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

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 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

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

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

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

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.

He's a good boy, and as he is only 6.5 years old I hope to enjoy many more anniversaries with him.

L

So frustrating

First, the background story. On the highway to the town where I used to (and occasionally still do) work, there is a certain hilly area with a couple little houses and a really old barn-like structure. It is probably about 35-40 years old is my guess. Anyway, you can't really see much of the houses or the barn because the hill goes up very steeply right next to the highway and then levels out a bit and then goes up steeply again. There are trees and brush all over. Years ago I remember seeing a fuzzy bay horse grazing next to the barn/shed. It was probably at least 6+ years ago, but for quite a while after that I always craned my neck going past to see if I could see it again. (Despite having my own horses now, I'm still a kid when I see any horses. Not blase yet - I always like to watch horses!)

So, a few months ago I was driving past and I saw a bay horse next to the shed! I have no idea if it's the same one. I thought it looked a little skinny, but told myself not to be the nosy, hyperanxious lady who imagines abuse and starving animals everywhere. Every time I go past now I always look for the horse. It is hardly ever down on that level, and if it is there is only one spot it can stand where you can see more than its head or top of its back. About two months ago I got a really good look at the horse and realized I was not imagining things. Its spine is bony and has big hollows below the spine and above the ribs, all of which are visible. The hips are about what you'd expect, i.e., not really there, and the neck is also too skinny. At the time I thought it was probably a 3 on the Body Condition Scale judging by how easy it was to see too many bones with a glimpse at fast speed. I called the SPCA and asked if they could check it out. The officer told me, "Oh, I drive past that horse every day. He's probably just old. Besides, he has shelter so there's nothing we can do anyway." I realize that Animal Control laws are usually really hard to enforce, and that officers often do not have much horse knowledge. I also realize that it is possible that hearing all the stories about hay shortages and starving horses could be making me hypersensitive. Plus, I do not want to unnecessarily upset some poor old person who might be feeding their oldster that has health issues bags and bags of Equine Senior and just can't keep the weight on. That is possible, although unlikely from the way the horse and his enclosure looks. So, I kept trying to get glimpses every time I drove by. On Friday I saw the horse very clearly again, and he is probably about a 2 on the BCS now. I called Animal Control again and explained the situation. Today I called to ask if they could tell me if they did check the horse out (not what was being done about it, just if they did respond). She said they always check it out same day or the day after. I sure hope so, because he really doesn't look good to me.

I asked my vet about the horse last week and he said he had no idea there was one there, (remember, it is almost impossible to see the horse from the highway) but that he was out on three similar calls with Animal Control just in the last week! I don't like that number... So at least he knows there is something there and will probably be watching for it too.

I'm just frustrated because I saw the horse again today. I was hoping he'd be gone, or that he would at least be eating. Nope. Just standing there. I am doing my best not to get all mad for the horse's sake until I know more facts. But still! I suppose the next thing to do is wait a while and if nothing seems to happen, then try to get some photos without being seen and without trespassing (tricky) and send them to Animal Control with a copy of the BCS. I know there are horse people in the area who would take in this horse if the owners gave him away, so if the officials can't do anything and the horse continues to look worse then I will figure something out with them.

The situation just kills me, though, because the horse is literally a half mile from the feed store!

Sorry for the rant, I'm just worried.


L

Twilight

I just got in from feeding the pigs... er, horses. It was dark - I could barely see when I came back in, but I know the way so I don't mind. I stayed out longer than usual after they were both fed, and just looked at things and listened. I love nighttime. You can feel winter coming now, just barely, and everything is so calm at this time. Of course, the perfect background noise is the sound of frogs chirping and horses chewing happily. :-D

Anyway, I'm not good with words, so I'll just say it reminded me of all those sayings about "velvet sky," and "gentle twilight," and "still of the evening." I've always had a hard time slowing down, relaxing, letting go, etc. etc., which I think is one reason I love being out after dark, with no flashlight. The quiet and dark force me to relax and I even breathe slower.

Now, my sister on the other hand can relax whenever, in almost any situation. Lucky her!


L

A lion introduces his lionesses to his best friends

Oh my goodness! This is the most amazing footage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U



L

Some pics from the last week

Here are a couple pics of Mira shortly after I finished her once-yearly all-over bath with soap. I don't do her all over with soap very often as she hates it so much. So, she usually gets a whole body bath or two in the summer, usually around the "anniversary." Spot cleaning and spraying with just water work most of the time, but it is fun to see the sparkle when she is really clean! Unfortunately, the lighting was not as good as I thought when I got these photos right after she was dry, so in these ones she looks way more yellow than she is. I'll post more photos as I have the time to get them up.

L

2 Whole Years!

Wow, it has already been two years exactly since I bought Mira! I can hardly believe it has both been such a long time and been such a short time! She has definitely been a blessing to me (and to my family) with her truly sweet nature. The way she loves being around people and loves new things always makes my day brighter. It's hard to say enough good things about her personality and how much fun she is, even though she is retired now. I am giving her extra peaches today, and a good long grooming. I won't have time to post more pictures until later tonight or tomorrow morning, but I am trying to spoil her today. :-D

The photo above is me unloading her the day we brought her home. Yes, I did sort of break my picture rule, for once...

L

A Blogger at the Western States Horse Expo 2008: 3

I always love watching the Magnificent 7 competition. It's so much fun to watch these horses, the best of the best, doing 4 events in one night.

I have learned quite a bit by watching all these years and I know a lot more about how to tell different levels of quality in a sliding stop or a spin or flying lead change, etc.

One thing I have noticed lately is the different amounts of applause for different riders when they are introduced. The "new" riders always get less applause, which is logical. Bob Avila, who won twice in a row AND one year got 1st and 2nd place, is understandably very popular.

He, more than any of the other yearly contestants, is well known for consistently exhibiting high quality horses with high quality maneuvers. You can pretty much count on a certain high level of performance and professionalism. As usual, he did a great job that evening. However, Russell Dilday got a score of 147 in the last event of the night, the herd work. This event is where the horse chases the cow up and down a fenceline, demonstrating he can keep the cow there. Then, he takes the cow off the fence and runs it in circles and figure eights. It is a very exciting event! Russell was brilliant in it that night. One of the best performances I've ever seen - he was totally in charge of that cow, which was a fast one! Everyone in the stands was really excited and clapping more than at almost any other time that night. He was now within a point or two of the frontrunner, Bob Avila.

When Bob Avila came out a couple horses later, he did OK. There were a couple of bobbles and he was not totally in control of the cow, but it was decent. Then the score was announced - 147! That score meant that he won. I am not the only one who felt that it was unfair. For the first time at the Expo, there was booing from a large part of the crowd. So yes, Bob Avila made history by getting three Mag 7 wins in a row, but I'm sure he has mixed feelings about it, as it should not really have been his trophy this time. I am glad for him, as he is a good trainer, but I really hope Russell Dilday does great next year and wins!

The whole issue was a good example of some of the failings of human nature. Judges are human, and when they see someone time and again, especially someone who always does a good job, and usually a great job, they can start to expect great things from that person and, rather than examine them as closely as they would a stranger, just give them credit they might not deserve. It was disappointing. Hopefully that will not happen again.

On the good side, there were several improvements in the organization, such as the speed at which the arena was dragged between events. Rather than taking 10+ minutes, it only took a couple of minutes this year - phew!

And just look at these gorgeous horses! Drool...




























Those horses are so amazing to watch. :-D


L

A Blogger at the Western States Horse Expo 2008: 2

More Breed Demo photos:

Two of the horses are from the Arab Demo, and the buckskin one is a PMU horse.

I unfortunately do not seem to have any good pictures of the mounted shooting demo, but oh well. It was interesting to watch, and the shooters were very fast and accurate. It's not that hard to hit a balloon from 15 feet away with spreading powder, but it is hard from a galloping horse, doing it in a certain order.

One thing we did this year was collect more free samples than I usually do in the shopping areas. I got quite a lot of feed samples, and the horses have really been enjoying having something a little different.

I don't have time right now, but next time I'll do a post entirely about the Magnificent 7 competition. I have some thoughts to share about it... and some good pictures, too!


L

A blogger at the Western States Horse Expo 2008: 1

I just returned from a fun vacation at the Expo. This is, I believe, my fifth year in a row there. This time we only went on Friday, as that was the day with most of what we wanted to see. My sister and I arrived shortly after the gates opened, and after walking around a bit we headed over to watch part of the Mustang Challenge, the in-hand competition. This event is based on the Extreme Mustang Makeover which was such a huge success. The horses in the Mustang Challenge were taken off the range and given totally wild to the trainers, who had 90 days before the show to train them.

We did not see more than 6 or 7 of the horses, but there was one trainer and horse who really stood out to me. I hope she won. The horse was VERY attentive and precise. In the trailer loading, it did exactly as requested, down to stepping out one foot at a time, waiting on her cues. It was already trained to ground tie, and she demonstrated that. If I were the type of person who didn't like training my own horses and I had a young horse to send out, she would be on my list of trainers. I believe her name was Jamie Thomas, according to the program.

Ray Ariss (and Hail Yeah, the mustang from last year that brought $50,000 after the Makeover) was there and did a demonstration and talk. We also saw more trainers from the Makeover later and I cannot remember who said it, but I loved this line: "The difference between training mustangs and domestic horses is, with mustangs you get to be a trainer. With domestic horses, you get to be a psychiatrist."

I can't remember who the picture above is of, though, I'm afraid. Sorry!

While we were watching the trainers later on, guess who sat down about four rows in front of us. He is publisher of Western Horseman magazine, and among other things, takes the official photos of the Magnificent 7 winners every year. Yes, Darrell Dodds. The sad thing is I've probably sat very close to many other famous horse people and not even realized it, as I do not frequent shows... Oh well!

Later we went over to the Toyota Arena and spent quite a while watching the Breed Demos and the Mounted Shooting Demo. During that time, my sister and I spotted a really gorgeous black Arabian stallion. I don't believe in breeding horse for color only, of course, but everyone likes a truly correct and gorgeous black stallion. So, of course we went over to pet him and take pictures!

He happens to be a son of Bey Shah, and his name is TC Bey Cedar. You may have seen him in Hidalgo. His owner was really nice, and it was fun meeting the stud. He was very well behaved, but you could tell he was a stallion by how he kept moving his muzzle around and lipping at the air. Not nippy at people, just doing stallion stuff. At the end of the Arabian Breed Demo, he came in and did various tricks, including rearing, which you could tell he heartily enjoys being allowed to do! He was very light to cues and counted out his age for us, as well as other tricks.

The last photo is right as he came down after a rear.

Anyway, after we finished petting him, we climbed back up to our seats in the stands to find that my aunt and brother had just sat down right below where we were, without realizing we were around! They had come over after we did, and wandered around separately, and we figured we'd run into each other eventually, but hadn't made any plans. I guess Sis and I are rather predictable, though - I realized that we always sit in the far right and back of those stands!

More to come...

L

News & Updates

Phew, what a busy week!
First, an update on the toddler. I have been anxious to try out all the good ideas you gave me, but due to the death of one of their family friends and various other things, they have been too busy to come over the last couple of weeks. I will let you guys know what happens next time they are able to make it!

I did write to the local newspaper regarding racing and my idea, and hopefully they will publish my letter this weekend. I am almost done with my letter to the Jacksons and Eight Belles's owners, too. Just trying to get it "just so" before I send it off. There were some good comments in the previous post on that issue. I encourage you to read them!

Something else that happened in the last few days was I decided that this fall I intend to get bees! I have thought about it off and on for a few years. My grandfather used to keep bees years ago, and so he has a lot of knowledge about it and would be a big help. Bees do take a lot of checking (not a lot of time, but a lot of daily attention) and that intimidated me in previous years, when my job situation was always fluctuating and I couldn't predict things more than a few months ahead.

But now I finally got tired of reading about the bee die-off crisis. I have been trying to ignore it, because I am trying not to get too worried about all the bad things happening that I can't help. The bee problem is serious - over 1/3 of our food is only there because of bees - and in some places 80% of the bees have died. Nobody is sure exactly what is causing it, but it is a very new and unique problem. Not only are bees dying, but sometimes they will up and abandon the hive and the queen and fly around aimlessly and then die. Nobody has ever, ever in centuries heard of bees doing that! I have read that when they dissect dead bees in the hard hit areas, they have found that the bees have every single disease known to bees - like bee HIV or something. Since bees have been around pesticides for decades and not had this dramatic of a thing happen, my personal and firm conviction is that the Genetically Modified plants are to blame. Genes are too complicated for humans to mess with like that! Anyway, I like my food, and prefer to be able to keep eating a lot of different things.

So, I decided to do something about the problem. Over the summer, I am going to find out how to establish a patch of alfalfa. That is not only good for horses, but it is one of the BEST bee fodders out there. I will also be planting other nectifarious plants... We were planning to get more chickens soon anyway, so probably what we will do is mark out a patch for the alfalfa, put a fence around it, and put all the horse manure there every day. The chickens will eat all the fly larvae and get plenty of protein and keep the fly population under control, and they will aid in decomposing the manure and loosening the soil. In the fall it should be a nice, rich patch of earth ready to plant. Then we can move the chickens to another spot. We might put one of the dogs up there next to the patch to keep deer away... I'm not sure what is the best season to get bees, but I'll find out. I'm really looking forward to this project! I've discovered the only way to get rid of the rather frantic feelings I tend to get after hearing/seeing any world news is to do something, and it's amazing how well it works! We don't use any pesticides/herbicides at all on our property (even the fly spray, when I use it, is organic) and I have a great idea about the neighbors. I think after I've had the bees a little while, I will invite the neighborhood to a party and serve honey-themed dishes and have little tidbits about bees and what they do for us and what chemicals do to them, and alternatives to chemical use. Not in a preachy way, just little pictures and clippings on the table.

Well, so long for tonight!


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One of Andolu's Favorite Things

Man, it is sad when you get busy enough that you don't even visit your own blog for several days. Sheesh. Anyway, here is the promised photo of Andolu's crazy "lead rope." A plastic bag. Yes, it's weird... The way it happened was several weeks ago, when we still had nice grass, I was down at one end of the pasture, picking grass from the other side of the fence for The Dude. He did not come when I whistled for him, and seemed to be distracted. I had already dumped the grass out of the plastic bag I gathered it in, so I went over to get him. He was too focused on the alfalfa in front of him, and turning his head didn't get him started following me (usually it would). So, I had an idea, and split the plastic bag down the middle to make a long piece, which I wrapped around his neck right under his ears. I tugged at it, and being a nicely halter trained horse, he followed me down the hill to the treat.

The reason I laughed about it, and thought it might be worth posting, is that my horses would really mess with a Natural Horsemanship trainer's mind. Any of those guys who like to use plastic bags for desensitizing would be really puzzled when my horses just followed the bag everywhere! Since my feed area is pretty close to the horses, they know exactly what comes in bags. Anatolian does not care in the slightest when I do rub him with a bag or lead him with one - he just wants to see if it has anything to eat!

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A "Job" for the Spoiled Ones!

I actually finished work already today, for once, and have time to update you all. One thing that is new around here is the arrangement I made with some friends of mine to come over once a week and let their kids ride the horses. I don't know if I mentioned this before at all, but the plan is for the kids to learn about horses and have fun around them not only for the normal benefits that horses give, but also for the one who has a chromosome disorder. Equine-assisted therapy is something the parents looked into for him, but there aren't really any organizations nearby. He really loves horses. Both toddlers are really cute to watch, though; kids can get so intensely focused on horses, and I love watching them trying to absorb and figure out everything.

The parents and I arranged for them to sign a ton of liability releases for the kids, and the parents will be giving me feed store gift certificates to help out with the costs. So the Spoiled Ones are actually going to be earning part of their keep! I know, my Mom was stunned too... Rather unusual to have them be earning something rather than just being Money Drains... :-D

So far it has gone well. We are doing one kid per session, which is good, because two adults for one kid is just barely enough. ;-) They are both good kids and try to listen, but it still is pretty involved keeping them out of harm's way. Andolu is being a good boy so far, which is nice. He doesn't care about having them on his back at all. Mira tried to do the "But I'm RETIRED!" act again tonight, but she settled down quickly and behaved herself. (I told her this WAS retirement packing a toddler rather than me) I have also started working on her salute trick again, and hope to soon get her trained to the goal, and get Andolu started on learning to bow.

Oh, and when I can find the cord for the camera, I'll be able to post some pictures of Andolu and his "lead rope."


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General Update

Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been literally working just about every waking moment this week. A bit exhausting, but starting yesterday I can actually sleep through the night again, which is very exciting!

Mira's eye is looking a little better, so who knows how things will eventually end up? The vet is coming to look at it on Tuesday...

My car is acting better, so I've been able to drive it without being afraid I'm killing the engine. It is still a little too hot, but otherwise normal. Maybe it heard me say there was just no way I could afford to repair it right now, and decided to shape up for now!

I don't really have anything interesting to say, and I've had no time for organizing photos, but I will try to post again tomorrow with a better post. By the way, I've really appreciated all the supportive comments during this time. You guys are good encouragers. :-)

Ciao for now...


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Mira's Melodrama: Life & Death Adventures of The Spoiled One

As promised, here is a photo of Mira eating from a lawn chair. :-) This was requested as a funny "look how (not) spooky the Arab is!" example. I think I'd better get some pictures of Andolu following the plastic and paper feed carrying bags around, too. I'm afraid he would puzzle a lot of Natural Horsemanship trainers - they wouldn't be able to sack him out with it!

I am glad to have had a chance to take this picture. This week was definitely a scary whirlwind, and at one point I was afraid I might never be able to get this photo.


On Monday, for the first time ever, Mira colicked. Colic in horses is by far their biggest killer, and there are many kinds of colic (stomach pain) caused by many different things. Colic is a life-threatening emergency, whereas the eye injury is not. In her case, the factors that could have contributed to colic include the weather FINALLY changing to sunny, (any dramatic weather change can trigger it) chronic low-level pain from the eye, the fact that I couldn't get her to drink enough for several days before, (no matter how much liquid I put in her wet food - she kept spilling the extra), a recent new hay purchase, and probably sleep deprivation from all the storms and hail. No matter what caused it, when I got home from work she was lying down in the sun.

At first I thought she was sleeping, but she didn't get up when I got her food ready. I went over and tried to get her up, but she kept looking at me and then drooping her head down again, in a very lethargic way. I started to really freak out. Right away I knew this was very bad.

I called the vet, and he came out about 45 minutes later and tubed her (inserting a nasogastric tube and flushing water and DSS, a lubricant, into her stomach) and gave her some Banamine to help with pain.

Unfortunately, her colic did not resolve with that one treatment. Over the next four days we had a rollercoaster ride trying to get her insides moving again, get her interested in eating again, and keep her from getting dehydrated. This is probably the most scared I've ever been about her. She never did sweat or roll from pain, or even look around at her sides, but you could tell she felt totally lousy.

Meanwhile, she started opening her eye and using it to look around a lot. It was MUCH less painful, and the vet said he was very happy with it. Since it was responding this quickly to the new meds, it's possible she didn't have a fungal infection after all; she might just have needed the stronger antibiotics to be able to absorb them. She doesn't even have as much blue ulcer area covering the eye as we were expecting - you can see quite a bit of brown iris! She was so sick though that that just made me feel worse, almost. I didn't want to win the battle but lose the war...

She was eating some grass and some alfalfa, but I could not get her to eat her wet food, which both horses usually think is the best stuff ever. I also kept squirting the inside of her mouth with a syringe which had warm water and molasses in it to try to remind her to take a drink! Finally, on Thursday after another tubing she started eating even her wet food, the gut seems to be working again, and she is drinking normal amounts! She is still restricted to small amounts of food for several days, until we can be sure things are working like they should, but I am SOO relieved. Hallelujah! Phew...



Now, I just need to get her cleaned up. No time lately for proper grooming for the dahlings, but at least I was able to brush them both thoroughly today. Compared to the photo from last post, she has definitely lost weight. I'm glad she had a little extra on as reserves during her illness... Here is Anatolian today... He's such a good boy, and he is getting rretty frisky. VERY athletic when he gets in the zooming mode!




















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