Dreaming of summer....

as we visit the swimming hole. 

Riding day 9

Back on the trails

We are sure having a nice February. I usually get the blahs in February because it's usually grey and damp but this month we have had some pretty nice weather. I think nature agrees because the birds are singing their li'l hearts out, and speaking of out.....

the bears are out too. This print I found as Gussie and I headed to the cattle lease. I got off to open the wire gate and lo and behold what to my wondering eyes did appear...  It didn't spook me too much, just enough to make me keep a good look out as we rode. I did actually turn around and head in the same direction as the prints, I think it was headed to the river for water.

As you can see, the river is still open, it didn't freeze over this winter.

The next day we rode through the lease and didn't find any more tracks, so I think the bear had been visiting the town looking for food, as the town is just over the hill from where we live and the bears frequent the many orchards that are just above us. Hopefully it will have moved on.

The new saddle is working out ok so far, not perfect as the fork could have a little more clearance but the bars and the width are good. I am going to look into a Bio Fit Correction pad that has extra padding where her hollows are behind her withers. It's a common thing on older horses that they lose muscle mass there, and Gussie is 17 now. That pad should give me another inch of clearance without affecting the way the saddle fits. I put the Hamley twist in yesterday, may have to soak the leather one more time and make it a bit tighter but it sure helps. This saddle has fairly heavy leather and it's barely broken in.

Riding day 7 &8

Mr. Handsome

Just a photo post of Beamer , nothing lifts your spirits like a favourite horse, and this one has my heart.

 Is this my good side?

 I see you have the good camera! Would you like me to perform for you?

 Airborne!

 Showing off his studly jowls

1 point landing

And his signature move....

Thank you Beamer, you always make me happy.

Sunday Silence

Mary

Those of you who follow me on Facebook will know, for the rest of you, I am sad to say that the reason I haven't been posting much lately is that we have had a death in our family. My sister Mary passed away after a couple of months of illness and bouts of hospitalisation. Some of you may remember her from my posts; she loved to visit my horses. Here are some photos from the first time she met Beamer.

Mary had rubella as an infant and it left her permanently unable to speak or fend for herself.  As I spent time with her in her last days I was overwhelmed by how much love surrounded her; from her care workers, friends and family, even the nursing staff at the hospital. Mary was a gentle soul who touched the hearts of many people.

Four sisters 

I will get back to posting after the funeral

Success at last

So I did a thing....
I finally found an affordable saddle that fits both Gussie and me.
It's a Double C team roping saddle. In excellent condition with a few minor things that need doing- replace the saddle strings and 1 concho, change out the stirrups and put the Hamley twist on the stirrup leathers. The leather quality is excellent, I think it's Herman Oak leather, and the tooling is quite nice, though a little more than I am used to.



We went for a stroll through the woods and down to the river and back.

The saddle is a bit low in the wither but it doesn't touch. I'll probably ride with a breast collar to help keep it in place.

Riding day 6

Winter wears on

Sometimes the mountain is very moody. I had fun with this photo on Facebook, can you see the Scotty dog?

And sometimes the mountain is just gorgeous.

The poplar trees are sending up their sticky buds and the willow tree canes are turning yellow. We have turned the corner and the earth is starting to prepare for spring.
And with warmer weather, the snow is melting and we have...
Mud.
Which of course, certain light colored horses love to wear like makeup.

Drifter has been getting his standing tied lessons, and of course he is as good as gold. Even when Thumper invades his personal space.

That nylon halter is stretch proof!

I got one more ride in on Gussie so far for January, we went through the woods looking at all the animal tracks. 

Plenty of game trails! I had her in a Billy Allen snaffle for this ride, and decided to end the ride with some round pen work. She kept wanting to lean on the bit, and to drop her shoulder on the right circle, so she will be getting more schooling rides to work on that.

Riding day 5

A Drifter day

Yesterday started out rainy. I loaded up Drifter and Gussie (Drifter loaded perfectly, Gussie had to pout about it for a couple of minutes) and headed to the little local indoor arena. When I unloaded Drifter I tied him to the left side of the trailer and then Gussie got tied to the right side.... well that didn't sit well with Drifter, he couldn't see his buddy! So he started backing up trying to see where she was and ended up pulling enough to stretch his new rope halter enough that it slipped off his head. Oh darn. Now I have a loose horse in an unfamiliar-to-him place! But he was a good boy and stayed by Gussie as I retrieved his halter and put it back on him. I guess I have to take that halter apart and rebuild it, you can see how much he stretched it out:

That bottom knot should be an inch below his chin

Which brings me to a side rant about how hard it is to get good rope around here for making halters! That is Atwood rope and I do pre-stretch it but obviously I didn't stretch that one enough. Best rope is used climbing rope as it has been stretched out and it really holds its shape. If anyone knows of a good online source for rope please let me know!

Anyway, back to Drifter. I led him around the arena both ways and let him look at all the sights and listen to all the sounds. There were a couple of horses who came up to the arena opening to check him out.

I was really happy with his behaviour, he just looked and didn't call or try to get to them. He was also well behaved on the longe line, no bucking or trying to run away.  So this trip was good because it pointed out what I need to work on with him, and that is standing tied. I have a different halter I will use for that!

Later the afternoon turned gorgeous with sunshine so I decided it was a good day to take some new photos (Imagine that!) The forecast is for above freezing temperatures for the next week, so I took Beamer's winter blanket off, unless it turns cold again he can keep it off.

All the horses are looking good. 

Drifter is such a busy body, always up to something.  He thought it was a good idea to try to herd mama Belle, but she had something to say about that!

Those mares are doing a good job of educating him in herd manners. 

I am looking for a 1 year breeding lease on another mare for Beamer. I don't have enough room for another permanent resident here if I keep Belle's foal this year (if it's a filly!) and would like to try a different bloodline on Beamer. Looking for running bloodlines. Gives me something to do as winter drags on!

Wintery

Yesterday was supposed to be cattle sorting day. I usually only go to the practice sessions and not the jackpots, as I don't like being pressured up by people who are in it for the money, I just want to have fun. As well I don't have a regular partner yet. I loaded up Gussie (who was not happy about it) and when I got there I found out it was a jackpot day- my bad- I misread the poster- so I opted to just head home. By the time I got back Gussie had worked up quite a sweat with all the fussing she was doing in the trailer. It's a short haul. maybe 5 miles. I had to leave the blanket on her for a few hours until she dried off. Silly mare.  So part of what I need to do with her is haul more, which is fine I have an arena to go to which is less than a mile from here and Drifter needs to be hauled too, so that gives me something to do over the remainder of the winter.

The oh so innocent looking red head!

The weather here is on and off with snow and sunshine, but at least the temperatures are staying mild. 

The mountain always delights me

The Skimmerhorns in all their wintry glory

Mama Belle in all HER glory! 

I think Belle has about a hundred days to go until foaling. I am very much looking forward to this foal, whatever it may be. 

Instant karma

A story in pictures

All's well that ends well 

A winter's day ride

We are still fairly mild here, waiting for the predicted polar vortex to make it's presence felt, but not yet! Yesterday I decided to try riding Gussie bareback with just a bosal. After finding a high enough mounting block (upturned half barrel) I managed to climb up and off we went. The snow pack is perfect for riding, cushions all the rocks although I do have to be careful riding in the bush as it hides branches and tripping hazards.

Gussie is such a joy to ride. She strides right out, looks at everything and doesn't spook. She has a few opinions about things but that just makes her interesting! She's a red head, not a dead head!

I love the silence of winter riding especially bareback. No creaking saddle, no noisy hoofbeats.

I think she appreciated me riding bareback after a year of ill fitting saddles. We have sorting coming up this weekend, so I'll have to saddle her for that but I am looking forward to more bareback rides this winter.

Riding day 4

Another blog and an Eli update

Here is a link to another blog. Flattop horsemanship  This is Marty Gardner, and he's the one that Melanie who now owns Eli, will be learning from.
Speaking of Eli, Mel sent me this video- look how great he looks! Showing off his speed and his Beamer moves.

Beamer has fun in the sun

It warmed up beautifully yesterday (hence my ride on Gussie) and it was warm enough for Beamer to have his blanket off and enjoy the sunshine.

Yeah! About time!

Checking to make sure I got his pose

Let the fun begin!

He did several spectacular rears for me but since I had my telephoto lens on I couldn't capture them because he was too close. 

If you are wondering about what I have on his front legs, those are Streamz Bands, to help with his arthritis.

He has started shedding, probably from being blanketed. He gets camelina oil every day too so he has an awesome shiny coat.

Yes Beamer, you are still the handsomest and bestest!

Wordless Wednesday

Riding day 3

Gussie on a snow day

We got about 8 inches of snow so far, and it let off snowing mid day- so I headed down to the horse pen with my camera. I wasn't disappointed- Gussie in particular put on a show for us.

Showing off her cowhorse moves!

She was just full of herself!

Such a beauty!