This lovely day

This morning's moon event was not too spectacular here, it peeked between the clouds a few times. I tried hard to capture an image with my D3200 but I couldn't even find the moon in it's viewfinder, let alone get the camera to focus on it. So I whipped out my trusty pocket camera, and this is all I got- not the crisp focus I was hoping for, but at least I do have a photo of an event that won't happen again for over 150 years.

We had sun and clouds today- it sure is feeling like spring is coming soon. I spend my afternoons with the horses, and I love the view as the sun sets on the mountains.

The line from Home on the Range always comes to mind at moments like this "and stood there amazed". And then with my heart  full of that beauty I turn around and see this and my heart overflows:

And oh yeah, I worked Mesa too... so I had a pretty much perfect day.

She packed the blanket from the barn to the round pen, we longed with the blanket still on, we sacked out with the blanket, removing it when she stopped her feet, and then I dragged the tarp while leading her- no problem- and then I laid it out with her still in hand. She stood there and watched curiously and then just walked right over it from both directions. Good girl, Mesa! I love that we make progress every day, and that she always still wants to be with me.
I am also making progress with Rosalee, she is warming up to me again, or maybe it's just that she is letting me know that it was never her that was distant, it was me shutting her out because I stopped trusting her at some point. Either way, we are working on it.

Me'n' Mesa working

Today the rain and clouds cleared off in the early morning- I actually got to see the moonset and I sure hope the clouds stay away until after the eclipse tomorrow morning.

This afternoon I had planned on riding Beamer, but he was pretty sore so I spent some time with him trimming his front feet and massaging wintergreen oil into the swelling on his knee, and then giving him a good grooming.

Then I took Mesa to the round pen. The ground has gone back to being soft again, it isn't frozen in there at all. Maybe I chose well putting it under the trees, because the other spots I considered still have a few inches of snow and ice. 

As you can see my timing sucked, I didn't stop as quickly as I should have.

Then I moved on to sacking her out- I had a saddle blanket this time.

She does have a li'l bit of 'tude and is handy with that back right foot! After this I longed her for a bit to let her work off some of that 'tude- she is learning not to crowd me and is stopping fairly consistently when I ask for a whoa with just voice and body language.

Then I had her carry the saddle blanket back up to the barn for me. 

Easy peasy! So she seems to have a pattern going, where she will test whatever it is I am asking her to do, but with patience and consistency she figures things out fast and just accepts things. Next session we will review the tarp work as well as the blanket and longeing.

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http://keystoneequine.net/
This lady is an excellent writer- she is actually writing a book too. Check it out!

Let's play in the mud

When I was a kid I used to enjoy playing in puddles or spring run off streams. Did you ever make little boats out of bark or leaves and race them through culverts to see whose boat came out first? I swear, kids nowadays are missing out on good organic fun while they are glued to their electronic devices.
 We are currently going through cycles of freeze/thaw and yesterday was a thaw day. So it was a good opportunity to go muddin' with Mesa .

She is such a cool little horse 😊

I also decided to spend extra time with Rosalee every day, even if it's just bringing her in the barn and grooming her while she inhales nibbles on  a flake of alfalfa. Yesterday I trimmed her front feet again- who says feet slow down growing in winter! Seems like it wasn't that long ago that I did her. 

Since I don't want Belle to feel left out I will probably have to come up with things to do with her too.  There's no reason I can't do in hand obstacle work with her. For those who don't know about her, I consider her to be unsound to ride as she was injured as a weanling, a blow to her shoulder we presume as she couldn't put weight on her right front leg for 2 days; vets couldn't figure out anything and now she wings that leg out and lands the foot from the outside to the inside. Riding would probably stress it out and cause lameness; she isn't lame on it at all normally. But I'm pretty sure she would enjoy getting out and doing new things.

I had a question if I was doing anything for the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse.
"A Blue Moon is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month; lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into Earth's shadow; and supermoons happen when the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — coincides with a full moon. In this case, the supermoon also happens to be the day of the lunar eclipse." Quote and links from Space.com.
What a rare occurrence! I for sure will try to capture some images of it. We do have clouds in the forecast so I sure hope they don't hide the moon. It is supposed to be around 6:15 a.m. on the 31st.

Tracks and training

This morning when I went to the barn for chores I noticed that all the cat food was gone..... I usually put out about 3 cups of catfood at night, and there is always some left by morning. Hmmm.  Sure enough I found tracks of the culprit- the raccoon is back.

As I rode Beamer this afternoon - beautiful sunny afternoon- I spotted more tracks down by the pond.

Coon tracks on one side.....

Deer tracks on the other side. We actually flushed a couple of whitetail during our ride. Beamer was really enjoying getting out, I sure love the way he just strides out and is curious about everything.

After our ride I gathered up Mesa and headed to the round pen. I did take her for a walk yesterday, and she is so much fun, just like Beamer, gets out and walks up good and checks everything out.

So today I let her have the freedom of the round pen, and used it to work on a few things. The tarp was still laying in the pen, and she checked it out in between bouts of sheer exuberance.

Then it was time to actually learn something, so the next step was to get her to turn towards me and to stop when I say whoa.

I don't like to drill the babies, so this was enough compliance for the first time.
Then we reviewed walking over the tarp:

Then it was on to something new: dragging the tarp while leading her. At first she leaped around a bit, but I took her in hand and the tarp in the other hand and walked around in a big circle, both ways, until she stopped being flighty and got interested.

All in all it was a pretty good session. And to top off a great day, a little while later I walked over to the mare pen, and Mesa came over to the fence and hung out with me and gave me kisses- her kisses are every bit as good as Beamer's! Very nuzzley.   Love this filly 💖

Riding day 7

On to the tarp

I did manage to get my li'l camera on the tripod, it isn't a good fit and I had trouble getting it perfecly level- but it worked. Here is yesterday's session in it's entirety (don't worry, I won't subject you to lengthy videos every time!)

Yes, my nickname for her is Babycakes  😍 When I got to the towel work my goal was that when she stopped her feet, the towel went away. You will see the part where she tries going around me to avoid it, and I get the towel in front of her and she stops and goes the other way, only to find that darn towel in front of her again!  It made me chuckle. But after that she just gave up and accepted it. 

It also amused me when Thumper came into the pen while we were working, and if you notice he headed over to the trees to do his business. Video bombed by a barn cat!

It was a really good session. 

Today we have a few inches of fresh snow so I"ll change things up and perhaps just take her for a walk through the woods.

I'm loving this filly ❤

More Mesa

  I like to use my blog to document my training progress (or lack thereof!) with my horses, so- bear with me, this year will have a lot of Mesa training blogs.
Yesterday, we went back to the round pen. Instead of sending her around free, I kept her in hand and asked her to move around me in a circle both ways. The basics before doing this were already in place- leading well, understanding whoa, (as you will see she needs more work on that) and the trailer loading lessons as well as all the going in and out of the barn.

I might try putting my li'l camera on a tripod for these videos, it was hard to longe her one handed! Just a word here- I don't do a lot of longeing with babies as their leg bones are still forming and a lot of circles is hard on them. So just a few minutes at a time and not every day, basically just setting up a foundation for later in the year when her training will advance; usually late fall of the yearling year I'll ask for more.

Next we reviewed the stick and string.



So far, so good. She does have a wee bit of attitude, but I am ok with that, it's better than being a dullard and better than being a full blown diva.

Then I moved on to the new item- sacking out with a white towel. The brightness of the towel is one part of it as well as the feeling of something new touching her and on her.



I really thought she was going to reach around and pull it off, but she didn't- good girl Mesa!

 I like to start with a review and add something new each lesson. Although, I did start this one with something sorta new. Today I will find some obstacles for her- perhaps walking over a tarp. She should have no fear of tarps, she has been around them all her life but deliberately walking over one will be new to her.
She did well enough with the towel that I asked her to pack it back up the hill to the barn.

No problem!

Before I worked Mesa, I took Beamer for a ride around the pond loop.

The water has receded again, which means that the river is open and flowing, not like last year when we had all those ice jams that led to flooding.

Riding day 6

Messin' with Mesa

Lovely day yesterday meant that I got inspired to start Mesa's training. On horses this young I keep it short and fun.
I took her to the round pen and let her have a freestyle frolic first.

 She sure is a looker! I'm pretty excited to see this one grow up.

Once she was done playing I spent a few minutes with her with my stick and string, I rubbed her all over with it- back, belly, neck, legs and head and then flipping it on and around her.

I even whirled it helicopter style over her head- no problems! She didn't move at all and didn't get worried about anything. This filly is going to be fun!

Josie update

For those of you who remember Josie, Beamer's daughter out of Chickory- she has also been started on team roping. Here is a video of her learning how to be a heel horse:

Beamer is sure siring versatile horses. That is exactly the way I wanted it to be :)

Not nice ice

I sleep with the window open a littler ; we have wood heat so it helps to have fresh air. Last night I woke up to the sound of pouring rain; heavy driving rain that lasted for hours.  I figured the barnyard would be a mess, but I was hoping for slush rather than ice. No such luck.

Sheer ice, and on a slope. This is the foaling pen, which is where they come in to water and also where they come watch me as I get their hay ready.

Ice scares me. I have fallen on it so many times and it is sooooo hard!

I cleaned the bedding out of the stall and spread it but it wasn't enough so I went to the barn for some fresh straw bales.

I kind of had to laugh at Mesa, she was being quite silly and trying to leap around but the footing wasn't conducive to that. She was pretty wet, I guess she didn't stay in out of the rain. I ended up spreading 3 bales of straw for them, hopefully it will be warm enough today that some of it will embed in the ice as right now it is just sitting on top of it.

Hopefully this will help!

Rosalee

Crystal asked if I was going to keep Rosalee's foal....
As many of you know, I am not enjoying riding Rosalee, even though she is a really well broke horse, she does not want to do what I want to do. I really think she needs to go to a person who will use her lots and preferably take her back to the show ring.
I set a lot of store by connections. If I have a connection with a horse it makes a huge difference to me. I have wanted to have that connection with Rosalee, but it just isn't there. I had more of a connection with Clancy, but she didn't want  to do what I wanted to do either; I want both trails and arena work. Clancy wanted no part of arenas and Rosalee wants no part of trails.
I found out that Gussie is up for sale. Do you remember my big beautiful red roan mare who had the twins? I sold both her and mama Belle after that disastrous year when I lost both the twins and Belle's filly Stella.  For the last few months I have really been thinking about Gussie a lot, and to find out that she was for sale kind of threw me for a loop. I checked into it, and he wants a lot more than I sold her for as he has invested a fair amount of money into training her.  She has done some ranch roping, has done barrels and poles, and just advanced a lot. Since I know her, I am pretty sure she would fit what I want to do. She is 15 this year.
My dilemma is, I am limited to how many horses I can have, as I won't own more than I can afford to keep. For me to own another horse, I have to sell one. And that takes me back to connections.....
The only one I would sell is Rosalee.

So- I put her on a few Facebook sites, but priced her fairly high. I have some interest in her but mostly tire kickers. I think some would like to have her but not the foal. I would like to keep the foal to sell. So it may be a long process, and that may mean I won't be able to buy Gussie back- unless she doesn't sell either.
Which leads me to another decision! If Gussie sells to someone else, I would definitely keep Rosalee until her foal is weaned. I have the option of breeding Rosalee to Dun It OK (aka Woodrow)- he's the grullo stud that Belle was AI'd to and didn't take. Both Rosalee and Woodrow have been shown in reining and are money earners, so that would be a very sellable foal. Or I could leave her open and try to sell her after weaning her foal.

4 months to foaling time!

There is one more option and that is to keep Rosalee as a broodmare- I think she will be a great mama- and sell her foals every year, which will pay for upkeep on the other horses. That being said, I can now answer Crystal's question- this foal will be for sale. I have my Beamer daughter in Mesa, and Belle will be bred this year, either by Beamer or by Woodrow if Rosalee sells.

But it doesn't leave me with a riding horse for the next couple of years. Beamer is good for very short rides but not anything strenuous or long. I rode him yesterday and he started out like this:

but shortly after that, he stopped abruptly like he did before and wouldn't go any further. I did get him going again but then it was like this:

If you listen, you will hear his uneven footfalls, he was favouring that arthritic leg. I think it's likely he stops when that leg starts to hurt. So my rides on him will be short, just enough to get him out and enjoy himself without causing him pain.

So- those are my options!  

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Also since he/she will be for sale- anyone want to buy a Beamer/Rosalee foal?

Riding day 5

A Rio update and a bad dog

Got another update- this time on Rio......

Previous to this run he placed 2nd in the 2 D  and then this run was in the Open. I love how calm he is! He is learning to add some speed on that run home.
Nitro is coming along well in the roping too, they placed second at their last jackpot. And Kai is being a good steady mount for his rider, she says he is solid and dependable- and that makes me just as happy as the other boys winning checks!

And then there is Tess..... I have noticed that the cat food in the barn is disappearing overnight, and that when I call Tess in from her last trip out to go pee, she is coming from the direction of the barn. So- 2+2 = bad dog!

Mesa's turn

Now that Pistol is gone, I am spending more time with Mesa.

I took her li'l fuzzy cuteness out for a stroll yesterday- look at those ears! So much like Beamer especially if you look at her from the back:

I am so glad she didn't get her mama's long narrow ears.
She did really well on her walk, led well, looked at everything with interest, and didn't spook at anything.

I worked on her picking up her feet and holding them up without jerking away or trying to kick- it will just take being persistent and doing this at least once a day for her to think it's no big deal. I really need to trim her, may get some help this weekend. I did get Rosalee all trimmed, she is so good and very easy to trim.
I noticed that Mesa is starting to shed a few hairs, but she is the only one so far. Beamer is quite slick and didn't grow a lot of hair this winter. Partly the reason I blanket him on the cold, wet or windy days. He hasn't been wearing a blanket lately as it's fairly warm now, as in above freezing during the day and a few degrees below at night.

Rosalee's belly is growing, like Coulee last year she is carrying high and tight as is typical for maiden mares.

Quick update

Pistol had a rather long trip to get to his destination, but he arrived in fine shape and despite the huge temperature difference he is doing well.
If you remember, last fall we had Fuse here, he is Shayla's buckskin barrel horse prospect gelding; he is now Pistol's stablemate.

Pistol is adapting well to his new surroundings and she is pretty happy with how he is taking everything in without any drama.

Standing tied on the arena rail like a good boy! She says she will keep us updated as he grows up. Another good horse to the right person- that's what I live for!

Rock'n'roll!

Beautiful afternoon yesterday. I spent a lot of time with the horses, got Rosalee's front feet trimmed, and then decided to ride Beamer since it was so nice. The rain had stopped the day before, and the snow was soggy, not icy.
Beamer was feeling pretty fresh, so before riding, I gave him some time at liberty in the round pen. He had a blast!

After that I hopped on, and went for a li'l ride.

I'm loving these winter bareback rides, and I think Beamer is too. The footing is pretty good- in summer this area is rocky and I'd need hoof boots for him.

See how the snow is splashing like water? It was kind of sparkly too.
Now that Pistol is gone, I will turn my attention more to Mesa. Her kindergarten days begin! On the agenda: learning to be good to trim her feet- I'll need someone to hold her while I trim- but until then it will just be practice in picking up her feet and holding them until I put them down; leading lessons in new places, and some sacking out. Also I have to work with Rosalee on the ground, I won't be riding her until after the foal is born, but there are some things I can work with on the ground to help get a better connection with her and make her a more willing partner.

Riding day 4

Pistol moves on

Today was hauling day for Pistol. He is headed to Alberta.

All lined up saying goodbye

We were a little worried about the weather there- it's above freezing here, and stupid cold over there so I figured I'd better see if he would put up with having a blanket on.
It took about 5 minutes of training and he was quite accepting of this new deal.

However, when the hauler got here he had enclosed the open window slots with plexiglass so it was pretty cosy in there and I made the executive decision not to send the blanket with him, as he won't be unloaded at any point in the trip.
He is sharing a large stall with a li'l companion....

This photo was before the hauler put hay in there and untied the pony. Pistol thought he should have all the hay, and the pony pawed a bunch of it away from Pistol! Haha! They should keep each other busy.
I went back down to the barn after about an hour, and the mares were still hanging out at the gate.

Where's my buddy? Who am I gonna boss around now?

Mama Belle... missing her boy

This is nothing new to mama Belle, but she loves all her foals. Hopefully the next one will be a filly and it can stay!

Winner!

It has been fun getting to know a bit about my readers, especially those who are new commenters.  I thank all of you for following along on my equine journey and I plan to continue.
So I wrote everyone's name on a slip of paper, folded them up and put 'em in a hat (I don't like on line random generators)

and pulled out a name....

I guess I'd better get up to her place for a visit, as she lives close enough that I won't have to mail it! Congratulations Janice, I hope this gives you a happy on this soggy foggy winter day!

Almost time....

You have until 2 pm today to get in on the anniversary giveaway! Click on THIS LINK to the blog post and leave a comment- even if it is just to say "Hi"! Around 90 people read it but only 11 entries, plus one lady who always comments by email.

UPDATE: Contest is now closed.

Oh, Beamer....

Today the weather climbed above freezing and I could tell that Beamer was feeling pretty good; he didn't want to stand still at the mounting block for my clumsy way of getting on bareback; I have trouble lifting my leg over his butt as my hip mobility decreases. Then  Mesa and Rosalee decided to gallop along the fenceline as I started out on my ride, which of course brought Beamer's energy level up too. So I just rode him back and forth along the same line until everybody settled down, then off we headed down to the dyke for our first ride of the winter down there. I like riding it in the winter as all the rocks are covered up and the footing is pretty good.

There is some open water in the river but you can see that the ice jams are starting.
The ride started out good, but then Beamer decided that he had ventured far enough away from his herd....

That about-face at the end of the video was all him, I didn't ask for it! As soon as I wasn't paying attention because I was busy with the camera, he made his stand; he didn't want to go any further. So it was back him in the direction I wanted to go, try to turn (not always successfully) and go forward again... rinse and repeat.... then I got him facing the way I wanted and just sat quietly for a few minutes..... then off we went. After I knew he was lined out and with the program, I turned back and headed home. When we got to where the mares were they started in again ripping around, which of course got Beamer feeling all *manly*....

I can't say as I blame him, it was such a nice warm day that all the horses were feeling pretty good. The rest of our ride was uneventful.

Riding day 3

Writing.... and an anniversary giveaway

UPDATE: contest is now closed.


Lets start off with Beamer writing his name in the snow. It was another sunny day and we found a lovely patch of snow. It was too big for a still photo so I took a li'l video.

We rode the pond loop and saw lots of deer tracks, and checked out the view of the pond from the back side. 2 months ago there was nothing but rocks where there is now a couple of feet of water; it seems strange that the water table rises in the winter, but I guess the snow pack melts enough to provide new water.

So- today is my 10 year anniversary of blogging. I think I have been fairly consistent, and this blog has been with me through many changes- (there's my 2018 word again). One thing for sure is that I have come to know, either virtually or in person, many fine people because of this blog. I appreciate each and every one of you!
To show my appreciation, I am doing a giveaway- just leave a comment on this post and next Monday I will do a random draw for a winner! Here is what's up for grabs:

It's a glass spoon rest or trinket tray- perfect size for your cell phone too. Don't worry if you live far away- I am willing to ship anywhere in the world!
I hope you like it- so enter up! Would love to read comments about where you are in the world and how horses have impacted your life, even if you don't own them. They have been a huge part of my life and the best therapy for what ails you that I can find (along with my dogs ).

Riding day 2

Change

Last year, I had a feeling that it was going to be a disastrous year- and in many ways, it was. Not personally, but world wide. This year what comes to mind is "change". And this year, I'd like to make it personal. I do think that there will be many world wide changes- some good, some not so good- and I have several things I want to change in my little world.
The first thing I want to change is my time on horseback. I didn't do much of that last year- partly from a horribly hot and smoky summer, I wouldn't subject my horses to work in that when I could hardly breathe myself- and I just lost my motivation after that, especially when Beamer went lame. But now my boy is sound for light riding, and instead of retiring him, he is going back to work. And one of my life mottoes is to start as you mean to continue. So on the first day of the year....

he got the call to duty. Here, we were inspecting the pond; the water level rose over the last 2 weeks and as soon as it freezes over solidly the neighbours will be skating on it.

I love that Beamer likes getting out and check out his fast walk! No nonsense with this boy! I wish Rosalee liked getting out and going places that way; riding her is like pushing a wet noodle.

That isn't a real cannon, but Ted wants to make it into one that will shoot wads of paper. And I want to ride Beamer in that snow and get him to write his name!
😄
So that is one of my plans for change. I have several others, a lot of them personal such as changing my eating habits and spending more time on doing my artwork... maybe start that by calling it something other than "work"!
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what this year brings. It sure started off in a spectacular way with a New Year's Day Supermoon!

Then on Jan.31 there is supposed to be another full moon with a total eclipse, a Blood Moon. With 2 portents like that, how can this not be an interesting year?
Riding Day 1