Ring Around The Rosie

It's been one of those days. One where it becomes very, VERY apparent we have too many horses. Well, at least too many to do justice too.

The day started happy though. This is one of two semi-loads of hay being delivered to our place...
One load is mostly crested wheat with a little alfalfa and another is about 60/40 alfalfa and prairie grass. A little something for everyone's particular diet. Whew, it is going to be really nice not to have to rely on the neighbor to bring hay to me anymore. He's a nice guy, but I spoke for 10 big round bales of nicely put up crested wheat/alfalfa from him and he buried it in his hay stacks. The last bale I had to take as a substitute pretty much sucked and I sure didn't want any more like that.

So once mom and I were done admiring the new stacks, it was on to much discussion about the merry-go-round that has become all too normal around here. Alas, my mom has a bug up her butt and wanted to move some horses around.

Well, that meant that my sweet Frosty...

And The Red-Head...

needed to go back to the ranch for awhile, so I have room and time to work with another bunch. So we get them loaded and head to the ranch, set gates and get the "wild bunch"(they aren't really wild...they just pretend to be) in and sorted...

So now, the red roan gelding...

Nice war paint he covered himself in!! Sheez, did they have to go roll in the mud right before we got there??

And the trio of sorrel sisters...

Are at mom's house.
There really is a rhyme and reason for all this, as you will see on down the road.

And...

Megan's blue roan moved from mom's back to town. Which makes my little girl very happy!

Tomorrow...

Boon goes to mom's. She will enjoy that-pasture 24/7 and hay too.

Got all that? Me neither...it is going to take days to remember who is where and we are going to wonder why we thought this needed to be done!

Frosty and The Red-Head chased the trailer down the road...You could tell, they didn't think this was a good idea at all. Both of them really like their grain and attention. Poor boys, they are gonna have to rough it again...for awhile!!

I haven't forgotten about that Meme, TrainWreck! As a matter of fact I started on it this morning and then had to get busy. Nor have I forgotten the award that Kwdhorses gave me.
Thanks guys...I promise I will get the posted.

She's A Pretty Cool Kid

She's growing up...

Way too fast!!!

She shows horses...

And teaches em' tricks...

She even shows cats...

And likes to play with snakes...

Takes beautiful photos...

And now that she's in High School, she is stealing my barrel horse...

Hey, where do you think you are going with my horse?

Where on earth does the time go???

The New Girl...Edited

EDITED to add...Sorry about forgetting about her breeding. I guess I am just so used to our horses that I forget they are new to others.

This mare' registered name is Katie Boon and she is by our old King stud, Brown King Command. Lots of foundation breeding in him. He was bred by Van Norman's in NV. That family held the AQHA Remuda of the Year a few years back. The old stud, who passed away a few years ago, went to some cutting futurities his 3y/o year and then turned into a rope horse. My brother used him to head and heel on. My brother tried to show off his cutting abilities one day and ended up hanging off the side of his neck. He never tried to show off again-LOL.
The previous owner said that Boon's dam was 4th in the World in the AQHA cutting. I don't know what year-had to have been awhile ago, since she is in her mid-twenties now.

We ended up with her because her previous owner had promised my brother first crack at her if he ever decided to sell her. This guy, is a very nice guy...he just isn't a very good cowboy and although he loved the horses that my brother rode(all by our King stud), he can't ride them. They are way to much horse for him. That is a problem we have had with finding homes for some of our horses. They are wonderful using horses, gentle and kind. But, if you get to rough with them, they will defend themselves and it isn't pretty. With this bunch, it really is more about "showing" them what to do, rather than trying to "train" them for anything. I suspect that the mare was just too quick and got out from under the original owner. He seems to have a hard time staying in the middle of a horse if they move too fast-LMAO.

I like her. She is definitely getting better looking. She was so faded and washed out looking when she got here. Her head is pretty plain. Really long from eye to muzzle, but she has the prettiest eye on her. Very kind looking, but completely aware of what is going on. Long hip, good wither, decent shoulder...she will make a rider for sure.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So a couple of weeks ago the Boon Bar grand-daughter showed up. Her soon-to-be previous owner was rather vague about "things". As in how she lost her head...

Just kidding...

What can I tell you? Nothing in the riding department. Haven't gone there yet. It became quickly apparent that this little mare needed some groceries and down time.

She's pretty flat in the chest at the moment, but is already showing signs of filling out.

Ignore the feet, she has been pretty touchy about them so far. She's getting better, but I have an idea is was no fun for her getting shoes put on. She still has the hind shoes on. I will have to get them pulled and her feet trimmed in the next couple of days. So we will have to have a nice calm come-to-jesus meeting. I think she will relax once she finds out I am just going to take my time.

She is pretty peaked in the hip too...

But the frame is there...

She isn't exactly thin persay, she just lacks a lot of muscle.

When she got here, she wanted nothing to do with people. Now, she will stand to be groomed without a halter and I can pickup and clean out her feet without her jerking away. She's touchy about her head. Not so much headshy, as just not sure about being touched. She loves her feed, so tolerates me messing with her throughout her meal. She is not about to walk away from that grain. She likes being alone during feeding time. I can tell she has had to fight for her share. But she didn't really like being by herself for the first week. She paced a lot and would grind her teeth. Now she only grinds her teeth when she sees her grain coming.

That's about it. I won't be riding her for awhile. She still needs some time to "forget", so will go to mom's this weekend and get acclimated with the herd. Her previous owner called mom and offered to come "show us how she works", but mom politely declined. He is afraid that we won't keep going with her and get her finished out. All I want her to do is forget most of what has probably been done to her and relax. She can take most of the winter off and we'll just ease along and fill in all the gaps she has in her training.

Oh yea, she is only 5 and we named her Boon. How could I almost forget important stuff like that?

Shooter

Shooter can take back his name. He has gotten over his kicking antics and decided people are useful to him.

Look, a baby mule...

Hey, put the camera down and scratch me...

He's decent sized for 10 weeks old...

Megan is 5'2".
I am 5'6"...

Ooohhhh, that's the spot...

Oooooooooo yyeeeaaaaa!!!

Time to add some halter lessons...

Oh look, it's his Man from Snowy River imitation...

Hey, I want to get back to my mommmmmaaaaaa...

Level headed little turd though...

And carries no hard feelings about that haltering thing...

His soooo just like every other Woofer foal. They will follow you anywhere, but they all hate pressure on their noses. Their first instinct to any pressure on the nose is to root out and if that doesn't work, they get mad. Nice thing about them though, they never get excited.

Good lord, remind me to NEVER wear Wranglers in pictures again. I look like Steve Erkle!!

Back To Work

Alright, the rant from last week is over. I am done PMSing and back to my normal self. See, this blog is not really about stirring up any controversy. It's simply a way to let my long-distance friends see what I am up too. Along the way I have met some really cool new long-distance friends. Lucky me! Really, my evil twin Flo reared her ugly head and then left me with the aftermath-LOL. Sometimes she is just wicked!! Thanks everyone for the great comments...and I sure did find a couple of new friends to keep track of too.

But, it is Monday and it's back to work as usual. Today found me back at the ranch, whipping out those little odds and ends that Chris and I didn't get finished when he was here. Mom wanted the tractor back at her place, as we could get some rain and heaven forbid, the tractor gets rained on-LOL....

Of course, I had my hard working supervisor and the lapdog with me...

No, they didn't get to ride in the tractor with me! Good lord, I had my hands full with all of those levers and foot pedals. They spent the day directing me from the comfort of the air-conditioned pickup. Oh, the tractor has air conditioning, it just isn't as good as what the pickup has. Spoiled rotten dogs!!

Megan and her boyfriend spent the day working their little hiney's off, opening gates, chaining equipment and shoveling sand. Man, now I know why Chris only agrees to help when he gets to run the tractor. Just kidding honey... sort of...luv u...

For all that wanted to see the row of horse-drawn farming equipment...Here is some of it...

Okay, this one is not horse-drawn, but it's old as the hills too...

Don't ask, I don't know what it is exactly...some sort of a disk...thingee

This one is a horse-drawn planter...

And another horse-drawn...thingee...???

A plow, that used to be horse-drawn, but was modified to use behind a tractor...

Oooh, oooh...I know this one...It is a horse drawn corn planter!!!...

An original John Deere manure spreader...

NOT horse drawn, obviously-LOL

And a hay rake, that was horse-drawn, but modified to pull behind a tractor...

I can't begin to tell you how many hours I spent in the back of a pickup, dumping hay rows with this thing. Yep! A pickup! My dad would hook it to the pickup, one kid would drive and another would sit in the back and dump the rake. Hey, I got a pretty good tan one summer. I got the nifty idea to throw an old mattress in the bed of the pickup so I could lay down and pull the dump rope. It didn't work so good when I tried to lay on my back and do it. So I was only tan on my back and the back of my legs. What an dork, I was back then-LOL.

Oh, Train Wreck asked me about the trees...After all of that, the electric company never showed up and started chopping. I saw them headed south with their boom truck and wood-chipper, so I guess I am spared for a little while longer. Boy, they cut down some other people's trees though. I bet there are some pissed off people on the north end of town. :o
I got to looking around town and if they come in and cut everything down that they say they can...OMG...This town is going to look pretty naked. Maybe, they realized that and making another plan??...Nnnaaaa...They'll be back...Just like Flo-LMAO!!

Breed Em Or Buy Em???

In light of our recent discussions, that question has been on my mind. Megan and I went to a local production sale today and Oh My!! what a beautiful bunch of babies...

Color and Looks to burn!!
If you are a blue roan lover, or a grulla lover or a dun/buckskin lover...

This was a good sale to be at.

Sorry, I got two lousy pictures and the camera batteries died. Here is the ranch website Krogman Horses. Number one reason to go? I'm snoopy! I haven't seen this family's horses sell in years and wanted to see what they were putting on the ground these days.

And...I wanted to see a particular colt. I didn't get a picture of him, but you can find him in the sale catalog, Page 19, Lot 57...Grullo Colt. I wasn't disappointed that's for sure. He was a knock-out. I literally sat on my hands when he came in the ring. I knew the bid caller and when he saw me do that, he started laughing and was trying to sucker me into the bids while the colt sold. LOL-You gotta watch those guys. He sold for $850. Megan's pick was on Page 21. Lot 64. She sold for $350.

You may ask, why I didn't buy this colt...He was gorgeous, baby doll head, great color, cute little markings and will grow up to be a nice, nice horse for a lot of people. There is one simple reason that cutie didn't come home with me...he will grow up to be a nice, average horse that lots and lots of people would be proud to own. The operative word there is AVERAGE! Not conformation wise, not color wise...talent wise. There is no doubt that these horses come from good, solid bloodlines. They just don't come from bloodlines that have outstanding performers. They aren't winning the World. Thats not enough horse for me.

So I will stick with my plain bay, slightly heavy in the neck colt, that I bred and raised...

He has the outstanding bloodlines, the heart and the drive that can take me as far as I want to go. That is my cup of tea...quick, powerful, thinking horses. Can you believe that this "little" hum-dinger is only 10 weeks old? He is as big as the 3-4 month old foals we saw at the sale.

But the type I am hungry to reproduce aren't for everyone. Most of the people that I know need horses like what we saw today. Nice, sweet-tempered foals that grow up to be nice sweet-tempered horses that lots and lots of people would enjoy riding. There is and will always be a market for these horses. Not everyone can handle or wants to deal with the type of horse that can consistently take them to the pay window. There is nothing wrong with that. Don't ever let anyone make you feel bad about what is standing in your corrals. If you like them and they work for you...to hell with what the rest of the world says. You do not have to justify yourself to an internet community whose only goal is to make themselves feel better by bashing other people.

On that note...the young lady that owns the mare Mrs Mom would like to give a home too was kind enough to leave a couple of comments on the Fugly site. She did not breed this mare. She bought this mare and some others, already bred. The owner couldn't afford to keep them anymore and as she put it...she has the place and feed for them. This is what she does...she buys some horses that needs homes and spends her time "fixing them up", so they have a chance at a better life. She is not a "rescue", just a young lady who likes to do this. The "ugly-ites" actually had the audacity to "Thank" her for "clearing it up". Gag...choke...snort. One email from the author of the blog to this girl before posting(throwing chum to the sharks) could have earned the girl the spotlight for being one of the many unsung heroes who actually save "less-than-ideal" horses from a one-way trip...and OMG...she isn't even claiming to be some wonderful, aren't I special, non-profit rescue. Do you think ole' FUGLY will print a retraction and give the girl the credit she deserves?

I'm not holding my breath!!!