Sunday Stills

Thanks Ed, for a challenge that lets me portray something near and dear to my heart- I'm talking about things that start with the letter B!

Starring: Beamer....

Beamer gets a Bath

All shiny and clean, if you biggify this photo, you'll see his Brand- means his winter hair is starting to grow in.

He's Black and Beautiful!

Did I mention Beautiful?

Well, he's not the only important B around here- at least, not according to the Border collies....

Reba, 10 years old in less than 3 weeks, and mother of-

Tess, who will be 5 in October, and is quite sure that she is my favorite dog....

and Sammi, who is 17 months old, very smart and willing. Then there is their favorite toy....

the Jolly Ball.

Something else that is a Big part of summer- BBQ! Hope you all have a great Sunday!

More Rio stuff

While I didn't ride last week, there were still some things happening. I am trying to get Rio started on grain so that at weaning he will have a little extra nutrition- he isn't too keen on the idea. I tried him on pelleted feed, a high protein mix called Frisky Foal, but he wouldn't eat it. So I tried plan B, which is getting him to eat oats, and then gradually add the Frisky Foal as he gets used to it.

Apparently, he thinks the bucket  is tastier than the grain:

I guess it'll take a while to get him happily munching. I'd have eager volunteers to show him the joys of oats but they are all too fat!
All the horses got trimmed yesterday, and the barefoot program is working well. They are starting to build a good callous, and their feet are healthy. Rio got done too, and he was not too bad; his right side he wanted to pull his feet away more, but over all he got complimented by the farrier.

 At 4 months old, you can't expect them to have the patience of an adult horse.

I plan on weaning him on Sept.3, the long weekend, so that I'll be around to keep an eye on him.

Plus size, huh?

GoWestFeralWoman did a post recently in which my good buddy Janice left a comment about my plus-plus sized red roan.... now, I know that miss Gussie is packing a few extra pounds, but in her defense, she is pregnant, and I haven't ridden her since she got that cut on her leg.  But that's no excuse for letting her get dangerously fat.

Don't be fooled by her poverty stripes, look at the fat deposit over her rump!

Yesterday, I finished putting up the electric fence in an area of our very large yard that we had designated as a grazing paddock. Originally, I was going to put all the mares and Rio in it, but I couldn't in good conscience put Gussie in to get even fatter.

So just Belle and Rio are in it. Which of course, really upset Gussie and Chickory, who are being kept in the "diet pen" namely the dry corral and Beamer's grazing pen, which has very short grass and is mostly weeds. 

Well, didn't that just tick them off!

The upside? They are getting plenty of exercise!

Meanwhile, Belle and Rio are quite content !

Wordless Wednesday

Quiet days

Didn't get a lot done with the horses this weekend, instead spent some quality time with my husband. I did manage to get the beans and peas picked ( I planted the peas late), and I pitted and froze about 30 pounds of cherries. We found out that there will be an auction coming up on September 17th that we have to work, lots of antiques; I hope to have more info on that soon. There is a fall fair coming up on September 10th weekend, and I think I'll enter some photos.

Had a good visit with Janice today and she reminded me of the Canadian Border Collie Championship coming up in 2 weeks, we both plan on going. We should have some good photos and stories to share. The sire of my dog Tess (Quill) and the sire of Janice's dog Kali (Moss) will be shown in the open class.
Mowing my lawn got a rain delay today, (aw shucks!) and it's nice that the rain cut the dust at least for today. Every time the horses roll, they've been kicking up a cloud of dust; that can't be good for their lungs. Can't believe it's mid August already, it seems that summer just started and now it's nearly over. Why is it that the older you get, the faster time goes?

Days go by, and become memories, 

Some we cherish, 

and some fade into dust.

Sunday Stills

Macro or close-up shots are today's challenge.

Dad's hands

Dogs always love Dad.

Two of the sunflowers that I grew from last year's birdseed.

A post for Sarah- handling foal feet

I mentioned the other day that I measured Rio to top out at around 15.1 hh, and had a question from Sarah asking how that works. She also asked me on Facebook about handling feet, so I figured the best way to answer is just to do a video- with the help of my husband; thanks Ted, cameraman extraordinare! The explanation of the first part: Whatever your measurement is in inches, translates to hands- 15 and 1/4 inches is 15.1hh; 15and half an inch is 15.2 hh; 15 and 3/4 inch is 15.3 hh, etc. Normally the bones in the leg have reached their optimum length by the age of 5 months, although they  will grow until the horse is about 3 1/2. You can check the accuracy of this type of measuring on your adult horses.
 I'm happy to say that in the following video, you can see that all the handling that Rio has had since foaling is really paying off now. See for yourself:

I'm proud of my little guy- who's new nickname is "Little Mr. Handsome". Ted looked at him tonight and the first words out of his mouth were " I don't think we should sell him- this is the best colt we have raised yet!"

Yes, Ted, he is, but he is for sale! Can't keep 'em all, and there should be two more on the ground next year.

Soooo, y'all wanted more Rio pics...

Well, I'm happy to oblige!

He's in a growth spurt right now, and despite having pasture, hay, and mama's milk available 24/7, he's looking a little ribby. So, time for deworming. He took his dosage like a good boy, and while I had his attention I took the rasp to his feet, preparing him for the Trimmer who is coming in about a week. He's getting much better at having his feet handled.

 Feral asked how tall he is, so I just measured him using a level on his withers and a tape measure; he stands 50 and 1/2 inches, which means, at 4 months old, he is 12.2 and a half inch. His leg measure says he will finish out at 15.1 hh. I plan on weaning at the end of August, when he will be nearly 5 months old, and I'm deciding on my options. I put him in the round pen by himself to see if he would challenge the fence, (and have a great photo op!) and I think it will hold him just fine.

I 'll separate him for a little bit every day, so that he gets used to being by himself, and eventually will probably turn him out with Chickory in the pasture that I currently use for Beamer's turnout, until Belle dries up. About a month.

 Unless, of course, someone buys him before then.

And you just know that these photos are designed to be eye candy to persuade you that he should come live at your place and be your "heart horse".......

Chickory

The last two nights I've been riding Chickory in the round pen. I'm working on getting her softer in the face and more responsive to the leg. I start on the ground, ask her to tip her nose towards the stirrup, which she does, and holds it there on a loose rein until I ask her to straighten. Then I ask for hip over, and shoulder over, and then both at once (sidepass) .She's getting it; a little uncertain of the shoulder over, but she learns really fast. After working both sides from the ground, I get on, loosen her up a little at the walk and trot, then ask her for hip over, etc. the same way I do on the ground. I want to get so that I can put her in a 20 ft. circle and push her in or out of the circle with my legs, without losing the size of the circle. She has a tendency to cut inside when we go to the right, doesn't want to just follow the fence line but fades in to the center, so I'm pushing her out with my leg and really fighting myself because I don't want to put pressure on both reins just yet and it's so natural on a broker horse to just pick up both reins and move the shoulder over. Gotta retrain myself, let alone the horse!
Over all, I'm happy with her. She learns quick, isn't stubborn (except about that catching thing!) and has lots of try. And, she has a nice smooth trot.

I measured her the other day; she stands exactly 14.2hh. At 3 years old, she should only have a little growing left to do, probably will finish out under 14.3hh. She is for sale, if anyone wants a prospect for cutting, penning or sorting, that's what she's bred to do.

(Not Quite) Wordless Wednesday

"Bout time I got featured in a post!"

"Wouldn't want you to forget about me..."

"How do you like me now?"

"I'm 4 months old today..."

"and the special price for bloggers is only available until the end of this month!"

By the way- that's Rio's grandma in the photo I use as my blog background.

Back home, and Chickory

We had a wonderful trip to Kamloops to visit family, including my brother, sister and her family, and step mom. Dad really enjoyed getting out and being with family. I took lots of photos to share with family, and one I'm going to use for next weeks Sunday Stills, close-ups. Thanks everyone for your prayers and well-wishes.

The fellow came over to see Chickory, and rode her; he gave me permission for photos.

This trainer has a nice soft way about him, and Chickory responded well to him. 

He even got her to lope a few strides- first time with a rider on her back:

For him, she has two things that are strikes against; she's really green, and she's a mare, both of which make it hard for him to sell. He'd have to put at least a month of steady riding on her to get her going well, as what he does is train and sell horses. I got the usual comment, "too bad she's not a gelding" to which I always reply "it takes good mares to make good geldings". At least he knows she's out there and perhaps he'll find someone who'd like a little cutting bred mare. Meanwhile, I'll keep working with her and riding her, as I really do like her despite her silly can't-catch-me game. Now that she's loped once, it shouldn't be an issue with her. I asked him what he thought I should work on, and he said to just get her soft with the bridle, and get some lateral work done. A lot of that can be done from the ground first, so it's something I can work on when the weather is not so great for riding.

Sunday Stills

The challenge for today is sunrise or sunsets, no archives. Sorry, but I'm not getting up at 5 AM for sunrise, so it's all about sunsets. At first, we started off with cloudless skies, which makes it difficult to get a good, interesting shot.

Had a little help from Beamer and Reba to improve this one though.

The next day, we got some evening clouds, and I spent a lot of time outside waiting for just  the right light to do justice to the beauty of the setting sun in this lovely valley. 

These clouds were parked over Idaho, and drifted off to the east, over the Skimmerhorn range.

Looking north, the mountains to the west fade into the distance beneath pastel skies....

that darkened as the sun dropped lower , and faded to black.

Weekend plans

Today my sister and I are heading to Kamloops to visit our dad. He's 83 and in the latter stages of Lewy Body Dementia. Since we live 7 or so hours away, we don't get to see him often; in fact it's been a year since I last saw him at our family reunion. I'm facing the fact that this may well be the last time I see him, so this is a very special weekend for me, and I'd like to thank my sister for making it possible. We plan to take a priest to see him on Saturday, and spend the day with him, as well as Sunday afternoon.
This weekend, Sunday Stills is Sunsets, and mine is pre-set to post in the early morning of Sunday. Fitting, since my dad is in the sunset of his life, so I'll leave you with a sunset. Back in 4 days.

Grrrr!

This is what I don't like about Chickory. 

When it was time to take the fly masks off, I walked up to Gussie and Belle, no problem. Chickory, on the other hand.....

decided that she preferred to run around the corral....

despite the heat and high humidity......

for nearly half an hour....

and still wouldn't let me get a hand on her. I kept her away from the rest of the mares. She showed me some stylish cutting horse moves when I blocked her. After 25 minutes of this silliness, I finally resorted to grain, which she wouldn't come near until Belle and Gussie had some first (Like the queen having her slaves taste test first to make sure it wasn't poison!)
Finally I walked up to her and calmly took the mask off. Then I went and phoned someone I know who might be interested in her and is coming over tomorrow to have a look at her. I hope she sells; I can't abide a horse that isn't easy to catch. ( I did tell him about this behavior.)