All In A Rush

Isn't it the way of things, that when they start to come together...they all come together in a rush?

Because you guys like him...here's the 'rat boy' all tucked into his bed for the night...
He has figured out how to dismantle his wheel and although he has studied it carefully and works very hard, he just cannot quite get it put back together. That of course, pisses him off royally, so he has destroyed his hammock. He's a weird little creature. However, his hammock is his favorite place to sleep, so we keep piecing and sewing it back together for him. He's such a brat!

I have to go back to work at the office part time. I told them I would fit in what I could. Apparently, the office manager has been slammed for quite some time and there is a lot of catching up to do before the end of the year. I probably wouldn't be irritated except that I have asked repeatedly how things were going and everybody in the office just kept saying...'Fine. Everything's just fine'. When it came to My Honey's attention that there were some things not getting done...the excuse for not asking for help earlier was, 'Well, we knew you guys were busy and we didn't want to bother you.' Arrggggghhhhhh!

Heellllloooooo....does the word OWNERS mean anything to you people?

Yea, we kind of expect the employees to tell us when they need help. Did they actually think I was outside working and riding in the 100+ weather through the ENTIRE month of July?

So yea..I'm back to the office....Now that the riding weather is P.E.R.F.E.C.T!!! Arrrgggghhhhhh!!!

In other fun news, Moon laid down in his pen last night and must have hung a leg under a panel. His right hind is all scraped and swollen. Last night was his night to go out and it got too dark by the time I was done with chores, so I thought...I'll just turn him out for awhile in the morning. Yeesh! I turned him out after soaking his leg and doctoring it. Hopefully moving around will help the swelling go down. He's tender on it, but it's not major...just inconvenient.


The good news is...

I've got my calls in to schedule Turk for his re-set and for both Turk and Moon to get their teeth done. Hopefully I can get that out of the way this week.

I picked up my load of hay...a beautiful 30/70% grass/alfalfa mix. Beretta is going to do really well on this and I have thought that my other horses needed a bit more protein in their diets. I have several loads of grass hay spoke for and several more loads of 60/40% grass/alfalfa spoke for as well. It's really kind of a pain in the butt to have so many horses that needs different things. But what the heck right?

These horses are fixing to start earning their hay! ;)

Come Thursday, Bugs...
(sorry, old picture from the ranch)...starts going to the trainer. I think the trainer, who is not as young as I thought he was, was a little nervous about me at first. I'm sure I sounded like one of those overly-protective horse mommies. But, I simply explained that I do not vaccinate my horses and I prefer not to take the chance of putting him with others that might make him sick and that I also have him on a special feeding program at the moment and don't want to saddle anyone else with that chore. (Whatever!...I just don't like the thought of taking one of my horses and dumping them off at someone else's place)

So instead, I will haul Bugzy Boy over every evening, let L work him and bring him home. If things proceed nicely, which I am sure they will after visiting with L for quite some time, I will also throw in a saddle horse and I can ride in their arena while Bugs gets worked. Two horses getting worked at the same time...COOL!

The only unfortunate thing about doing it this way, is that I am also supposed to start my dressage 'lessons' next week. I put the quotes around lessons because they are not going to start out as formal lessons. C is a sooper-dooper lady and simply told me to start coming over in the evenings and she will help get me started on the more formal aspects of dressage. She said she can comfortably get me as high as 4th level, but if I want to go any higher, she will hook me up with a couple of different trainers/coaches in the area. The really nice thing is that C is actually a 3-day eventer, so she is also going to teach me the proper way to start jumping.

I'm going to be riding my own horses, so at least a couple more will get worked on those evenings that I ride with her. Now, I am ever so anxious to get Jet started under saddle because next year he's going to be my English horse...
He'll do quite nicely according to C. When she saw him, she looked at everything and then she gave me the funniest look. I'm sure she was wondering what that swan was doing in my herd of chunky-monkey's-LOL. Jet may end up being THE english horse, but until then everybody else is going to have to take turns. I think Moon will love the jumping, but he is going to HATE the dressage part.

In my spare time, I can start going over to the neighbor's and roping again and I would still like to hook up with my barrel racing friend and go to her arena and ride with her. I know she works in the a.m., so I am hoping we can shoot for early afternoons. She lives close to L's place, so I can just throw the sorrel horse in and he can learn to wait his turn. ;)

Yep. Lots of hauling to OPP(other people's places), but I have never minded that and I think it has always been good for the horses. I never have problems with my horses pawing or being stupid at the trailer. At least not after the first couple of times they have gone someplace that is-heeheehee.

Crap...the only thing is...I have to go buy me a pair of proper field boots, a couple pairs of breeches and a cap with a harness. I'm very fortunate though, there are 2 english stores in the immediate area, so I should be able take care of that easy enough. I'm mostly unsure about sizing, so being able to try stuff on is important.

Now, to shower and I'm off to work.

Of course, it is just an absolutely beautiful day out. Arrrgghhhh!!!!!

To Good To Pass Up

I stopped to get feed this weekend and just because I had to use the bathroom, found out the store was having a killer sale on some of their boots.

Usually, I don't bother going to that side of the store very often, because their clothing and such are so high priced, I won't buy there.

$45 to $65 for a woman's western shirt...R U Freaking kidding me?

I'm a penny pinching miser! (My Honey calls me a cheap-skate;)

But considering there were sale tags on the racks, I stopped to look. A sale tag to me is like a bug zapper to a bug....I just can...Not...resist.

Well, the sales tags were a little confusing. There was one that said 25% off and another one that said 50% off. So I asked how do you tell which ones are 25% off and which ones are 50% off?

The lady tells me that everything is 25% off and then there is another 50% off of that price.

W.H.A.T!!!!!

Even my non-mathematical brain can figure out that is more than 75% off of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. on those racks.

Score!!!

I started grabbing boots.

But I paused...I have multiple pairs of boots. Do I really need these?

Well, actually NO, I don't.

But my dear little girl could sure use a new pair of boots. I ended up with her last black pair because they stretched out and she has needed a replacement pair all summer.

So I run back to the house....what the heck, it's only 30 miles...grab the kiddo and we head back to the store to puruse. I'm all giddy with excitement...because you know...as long as Megan gets some new boots, surely it wouldn't hurt if momma gets a new pair too...riiiigggghhhhttttt????

Here's our haul...

The two pair on the left are mine...the cognac Ariat Showbabys and the black/rose Noconas. Megan also got a pair of the black/rose Noconas (which she wore to school today) and she scored another pair of Ariat Rowdy's(far right). Her favorite pair of boots are just like these except her old pair has a purple top. I told her to get the Rowdy's even if she wasn't a big fan of the red top because...Helloooooooo....they were on sale for $64. The Noconas came out at $60 each pair and the Showbaby's at $54.

Happy Dance, happy dance, happy dance!!!!

Meg also got a cool black belt that has 'bullets' on it...which of course, she is wearing already, for $10 and I picked up a white western shirt with some colored embroidery on it for $15.

All because I drank too much coffee and had to pee.

Whooo-hoooo! ;-)

Well, and because the horses can never be left out, I bought another 100 gal. Rubbermaid tank.

So much for this month's budget. Maybe it is a good thing I have to start going back to work at the office? I mentioned to My Honey I needed to buy hay again...and Turk needs his shoes reset and I might as well have his and Moon's teeth done...and...and...and...

He just looked at me. (gulp)

We had company yesterday and they had a small Schnauzer. OMG...He was the cutest thing ever!!! But he was fascinated by the squirrel and watched him the whole time. I tried to get pics of them sniffing each other, but they just kept coming out blurry. They would sniff and then the squirrel would race laps in his cage and the dog would leap back and forth, then they would sniff again.

Needless to say, the squirrel was t.i.r.e.d. last night and when the company went to bed and took their dog with them, Scrat racked out in a big way... Poor little guy was really wore out. LOL.

I Fixed His Wagon

Well, as you guys know, things just weren't going very good between Moon and I earlier this year, so I decided to take a little time off to see if I could fix the problem...

A little while turned into about 6 weeks. I was busy with the new place. It got hot. I didn't feel like going anywhere. Then we went on vacation. Then I went to SD.

Time got away.

Not that I was all that interested in continuing to go compete when my horse was making me look like a complete idiot anyway.

Yea...So I'm a little vain.

What can I say (shrugs).

This morning, I kind of kicked myself in the butt and forced myself to load up and go to a barrel racing. I feel like I have done pretty much all of the 'fixing' I can do at home and really just needed to get back into a competitive environment and see if the work Moon and I have been doing would make a difference.

So we get there, get entered and spend a little time warming Moon up. I was going to run him in the thicker twisted wire snaffle I usually ride him in day to day, but darned if he wasn't just being a pig about bending and giving. So I switched to a Mylar bit that I have used on him off and on over the last couple of years. It really works well for getting his attention. It's a more severe bit than I typically use and really only pull it out when Moon is being especially piggish.

I can honestly say, I was extra-ordinarily nervous about making this run. Believe me, the last few runs Moon made would be enough to shake most people's confidence. I absolutely hate feeling out of control on a horse and the way Moon was slamming into barrels at will, it was pretty obvious I was not in control of this horse's shoulder at 2nd barrel.

I decided that this run, it was going to be more about control than speed. It doesn't matter how fast your horse is, if you cannot leave the barrels standing you aren't going to win or place. So I left the Mylar bit on and decided we were going to slow things down a few notches.

My heart was thumping so badly I had to get off of Moon until it was our turn to run. I didn't want my nerves to transfer to him and make him antsy. I wanted him as cool and relaxed as possible. Getting hot really isn't a problem Moon has though. He has always been very good at the gate and for the most part will only run as fast as I ask him too. I know I had gotten that control back in our time off. I just wasn't sure I had gotten control of his shoulder at 2nd barrel back.

As the barrel racer before us finished her run and started to walk out the gate, I swung up on Moon, sunk my feet in the stirrups, gathered my rein and walked directly into the arena. Moon's ears came up and I felt him gather. I let him go, but stayed sitting in an upright position. Moon eased off in his speed and gave me his nose. Everything felt really good.

He ran perfectly to 1st and turned it really well. I felt him start to gather for the run to 2nd and I sat a little deeper and picked him up with both hands. He came right back to me. My mind was thinking...'This is perfect, this is where he gets out of control and I have him.' About 1/2 way across the arena, I picked up on the left side and felt his nose and ribcage give. Perfect!! I moved him just a hair over and set my hand just in front of my saddle swell. My goal was...If Moon turned the barrel like he was supposed to, I would not hit his mouth, if he tried to dive in, all I had to do was lift my hand and I would be able to prevent it.

Honestly, the horse felt good. He was cruizing along at a comfortable speed, his body was in perfect position, I was in a good position...only one of two things was going to happen.

Option one would have been ideal...that Moon would rate and turn the barrel in good form.

Option two would be that he tried to dive onto the barrel.

Either way, I was sitting good enough and felt like I finally had control of him again. NO WAY was I going to let this horse run over another barrel.

I felt his back lift as he set for the rate and I though, 'He's gonna turn it right.'

From that gather, when his front leg hit the ground...He chose Option two.

I literally felt him deliberately dive for that barrel. And I do mean DELIBERATELY!! There was absolutely no reason for him to have to dive. He was in good form, had rated in the perfect spot and should have been able to just glide around the barrel.

At that second, I was sooooo happy I had chosen to run him with the Mylar bit. Moon got his just desserts. He started to dive, my hand was set and all I did was lift it up. That horse ran into that bit and absolutely flew sideways away from the barrel.

The only thing going through my mind was, 'There ya go asshole. How does that feel?'

I know that sounds mean. But by god, it was time this horse learned he was not going to do as he darned well pleased.

Moon was pissed. He ducked his head and took off running sideways with his outside shoulder leading the way. We bounced off the arena fence and when we came off of it, I went to gaping him with my outside leg. **I don't wear spurs** That horse whipped around and we did a couple of reining horse spins. Typical Moon, total over-reaction to any disruption to HIS plan.

Without missing a beat, I trotted him back over to 1st barrel, turned him around and loped him right back at second. He loped in there a little more cautiously, rated and although I could feel him thinking about diving again...He didn't.

We loped to 3rd. He turned that as pretty as you please and loped home.

When I got off to loosen his cinch and walk him, he had a slightly dazed and confused look on his face. He was mentally processing everything that had just happened.

Me...I was giggling like a loon.

One of the other ladies gave me condolences on my run, but I was smiling and told her that was exactly what this horse needed.

See...I set Moon up perfectly to do the right thing. The right thing would have been the easier thing for him to do. He made a choice and this time it didn't work out AT ALL like he thought it would. He got used to bulling his way through the pattern during competition and this time I was able to prevent him from doing so.

After the last few barrel racers, we went right back in and made another 1/2 speed run. I didn't want to loose the competition 'feel' around the arena. Horses know the difference...believe me...they KNOW the difference. Moon was a little awkward turning 2nd, but he wasn't real keen on diving onto the barrel. At least he felt like he was trying to do the right thing. We worked on patterning exercises for awhile and then made another 1/2 speed run. This time, Moon felt like he was completely with me and not trying to do his own thing. We called it a day.

The horse is such a jerk. If he wasn't so talented, I would have given up on him a couple of years ago, but every time I think I have had just about enough, he gives me something and I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, onward and hopefully upward we go.

I Lied...More Baby Pics Instead

Sorry, I am too tired to stay up and download rodeo videos. The weather is beautifussssss here and I started back to riding. I'm pooped!

The horses are doing very well on their new feeding program. More on that soon. Pinky-swear.

I realized that I never seemed to get a very good pic of Gunner's head the whole time he was here in CO with me. Could have something to do with the fact that he preferred to be as close to me as possible anytime I came in his pen. Do you know how hard it is to scoop poop when you have a colt standing at your elbow, insisting on being scratched on the whole time?

His surroundings was a little more interesting to him at mom's.

There is always a huge tank of hay to munch on...


Other horse's poop to sniff...


And of course other horses to study...


Mom has since introduced Gunner to his 'Uncle' Leo and has started introducing him to 'open range'. That of couse, means nothing more than she opens the corral gate to give baby and mentor the opportunity to leave the safety of the corral...LOL. It usually doesn't take more than a couple of days and baby figures out there is way better grass the farther you go away from the corral gate and before you know it all you see is their butts disappearing over the hill soon after you let them out.

Regular evening graining ensures they make their way back.;-)

Ranch Rodeo

It was more good luck than good timing that the weekend I went back to SD happened to be our local rodeo weekend.

A few years ago a friend started up a Ranch Rodeo and it has become a big hit. Now doesn't this line-up make a cowgirl smile...
Mmmmm...Nice view!


WHAT??????

I was talking about the ranch horses!

You naughty cowgirls you. ;-) LOL

I fell in love with this little red dun horse...
Man, could this horse work. It was actually his rider that cost him the Top Ranch Horse Award. There was no doubt the horse was handier than his cowboy. After the last go-round, the cowboy was 'spinning' the little horse in the arena and it was pretty apparent the horse could spin faster than his rider could handle. It made me laugh. I found out later he was a Wilywood bred horse. Wilywood is (was ??...I don't think he is alive anymore) a double bred Orphan Drift and Poco Bueno bred horse that produced absolutely fantastic arena horses. I've always had a fondness for them because a lot of them are dun.

Anyway...

Obviously there is always a lot of wrestling around with cattle at a ranch rodeo...



They finally got the old girl wrestled to a stop and got a few squirts of milk into their bottle. It's not as easy as a person would think, even with 4 cowboys hanging off of her, because the rope had to be OFF of the cow, she had to be standing on all 4 feet and there was no twisting of the tail, ears or pinching of the nose allowed. Just sheer muscle to get her to hold still long enough for one of the guys to get her to give up some milk and then the milker had to race back to the chutes to show the bottle to the judge.

This is the horse that won the Top Ranch Horse Award...
I wouldn't kick him out of my corral.

That wrapped up the first night. Tomorrow...RODEO pics! I have a video of June Holeman's barrel run too. I want to be that woman...67 years old and still rodeoing.

The New Love Of My Life

Shooter might be mildly hurt to find out his little sister has completely captured my heart...


What can I say...I like me some booty...


Bringing Beretta back to CO wasn't exactly the plan when I went home, but here she is anyway. Really only because, when I trimmed her feet back in SD, I see that they are kind of growing every which way again. Nothing serious, they just need more attention than being trimmed whenever I can get home. She has some funky flares around her heel area on her front feet. Probably residual effects from her migrating heels last winter. And her right hind foot was seriously out of balance. The outside heel was worn down and the inside heel was long. It balanced easy enough when I trimmed her, but I didn't want it to get that out of whack again between now and the next time I go back to SD.

Mom did find someone else to trim feet in my absence, but I seriously doubt he will show up every 10-14 days to take a little heel off of one foot.

Having Beretta here is not exactly a hardship on me. I have missed the little girl. She is such a sweetheart. She's also turning into everything I could ever hope for.

**See what's left of one of my shades behind Beretta? Apparently, a nice 'breeze' came through while I was gone and ripped the canopy to shreds. I think I was probably lucky there wasn't a horse in that pen at the time. I'm pretty sure that coming apart would have caused a wreck. Yeesh!!

Home At Last

God, it feels good to be home!

It was so stinking hot and humid in SD. And the wind blewwwwwwww like crazy on Sunday, so we didn't leave for home until the evening. I really don't mind driving all night, but needless to say, I'm tired.

I guess this ugly beast is surviving the hardships of the ranch okay...


Who is that grown up horse you ask?

Hard to believe my baby boy, Shooter is a strapping 2y/o isn't it?

He's a wild one too!

N.O.T!!!!!!!!!

I jumped on him bareback.

He could have cared less.

LOL-Didn't mean to leave you guys hanging on the last post. It may be a bit anti-climatic.

I met a 3-Day Eventer/Dressage/Jumper lady the day before I took off for SD. She is on of the coaches for the local Pony Club organization. She invited Meg and I to come watch some of the lessons and is going to hook me up with a friend of her's who is a trainer (horses and people). This cowgirl is going to start her dressage lessons...Heeheehee. I am also going to be setting up lessons with a top-notch local barrel racer. I need help and if I have learned one thing about barrel racing...when you are having problems you need to get with someone because a 'watcher' is invaluable.

Oh, did I mention Meg and I are also going to attend a roping clinic next month?

And I have to get with some people I met awhile back cause I want to start going over to their place for some working cowhorse/cutting time. They have a 'trainer' who rides at their place as well. I use the term loosely because I really think he is just kid who is desperately trying to figure out this horse training thing. But, from what I have seen, he is not mean to the horses he rides, sooo....I think he is dumb enough to get on my sorrel horse for a few rides.

Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to him or the horse. I just need someone who is a little more bouncy than I am to put a week or two on the horse. I'm going to be there for every ride and pony the horse the first few.

If all goes well, when I get the bay horse, Jet ready for his first rides, I'll have this kid do the same thing on him.

I love it when the heat of summer goes away. I catch my second wind and the horses start to feel good again. Now, ya'll know why I have to get some of these guys lined out and working properly. We have things to DO....

Well, after I take a nap that is. ;-)

There's A Pill For Everything These Days

This year sure has gone by fast and I don't feel that I have accomplished near what I wanted to with the horses.

I have run into some unusual problems with both the black horse, Spooks and my buckskin, Frosty in both their feet and with muscle soreness. Something is not quite right with either of those horses. I have went through the usual battery of options-teeth, feet and chiro and I am still not satisfied that they are right.

Spooks is a horse made to travel like his 3/4 brother, Rip. But he should travel better. He is not. He does not push from behind and within about 15 minutes of riding, starts letting his left hind leg get strung out behind. He also seems unusually sore in his hocks. At first I thought it was in his hips, then his stifle, then I thought an old cut on the inside of his gaskin might be the problem, then I thought in his foot. Gahhhhhhh! Sometimes I feel like I make myself crazy trying to figure out all of these little issues. The vet/chiro ruled all of that out.

Well, studying the black horse got me to noticing some things on Frosty. Frosty has been bucking this year. And not pissy little 'I don't want to' bucking either. I mean blow up and get violent...right now...bucking. Personally, I think it is rather weird that a horse I started and have ridden off and on for the past few years and who has never bucked before suddenly starts bucking so violently. I run the gambit with him as well-teeth, feet, chiro. I started noticing that he seemed very sore, all over, especially his hocks...just like the black horse.

So that got me to thinking...what do or did these horses have in common? What was I missing?

Well, thanks to my little mission to revive The Mouse, I think I may have run across a possible reason and hopefully a cure.

Both of these horses have been obese the past few years. Not just fat...Obese! Spooks always got a very thick neck, not a cresty neck, just thick and ugly and he always gets a big bulge of fat over his tailbone. Frosty got gargantuan last winter and still has not lost all of the weight. He also has fatty lumps just behind his withers.

Now, after all of the care, careful feed regulation and time I have invested in getting these horses into reasonable shape, by rights they should look better than they do and neither of them should have fat deposits on their bodies. None of the other horses do and none of the other horses are sore in the body and hocks like these two are. Unusually sore. Which of course explains their lack of desire to travel out, inability to gather up and Frosty's bucking fits. That horse comes from a family that could not ever handle any pain, whatsoever.

I think they are Insulin Resistant.

After doing some research of supplements that might help Mighty Mouse stop having laminetic incidences that cause him to get sore, yet not actually foundering, I think these two big horses are having similar system issues.

According to what I have read, both horses are suffering classic symptoms of insulin resistance-soreness in feet, soreness in bodies and unusual fatty deposits. The only thing they are missing is the cresty necks.

Apparently, it is more common than realized in horses on grass or grass hay diets than previously realized. Particularly horses that are or have been obese.

Thankfully, there is a plethora of products on the market to assist in getting a horse's system back on track...and I have ordered a product called Command Metabol-Ease for these two. It provides 5000mg of Magnesium with Chromium and Sodium Cloride to restore deficiencise that can lead to nervousness, irritability, lack of concentration and muscle stiffness.

Interestingly enough, the more I read, the more I think Moon has a deficiency as well. Moon has always been rather radical about his feed. He gets extremely agitated at different times and has big mood swings. Although, he shows no outward signs of Insulin Resistance, his behavior seems to indicate a classic case of a horse who has a difficult time metabolizing his food properly. I have, not so jokingly, likened him to a diabetic...I need food and I need it RIGHT now, kind of thing. That would most likely explain some of his inability to stay consistent at barrel racings as well.

After all of that...Poor little Mouse ends up getting a supplement called Remission ordered for him. It is another Magnesium and Chromium based supplement that also has Omega-3 and 6, Amino Acids and live probiotics. That one was so easy to find, it was almost anti-climatic.

We will see how all of this works when I get back from SD. I'm really hoping to get these horses lined out soon. It's getting to be nice riding weather again and I am ready to get back to it. There are still some barrel racings to attend and I am hoping that if all goes well this fall, I will be able to make it some this winter.

I have some other cool news, but I'll tell you guys about that when I get home. Have a great weekend.

It's Tough Being A Squirrel

"The Rat" never ceases to provide non-stop entertainment. He has been moved from the seclusion of Megan's room...seclusion...Haahaa..Yea right! We just got tired of going into her room to watch him.


Well, that and I always felt bad when I would walk past her room and he would be hanging in his hammock staring toward the open door. As soon as he heard someone coming he would run to the edge and grab the bars of his cage. Looking much like a sad, lonely little prisoner.

Yea, and if you buy that routine, I got some ocean front property in Arizona-LOL.

I seriously doubt that any Rock Squirrel in history has been as spoiled as this one. He has trained Megan to dutifully go through his trail mixes and remove the items he has decided he does not care for. Have you ever heard of a squirrel that does not like corn?

I have succumbed to his preferences as well and have resorted to purchasing individual bags of his more favorite nuts and seeds.

NO ONE makes it past his cage with any sort of fresh fruit or produce without making sure to give him his 'share'. His favorites being bing cherries, watermelon and cantaloupe. Strawberries and raspberries are okay, but don't bother handing him a blueberry or blackberry. A couple of nibbles and he just throws it back at you.

Although almost everything he does is amusing, his nightly bedtime routine is absolutely hilarious.

Apparently he is worried that someone is going to steal his food during the night, so every night there is much ta-do made about making sure that his food is covered and properly tucked in...


When he is finally satisfied that positively nothing could dig his food out, he crawls into the rest of the towel that crosses through his hammock and makes a HUGE production of getting comfortable. He will keep at it...twisting, turning, fluffing and arranging his blankie until he is thoroughly frustrated, at which point he sighs repeatedly and resorts to hanging out the side of the hammock. Of course if he really finds it impossible to get comfortable he makes it abundantly clear that Megan is expected to tuck him in. Which she does. Finally happy, he curls into a ball, covers his face with his tail and goes to sleep.

Amazing how a rodent with a fluffy tail has managed to coerce 3 humans to cater to his every need.

They Look So Good Together

Meg wanted some 'nice' photos of her with her blue roan horse, Rip before we took him home, so here are a few unedited photos from our little impromtu photo shoot the other morning. I think My Honey did a bang-up job...

It's Good To Be Home

We had a wonderful vacation. Disneyland and Las Vegas.

The kids LOVED Vegas...LOL.

But as always, it feels very good to get home.



We opted not to head the other direction this week for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Friends that were there said it was a ridiculous madhouse.

Ummmm....NO Thanks!

Besides...I had a lot of catching up to do. Horses that needed feet trimmed, the garden needed weeded, the yard needed mowed and even though I had dewormed horses before I left, some were still rubbing their tails, so everyone got several days of being double dosed with Lampley's Basic Mineral.

It's all under control again.

Next week me and the kiddo are heading back to SD to trade out horses.

This little guy does not have to worry about going back to be put to sleep just yet...

Because I wanted to dose everyone with Basic Mineral and The Mouse cannot handle any type of grain, I splurged and bought him a bag of Purina Wellsolve L/S. It's a low starch, low sugar complete feed for horses that are prone to foundering. The little man just loves it and has perked up unbelievably this week. That little extra really gives him something to look forward too.

I also managed to finally get a good trim on his poor foundry feet. It has taken this long of whittling on them to get them to give up all of the dead, shelly crap and to get down to some live, relatively healthy hoof. It made quite a difference, so I have gone all out and put him on double doses of MSM as well.

The next step will be to get him started on Lampley's Horse Sense. Hopefully we will be able to get his thyroid balanced and he will stop having laminetic occurrences. What the heck right? It's worth a shot.

He will actually be heading over to a friend's place in the next couple of days. A friend of ours has 2 little boys and has been looking for a nice, little pony for the boys to play with. They are small enough that they can sit on him and lead each other around. Mighty Mouse actually likes attention and having some kids to dote on him and give him some exercise will most likely help him a lot.

Of course, the biggest thing will be to make sure that mom and dad understand his feeding requirements are rigid. Since I have to touch his feet up every couple of weeks, I'll be able to keep a pretty close eye on him too. I think this family will work for him though because the dad understood how hard it is to find a nice, little kid-sized pony that won't bite, kick or run off.

One down...several to go. ;-)

Top Blog Award

When checking my email before heading out on vay-cay...I was humbled to find out I had won a Top Horse Blog Award.

Apparently a big Thank You needs to go out to the readers of my blog for nominating and voting for BrownEyedCowgirls.

Thank you everyone. Not surprisingly, I have often wondered (like so many other bloggers have this last year) if trying to keep up with the blog was worth it these last few months. About every time I thought I should just pull the plug, something would come up that I just couldn't wait to share with you all...

And I guess that is why I am still blogging. I know that I would miss the interaction with you all. So many of you I feel like I know in real life and have no doubt if we ever met in person it would be like we were two old friends catching up not like meeting a new person at all.

So Thanks again and I guess BrownEyedCowgirls will just have to stick around. ;-)

I'm Outta Here...

It's fairly unbelievable, but the whole fam is going on vay-cay!

My Honey picked up his 2 kiddos and early on Monday morning we are all headed to California to visit his sister and her family.

If it was not specifically a family gathering for My Honey, I would have mentioned it earlier and tried to see if there were any blogger buddies in the area to meet up with IRL. That would have been cool. Alas, it's a mini-family reunion. Which is cool too. My Honey's mom is beside herself with joy. For the first time in a very, very long time she will have both of her kids together with all of her grandkids.

I have yet to meet MH's sister or her family. That is always a little nerve-wracking. I'm sure they are very nice people, but I always wonder what I will talk to people about when they are not horse-people.

Getting people lined up to do chores was easier than I thought. Luckily, the neighbor that Meg and I went and roped with earlier this summer is a stay-at-home dad and very willingly agreed to take care of 'my' place. Oddly enough, taking care of the horses will be the easy part-LOL. I turned most of the geldings back out to pasture and have everything set up for the 4 head left in pens.

I am really more worried about the yard, the garden and all of those darn plants I bought and planted all over, getting enough water. I spend a fair amount of my day moving sprinklers around and watering plants. Since I am there every day, all day, I don't think too much about it. But knowing that someone is not going to want to spend hours watering everything, I have spent the last week trying to simplify my watering system.

I think I killed off a couple of plants trying to figure everything out. Hopefully, the roots/bulbs took and they will come back.

We asked a different person to come over to the home place to take care of these animals. Two dogs, 2 chickens, 4 cats, the squirrel and my plants on the deck (which are just starting to bloom like crazy and I don't want to lose them). Nothing lasts very long around here in this heat without water. Particularly this time of year.

Since we will be heading to SD directly after returning from CA, it may be a couple of weeks before I post again. If I get the chance, I certainly will...but if I don't...

Ya'll take care out there and we'll catch ya on the flip-side!