.) Obviously, my parents have been kind of stressing about it. Dad was searching all over for some more clients and my mom even looked for work, which she has not done since my older brother was born. Now that the two youngest are teenagers they don't need very much attention while doing their schoolwork, etc., so she thought now might be a good time to get a job. However, nothing was available at all in the area for either of them. Meanwhile, their ministry partners in the state of Washington have been having a lot of change happening. My parents and their partners do part time family ministry, with my parents focused on Hispanic families and their partners involved in several specific groups right now. So, they kept telling my parents they should come up there for a while and help out with all the things that are really "popping" up there right now. Everyone was praying about it and door after door kept closing down here. Eventually, dad felt that he had gotten confirmation to go to Washington. (Interestingly enough, the next day after the decision, his favorite client called up and wants him to start on a project, so it turns out dad will have his favorite kind of job to work on while they get settled in up there!)
So, my parents and my sis and youngest brother are moving to Washington for an indefinite amount of time - Brothers # 1 and #2 and me are staying here and running the place and we're going to be really hoping the grandparents all stay healthy and don't get hurt!
I finally get to run a house and make menus *almost* on my own now! It'll be interesting and fun in a lot of ways, but I am really, really going to miss them! I'm sure it's going to be really difficult to adjust to. I told my best friend that she was going to be hearing a LOT more than she ever wanted to about horses now. She says (now!) that she won't mind. Hopefully not, as I usually blabber to mom and sis about horses and they at least are somewhat interested, whereas my best friend is not really an animal person...
Feel free to give me suggestions for getting used to living independently! I expect to get along pretty well with my brothers, but advice on making the change to no parents around is welcome.
Signed, Rather Jittery,
L
Backstory: For the last couple of months my dad has been out of work. Not one of his usual clients have had work they were ready to give him yet (a couple of them had projects they wanted to do but weren't able to go ahead with yet.) Obviously, my parents have been kind of stressing about it. Dad was searching all over for some more clients and my mom even looked for work, which she has not done since my older brother was born. Now that the two youngest are teenagers they don't need very much attention while doing their schoolwork, etc., so she thought now might be a good time to get a job. However, nothing was available at all in the area for either of them. Meanwhile, their ministry partners in the state of Washington have been having a lot of change happening. My parents and their partners do part time family ministry, with my parents focused on Hispanic families and their partners involved in several specific groups right now. So, they kept telling my parents they should come up there for a while and help out with all the things that are really "popping" up there right now. Everyone was praying about it and door after door kept closing down here. Eventually, dad felt that he had gotten confirmation to go to Washington. (Interestingly enough, the next day after the decision, his favorite client called up and wants him to start on a project, so it turns out dad will have his favorite kind of job to work on while they get settled in up there!)
So, my parents and my sis and youngest brother are moving to Washington for an indefinite amount of time - Brothers # 1 and #2 and me are staying here and running the place and we're going to be really hoping the grandparents all stay healthy and don't get hurt!
I finally get to run a house and make menus *almost* on my own now! It'll be interesting and fun in a lot of ways, but I am really, really going to miss them! I'm sure it's going to be really difficult to adjust to. I told my best friend that she was going to be hearing a LOT more than she ever wanted to about horses now. She says (now!) that she won't mind. Hopefully not, as I usually blabber to mom and sis about horses and they at least are somewhat interested, whereas my best friend is not really an animal person...
Feel free to give me suggestions for getting used to living independently! I expect to get along pretty well with my brothers, but advice on making the change to no parents around is welcome.
Signed, Rather Jittery,
L
Update on the skinny bay oldster
Initial post here:
When my vet was here doing the boosters and checkup on The Spoiled Ones, I asked him if he had ever been able to catch a glimpse of that horse when driving by. It turns out the owner of the vet just called him and had him come over last Friday! Apparently several other people besides me have called Animal Control and so they called him. The owner told my vet that the horse is about 29 or 30 and he has had him since he was 2. The horse is apparently still bright eyed and moving around, just has been hard to keep weight on, and he wanted advice now that people were calling Animal Control about it. So the vet has given him some advice and I am VERY relieved to know that at least the horse is getting something to eat, got medical care, and should hopefully look a lot better soon! Now I don't have to lie awake on cold nights worrying about if that horse has anything in its stomach and if it has anybody that cares about it - I'll keep an eye on it, but I think it should start to look better soon with some supplements and help. Phew!
L
When my vet was here doing the boosters and checkup on The Spoiled Ones, I asked him if he had ever been able to catch a glimpse of that horse when driving by. It turns out the owner of the vet just called him and had him come over last Friday! Apparently several other people besides me have called Animal Control and so they called him. The owner told my vet that the horse is about 29 or 30 and he has had him since he was 2. The horse is apparently still bright eyed and moving around, just has been hard to keep weight on, and he wanted advice now that people were calling Animal Control about it. So the vet has given him some advice and I am VERY relieved to know that at least the horse is getting something to eat, got medical care, and should hopefully look a lot better soon! Now I don't have to lie awake on cold nights worrying about if that horse has anything in its stomach and if it has anybody that cares about it - I'll keep an eye on it, but I think it should start to look better soon with some supplements and help. Phew!
L
Laminitis Update: 8
Hopefully this will be the LAST laminitis update I have to do on the Racehorse Dude! The vet was out here a couple days ago and cleared him for exercise and normal horse life once again! Phew, what a relief... It was really weird having the vet out for a NORMAL vet visit, which sounds bad, but after all the disasters this year I got used to seeing him on half an hour's notice and with all sorts of worries going through my head. I forget how many times he's been here this year, but starting with Mira's eye injury saga last January I've spent a lot more than I want to think about on vet bills.
I asked him to check their teeth and float them if needed, so he looked at both their mouths. He informed me that Mira was missing a lot of teeth (sassy me thinks, "what, they didn't grow back yet!?!") and that even though she has all sorts of interesting bumps and ridges in her mouth, floating would just make her mouth worse. OK. Andolu's mouth was in great shape and didn't need anything. Cool.
I had asked him to give them tetanus and rabies boosters, but I also asked him to show me how to give them their shots myself. So I did three of the injections and it turns out horse shots are much easier to give than dog and cat shots. Another useful skill learned now. Andolu didn't even stop chewing!
I can hardly wait to start riding again! Yippee!
L
I asked him to check their teeth and float them if needed, so he looked at both their mouths. He informed me that Mira was missing a lot of teeth (sassy me thinks, "what, they didn't grow back yet!?!") and that even though she has all sorts of interesting bumps and ridges in her mouth, floating would just make her mouth worse. OK. Andolu's mouth was in great shape and didn't need anything. Cool.
I had asked him to give them tetanus and rabies boosters, but I also asked him to show me how to give them their shots myself. So I did three of the injections and it turns out horse shots are much easier to give than dog and cat shots. Another useful skill learned now. Andolu didn't even stop chewing!
I can hardly wait to start riding again! Yippee!
L
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