Old Challenges and New Victories

Spring is in the air, new horses are in the barn for training and a new show season has started. I love this season! The horses are happy and full of themselves, the trails start looking like a picture from a magazine and months of braving the cold to keep our horses pampered and happy have finally payed off.

Daya is fat and sassy. Happy to be worked with or simply lounge around in the pasture with her buddy Ely. I've continued to start her under saddle but still haven't taken a first ride on her. She stands well while being saddled and does great in the round pen but literally falls apart when it comes time to mount up. I'm not talking about acting like the normal untrained horse either, I'm talking lights out, no one is home...instant sweating and twitching all over fear. I don't know what happened to her when she was originally saddle broke as a youngster but something bad had to have happened and I'm assuming she was used as someones entertaining rodeo ride... She ground drives and saddles up like a pro, accepts stirrups being slapped around on her and will let you hang of the saddle and put pressure on the back. But when you go to put your foot in the stirrup, she shuts down. I've got a lot of work cut out for me. I honestly don't care if I ever get a first ride in on her, I'm not looking at it so much as saddle breaking her but showing her that not all humans are here simply to bring her pain and fill her with fear. That horse was one of the only things that pulled me through the depression of my sisters death, so no matter what she will always be my special "project" horse. That and I think she has already showed me what she loves to do, she was such an amazing momma. I would love to see her bred with a nice stud and not a backyard bred pasture pony... Who knows...

On another note, Katie, the off the track Standardbred found a new home. A woman came out to look at some horses for sale and fell in love with her. Those two bonded more with each other in 10 minutes than I had in months of working with her. It was a perfect match and Im so happy Katie now has a new owner that has more time to devote to her.

I have been having so much fun on my new barrel horse Ely that I haven't been able to control myself. I can't believe how I have bonded with this horse. He has really started to impress me both on the barrel racing pattern and in the cow pen! We have really done well at the local barrel races, no paychecks yet but with each run we get better and better. I have also been doing a lot of team sorting and penning. Boy is he fun to work on cattle. A few weekends ago we competed at smoke rise resort and made it to the final round in sorting with my cousin Suzie and her fiance Jim. I got a lot of compliments on him because he is so fast and catty compared to their ranch horses. I also met a lot of new amazing people. Can't wait to go back. If you ever get the chance to try team sorting or penning, do it! Even is you only have a trail horse, the people are awesome and welcome new comers, it really tests you and your horse and gives you a lot of insight on what needs to be worked on and is just plain fun!

Here are a few pics from last months barrel races. Hope everyone is enjoying the weather!

I taught her well...

Thats right. Daya got saddled up today for the first time in almost a year. A little cinchy but she handled it well and stood there like a pro. Still really skittish around her sides so some major desensitizing is going to have to happen before I even attempt a first ride. I wish I had gotten my hands on her when she was younger. Her conformation and attitude screams barrel horse.

I am really bumbed about her filly having club foot. Its a sever case and surgery isn't an option for me. She is really turning into a nice looking little thing. Thick chest and butt, has her momma's long legs and watching her out in pasture makes it worse. She really gets up under herself and is really light and snappy on her front end. Oh and boy is she COWY! Go figure. Anytime cattle get close to the fence line she is driving them off. A calf got in her pasture the other day and she was naturally cutting it and driving it around the pasture! Odd for running/pleasure bred horse but then again I'm not real sure what was on the sire's side. Even though she is a grade filly, I have a feeling she would really make a nice all around horse for rodeo's and ranch work someday.

Im getting pretty pumped for this weekend. Heading to Grizzle Ridge Arena in Jerusalem, Ohio for a barrel race this weekend. Ely has really come into his own with slow work. He now can do a really nice working trot on loose reins, lope a nice soft circle, works of my leg calmly (before you would think someone had rang the starting bell by his head) and his gate issues have improved tremendously!! He can still get a little hot in certain situations but is really starting to listen to my body and voice. Now I just have to concentrate on me when we work patterns this week! He knows his job out there but Im still getting "my" barrel pattern down. Last week I noticed he was throwing me off balance (aka smacking my butt off the back of the cantle) coming out of the 1 barrel and not making a big enough pocket for the 2nd... after I thought about it and tried it again I realized it was as simple as me not keeping my freaking heels down around the barrels, here I just needed to anchor my leg and stop throwing him off balance. And to think I give so many barrel racers crap for riding like stuffed monkeys tied to a circus dog. Poor Ely, we put up with a lot of stupidity from each other! lol Hopefully we can put it all together on the barrel pattern this weekend and bring home a paycheck. Cross your fingers for me!

Uncle!

Ok, I now have my PHD in handling farm emergencies 101. Between rain, mud, flooding, hurt husband and baby calves I haven't had a lot of time to do any picture taking or horse pampering.

First off my husband hurt his back. O yeah, if you have ever been married or lived with a man you know what I'm going through. While I love my husband and feel bad that he hurt his back, well... men have a real flare for dramatics. So for the past few days I have been keeping the farm going by myself. I also had to deal with loosing a calf this week. Yep, cutest little thing that was looking really healthy until Tuesday night. I took Ely out for a ride and decided to go check the cattle. Found momma guarding a lifeless baby. Sad but it happens.

The rain and mud will be the death of me. We have had nothing but rain this week so the pastures and stalls flooded. Thank goodness the horses and cattle were smart enough to get into the high pastures up by the barn. The stalls didn't flood so much as they became water logged when there was so much water outside of the barn that it decided to start coming up through the floor mats. Oh what a mess. I stepped into the stall yesterday morning to pour grain into Daya's feeder and I literally felt like I was walking on a water bed. I didn't have to look down to figure out what the squishy sound was either. What sickens me more was the fact that the night before I had stripped every stall even limed under the mats.... I give! UNCLE!

So needless to say I'm exhausted and will try to get some pictures up sooner than later. I have yet to get any of the trails or other rodeo ponies here. I'm heading to bed and hoping for some sunshine.

The hardest part of selling a horse...

I decided earlier this winter to put Katie up for sale. She is a great mare. I've used her for beginner and first time riders, ridden her myself when I need a relaxing trail ride and even hauled her to a few local trail rides. She is bomb proof and has never let me down. She has no vices, always does whatever she is asked and is so easy to train. So why do I want to sell her? We just don't click, I have had her since last summer and I still don't have a strong bond with her. She just doesn't love to be with you like my other horses do. She loves being groomed and fed but that is the only time she shows ever shows "pleasure" being around humans.

Since bring my horses to my cousins place I've started to notice that my horses have been sticking to their own little herd out in the pasture, never mixing with Suzies other 13 horses... ever. Those 3 horses stick together like glue and will only be quite in the stalls when they are close to each other, especially if Katie is the one who is out of sight. I wouldn't call them herd bound, there is no crazy stalling weaving or frantic calls to each other but when stalled together with Katie in the middle they all look so calm and relaxed. Its like she is the glue for Daya and Ely. Whats weird to me is Katie is not the dominant mare, Daya is the head mare. I will never understand mares I guess.

Anyway, the point of this whole blog post was this. To me this has to be the worst/hardest part of selling horses. Spiting up the made for each other, happy herd. Its even made me second guess selling Katie. Sure I could use her this summer for anyone that wanted to come ride, or offer her to my Uncles kids for riding lessons and fun shows. They love to ride and soak up anything to do with horses like a sponge but know no one in the area with a kid safe horse. But on the other hand, do I really need this horse? Will she be anything else to me but a Thoroughbred wannabe that goes through feed and hay like a draft horse? lol Decisions, decisions. The horse crazy kid I used to be is screaming at me to keep her just for the horse crazy kids in my family who will probably never have their own horse but the adult side of me is telling me to do the smart thing and lower my feed bill! (Did I mention that 15.2 hh Katie eats more than 16.2hh Daya? lol) What would you do? Seems like the more I think about it, the more I leaning towards the horse crazy kids!

Busy is an understatement!

I can't believe its been 2 weeks already. Things have been so fast paced around here I feel like I'm chasing my butt in circles. Its been pretty chilly around here so I haven't been spending as much time in the barn as I would like to. Feeding,watering, cleaning stalls and daily blanket/ grooming checks usually take about 2 hours both am and pm. Plus there are plenty of cattle to feed and keep an eye on. Thank goodness the temperature will be rising a little this week. Highs in the 50's starting Wednesday. I plan on doing some major riding and conditioning on Ely. Barrel season is getting close and this bad weather has put a major kink in my riding plans. I plan on posting with more pictures later this week and introducing more horses. For today though I only have a few....

Daya getting used to the barn aisle. I wish I had video of her going into the barn for the first time. Needless to say at one point I had to back her down the aisle and into her stall. Poor girl. I never thought tying things from the rafters would have such a training impact but nothing rattles Suzie's youngsters.

Daya agreeing with me on the winter weather.

Lootah enjoying being in her stall.

Meet:
Grey Bob- odd name I know but this is the best horse by far in the barn. He is a 1D barrel horse but he also pole bends, ropes, team pens,and just about anything you can think of. He is built like a tank. I've never seen such a built horse. Of course my camera angles are horrible so he looks long and funny but this guy is one of the best cow bred horses I've seen around here in awhile.
Bart- My absolute favorite in the barn!!! This guy greats me every morning and evening, loves to be loved on and is one of the highest trained horses in the barn. Bart is 34+ and suffers from moon blindness but guess what, he is still ridable in the arena with an experienced rider. Bart used to be on the Ohio University Equestrian Team and boy does it show. He is one of the softest horses I have ever been on, his canter is unbelievable and he can do anything you ask. He is such a power house. He is literally the kind of dressage horse that everyone dreams of having. Needless to say Suzie and I pamper this guy a lot and he is very spoiled.

More pictures to come. Im hoping with the better weather coming this week I will be able to spend a lot more time in the barn. As for now Im off to clean stalls and feed!

I will soon be in horse heaven!

(Suzie and Ely)

That's right. I will soon be responsible for the care 20+ horses! Seems my cousin Suzie and her fiance have had enough of this cold weather and are going on vacation for a MONTH in Florida starting this Saturday. So hubby and I get to farm-sit for them. I've been scrambling to get packed, make sure the house is clean, and get all my horse stuff in the trailer. Oh, did I mention she just asked me yesterday and I have to be there tomorrow so I can get the hang of everything?! The horses I can handle but she also has a huge herd of cattle, some of which are real Houdini's when it come to getting out of the pasture. I told her if they give me that much trouble while she is gone, she may come back to a freezer full of fresh beef! lol

I'm pretty excited. This is going to be a fun mini vacation for us. Daya will be happy because she will get to be with Ely again. She threw a bigger fit when I hauled him back to my cousins place then when I weaned the baby. She loves that goofy gelding. Once I get up there and get settled in with the routine you can be expecting lots of photo's and videos. As for now I have to get hopping again. I have tons of laundry and packing left to do. Happy trails...

I've been awarded!

There are 4 duties to perform to receive this award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

Thank you Jess, over at From Bones to Beauty for naming us as one of her 15! You are awesome!

7 things about myself:

1. I absolutely, with a passion, hate winter months in Ohio (not the worst winters I know but bad enough)! I was meant to live in the south. Snow, breaking ice, frozen water buckets, not being able to ride more than 20 minutes without my fingers and toes freezing off, and slick footing are just a few reasons. Oh how I’m counting down to the days of warm sunshine, sleek coats and picking stalls without my fingers freezing to the shape of my pitch fork!

2. I’m finding that the older I get, the more I have to actually work and concentrate on my riding. My seat just isn’t what it used to be after taking a few years off. Sure I can still ride just about anything but I just don’t look as graceful as I used to! lol

3. I can be a little bullheaded but in all honesty I think with horses you have to be. If not we would all have a bunch of pasture puffs who walked all over us and never learned anything.

4. My cousin Suzie is my hero! She can train anything, ride any discipline and is always smiling! This woman gives free riding lessons to children, any discipline they choose. Barrels, poles, roping, dressage, jumping… you name it. She simply hopes it will teach them responsibility and keep them out of trouble later in life.

5. I got a call the other day from an old friend. Her husband wants to offer me a job in his vet clinic when he opens it up in a few months as an equine technician. I’m pretty pumped and hope everything goes as planned so that he can open soon.

6. I’m addicted to tea! I’ve always been a coffee drinker but recently discovered loose leaf tea. Its amazing.

7. I get to house sit next month for my cousin Suzie who is taking a month vacation to Florida. I will be taking all my horses to her place and be looking after all 13 of hers too! I’m going to be in heaven.

My Favorite Blogs

A Green Horse

A Good Horse

A Journey into second chances and beyond

Gizzards and Calf Fries

Hoof Prints of Enzo

I Hate Your Horse

Musing From the Judges Box

My Nine to Five

Mugwump Chronicles

Oh Horsefeathers and Related Twisted Tails

Shame in the Horseshow Ring

Unique Horse Trailers

The South Dakota Cowgirl

I fell off the blog wagon...

Im alive! lol Its been a rollercoster at the barn since I last posted.

Daya is still my golden girl even though I've had some ups and downs with her. When Lootah was about 3 months old Daya started dropping weight at an alarming pace. No matter what I fed or tried, she would not gain weight. So after having her checked out and noting that the baby was growing like a weed, I made the really hard choice of weaning her early. She did really well and both momma and baby handled it like pro's. Daya is a one in a million mare. She called out a few times that day and smelled around but never acted up once I got her home. Within 2 weeks of being weened I saw her weight coming back and for the time being all my prayers were answered. I haven't been working with her as much as I should be. I've been so busy its hard to find the time. Im hoping once springs comes around and the days get longer that will change.

Lootah! The ham of the barn (both in personality and in weight!). She is growing up and turning into a great little filly. Sharp as a tack and loves to be loved. Her only downfall, she is club footed. Yep, my vet thinks from the sudden growth spurts she was having (and the reason she was sucking the life out of her momma) has caused her bone to grow faster than the tendon. Fixable by surgery if it is done before the age of 2 but my vet wont except payments and I'm laid off. I've listed her as free with the exception that her potential either uses her as a pasture ornament or pays to have the surgery she needs done. I've about lost it a few times talking to people who are interested in her. I've had so many "I want a foal for my children to grow up with" that I think I'm going to pull my hair out. Sure she is cute and cuddly now, just wait until she is a 800lb yearling with hormones!

Katie is also up for sale. Love this mare to death but she really needs someone who would appreciate her more. This girl is dead broke. I hauled her a little bit last fall to different trail riding events and she did so good. Perfect kid or husband horse. I've just my hands full with...

this guy. Ely, my new barrel gelding. I was in no way, shape or form looking for another horse. My cousin sabotaged me! Told me she had a barrel horse with gate issues she needed ridden and worked with. The first time I rode him he stood straight up in the air with me! Of course my mom and husband just happened to be there... they almost had a heart attack. I took him around the arena a few times and was hooked. He was the hottest yet most responsive horse had ever been on, like a hyped up dressage horse. I was in love! I was going to have a horse like this someday! That's when Suzie gave me the look and said " You know he is for sale!"... and I wanted him! This was my future horse! I felt that instant bond, he was "the" one. That woman knows me better than just about anyone, and before I had the chance to tell her he was probably waaaayyyyy out of my price range, she piped up again and added " and I bet he is in your price range and on a payment plan!" So, Im now up to 4 horses and its only January!