A few stories

We went to Idaho last weekend for the International Draft Horse Show and Sale. Overall it looked like the entries were way down, probably because of the cost of travelling in a poor economy. I used to see the barns bursting with heavies, but this year there were only a few hitches. We didn't stay to watch the classes, but did tour the barns and the trade fair. One of the highlights was sculptor, Gabe Gabel. Here is a link to her website .

Absolutely wonderful pieces! The fawn on my Sunday Stills post is one of hers. Since she lives close by I plan on a visit to her place; in her brochure it says "She and her Master Gardener husband, Emmette, also concentrate on the sculpture garden at her gallery and their innovative vegetable garden where they demonstrate alternative growing methods to visitors". Sounds like it would be a really interesting place to visit!

That is Gabe in this photo with one of my favourite of her sculptures.

There were some lovely horses that drew my camera like flies to honey, like this big soft eyed Percheron stallion.

There was a hitch of Belgians all dressed up;

A Gypsy Vanner who was there for sale- I love these horses, someday I'd like to have one of these!

This big boy was also in my Sunday Stills:

He was huge, it's hard to tell from the photo, but I had to look way up at him.

Mrs. Mom, I took this photo for you- feel free to rant!

All in all it was a lovely trip and a nice way to spend the day with my husband.

The calf in my wordless Wednesday post is indeed a new addition to our menagerie; a pail-bunter that will be in our freezer someday. World, meet Url (my husband named him and that's how he wanted it spelled).

The horses all get along with him, I turn him out with Beamer during the day and he lives with the mares at night.

Chickory decided to remain hard to catch, so I turned her world upside down. When I kick the mares out to pasture, and Beamer and Url out to their pasture, she spends the day in Beamer's pen. It is about the size of a large round pen, so we had a "conversation" in it yesterday afternoon. It looked like this at the start-

and a whole lot of considering on her part

and about an hour later I finally got her to realize that I wasn't going away, that I could control her feet and direction and speed, I finally got join up- but it took getting join up 3 times before she completely surrendered and was my pony.

I am getting impatient to ride her again, but until I have her mind, there is no sense in continuing the rest of her training. I was kind of waiting for her to regress as I haven't been working her consistently, and now that she is a lot more physically mature I can work her more. Today she is still separated from the herd, and this afternoon we will see if she learned anything yesterday.

Wordless Wednesday

A Visit to the Saddle Shop

I can't ride bareback forever, so since Ted's services were in demand at Brian's Saddle Shop to build a roof for the deck on their guest cabin, we loaded up Beamer and went for a saddle fitting as well. If you are ever in the area, which is on Highway 3 a couple of miles before Jaffray B.C. make sure you stop in for a visit. Just look for this sign:

I tried out a number of different trees trying to find the best fit. I really recommend taking your horse to a saddlemaker if you want the best fit for you and your horse. As you'll see in the following photos, there was something with each one of these trees that didn't quite fit my boy.

This one was tight at the top of the bar.

This one fit everywhere except the gullet, it was too low. Without the pad the gullet touched his withers.

This one has good gullet height, but the front of the bars was entirely the wrong angle.

This one was also too low in the gullet and too tight in the bars.

We finally settled on this Wade tree as being the best fit. I didn't get a photo of it sitting on the saddle pad, but it gave it just enough lift so that those bars were at the same angle as Beamer's shoulders. The bars lay evenly along his back, and the flare on the bars will give him freedom of movement in the shoulders. We talked about design; I want the Association basket stamp and pitchfork border on the skirts and jockey, and corner tooling on the fenders with our brand. I'll have to go back and get the ground seat built to fit, then the leatherwork can start. I'd like to help as much as possible, but it's a two hour drive, so we'll see how much I can do.

We kept Beamer in a pen across from a mare, of course he had to check her out thoroughly, but these are nice stout corrals that are designed for rodeo stock and bulls, so all he could do was talk and sniff.

How'd you like to have this rodeo arena in your back yard?

When we went in for supper, there was a little visitor demanding his supper too.

He even liked his belly tickled.

I took these shots from only about a foot away, he isn't camera shy!

Meanwhile, Ted's project was coming along nicely.

This is a really neat little cabin, it's where we stay when we're there.

That's Beamer in the pen below.

I left him there to finish the job and hauled home, where something else was awaiting us, but that's tomorrow's story.

Sunday Stills

The letter S....

It's all about my Stallion.....

We finally had some Sunshine which made for some good photo ops with Beamer.

Do you like his Soft eye?

Striking a pose

Well- maybe it's not all about my stallion- how about this stallion- all 2300 pounds of him can be yours for only $2900! He was at the Draft Horse show and sale we went to yesterday.

I'll leave you with this Sweet Sculpture- looks real, doesn't it? It's by North Idaho artist, Gabe Gabel, and she does the best Western Sculpture that I've seen.

Chickory rebels

Horses don't like changes in their routine. Feed 'em at the same time, do the sames routine with catching, grooming, etc. and they are happy to stay in the groove. Change things up, and they get a little sideways. Today, for example, I wanted to bring the mares in off pasture one at a time and groom them, do their feet, then put them in their pen for the night. Normally, I lead all three of them together and just put them in their pen. But Velvet needs some alone time, and Belle needed a little spot of thrush treated, so I changed things. Belle first, then Velvet- who had issues about not being with at least one buddy! One thing I did with each of them was measure them for height using my leg measurement. Belle is 15 hands, Velvet will grow to be 15-2, just like her mama, and Chickory will be 14-2.

Chickory. Well, this girl likes her routine, and lately Velvet has been upsetting the order of things by dominating Chickory, so my little dunny girl has her nose out of joint. Pouting, if you will. She was the last one left in the pasture tonight, and this is what I got when I went to catch her:

and a little of this...

and some of this.....

and a tad more of this.....

Eventually I had enough, and succumbed to pressure -I went for the oat bucket. Even then she was really suspicious, and 5 minutes of standing with my back to her was more than she could bear- she wanted the oats more than her freedom. Actually, I really enjoyed watching her strut her stuff, running around with her tail flagged.

When I was watching her I noticed that her neck looked a little stiff, so when I brought her in I checked, and she has sore muscles on the right side, so I massaged her. Then, using the oats, I got her to stretch- she can only bring her head back as far as her cinch area. So she'll have to get used to the new program- although I might take her in first next time.

I got some good play time in with the dogs too- I love my job, it lets me be at home by 1 PM so I have all afternoon to do things. I managed to get a good shot of Sammi doing something that she apparently inherited from her papa- when she is concentrating, she sticks her tongue out.

Playin' in the sun

So what do you do on a sunny day? Why, play in the mud of course!

I cleaned Beamer's pen today, and was working on the mare's pen when the tie rod came off, it was like driving a cross eyed tractor. Oh well, I almost got the job finished. It will have to wait till Ted finished the repairs on the tractor. The nights have cooled off, as usual when the moon is nearly full we get clear skies.

Beamer is getting his blanket at night now, spoiled boy. I've been having fun taking photos of him these last few days, but you'll have to wait for Sunday for your Beamer eye candy. But the mares were happy to oblige, and I got a few of Velvet picking on Chickory.

It used to be the other way around but Velvet has figured out that she's a big girl, and Chickory is paying the price.

This photo is real typical of Chickory; when she is working or thinking real hard she carries her head really low. Can you say cutting horse?.....

I was hoping for a good sunset photo for Sunday stills, but with a clear sky at sunset, it wasn't colorful, but lovely to me because it means no rain!

Maybe the mud will dry up and I can ride Chickory tomorrow.

Sammi

Sammi is starting to come out of puppiness and be a dog. She is standing up for herself at playtime instead of giving in to the older dogs, and even manages to get the ball before they do- that's because they anticipate and run out, while she sticks close to me , so she's on the spot quicker.

She's really fast too, easily keeps up to Tess- runs so fast that my little camera can't stop the action!

I could use a little technical help; I put this photo on my sidebar under the heading My Collies, and it sticks out too far. I used the add a photo gadget, so I'm not sure why it's doing that. Anyone?

Rainy days

What to do on a rainy day.... well, make plum jam and plum crisp!

A couple of days ago, just before the rain hit, Ted got the dog pen finished.

Canine Hilton

Nice and dry inside the run, no more mud, the snow will shed nicely, and tall enough that I can get in to clean it.

Fall is in the air here even though the frost hasn't hit; there is a huge flock of birds that all move in unison, they sound like a big wind when they take off.

They've been hanging around for a couple of weeks, they look like cowbirds, grey body and brown heads, and there are hundreds of them together. So far no sign of geese on the move, there were some a month ago but nothing since. The main sign of fall here is the sound of gunshots; hunting season is upon us and I really want to get an elk this year.

Rain has literally put a damper on my riding; I need to get some more time in on Chickory, but don't want to risk slippery footing- I need her to stay confidant. Oh well, I'm in no hurry! The rain is keeping the cats indoors, which means they are really bored and tearing up the place. Banishment to the cat room!

Ted is putting on a consignment auction here next month, and we have already started gathering items. We have the use of the big shop (where the grow op was!) so weather won't be a problem. I love auctions!

The draft horse show is next weekend in Sandpoint Idaho, we're planning on going Saturday. Can't wait! Any other bloggers going?

Sunday Stills-Flags

Flags- that's our challenge this week, so I'll start with our own Maple Leaf, standing straight out in a stiff breeze.

Since I took a trip to Idaho the other day, I got this shot of the flagpole at the American side of the border.

Here is a shot of our collection of flags which visitors have brought us:

The German flag, US and Texas, the Acadian flag (from Nova Scotia) and a couple of flags from Massachusetts buried under the rest.

Mid September and all's well!

Does anyone know what kind of bugs these are? I find them near wood and in my garden, although they seem to like the log border more than the plants. They hang out in big groups. They are quite small, that red thing is the runner from a strawberry plant, so that will give you an idea of their size.

Speaking of my garden, I'm still getting strawberries, in all stages of growth.

We haven't had frost here yet, which is good because I'm still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen. The maple leaves are just starting to turn color, but only on one of my trees.

I didn't get any color on them last year, we went from green to hard frost and no leaves.

The dogs say that any season is just fine with them as long as I keep throwing the ball for them.