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Saturday, October 29, 2011

It's Here!


The hand-painted saddle pad that Kate at The Adventures of Lucy gave away in her haiku contest came today!  I felt like a little kid waiting for Santa.  Look how well the design sits with my dressage saddle.  Well done, Kate.  Thank you ever so much.

Our footing is frozen and/or muddy, so I had no business riding today, but I just couldn't resist hopping on Paj for a little walk.  David snapped these photos for me.





Thursday, October 27, 2011

First Snow Storm

Reggie
Hey guys, I think it snowed.
That must be why I'm wearing your brand new blanket, Paj.

Paj
What???  Take that off right now!

Boomer
Hold it down, you guys.  I'm trying to sleep.
Oh geeez.  Look at the snow, Ben...Ben?

Ben
nom nom nom 
Leave me alone, I'm eating.
nom nom nom 
Besides, it snowed.



Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Why I Love My Vet

You all know I love Dr. Gary, the best horse vet/friend in the world.  But did you know we have the best small animal vet too?  Dr. Roberta is a vet that can't say no to an animal in need.  Some time ago, someone brought in this baby squirrel.  Dr. Roberta took him in and fed him goat milk every 3 hours.  Now Squirrel is a big boy, and he's taken over her office.  And her life.

Squirrel will eventually move to a squirrel halfway house, and then be released.  It will be a while because winter has begun here.  It snowed all day, and tonight's low will be 14 degrees. 

Monday, October 24, 2011

Junior/Young Rider Clinic

Jan, Nanci and I watched the JR/YR clinic this weekend. The clinician was George Williams.  I didn't know any of the kids, but I knew one of the horses back when he was a youngster. It was wonderful to see him at 22 years of age, still sound and happy in his work. His fifteen year old rider adores him, and is competing at Prix St. Geoges and Intermediaire I.



Another horse of special interest was a Mecklenburg - the first I've ever seen.  This is another warmblood breed from Germany.

The only horse that wasn't a warmblood was this cute Morgan mare.  I thought of JJ at The Joy of Horses.  She's a huge Morgan fan.
If the venue looks familiar, it's the same barn that Jan kept Elvis and Lakota at last winter.  Jan and I want to keep riding through the winter, and it will be a frozen tundra here soon, so Elvis will be moving back to this barn on November 1.  Summer is over!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Bad Kitty

Tishia, how could you?
Jan gave me this orchid in July of 2010.
It is not a kitty chew toy.
Do you think it will bloom
in a vase?
Good thing you're so darn cute.



Friday, October 21, 2011

Haiku Hijinks

My horsey haiku won!  I won a beautiful hand-painted saddle pad from Kate at The Adventures of Lucy.  I'm really pleased, not just because I covet the saddle pad, but also because language doesn't come easily to me.  My family moved a lot when I was growing up, and sometimes it seems that in changing schools, somehow I missed some basic rules of English.  I'm self-conscious about my spelling, grammar and punctuation.  My brother Tom feels that changing schools messed up his math skills, and he taught me this handy rational.  Thanks, Tom!  And thank you so much, Kate.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Just Hanging Out

Yesterday was rainy, windy and cold.  The boys spent some time in their stalls and runs, which is never popular.  Today it's cool and windy, and they are happy to be back out in the pastures.

Paj
Reggie

Ben and Boomer

We blanket each horse according to his winter coat.  Ben is a woolly bear, so he's naked.  Boomer and Reggie just need something light to cut the wind.  Paj has a pitiful winter coat, so he needs a real blanket, at least for the morning.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Graduate, aka The Pirate King, and Thanks


Mickey has been a great little student.  I try to make his practices short and fun.  He doesn't like toys, so we always end with a rousing game of pirate.  I wind him up by singing a few bars of "The Pirate King" from The Pirates of Penzance, Kevin Klien version.  He knows what's coming!  The "go" word is Arrrgg and the "stop" word is Stop.  I should have come up with something more pirate-y than stop, but hey, we're having fun.  I give you The Pirate King, Mickey version -

Thank you, Ruffles at Just a Girl and Her Horse, Mare at Simply Horse Crazy and Dreaming at Living a Dream for honoring me with the lovely blog award.

I'm going to bend the award rules a little.  You're supposed to tell 7 things about yourself and pass the award on to 15 people.  I did that not too long ago, (click here), so instead I'd like to tell you a little bit about the lovely ladies that sent me the award. 

Ruffles is a young lady on the other side of the world - New Zealand!  She's a hard worker on the family dairy farm, and she has 2 lovely horses.  She dreams of being a trainer someday.  She's doing a great job on her own horses, so she's well on her way. 

Like Ruffles, Mare is 16 years old.  She has a lovely mare named Missy, and she works at Missy's barn.  Mare has a real up-beat attitude, and she's always up for an adventure.  Mare and Missy are really enjoying life.

Dreaming and I are practically neighbors!  We are about 20 miles apart.  Dreaming has two Haflingers.  If you aren't familiar with the breed, they are smaller draft horses with huge personalities.  Oh, and they're palomino!  How fun is that?  Sometimes Doc and Pippin take over her blog.

Thank you, Ruffles, Mare and Dreaming!


Saturday, October 8, 2011

First Snow

Well, that was fast!  Fall foliage yesterday, snow today.  Today's high?  36 degrees, with wind. 



The horses are snug in their blankets.
David and Mickey are snug in their jackets.



 

Friday, October 7, 2011

Fall Foliage, Prairie Style

There are no native deciduous trees on the ranch, so Fall comes softly.  Mountain Mahogany, our dominant shrub, is covered with feathery seeds.  Their corkscrew shape helps seeds penetrate the ground.



Purple asters are everywhere, even in the yucca.

Some of the weeds have beautiful Fall color.
What?  Too pretty to be a weed?
If it's on the lunge pen pad, it's a weed!


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Haiku

crisp sharp morning air
first slanting rays of sunshine
wild hooves thunder by


Kate at The Adventures of Lucy is having a contest!  "All"  you have to do to enter is write a horsey haiku.  This is a challenge if you're like me - not arty!  But the effort is worth it.  You could win a drool-worthy hand-painted saddle pad.  Here's the one I covet -


Following Kate's blog has been a lot of fun.  I've watched her transform her lovely mare Lucy from a wild thing to a jumping machine.  Kate has determination, focus and bravery.


Monday, October 3, 2011

From Ben

Hey Janet, I heard you asked how I'm doin'.  I'm good.
How you doin'?
I get lots of good eats.  3 pounds oats.  3 pounds corn.
3 ounces Red Cell.
A cup of brown sugar.
All the hay I can eat.
I don't have to do any work.
I just go out to the pasture and hang out.
This weekend it will be 30 days since my blood got healthy.
Dr. Gary says they can slowly cut back on some of my good eats. 
Next they'll want me to go to work!
Can I come live with you?
Anybody???

Editor's Note - Ben is not going anywhere!  We love him to bits.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

We'll Always Have Week 4

Our Mickey was a shining star in obedience class this week.  Polite leash walking?  No problem.  Sit-stay?  Unshakable.  Down-stay with distractions?  Ace, ace, ace.  Leave it?  Oh so easy when one must leave yummy cat food alone at home. 

Next week is the final class.  Who knows how it will go?  Who cares?  We'll always have week 4.  Good dog, Mickey.