Then I went up to play with the youngsters and they put on a special performance just for you:
I put the dogs in the feeder to keep them out of the way. Guess you could say, dog in the manger!It was a fun day. Tomorrow should be warm enough to ride, I'm hoping to ride Sassy. She sure is looking pretty!
There isn't much we could do today, so it was a day to snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie. Well, apparently there was no room for me on the couch! Tess loves to cuddle upside down, and Bubby always lays claim to Ted's belly.
They weren't about to give up their comfy spots for me! So I was on the love seat, and I thought this view was hilarious:
They stayed all cuddled up for the whole movie. Time now to go back outside for the evening chores; the birds cleaned up all the seeds in the birdfeeder, so I have to fill it again. The horses seem to not be bothered by the cold, and they do have a deep-bedded shelter to lie in. They are sure going through the hay in this weather though!
Lobelia, dianthus, alyssum, carnations....come on spring!
For W.O.W. Here is the rest of the barn featured in my Sunday Silence post. In behind it is their new indoor arena- the old and the new, side by side. The tie stalls in the old barn are used for the draft teams.
This is the old homestead cabin at Anchor D (with my neice, Bridget). It's over 100 years old and is still used as a bunkhouse for the wranglers.
And this is the lovely log house they built a few years ago. If you ever want to go on a trail ride in the Canadian Rockies, they are the ones to book with. My husband and I went on their 7 day Great Divide ride for our honeymoon. It was awesome- breathtaking scenery, some challenging rides, fishing in the high mountain lakes, even boot skiing down ice flows! They have rides for every level of rider from beginner to expert. Great food, and music around the campfire to finish the days!
He was showing off for his girls! After I finished chores, I saddled him up and went riding for about an hour. We went up our favourite trail, explored a little, soaking up the sunshine. Reba and Tess came along, although Reba has trouble keeping up these days, Tess keeps pace, trotting along in the shadow cast by Beamer and me. Ahhhh, a good horse to ride, a sunny day, peaceful trails, and good dogs for company.....what more could I ask! What's that you say? A daiquiri on the sand by the ocean? Tropical sun and ocean breezes? But then I'd have to fly to get there, and I hates flyin'!
Peppy got his second lesson in trailer loading today, and from the looks of this video, I don't have to do any more on this. Such a good boy!
It warmed up enough today to muck out the horse shelters and put fresh straw in. Peppy and Chickory were very cute, sharing the salt block. Coyote Belle's baby was kicking up a storm in her belly, so I checked her udder and guess what!
Yup, she is starting to build a bag!
Now that I know Peppy is leaving I am trying to get more photos of his fuzzy little self to share with you. And of course, we have a certain little blonde camera hog!
We will be saying farewell to Peppy next month. He will be going to Saskatchewan in March. A lady who was interested in him last summer will be his new owner, and she hopes to do some reining on him. Nice Valentines gift for her! Fitting because he has that heart shaped star.
(thinks about it for about 5 minutes while I tap his butt whenever he moves away from the trailer.)
Yeah, OK, I can do this!
(I loaded him two more times and he just hopped in both times. )
Then it was Chickory's turn. Apparently she has complete trust in me; because she hopped in with no hesitation.
Is this where you wanted me?
No problem! So a cold day turned out to be a productive day, even if I didn't get to ride.
I received this odd looking award from Back at the Ranch. She makes some very lovely jewelry, if you haven't visited her, go check it out.
I pass it forward to some of the artistic bloggers I love to follow:
Aussie Oklahoma over at Trapper Creek Daughter who is very talented with the camera;
Barb at A Cowboy's Wife for her writing, which can make us rejoice or move us to tears;
and to Sarah at Scary's West for the terrific photography of Montana .
'Ears to all of you talented people out there!
I finally got around to putting a leather hobble on my snaffle bridle last night; it was rather embarrassing to see how ugly that baling twine looked in Sassy's photos! This bridle is my main using bridle for my young horses. It sports a Don Dodge snaffle that has been on many a youngster. The reins are heavy harness leather, 8 ft. long. I like the weight of them as it makes it easier to slide them through your hands when you need to lengthen or shorten. I won these reins in barrel racing at the year-end awards for our riding club, 23 years ago. I keep them and all my tack in good condition, using only Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner. The only thing I would like to change about this outfit is the Chicago screws in the headstall; I much prefer laced or buckle ends. However, I put a little nail polish on these ones to discourage them from loosening off. I have a headstall for every bit that I use 'cause I'm too lazy to change everything over when I need to use a different bit.
This is my Brian Ironmonger saddle, and the "Oregon Twist" setup for the stirrups. The top of the fender has one piece of leather sewn to it, with the holes punched in. The piece attached to the bottom of the fender is double layered for strength, and wrapped to hold the twist in place. (I pulled this wide to show the setup, normally everything lays flat.) You can see how nicely the stirrups hang in just the right position. This is an easy modification to do on any saddle and it really is worth it if you hate trying to find that off side stirrup when you mount!
There really is a fire pit under the snow! We pulled up the lawn chairs and had a beverage and just enjoyed the rest of the day.
Me'n' my B boy and Tess (aka the Tessalator!) hit the trails today for a totally wonderful ride up the pipeline. I had to leave Reba in the barn as she is in full standing heat and I didn't want her teasing any coyotes in the area :0) 
and looking south east. Beamer really enjoyed getting out and seeing some new country. I rode him at a brisk walk, loose rein, just soaking up the sunshine. Around here, it doesn't get any better than this for the first week of February!
As you can see, little miss Sassy is just a sweetheart. She is so willing and easy to work with. She's for sale, folks; and there are more of these lovely palominos for sale over at my friend John's place- check them out on my sidebar under Bar Diamond Y Palominos.
A good disposition is one of the most important factors for me. Granted, confirmation is very important, and a good looking horse is always a pleasure, and that certain bloodlines will predispose a horse to excel in a particular discipline, but none of that matters if your horse doesn't have the disposition to go along with all that. And the older I get, the more it goes to the top of my must-have list!
