Sunday Stills

Has it really been 4 years? Today's challenge is the same as our first one, 4 years ago. Thanks Ed, for hanging in there- and to Linda and Sarah who helped too.

We mostly have critters with jobs here, but they think they are pets. The one true pet is Merle, who got a much needed bath yesterday.

He tolerates the bath fairly well, and gets all goofy afterwards- it must feel good to be clean. Here he is mostly blow dried off, much better!

Reba still thinks she is a working dog, and even at 11 years old and beginning to get arthritis, she gets quite offended if I head out to the horse pens without her.

You know I can't post Reba without Tess wanting to be the centre of attention, and really who could resist this look?

I has a happy

I went to Sandpoint Idaho today, only one store- the Big R. Oh boy, I could have spent a lot of money in there, but I showed admirable restraint and did not buy the numerous oohs and aahhs that I saw. Of course, the restraints on my bank balance had a lot to do with that!
But I indeed has a happy, because I now have some very nice tools to do aaaallll those horse feet that are lined up and waiting this weekend.

A good rasp, hoof knife and sharpening stone, as well as a couple of shanks of rope because Beamer and Belle's halters are getting a little worn out, so it's time to make then new ones.
I also got me a new pair of jeans (Wrangler Aura, this is the only store in a couple hundred miles that sells them) a little  something for Ted for Christmas, a rope frisbee for the dogs for Christmas, Black oil sunflower seeds for the birds, and mouse traps.  A productive trip!
Oh- and I did remember to buy groceries on the way home.

What's up around here

Over the last 2 days, I tackled trimming Beamer's front feet. I won't post the photos of his feet unless you really want to see them, but it was a much better trim than I have given him in the past, and I'm really seeing some improvement. It's still a work in progress, getting all the embedded bar off his sole, because I am a little leary of taking too much. So a little at a time, about once a week. Next job- all the back feet! And then all 4 on Rio.
The weather here is staying mild, at least down here in the valley. Had to go over the high mountain pass on Monday, and here is what it looked like:

We just went slow and had no problems. On the way home we did a little tour of the area where Ted works.
This pit is called the Coppertan pit because of the colour of the rock, they load it out and crush it for landscaping.

This creek was just beautiful, and apparently there is a hotsprings upstream from this spot.

Back down here in the valley bottom, we had about an inch of snow since last Thursday, and today got some rain. Good enough footing for all the horses when I asked them for some photo op moments!

Those big bare spots are where Beamer, on his side of the fence, and Rio, on his side, have been digging up roots to nibble on. Apparently they are an equine taste treat.
Rio was pretty muddy,  but I like this photo because it shows him keeping an eye on the camera just like his daddy does, and for the hawk in the background.

Handsome boy!

 I locked the mares out in their turnout pen too, they have been just hanging around their shelter and being lazy, so it was time for them to get out and have a little fun.They do have 24/7 access to this pen, but they are only about 3 months away from foaling and not inclined to be energetic.
Unless I insist.

Only one foot on the ground in this photo!

They had fun...

and more fun...

That Chickory is one athletic mare, even heavy in foal!
Speaking of Chickory....

I have a new home for her, she will be leaving for Alberta sometime in January. More details on that later.

Wordless Wednesday

Barefoot hoof care clinic- Part two

Well, this weekend has left me with a lot to think about.
I am humbled.
I am grateful.
I am determined.
I am humbled by horses, who give us so much even though they are in pain and we don't know it.
I am grateful to the people who developed the ABC Hoofcare system that allows the average person to confidently map and trim their own horses, and for those who study in depth with them and bring their knowledge to share with us. I am grateful to Tara for agreeing to travel over 13 hours on winter roads to come to Creston to teach us.
I am determined to learn to recognize problems with my horses feet and to trim them properly to alleviate their discomfort and pain and to prevent escalation into major problems.

We were a diverse group, 7 ladies and one man, but we all wanted the best for our horses.

We worked together in pairs, sharing the tidbits we picked up from our classroom session on Friday; everyone remembered something that helped the other person, and teamwork was the order of the day.

Here, Tara is giving tips on how to use the wrist to get the best action out of the hoof knife.

This is the bay mare that Coyote Belle fell in love with. She was a real sweetheart, as kind and gentle as could be, letting us crawl around under her while she stood patiently for around 5 hours each day.

This is the sole of the black and white Gypsy Vanner horse you can see in the photo above. They had mapped the heels and rasped them down a little to prepare for further mapping. There is a lot of embedded bar, extending even out past the apex of the frog. Gussie had this same problem, but on her, the bar had actually overgrown over the tip of the frog.
The thing that I really took home from this clinic is the importance of trimming the bar. It is made of hard keratin, as compared to the soft keratin of the sole. If left unchecked, it can migrate over the sole, and being harder can push on the internal structures of the foot.

This is the same foot with the excess wall trimmed and some of the bar trimmed away. It's a work in progress, and her owner will keep doing a little at a time until she gets it right.

This is Gussie's foot. The bruising is from the embedded bars, which go all the way around  the toe. This foot had the bar growing on top of the apex of the frog. I wasn't confidant to trim that toe with the hoof knife so Tara did it.( Photo was taken just before she started.) Shortly after she did, the bar material that was left on actually flaked away from the sole in one spot, so tomorrow or Tuesday, I'll get in there and take a little more off where it is volunteering.
We were too busy for me to get a lot of photos. I have plenty of things to try to remember, and just getting in hands on with my horses while it's all fresh in my mind will help.All the mares got their front feet done, but like Tara said, go back in a day or two and check for changes and do touch ups.

We will be hosting another clinic in the late spring, so we have all winter to apply what we learned this weekend.
Hopefully, our horses will have better feet.

Barefoot hoof care clinic-Part one

I am hosting a Barefoot Hoofcare Clinic this weekend with instructor Tara Wilson. Friday afternoon and evening was a classroom session, where we learned about the anatomy of the hoof and the function of the different parts.Now that may sound a little boring, but it was actually quite interesting, and it was presented in a way that was easy to understand and relate to our own horses. We were also shown things to look for when we headed out the next morning to start our hands on. From mapping the hoof to handling tools properly and making those first nips, parings and rasping, we all got to have a go at it, working in pairs with a horse.
I used Coyote Belle, and there was a Gypsy Vanner, a bay mare that Coyote Belle wanted to buddy up to, and another mare. I got to practice how to properly trim bars, and realize that I hadn't been doing it properly at all.

Here my partner was working on the bars; this is Coyote Belle's bad leg and you can see how far under her body we had to work. We only managed to get 2 feet done, and Tara had to help us finish the second one to get it done before dark.

I'll do another post tomorrow- I'm pretty tired!

Animal Therapy

There are three things in my life that always pull me through when life throws curve balls: the first and most important is my faith, which always puts things into perspective for me; -the second is my husband who is always supportive; and the third is my critters. How can anyone have a bad day for long when they have such wonderful creatures in their life?

When life gives you mud- roll in it! If it's blowing hard- face it!

Give troubles the boot!

Rise to challenges!

Face adversity head on.

Do what you do best.....(and have fun doing it!)

and always know that you are loved.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

The Mud Knot

I got a comment from Jenn at Green Slobber on my Shirt blog (love that name!)about the knots I put in Beamer's tail to keep it out of the mud and promised to do a tutorial on it. Beamer's tail reaches the ground, and to keep it from breaking and getting stepped on, I use the Fisherman's knot. I put about a half dozen of them in rather than one big one, they stay in better.
Start by taking a section of hair,

wrap it over your palm and in front of itself,

take the end and run it behind,

over and through the loop in your hand:

and pull it through and tighten it.

Viola! A mud knot that stays in for a long time. I usually undo them after a couple of weeks and then redo them.

It's best to place them higher up the tail rather than near the end,and if the tail is a little bit dirty it works better than a nice clean, show-sheened slippery tail.
And yes, that is the way my lawn looks today. It needs mowing. At the end of November. Go figure!

Sunday Stills

Interesting challenge today- animals in black and white- and Ed said to try to find new 2 or 4 legged friends. I found a Barn Lion:

A pair of Two Tone Starers:

A Lop Sided Jelly Belly:

 and a flying  Mudflinger!

Sun..... and fun

Yesterday we were blessed with sunshine, at least for part of the day. Beamer was so happy to get out of his muddy pen where he could run and play and see all "his" herd.
But first- a little prayer... Please let there be more sun.....

So I can run...

and run....

and run....

and run some more!

Oh, did I mention I love to run?

And play. Play is important.


See ya later!