Mountain Music

Updates: Good and Not-So-Good and Good Again

2012-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Little RT seems to be totally back to normal, though I'm continuing to keep an eye on him. The little shoulder guard I fashioned was still working its way forward, so this weekend I tried a different option: His old nylon show sheet. It seems a little small on him, so we'll have to wait and see. Isn't he purty, though?

****
The weather has been pretty good lately, and the roads have all thawed off, allowing me to help out Anita and Terry--taking Betz back in to the vet. The knot of proudflesh under her chin was almost as big as a golf ball, and there was a new round of putrid discharge.

Look at her pretty new "bling!"

After taking another round of X-rays (the third since her injury in mid-October) it turns out that there WAS another fracture--only visible now that the bone has begun remodeling itself! Running diagonally from below her first molar, all the way along the left branch of the lower jawbone to her back incisor, it's amazing to all of us (including the vet) that she's done as well as she has!

Dr. Mark removed the proudflesh and poked around inside. All he found of concern were some little bone spurs that were developing around the new bone, so he smoothed those down a bit, to prevent them from creating internal irritation that might be contributing to the abscess.

Betz is obviously not having any trouble eating!

She used to have such a pretty little face--it's winter-fuzzy and obviously a little swollen at this point, but I think she's lost a bit of the pretty.

Back at home with her BFF Casey. Still hungry, even after minor surgery!

*****

Remember this little guy? He snuck into the last post on RT, just like he snuck into our hearts, three years ago.

Jackson--now Jax--is growing up!

Quite a handsome dude, ain't he?

And he's got a new little brother (that's stealing a little of Mom's attention away--but none of her love!)

D has done some groundwork with Jax, and even sat on his back once or twice, and hopes to have someone start him this spring.

*****

On another front, I have signed up for a Barb Apple clinic being hosted by the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders, during the first weekend of my spring break, mid-March. I haven't quite decided which of these two girls to ride...

But, seeing as how the trailer is still hooked up, they will both be started back into work this weekend! Look out, ladies!

A Bit Of A Scare

2012-01-22T12:38:00.000-08:00

You might remember our little Arabian boarder, Royal Tardez (aka "RT").

He took over "baby-sitting" when we lost our Corky a few years back.

He's coming up on 32 (this April), and has always been as healthy as, well, a horse. Other than a little bit of arthritis and his teeth: the last two years he's had a little trouble with a couple that were a bit loose, and was getting yucky impactions of feed in his gums. Vet finally pulled two this last summer, and the rest are worn pretty much to the gum line, so he is pretty much on total senior mush (plus a little beet pulp)--though I always leave some soft grass/alfalfa hay for him free-choice, and he spends lots of time just gumming it into wads that he then spits out.

RT, he do love his mush.

Especially on frosty mornings.

Anyway, last week we had a cold front blow--really blow-- through the Valley. That evening the herd was all being pretty silly, but it concerned me that RT didn't come streaking in for his dinner, as he usually does, in spite of any shenanigans the girls might be participating in.

When he did come in, he dove into his mush pretty much as usual, though he would stop and look around periodically, and even left the stall once or twice. I figured that was because of all the wind-blown sounds in the barn, and headed to the house.

The next morning, the wind had died down, but the temps had dropped considerably. Al didn't notice anything unusual in RT's behavior at breakfast. (Al feeds in the mornings during winter, due to medical issues that make it risky for me.) Though he's not horsaii (a born horse person), Al is very observant--it had been he who first noticed when Corky was off a few years ago, also at a breakfast feeding. So I still didn't have any concerns.

But that evening RT was definitely NQR. I had to walk out into the [dark!] pasture to find him and persuade him to even come in for dinner. Then he just poked at it and hardly ate any. I threw his blanket on, in case he was chilled, checked his temp and respiration--both normal. He didn't seem to be in any significant pain--no pacing, pawing, or wanting to roll.

I called my vet's after hours number and, after consulting with Dr. Ben, we decided it was a "wait and see" situation, rather than a "come out right now." I would decide in the morning whether to cancel a rather busy day at work to pull the trailer out of the barn and haul him in.

Called Bri, and also her mom (who would have to help with any vet bills accrued), and apprised them of the situation. Both agreed that, even if he started feeling better, it would be good to get him in for some basic blood work, to see what might be going on.

At my last-thing check, he had worked through maybe a third of his mush and was standing comfortably gazing out the stall door.

At breakfast, he hadn't eaten any much more, but showed some interest in the fresh, warm batch that I brought him. Checked on him one more time before leaving for work and he had eaten about half. I arranged with Hank's wife, Nita, to keep an eye on him throughout the day and call me if she saw him down or anything else unusual. She also had one of her boys go over at noon and soak another small batch of mush I left for them to give RT. Called and made two appointments, one for the next afternoon, a Friday, when my commitments at school weren't quite as significant, and one for Saturday morning--If he seemed to be improving, I'd wait until the weekend, when I wouldn't have to cancel anything at school, and we could take our time hooking up the trailer, with the advantage of daylight.

Thursday evening, Nita reported that RT had finished his breakfast by noon, and he had cleaned up the lunch batch when I checked. He ~~summoned~~ called out to me for dinner and was pacing the fence looking for it in his usual manner--a good sign. He didn't finish dinner up by the time I finished my other chores, but when I went back out after our dinner, he had--it usually takes him about an hour, so this wasn't atypical. It was, however, another good sign. Because the appointment was for 4 PM Friday, and he would have had to stand in a pen all day at the vet clinic if I took him in before work on Friday-- which, in itself would have been pretty traumatic for the old guy--I decided the trip could wait for the weekend.

One thing I noticed in here someplace while I was lovin' on him, was a bit of a knot in his neck muscles on one side. When I check the other side, there was one there too, to match. Asking Bri about it, she said he used to get those once in a while back when he was showing, mostly tension, she figured. I began to wonder if, rather than internal, the problem was possibly that RT had slipped on the slick footing somewhere, and strained some muscles.

Friday was was pretty much business as usual, but I still hauled him (and Misty, to keep him company) in Saturday morning, and Dr. Joan took a look. When I pulled his blanket, she said she was pleasantly surprised to see his condition--she half expected a gaunt old horse, on his last legs--and that's not how RT looks, thankfully. The one thing she did note, that I hadn't, was that his gums were a bit pale. She drew blood for a a general CBC, and some for a mineral screen. She was wondering if I might be inadvertently over-supplementing RT: beside his Senior complete feed, he get's the same vitamin/mineral supplement that the girls all get, on the theory that he isn't getting the total recommended ration of Senior (yet). I had done some research concerning this, because over doing selenium can be toxic pretty easily. But our soil locally, and therefore our hay, is very deficient in selenium, so I wasn't too worried (nor was Dr. Joan). We'll see what the test says when it comes back in a couple of weeks.

I also asked if she thought his weight was okay, as the last few weeks I have been looking at him critically, wondering if he was just starting to drop a little weight as winter went on. He was a little drawn up in the flanks, but that could be due to the week's events. She felt that the layer of fat over his ribs was sufficient, but that it might be good to add more mush before he did lose any condition.

I have since upped his Senior by 50%, pretty much the full recommended ration for his weight, and dropped part of the vitamin/mineral supplement, (pending the screening test results). She also suggested adding a dose of Red Cell for possible anemia (the pale gums), and it too has selenium, so I may drop the V/M that the girls get altogether, at least until I cut back his Senior when the spring grass comes up.

Dr. Joan thinks maybe RT did have a mild bout of colic. She commented that horses, in general, and old horses in particular, are sometimes very stoic about such things, knowing instinctively that if they show weakness, the cougars will get 'em!

At any rate, this week, you wouldn't know anything had been amiss. RT is back to his normal demanding self:
I want my dinner!
I want my mares!
I want out into my pasture!
(I had locked him in the paddock, to keep him close to the barn and it's lights.) The basic blood test came back Monday, pretty much as it should look.

Our winter has been so mild until now that RT hasn't even needed his blanket. In the week since he's been wearing it, however, he has already started rubbing the hair out at the points of his shoulders, as he had last year. So I decided to try adding some shoulder protection. I got this jammies hood when I was showing Maddie some, just to help keep her clean between bath and show.

But it's way too big for little RT!

This won't do!

Plus, as it works down his face, it pulls off his withers, and I don't want it to rub his mane.

So I altered it.

And a bit more in front, so it doesn't rub there.

In spite of the fact that winter is finally here (we had about a foot of sn*w this last week) RT seems to be back to his normal self. And I can sleep a little easier.

This Is Significant!

2012-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Do you see it here?

Or here?

It's January, and there's no snow to be seen, but that's not what I'm looking for.

There are tracks to follow...

What's that I see peeking around the corner?

There it is!

In spite of my not getting the garage built last summer, the horse trailer finally got a ROOF over it's head!

With my herd down to only four, I was able to move Misty's panel stall to the east end of the barn (once I used up a little bit of hay and moved a little more around). With Pat's guidance, and a little maneuvering, I was able to back the trailer in, and on the second try, I was even able to maintain the aisle-way for tractor traffic/parking.

I have promised my shiny new (to me) equine taxi that I would get it under cover since I got it two years ago, but that cover the last two winters has been only a tarp. It finally has a space to protect it from the weather, though I wouldn't be sad if we didn't have anything worse than we have so far. (However, that would mean darn little irrigation next summer...Oh well, I guess it can snow in the mountains.)

One of my goals for the new year is to get the garage up, with a pull through stall for the trailer, to eliminate the need to back up. Likewise, I'd like to put the last 16 foot wing of the barn up, so that my south-side run-in stalls can be a little more permanent, and maybe I can take on a couple of retirement boarders (a la Paradigm Farm).

We'll see what the new year brings!

*****

Speaking of reducing my herd, Beth is doing well at Anita and Terry's.

They have changed her name, but just a bit: Beth must have sounded just a little too old-lady-like to them, but they wanted to keep the same basic sound, especially the short "e." They tried "Jet" for a day or two, then went back to the "B" and added and "s".

The little spitfire is now "Bets".

[photo*]

She's had a few medical set-backs, with the wound on her chin becoming nasty from time to time, which leads us to believe there may still have been a bone fragment or splinter of some kind hiding in there. But a second and third round of anti-biotics seems to have cleared it up for now--here's hoping the nasty has worked it's way out unseen and everything can heal permanently now! The spot on her jawbone that she actually broke the chunk off has healed completely.

[photo*]

The little Arab mare, Casey, who created such a stink about Bets being in her round pen the first few days, has now become her best friend forever. They are inseparable. Bets has also discovered BOYS! She's fallen in love with all the geldings in the neighborhood (I guess RT wasn't a boy, he was just Uncle RT), so it seems like she's been in heat all fall.

[photo*]

Terry has been working a lot on the ground with Bets, and most of it has been real good--tho there have been a few peeks at the sassy side of her personality. Terry is so mellow, he just steps out of range of whatever naughty she's doing, then puts her to work, to let her know that wasn't acceptable.

[*Anita brought me some snapshots of Bets that I wanted to include here, but my new computer is not currently talking to my old scanner, so you'll have to use your imagination... Suffice to say, she looks pretty settled in her new home.]

How the Donkey Got Its Cross

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

When God first started creating he made the donkey as an experiment. But He got all the proportions wrong and made a funny voice for this creature, so He kept practicing until eventually He made what He considered His work of art – the human.

Now, the donkey had never seen any creature walk upright on two legs before and he thought it was very funny and laughed and brayed and laughed and brayed as only a donkey can do. God was offended that the humble donkey didn’t like His creation so he told the donkey that to put him in his place he would, from then on, have to work as a beast of burden for this human and do his bidding always.

The donkey was extremely sad to be treated in this way when he had meant no harm but suffered his fate for hundreds of years without complaint, even though he was often beaten and starved and very badly treated by this so-called ‘superior’ being. He learned to be afraid of humans and to hate them.

Then one night he felt pity for a desperately tired woman who was crossing the desert with her husband, vainly trying to reach shelter before she gave birth to her child. The donkey offered his help and carried the woman to Nazareth where shortly afterwards the baby Jesus was born. The donkey called in all the other animals to create heat and keep the shelter warm for the baby until the sun came up again the next day.

The little donkey liked this baby and followed Him around all through his childhood and later on in his life, never missing an opportunity to serve Him as He seemed to be a special kind of person, very kind and gentle and He never beat the donkey.

Then came that fateful time when the other people turned on Jesus and made him wear a crown of thorns so his skin was bleeding and sore, and to carry a great wooden cross far too heavy for his small frame. "Let me wear the crown of thorns for you", begged the donkey, "for I have thick fur around my head so the thorns will not scratch so deeply, and besides I am used to being beaten and hurt. I will not feel it.""Thank you’"said Jesus, "but it is bidden that I wear the crown of thorns for I am King of the Jews. But I will remember your kindness."
"Then let me carry that heavy cross for you", begged the donkey, "for it is too much for you and I am used to being overloaded and whipped when I cannot carry the burden that is put upon me. For love of you, let me carry it!"
Jesus stopped, and searched the little donkey’s face and saw in his eyes nothing but true unconditional love and compassion, and he was saddened for mankind. "Thank you dear donkey," He said, "but I do not have to explain to you as I would to others that everyone has his own cross to bear, and now this is mine and I must carry it to help mankind to understand himself. He will not know what he has done until it is too late. Only you, in your humility, can see that what you do to others you do to yourself and to God. God will remember your pure heart and reward you in time."

And so Jesus died on the cross and went to heaven where first of all he went to God, His father, and told Him of the love and tenderness shown to Him by the humble donkey when all the rest of God’s creatures laughed and enjoyed His suffering. "Then I shall reward the donkey", said God, and he called up the chief of all donkeys and said to him: "You have shown great kindness in the generous hearts of your species despite the abysmal treatment you have all suffered at the hand of my ‘superior’ creation, Man, so now I will reward you thus."

“You will keep your oversized ears as your trademark but they will serve you well to hear sounds from all sides and from such great distances that others will marvel at your ability. You will still keep your loud and harsh voice but instead of people laughing at you, you will now use it to laugh at them, to laugh at the world, because you may know that whatever befalls you and your species you are blessed by God and will take your place beside Him in heaven. And instead of wearing the crown of thorns, as you were willing to do for Jesus, you will be able to eat and survive on all the thorny, prickly, dry fodder that no other animal can eat so that even in places of great hardship you will still find nourishment. And as a special mark of respect I place my cross upon your back so the world may know you have been touched by the Hand of God and are wholly (holy) in His presence."

And so it is to this day that the donkey wears the cross on his back, shakes his long ears and brays to the world. And if ever you are tempted to laugh at the donkeys, just remember . . . . . they are God’s special creatures.

Anonymous

Best wishes to you and all those for whom you care,
from the herd at EvenSong Farm.

Caught in a Net

2011-12-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

Almost two years ago, I fabricated a couple of these barn-wall feeders. In the comments after that post you'll see info from Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch and Paddock Paradise on her past research into slow feeding methods. It was these sites and Sarah's posts at Food for Founder that inspired my first efforts at slow-feeding. (Sarah, or dp--dangerous penguin--is also probably the person who started me on the road to blogging.)

It was nice because I could feed from inside the barn--in one case, straight from the haystack.

The girls all did pretty well with these feeders.

But they have a couple of drawbacks:

First, the girls have to twist their necks a bit to access the hay;
Also, their noses get sort of grubby looking from rubbing on the galvanized screen;
The mesh is a little big: 3" by 3"--optimal for slow feeding is 2" by 2" or less;
Last, the horses' polls get dripped on from the overhanging roof above the feeders. (This last will be remedied, hopefully this next summer, when the last wing of the barn is added.)

So when this box arrived from Arizona Sports Equipment a few weeks ago, it was time for the next generation of EvenSong slow feeders.

(PanKake wonders what's in the box...)

(...down to investigate.)

("The dog will never find me here!")

I purchased 16 feet of 60 inch wide hockey goal netting, thinking to do one big feeder for Kate and Maddie, and a smaller one for Misty. Then I decided to allow Maddie a little relief from Kate's bossiness, so I cut the netting in three equal pieces. The strands are actually woven together, making a very strong mesh, that I couldn't even hope to unravel when I tried. I melted the ends where I cut, as well as reinforcing the heat seal at the two manufacturer's ends, just to be sure.

I had hoped to hang the netting from the factory edge, but it stretches better the other direction. I wrapped the mesh over the second rail of a fence panel, and wove baling twine through to secure it; then I repeated the process with the other end on the next rail down--leaving an open gap between. Then baling twine to close the sides, and secure them to the vertical stays of the panel.

Maddie says "I'm ready!"

Each "hay pillow" holds two generous flakes, and there is still a bit left at the next feeding (12 hours). I just drop the hay in from the outside of the panel, between the two horizontal rails to which the netting is attached.

Both girls figured out how to get the hay out within a couple of days. (I left some loose hay on the ground for them at first.) Notice that, though there is another feeder less than 5 feet away, the girls choose to share. At least Maddie has the option to leave if she wants.

These little wispy mouthfuls more closely mimic the rate of eating in grazing--resulting in a slower, more natural consumption. The hay lasts longer, and less boredom ensues.

Not only does very little hay fall to the ground, it is very quickly Hoovered up, as it is much easier to get to than that in the feeder. There is very little waste (though their are a couple of not so little waists that we'll be working on diminishing this winter).

I haven't put together the last one for Misty yet. My debate is whether to put it in place of the current galvanized feeder, thereby avoiding the dirty nose and twisty neck issues, but still having the drips on her head. Or I could put it on a panel of her paddock, requiring carrying hay outside to it, as I already have to do with the girls. When the new wing is added to the barn (again, hopefully next summer), there will be three run-ins and three paddocks, so feeding over that wall will be really quick and easy with the nets build into the wall.

A Passing Grade, Five Fs, and a PhD, and We're Ready for Winter

2011-12-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, we got the edge of the big Alaskan storm through here Friday night a couple of weeks ago (when I first started this post--now I've got to update it so I can actually get it published!).

The wind started howling something awful about 8 pm, and I worried that I hadn't even gotten you a picture of my new barn-end curtain yet!

Last winter's cheapo tarps about beat themselves to death in the first big storm, and had lost most of their grommets by the end of the winter.

Would my new "wind screen" (70% shade cloth) from Farm Tek survive the night?

It passed the test!

Not only does it let a certain amount of the wind travel through it, thereby preventing the pressure of the full force of the wind, but it's nice that it also allows some light and visibility! (I still have a couple of tweaks to do with it before next year, but it looks like its good to go for now.)

You can see how impatient RT gets for his Senior Mush by his well-worn path along the fence.

******************

I had a honey-do list of five "F" projects to try to get done over that long Veteran's Day weekend. Then I'd be ready for winter. Actually, none of them were absolutely necessary, but they would pretty much finish off my list for the year. (Of course, there's the tack room insulation waiting, and a list already brewing for next year!)

*******************

The first F: Feeders

Last year's feeders have been okay, but the girls have to twist their necks a bit to access the hay. They also don't like it when precipitation drips off the roof line above onto the back of their heads.

I fabricated these two feeders from hockey net material from Arizona Sports Equipment and they came out so well that I think they deserve a post of their own at a later date (don't, however, hold your breath).

An ancillary project finished that weekend: the water tank experiment.

See the layer of foil/bubble insulation between the two tanks? See the ripples on top of the water? There's a "Clean Flow Tank Filter" (essentially a pond filter) with a small (500 watt, a third the size of my other tank heaters) heater in this tank. I'll let you know how it works out.
******************

The next F: Feet!

Everyone's due for a trim. With my back, I can usually do two feet at a time. My goal is one horse a day, but I will often settle for one horse a weekend.

I got these four feet trimmed Friday.

The old gray mare ain't what she used to be, but Misty looks like she's ready for the weather--fat and fuzzy! She's pushing 25!

And started on RT's fronts Saturday morning, and finished that evening.

The old guy looks pretty good for almost 32! I like to keep up on his feet pretty regularly, as he has one slightly clubbed fore foot (the right, exaggerated here by the sticky snow balls in his hooves.

The girls coming in--they figured they needed some extra breakfast...

Maddie got done on Sunday, and Kate the next weekend, so I"m probably good until Christmas break, when I'll give everybody a quick touch-up that may get me through to spring (or at least late winter).

*****************

Another F: Flowers

These flowers from Pat now needed to be "dead-headed"--I'll scatter the seeds in various beds for next spring.

The flower heads laid in composted manure along the back yard/paddock fence.

*******************

One more F: Fencing

The driveway Fence is all done.

Along with leveling these two piles--Fill dirt from Hanks and Fine gravel where I didn't need to build up the driveway any.

I'll get a load or two of big gravel in the spring to go over the fill dirt, and then a healthy layer of the finer gravel to smooth it all out.

I just need to add some garden mesh to a couple of my arena gates, and Sandy will have the bigger yard I've been promising her all summer.

********************

The Final F: Fixtures

These ugly brass Fixtures have needed changing out since we moved here 9 1/2 years ago!

The cover on this one finally gave up against the Ellensburg wind a month or so ago, and now they really need to be replaced!

The fixture issue, however, has not yet been addressed.
Partly because I made a last minute trip to northern California over Thanksgiving weekend to visit my Mom's new assisted living apartment. With the hubby, who didn't get to go down last summer (though Mom was in such bad shape at the time, she may not have remembered him). And the dog... And my daughter...And the grandkids!

This is the woodsy view from Mom's apartment!

And partly because the fixtures will require a decent-weather day: I'll have to work gloveless to do the wiring, so a warm-ish, windless day will be a must. Might not happen 'til spring...

**********************

The PhD: My "new" post hole digger

I've had this auger for most of two years now, borrowed from Terry and Anita. It became "mine" as part of the deal for Beth.

Done for the season.

But I'm not quite ready to put the sn*w plow on yet!

Another random chore:

I never got around to washing blankets, but the E-burg Saddle Co. is having a special right now: 3 for the price of 2. So RT's two will go in next week, plus one back-up for the girls, just in case.
************
And some random winter pictures.

The spoiled baby blue Buick that we adopted from my Mom in California,
when she gave up driving this last summer.
Not! Happy!

Speaking of spoiled, Hubby Al feeds our fat birdies year round.

Final image:

A Bend in the Road, and a New Path Appears

2011-11-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

Remember the "look" I mentioned in the last post, that Anita saw Beth give her as we loaded up to bring home?

In the week between getting Beth home and the abscess erupting, Anita was doing some hard thinking about Beth's options, too. She tells me that she had always sort of liked little Beth, but that her husband was wary of Beth's crooked front leg (which she has somewhat grown out of, with careful trimming, but she still toes out some). Anita even contacted an animal communicator that week, to see if she could get into Beth's head, indirectly.

One night she called me and wanted to know what was the least I would take for Beth, crooked legs, sassy attitude, possible broken jaw, and all.

*****

I first met Anita and her husband, Terry, the year I was dragging our second colt Pete (Kate's uncle) all over the area for little shows and expos, as a way to market him. Terry really liked the long yearling, his build, his attitude and his Quincy Dan bloodlines.

Champion Gelding at the Kittitas County Fair

Pete, ready to greet ~~his adoring fans~~ the public.

They were a little horse-heavy at the time, and my asking price was a bit steep, so they weren't able to purchase Pete. But we struck up a lasting friendship.

A few years later, Anita fell in love with little Maddie.

Anita even brought her black tack with the red accessories out one day when Maddie was three, and we did some ground work. (She still insists that Maddie looks perfect in red!)

Anita had had a nasty wreck a few years earlier, and one summer we did some confidence building on Eddie/Pete/Maddie/Beth/Jackson's mama Misty.

So it seems that Anita has some sort of attachment to Misty and her babies.
*****
I was reluctant to say yes to the deal. It's sort of like the old saw that you should never sell a used car to a friend or relative.
It seemed like I would be taking advantage of them: I had everything to gain from selling Beth--one less mouth to feed; no more doctoring; no more training expense; no risk that Beth would never fully recover. And the knowledge that Beth would have a permanent home--no horse ever gets sold off their place, for any reason--at worse, they would return her to me if she absolutely didn't work out with their other horses. I had always been worried that I would sell Beth to somebody for whom she wouldn't work out, and she'd sooner or later end up on a truck to Canada (in spite of the fact that I always put a buy-back clause in all my sales).

The advantage for Beth, besides the commitment Anita and Terry would make to her, was that Terry had just started his winter layoff and the two of them could regularly doctor her wounds, feed her smaller, more frequent meals, and be much more consistent working with her, when she was ready to start into training again. They knew exactly what they were getting into, disposition-wise, and had a pretty good idea of the possible medical issues and consequences.

But I felt a little like I would be dumping my problems with Beth on them, both medical and training-related. I didn't want to damage our friendship.
I was so reluctant that, at one point, Anita thought it was something about them that I didn't like--and that in itself put a little bit of a strain into our conversations.

At any rate, when I took Beth in to see Dr. Mark Hayden again that Friday, Anita and Terry met me there.

The discrepancy between what Ryan had told me about the accident happening at the trailer, and the Yakima vet's notes saying she had hit a railroad tie came up again. There was a concern that perhaps a large spinter of somewhat toxic RR tie might have gotten imbedded in Beth's jaw. I had emailed Ryan the night before for clarification.
Turns out, Beth had been tied to the trailer, but it had been backed up to a fence line with RR tie posts. Being on the rear-most tie ring, she was in a little corner formed by the trailer and the fence. On her last pull-back she had come down violently on the top of the post!
The other thing that Ryan said in his response was that the cause of the whole incident had come to light just the previous day--While moving some horses into the paddock adjoining the spot where the trailer was, he, the horses, and his dogs were attacked and stung multiple times, when they disturbed a nest of ground hornets! There is no doubt now that this was what set Beth off.
In a way, it was nice to know she had good reason--I was honestly starting to worry that I had a horse who was not just sassy, but crazy to the point of self destruction!

Three X-rays later, we were assured that there was no splinter, no further fractures, and no tooth damage. But there was one humongous abscess, just below her front molar on the same side as the bone fragment had been; luckily, it didn't appear that the infection had settled into the bone itself, which would have made it even harder to treat. Dr. Mark cleaned the wound out some, and changed the oral antibiotics to something a little stronger and more specific to the type of infection he saw. And I took her home.
But only for the night.

I had decided we could make the deal with Anita and Terry work.
But by the time we were done at the clinic, though, it was pushing 4:30 pm. Too late in the shortening daylight hours to ask Beth to settle into a new place, after all that she's been through in the last month.

Saturday morning we loaded up into the trailer again--she's gotten really good at that!--and headed west to Anita's and Terry's rented farmstead. They have an assortment of rescues, along with their personal horses, mostly Arabs. Beth unloaded, and sauntered up the drive past all those snorty Ay-rabs, and settled in a small paddock with a shelter and open to their round pen. Two of Anita's mares took offense to her being in "their" pen, but Beth just looked at them as if to say "What's your problem?!?" She immediately checked out her new digs, nibbled on some of their finer grass hay (still with her head tilt), and generally made herself at home.

In the two weeks since then, Beth has steadily improved: she's not tilting her head for her Senior feed (though she still does for hay). The wound under her chin has stopped most of it's drainage, and was starting to close up, but then they think Beth rubbed it and opened it up again some, and Anita is a little worried about the possibility of proudflesh.
The other horses seem to be accepting Beth better, though she'll still get the "stink eye" from the one mare that has been the nastiest all along (originally, Mariah would rear and charge the fence). One little mare that Anita had hoped would be her companion had not seemed open to the idea at first, but managed to get in the pen with her the other day (long story) and they seemed to be okay together for that short while. Anita is waiting until the wound is more healed before she puts Beth out in the pasture with anybody, for fear of her getting stupid and injuring it further.

The funny thing is:

Anita had thought Beth might be a good horse for her, if and when she healed enough to continue in her training as a saddle horse. Her small size (maybe 15 hands) is something Anita appreciates these days.
But the reality is that Beth seems to have chosen Terry as her human.
Terry, who has always maintained that mares don't like him. Terry, who wasn't sure about her legs as a baby. Terry, who is a pretty tall fellow.

Beth follows Terry around like a pesky little sister. The other day they went for a wander-walk around the place, and Terry remembered why he tends to prefer the stock breeds over silly Ay-rabs.
Beth has found her forever home.

Hospital Zone

2011-11-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

When I went the 45 miles or so down to Yakima to pick up Beth on the 17th, I wanted to have someone along for back-up, if I needed it. Pat was unavailable, and hubby Al was willing, but my friend Anita offered as well. Trouble was, Anita is recovering from rotator cuff surgery just now, and wouldn't be much physical help, if Beth got into trouble in the trailer...she came along primarily for moral support (and she had a working cell phone, which, at the moment, I didn't). So she met me in town, and we headed south.

I wasn't sure yet if I wanted to put Beth in the regular slant stall, or leave the dividers open and let her travel loose. The only halter I have that has the snap at the jaw was Kate's, which would be pretty roomy on Beth, but I figured I could leave the snap undone to avoid her wound if I needed to.

Beth was barely recognizable. Her face, jaw and neck were swollen, and she hung her head above the pile of uneaten hay. Ryan said she was hardly eating even the softened pellets he offered her--the dogs would come in and finish them off if he didn't pull the feeder out once she stopped nibbling at them. He had given up even trying to give her the penicillin shots in her hindquarters, quick as she is with her back feet (even in her depressed state). So there was some edema (swelling) forming on one side of her neck, and in her lower chest, where he had to move once the neck muscles had taken all they were going to take of the poking. She had one fairly deep laceration on her right shoulder, and a few scrapes on her legs, but the obvious focus of her injuries was her left jaw bone, where she now had seven stitches. Ryan explained that the vet had actually had to cut the wound open a little farther, to get the huge chunk of bone out.

We gingerly put the halter on and led her to my trailer. Seeing as how the last time she loaded into a trailer was after her injury (to the vet's) and the time before that was the trip down to this place of hard work, and then pain, she was understandably reluctant to load up. I also didn't want to pull any on her head, so Ryan brought over a lunge whip and it didn't take much more than a few taps for her to load up. Later, Anita was to tell me that Beth gave her a look that really sunk into Anita's soul--sort of a "What the h%*# have I done now!?!" look of despair.

Hauling home was uneventful, and I set Beth up in a private paddock on the south side of the barn, with free access to a matted stall. Kate and Maddie were in the next door paddock. She picked up one little mouth of hay, mouthed it only a bit, then let it drop back into the feeder. I soaked some Equine Senior for her, and she showed a little more interest in nibbling at that, but seemed to dislike it once it turned to total mush. So I tried little 2-cup portions as often as she would clean it up, or turn up her nose at it. Ryan had given her a dose of bute the morning we picked her up, but I discontinued it at this point, somewhat worried about that much NSAIDs on an essentially empty stomach. She was drinking decently, from a heated bucket.

By Tuesday night, however, she hadn't perked up any. And probably hadn't eaten even the equivalent of one meal for a horse her size. I set up to take the morning off and take her in to my vet. Besides, Ryan had told me the stitches should come out on Thursday--I wondered if it was too early to have Dr. Mark take them out while we were there.

The vet's office in Yakima faxed up their notes from the original emergency visit and emailed the digital X-rays. Dr. Mark also talked with the vet there for background. (One interesting thing was that the vet's notes talked about Beth hitting her head on a railroad tie, and both Anita and I remembered that Ryan had said the wreck happened tied to his trailer. I didn't think too much about it at this time--but it was later to come up. It illustrated the difficulty of communications that continued through the next couple of weeks.)

Dr. Mark was a little surprised that Beth had finished with her antibiotics already, but the wound on her jaw actually looked pretty good. After consulting with the Yakima vet, it was decided the stitches should actually stay in another week, but they were in a place where I could probably pull them myself, if all else was going well (and Beth would let me).

Mark checked Beth's teeth, and didn't see any cracks or bruising of the gums. What he did see was a need for a float job--I probably should have had it done before she went down for training: there were some points, and some older sores on her cheeks from same. Plus there was a noticeable curve developing from the jaws not lining up with each other properly. We hated to traumatize her jaw further, but he felt that she would do better with the food she was eating with her teeth in better shape. He also wanted me to restart giving her bute once a day. Once the sedative wore off, I ran her home and rushed back to work.

Through the rest of the week, and over the weekend, Beth started eating a little bit more enthusiastically. She would, however, tilt her head off the one side (usually to the right). She still wasn't much interested in hay, but seemed to enjoy being back out in the pasture. Bringing her in for dinner and meds, she began to greet me, and would sometimes trot in--more energy than she had shown for awhile--which seemed like a good thing.
Beth continued to eat a little better each day for the next week, but one thing I began to worry about, that I hadn't noticed prior to the vet trip, was increased swelling in her lower lip, back along the jaw into her chin groove. It became hotter and harder and more tender as the week progressed, and Beth started to back off her feed again.
On Tuesday evening, two full weeks after the original injury, I didn't get home until after dark, and couldn't convince Beth to come in for her grain (and bute)--not totally unexpected, but something about her chin didn't look right in the dark. The next morning she came in, but I only got a glance before she headed out again. Now it appeared there was something caked on her chin. That night, I managed to get her in, closing the gate behind her, and coaxed her over to me and gingerly put on her halter. In the process I managed to smear stinky pus all over my barn coat! She had popped an abscess right behind her lower lip!

I cleaned it up enough to find a thumb print sized wound. I took her temp (only very slightly elevated) and called the after-hours vet's number, hoping that maybe Dr. Mark would be on call, so I wouldn't have to explain the whole situation to someone else. Nope. But the doc did say that since her temperature wasn't too high, there wasn't much that could be done, other than hot soaks. I did have one dose of powdered antibiotics that I gave her, thinking to stop the next day and get more, along with scheduling a visit with Dr. Mark. What I was worried about now was whether there might be an additional break in Beth's chin.

So.
I mentioned a dilemma in the last post, but forgot to elaborate on it.
I have a challenging young mare, who is only green broke. She's not one I've ever planned on keeping, but I knew I needed to have her going better before I could sell her.
I've got twice as much into training than she is worth in today's market.
And now there is the prospect that she may have a broken jaw. I've already got more in vet bills in two weeks than I have for the training. I can't afford much more.
If there's another break, I don't think I can extend myself for surgery--do I put her down?
Even if the jaw is not broken, Beth may well become a pasture ornament.
What are my options?

Next post: an unexpected possibility.

Now What?

2011-10-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

Note: I started this post well over a week ago, and there have been developments and complications since then. I decided I just need to post what I have, then, hopefully this weekend, I can bring it further up to date.

I got bad news on Monday (the 10th), and now I find myself facing a dilemma.

Maddie’s little sister Beth (Brioso) has always been a challenge for me. I’ve said many times that she is “smart, quick, and sassy!” Lately, I’ve added “and she’s more horse than I care to ride, these days.” The glitch I had with Maddie earlier this summer, I’ve more or less worked through, and though I still don’t fully “trust “ Maddie, I feel it’s mostly just “green horse moments” that I have to watch for. But Beth has always had an issue with respect, even as a foal—She’s been bunches better the last couple of years, but will still threaten a kick if one gets after her for, say, invading a human’s space; she hasn’t actually kicked at me in a long time, just wants to see if I can be buffaloed.

I also haven’t ever been really bonded with Beth, not like Maddie and Kate. I’m not really sure why that is—maybe because, by the time Beth (and Lindy) were foaled in 2006, I was getting to my limit of how much I could do with each horse (I was up to 9 at the time), on top of full-time work. I have actually gotten to like her more in the last year or so—is that because she’s being nicer?—or she’s being nicer because I’m showing more caring to her?

At any rate, a year and a half ago, knowing she was going to need consistent work, I sent Beth to a local trainer who was recommended by a member of the KVTR. Although he got the first couple of rides on her, it wasn’t all that I hoped it would be—because he, too, works a full time job, he was not able to be as consistent with her as he had promised. Plus, looking back now, I’m not sure he wasn’t a bit intimidated by her. He did a lot of round pen ground work, and got maybe 10 rides on her—also in the pen. He probably only had her in a trot the last day or two.

But it was enough that I knew she wouldn't totally lose it under saddle, and I figured I could take over after that initial 30 days. As soon as school was out that year, I got another few weeks of work on her, starting in my arena (my round pen was flooded), and then out into my pastures a few times. I also rode her "in public" at that summer's "Horse Daze" private treaty sale, sponsored by our local rescue group. I was encouraged that she was doing fairly well, with no buck, and only the occasional balk. Although I didn’t feel confident enough to really get after her, I was able to work through the “stuck” moments.

Then, I admit, I dropped the ball. I was having too much fun with Kate and Maddie. Beth went back out in the pasture by the end of July. I probably would have picked up with her again this year, if not for my confidence shaking experience with Maddie in June.

Beth is not a horse that I ever planned to keep. She needs steady work, and, being reining bred, would probably do well in any challenging speed event for the right person.

That person isn’t me. I’m no longer a “go-fast-cat”-- haven’t been in many years. So Beth has always been for sale. But she comes in a plain brown wrapper (no Paint markings), and, although she has a pretty nice shoulder and hip, and a very feminine neck and face, her front legs aren’t as straight and nice as I would like. Her breeding is nothing spectacular, and though she’s registered, I would never recommend her as a broodmare prospect.
And there’s that attitude. Oh all the horses I’ve raised, she’s the one that I can honestly say will probably never be a kid’s horse. Even with some additional training and lots more mileage.

So I finally sucked it up and sent her to another young trainer, who came highly recommended by blogger friend, Aarene, of Haiku Farm. Ryan had helped Aarene work through some issues with her ~~temperamental~~ opinionated Standardbred mare, Fiddle. He was the fellow who came up and worked with Maddie in August, just so I could see if she was going to behave better with the new felt girth on my Tucker saddle (she did, and I rode her myself the next day).

So, Ryan got a good three weeks going on Beth: Started out working through the attitude, but had progressed to loping in his arena, and riding around the vicinity of his place down near Yakima. He didn't feel she was "ready" yet, but she was doing better. My plan was to bring her home at 30 days, and take her back to him in the late winter to ready her for any possible spring sale.
Early last Monday morning they had a nice ride, and Ryan had tied Beth to his trailer, where he always had her wait, while he went to get his next horse.
As he was walking back, all heck broke loose! We can't say for sure what triggered it, as she has never pulled back, either here at home, or for him. He saw it unfold from a ways away, but was truly not able to stop it once it started. The best we can figure, perhaps a cold, mad wasp had zapped her.
Beth pulled back in a blind panic. Then rushed forward, slamming her face into the trailer.
Then again: pull back, slam forward.
And one more time!
When she was done, Ryan assessed the damage: multiple scrapes on her face and one shoulder (his original description to me was "hamburger," tho it ended up not looking quite so bad). And a nasty gash under her jaw, that he felt needed to be stitched up. He kept me updated by phone and email all day, as he hauled her in to his vet. Not only did Beth need stitches, she had broken a chunk off the bottom of her jaw bone the size of my little finger!

Vet removed the bone chip, and said that it wasn't all that serious an issue (there's a LOT of bone in that particular location)--the biggest danger was infection. Talking to Ryan that evening after the dust had settled, I offered to come get her the next day (I had been planning to go down on Tuesday to watch them work together), but allowed as how it would be lots easier for me to wait until the weekend. Ryan agreed to keep her there until Sunday. This had the added advantage that he could keep a much closer eye on her during the day, and also do all the doctoring and the penicillin shots (orals weren't an option, partly because she wasn't eating much).

Next post: Bringing Beth home.

The Last Hoorah! of the Season

2011-10-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

I think this will be my last competition for the season: an ACTHA ride at the Washington State Horse Park, with Barb and her sweet Fannie Mae, and Debby, with her mustang Wendy Daze.

(The two of them plan to travel over the mountains later this month for another "Spooktacular" ACTHA ride, but the weather looks to be wet, and the obstacles "spooky" so I'm thinking I'm going to pass on that one.)

The obstacles on this ride were interesting and challenging, without being too imposing (except for the gate! More on that to follow).

Ready to take off: rain jackets were the fashion for the day!

We started out at the Mark Bolender designed "extreme" trail course, where Kate and I did the clinic last May. She should have had no problem with the rock "jumble" here: she was looking where she was going, but I just don't think we were awake yet, and she clunked a few rocks, and stepped smack dab on one--bump! over the top! (Score: horse, 8+, Rider 8+)

The next obstacle was the "snake pit": an 8' by 8' square of poles with a 55 gallon barrel in the middle, topped with a giant, fuzzy, stuffed cobra! She entered confidently, sniffed the cobra and touched it lightly with her nose, then trundled right around that barrel and back out. No problem. (9,10)

On the trail.

A mile or so along, we came to the water obstacle: a sort of slough off the main current of the Cle Elum River. We were to walk about 100 feet through cannon-height water, but we had to cross other puddles to get to the starting point of being judged, so Kate already had her feet wet, and did not hesitate at all. She did, however, slow down to a snail's pace--you'd have thought she was slogging through a big bowl of pudding! And I had to keep after her with my right spur, as she kept drifting towards the shore (and the judge). I knew she had done well, though, when the judge commented that we "must do a lot of river riding" on our way past her back to the trail. (8,9)

We climbed quite a ridge at this point, and Kate gave me a little bug-tussle, getting a little light in the front, and snaking her head around and stomping a few times. She's done this a few times before on hills, and it's a little unnerving. Once we got lined out again, she settled, but I began to worry about an obstacle further on where we would be asked to trot up a hill.

Over one of the ridges at the Washington State Horse Park.

The next obstacle was a bridge of sorts: two reinforced pallets snugged up against a downed log. I was pleased at Kate's confident approach and crossing, but I think she lost a few points when she let a hind leg sneak off the side just before we were all the way across. (8,9)

Now for the "barrel of monkeys!" We were to side pass to the right over two 30 gallon drums (on their sides) with a gap between them filled with stuffed monkeys and rubber duckies (?!?). It was again her less favored direction, and it took me a minute to get her going smoothly. She did step on one of the poles that anchored the barrels in place, but otherwise finished her sidepass well. (4,6--this was probably the least completed task for horses for the day, with over 30 of the 50 horses in our division getting zero scores!)

Now the hill loomed ahead of us. Fairly steep, there were to be penalties for lurching or stumbling. Barb and Fannie went up first, so Kate had a buddy waiting for her at the top. Deb went last, so we weren't alone at the bottom, waiting our turn (though Wendy took exception to being left behind). We were to trot about 200 feet, but there was plenty of room at the bottom (before the cone that marked the beginning of being judged) to establish a steady pace. I had decided after her snit-fit earlier, that if Kate acted up at all, I would just walk her up, but she settled into a slow but pleasant jog and we just headed up the hill like nobody's business! Good girl! (10,10!)

Our last challenge before returning to the main arena area of the Park was what some call a "cowboy car wash"--an overhanging branch was hung with a variety of pool noodles and bright surveyor's tape streamers. This is supposed to simulate hanging vines, but I personally feel it is one of the least natural expectations to be found on some of these trail courses. The nice part was that we had to walk right past it and approach it from the far side, so Kate was able to get a good look at it before the judging started. And Fannie and Wendy were waiting on the "out" side, so she walked through like it wasn't even there. (10,10 again!)

Getting back to the "developed" area of the Park.

Remember how awesome Kate did on her gate at the Dry Gulch Challenge two weeks ago? Well, she blew it on this one! It was the actual entrance gate to the Park's big main arena, solid, sturdy, nicely balanced on its' hinges, with a easy to reach lever action latch. Well...easy to reach IF your horse will get close to it! The lower part of the gate was solid plywood, and horses couldn't see through to the other side. Some wouldn't go near it; Kate approached it well, but would NOT swing her rear over parallel with it: she just didn't trust what she couldn't see on the other side! When I knew we would time-out, I changed sides and got her up to it enough to open the latch, then the judge and everyone had a good laugh when she pushed the gate open for me. Because we were facing the wrong way, and had run out of the allotted time, I just backed her through, then, as I went to move her forward to at least swing it closed, she pushed it with her nose again. Cute, but it didn't gain us any points. (0,0)


You'd think she had gone 50 miles! (Actually, she had just dropped her head for switching out the bosal for her halter.)

Here's Barb's little video of the whole hullabaloo, including some input from Debby's and my cameras. Thanks, ladies!

As we ate lunch and waited for awards, the sun finally came out, but there was still a chill in the air. Kate and I finished 17th out of 50, which was great, considering the couple of glitches we had. Barb tied for 6th, but the tie was broken for the ribbon by the other rider having more "pluses." One thing I don't care for with ACTHA rides is that you don't get to see many of the other horses' goes. It was hard for us to see where Fannie could have been much better. Deb had a bit of a frustrating time with Wendy, who was fussier than usual about being away from Fannie.

But-all in-all it was a great day!

One More Time Around [A Slightly Different] Block

2011-09-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Kate and I joined five other KVTRiders (and one sister) horse-and-rider teams, and a pit-crew of two, for a trek north to Wenatchee, Washington, for the "Dry Gulch Trail Challenge." A locally produced event of the huge Appleatchee Riders group, this was their third time to hold a competition on a very well built trail course outside of their main barn/arena grounds. (Last spring's challenge was cancelled due to the EHV-1 virus: there was actually one horse from the Appleatchee barns who attended the Ogden Utah cutting show where the virus was traced to.)

Here's a [long] pictorial look at Kate's go on each of the obstacles in the "Greenhorn" division.

The course walk.

First obstacle: Water-filled ditch.

Kate took a long hard look at the water hazard--there was several inches of sticky mud at the bottom of a trench. She got close, and gave it a few half-hearted tries, but we moved on before she could get too flustered.

We did do it later, first in hand, during a break between horses. Then, after the competition was complete, I rode her through from both directions. After the first tentative try, she did really well. Guess we'll have to flood our "fake" pond at home and practice some more.

Second obstacle: Walk in-and-out through the barrels.


"Are they alive?!?" The wind was rustling the fleece "hides" slightly, then Kate's snort, even more so!

"Okay. I can handle these cows."

Third obstacle: Bridge.

I figured she would either do this short, wide bridge...or not. She strode right over without a moment's hesitation. (She also practiced the long skinny bridge later in the day, with little problem--other than "falling" off the side on the first go.)

Third obstacle: the "Blow-down."

I need to look up!

Kate made it look easy, in spite of me.

Fourth obstacle: the "Trail ride."

First we went up the hill at a walk, then trotted a circle around a jump at the top...

...then we came back down.

Fifth obstacle: Trot logs.

I was a little worried about this, as Kate would usually prefer to "mosey," especially over logs. But I think the excitement of the day had raised her adrenaline levels: she trotted right through, and seemed to enjoy the jaunt!

Sixth obstacle: Side pass.

Kate prefers to side pass to the left. After offering that, and giving me a petulant little stomp when I said "no, thank, go right," she complied and did a very nice job.

I'm seriously exaggerating my left seat-bone cue! But Kate crossed over with her feet very nicely.

Seventh obstacle: the Gate.

Best...

...gate...

...ever! ('nuf said)

Eighth obstacle: Turn-a-round box.

Kate still doesn't quite keep track of her back feet. And the one log at the back had been knocked out of position by the previous contestant, so that further confused things.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "rubber-necking." I have been told not to do this challenge too slowly--just get in the box and twirl around. Kate wasn't twirling, however! We need to work on her yielding her hindquarters to my leg.

Ninth obstacle: The mailbox.

Kate approached it nicely. Thankfully, they put their mailbox at horse-height.

Then she listened while I read the "mail" out loud: "Sanity is over rated--I bought myself another horse!"

Across the finish line.

The "Greenhorns" division was timed, but only for the sake of breaking ties. I let Kate trot out from the mailbox.

I was again extremely pleased with Kate's efforts and attitude!
Besides the non-completion "zero" for the water, she got a "3" for taking a while to make up her mind to go between the "hide"-covered barrels, and a "4" for her back-end sloppiness in the turn-a-round. Otherwise she got all "5's"!

All in all, our E-burg contingent did pretty well: 4th and 5th (Kate) in the "Greenhorn" division; 3rd, 4th, and 6th in the "Dude" (intermediate) division; and FIRST in the "Wrangler" division went to my friend Barb, and her usually mellow, quiet trooper, Fannie Mae, who had a whoopin', hollerin' time cruising around the advanced course!

Kate and I had completed our second mountain trail event, in not too shabby fashion. We still have a few things to work on, but it's obvious what they are (water/mud, yielding her hindquarters).

Next up: an ACTHA ride next weekend, right up the road in Cle Elum, at the Washington State Horse Park.

We Accomplished Our Goal...And Then Some!

2011-09-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

As you may (or may not) remember, my goal for Kate and I for this year was to compete in at least one mountain trail type event. She's more than proven herself on KVTR trail rides this summer, and I've been proud of how much she's matured. One KVTR member commented recently that he felt that was the true test of a "trail horse" and should be enough.

But I also have that little competitive urge, that drives me to show off Kate's skills and see how she stacks up against others. After all, I was the one who bred, birthed, raised and trained her. What an ego boost to have her perform well in a judged setting.

I had taken her to the mountain trail clinic offered by national champion Mark Bolender (I never blogged about the clinic, because I never got the pictures from them! Boo!), but then missed every single one of his series of three little trail "shows" at the Washington State Horse Park, for various reasons (rain, haying season, attacks by horse-eating stable sheets).
There are several other options for competition in the state and central Oregon and northern Idaho, but most are hundreds of miles away, and I just couldn't see spending the money on gas without a travel buddy to share costs (as well as company). Plus, I wanted to start off low key and see how well Kate and I did--get us both some experience--before venturing that far away. Plus, I'm not set up for camping [yet!] and all of the long distance trips would have by necessity entailed one or more overnights

'not JUST a trail horse anymore'

My friends Barb and Debby, who had been working their way through the ACTHA rides in the area, talked me into giving it a try. I personally think that the cost per ride is a bit high (especially since the format of six obstacles in six miles limits you to competing only one horse, and I have two I'm trying to bring along). But ACTHA was offering a late season special on membership, and Maddie isn't ready just now, anyway. Plus, I noticed that Kate was wearing the tread down on my more often used pair of Cavallo Simple Boots, (which I strongly endorse), and I could earn a pretty darn good discount on a new pair by signing up--Cavallo is a major sponsor.

And I had saved all that money on the trail challenges I didn't make it to, right?

There were two, two-day competitions scheduled for early September this side of Spokane (150 miles or so away from E-burg). Debby was signed up for the "Ride for the Mustangs" weekend, with her little Kate-clone mustang, Wendy. But that is right after the start of school this week (bah! humbug!), and I couldn't justify going for the whole weekend, which was Deb's plan. So Barb and I signed up for the Saturday ride on Labor Day weekend. (That would give a couple of days to recover!)

Because Barb isn't set up for camping either, we left the Kittitas Valley shortly after 4:00 AM for the 3 hour drive over to Davenport, WA. We made good time, even with a good rest stop mid-way, and, after getting checked in and attending the ride briefing, I had about 45 minutes to shut my eyes before saddling up.

The description of the obstacles indicated that they were for the most part pretty "natural"--no pool noodle curtains or such. I knew that Kate would be able to do most of them, as long as nothing got us too flustered.

The first obstacle was called "cavaletti," but was much more random that any English rider might imagine. As we finished, the judge commented that we were the first horse/rider team (and I later learned only) that did not touch a single one of the poles/branches laid out!

We're on our way.

Next was an 18" log step-over. Kate just barely brushed across it with one hoof, otherwise she did it with confidence and style.

After a little bit of meandering through young woods, we were scored on an "amble down the hill." It proved to be our poorest score of the day: not knowing exactly what the judge was looking for, I let Kate pick her own way. This resulted in a bit of wandering back and forth across the road, which was all I can figure brought her score down. That and the fact that Kate got a little impatient waiting at the top of the hill, while Barb's horse Fannie left without her, though this shouldn't have been judged at this point. (The judge was uniformly stingy on points here, so I don't think I was unfairly penalized.)

Because we had been working so much on walk-overs, I was worried that Kate might not stop and stand quietly over the top of a log as required for the dismount obstacle --though this would certainly help me up afterwards. But this challenge was taken out of the ride due to the judge's horse picking up a stone on the way out, and her having to return to the ranch.

After skirting a gravel pit (with loader and dump truck actively working) we were asked to step over some poles and side pass off one end--the pleasure division only had to go one way, and could choose which direction. Kate's sidepass has really come along, though she can get a bit frustrated with me if I ask for both directions one after the other, so this was perfect for her! She lightly side swiped the pole with her first sideways step, but otherwise nailed it. The judge said later several people told her that they'd never sidepassed before (really? and you're at a trail competition?), so she didn't even mark us down for the touch.

After a brief trip down to the edge of the Spokane River, the route then returned the way we came (yuk!), with the final three obstacles back at the ranch. What was fun on the way back--well "fun" might not be the right word....maybe "educational"--was that the openness of the terrain and good footing allowed me to ask Kate to lead--which she usually refuses to do. I hate to interrupt the flow of KVTR rides for this sort of schooling, so, with just Barb and I in our "group" it was a good opportunity. Kate would get her normal 10 feet in front, then stop, or worse, back up. But Barb just backed patient Fannie up too, so Kate could never surrender the lead! After 5 or 10 minutes of gettin' after her, Kate finally said "Oh, all right." and we led all the way back in a forward and cooperative fashion.

At the mailbox, the "letter" we took out was actually a bundle of donated coupons that we got to keep--that was nice. I managed to get one and drop another on the ground, so I don't know if that lost us points there.

Any entry forms for next time?

The next obstacle was a wash: not a single participant in any of the divisions completed it! It consisted of three various-sized holes that had been dug, lined in heavy rubber sheets (that were not anchored in any way), and filed with water. Most horses didn't want anything to do with it. Two riders got a few points for getting their horses to at least touch the water before their 60 seconds were up. Kate got close enough to shift the loose rubber material with her foot, and that was enough for her! The judge gave me one point for keeping her head facing it until we were excused. We did go back later and I managed to get her to cross the biggest puddle while driving her forward from the ground.

Finally got ~~our~~ her feet wet.

After the hub-bub at the water, I was dubious that Kate would stay focused for opening and closing the somewhat rickety gate (twice! because we had to both go into and then out of the arena). She has done really well on several different gates at home lately, but this one was not even on hinges--it was tied to the post, and often would shift and get hung up in the dirt. Fannie and Barb had a perfect go, executing the two passes through the gate as one long obstacle. With very un-specific instructions from the judge, I opted to do it as two different efforts: in and close the gate, then walk a small circle and repeat the task the other way. I think this helped Kate to keep from getting frustrated with me. Kate did well listening to my legs for positioning, but did try to help me with her nose (cute, but a no-no), and I lost control of the gate a couple of times. I have to laugh at the fact that, as we shut it the second time, Kate moved right over--and into the gate post! I hadn't positioned her far enough forward to be "out." My bad! We did better than most, and I was okay with her effort.

Kate: "I'm done! Let's get outta here!" Me: "That's right, Kate. Now we gotta get outta here."

Barb put together this little video that the two of us took of each other. It's fun to see us "in action," even with the blurry, too close footage at the river ("Who put that zoom button there?").

After messing around with the water obstacle, we put the girls in the shade of the trailer with their hay bags, ate some lunch ourselves, and waited for the awards.
Rather than start at the "bottom" and work their way to the winners, they did the opposite, to give the best performers first choice at the table full of donated prizes. Barb and sweet Fannie Mae were second in the "Pleasure" division! Not having watched everyone else's efforts (except some at the water and gate) I had no idea where Kate might be in the placings. But it didn't really matter, as she had tried hard and done well in my eyes.
The placings continued: 3rd (open, pleasure, junior); 4th (open, pleasure, junior); 5th (open, pleasure, no more juniors); 6th, open; and the last place awarded: 6th in the pleasure division. Guess who?
KATE!

Lookin' towards future rides!

Here's our scores:

Obstacle Name
Obstacle Name	Score	+	Score	+
1 Cavaletti	10	1	10	1
2 Step over/Jump	9	0	10	0
3 Downhill	7	0	7	0
4 Sidepass	10	0	10	0
5 Dismount-Scratched	0	0	0	0
6 Mailbox	8	0	8	0
7 Water	0	0	1	0
8 Gate	8	0	9	0

The two "pluses" on the cavaletti served to break a 107-point tie with another rider, so Kate had cinched her pretty green ribbon on the very first obstacle.

We packed everything up and headed for home. I would venture to guess that all four of us slept really well that night!

Our next ACTHA ride, and probably last for the season, will be in early October, right up the road at the State Horse Park. But there's a couple of non-ACTHA trail challenges coming up in the meantime, so Kate and I will keep honing our skills.

Back In the Saddle Again

2011-09-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

I went for a ride last week.

With KVTR member Barb and her mellow mare, Fannie (Pat is out of town).

We went west to the Upper Elk Heights trailhead, and did a two-hour loop on sandy footing amid the pines.

Wait!

Whose ears are those?

Maddie: "It's me, Mom."

We had a nice mellow ride, with only a couple of minor spooks-in-place--nothing worse than before the unscheduled dismount of May. Though my tummy did a couple of little flips each time, we had a great "first time out" ride.

Thanks Barb. Thanks Fannie.

Dusty and Doomed in the Mountains

2011-09-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Kate and I went on two KVTR rides towards the end of last month.

The first was a return to last year's sojourn to the Teanaway River, with the trailhead being at the Flying Horseshoe Guest Ranch. (This was actually before my rides on Maddie, but I just had to share those first.) Notice how, in all of the photos except those at the river, there is a layer of dust on everything!

Eighteen riders headed down the trail.

Mostly old logging roads.

Kate set a good example for several green horses that were along, walking right in.

It was deeper than last year. Unlike a few other riders, however, I managed to keep my stirrups and boots dry.

Headed back...

...to a great "gourmet hamburger" lunch provided by Penny Blackburn of Flying Horseshoe.

***************************************

The following weekend the club ventured far, FAR up the Reecer Creek drainage (some of us got lost just trailering in!) Although the route was nice, the DNR had blocked the old logging roads in several places, with ditches and slash piles--presumably to keep out the off-road vehicles--which also made the going pretty tough for us. In places, we could bush-whack around, but in others, riders had to get off and move logs and such.

The leader of the group had lots of experience in the area, and shared lots of history.

Lots of little creek crossings, which Kate handled like they were nothing (though she did get impatient once, waiting for another horse's "green horse moment").

You know those obnoxious FaceBook photos that people take with their camera phone at the end of their arm?...

This one almost worked.

So Denise offered to take a couple.

Thanks, Denise!

This hill is steeper than it looks--we spent 6 or 7 miles going downhill from the trailhead, and now had only about 3 miles to get back UP to the trailers!

We were out over four and a half hours, and I was officially POOPED. Then, getting out of the trailhead, I got hung up on something (rock? stump?) and developed a slow leak in one trailer tire, lost a truck hubcap, and really burned the brakes coming down the 2000 feet elevation drop in three miles of switchbacks (in spite of downshifting to first)! Not to mention the gas gauge was inching closer to empty. It was one of the few rides with the club that I was glad to be done with.

I was ready for a break for a while, so later that week was when I worked with Maddie--More on how that's going in a later post.

Another Good Work Day

2011-08-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

A nice belly scritch before saddling up.

Free longe was pretty cooperative.

Maddie knows the head down cue, but doesn't always like to hold the position--this was nice.

Just a little longeing on the line.

I'll spare you the butt-shots, but notice that the photographer was free to shoot pictures--no one was at Maddie's head for mounting. (Al was, however, kneeling and shooting up at us--her head was not nearly as high as this angle implies.)

Both of us were nice and relaxed. Until...

Maddie did a little scoot-spook. Then...

The next several shots had me in a tug-of-war with her face. I had to remind myself to trust her, and get off her mouth.

But we ended up relaxed again--some neck rubs.

And a loose rein dismount.

Look who else got to come out and play for a bit! Beth!

And she played HARD for about 20 minutes!

But she finally settled.

Hi, Sweetie-Pie.

Woo-Hoo! We DID It!

2011-08-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last night after Ryan's successful work with Maddie, I realized that if I wanted Pat's help the first time I got on Maddie myself, that it would have to be today: Pat is leaving early Saturday to spend 10 days at the Oregon State Fair with her 13 year old granddaughter, who drives draft horses for a friend. Pat said, yes, she could use a little break from packing the camper. (Her husband, hearing only one side of the conversation, asked "You're not going riding, are you?!?" Pat assured him that she would only be coming down for a bit.) It's important to note that my husband, though willing to help (and pick up the pieces if need be) is not really a horseman, and wouldn't have the instincts to respond if Maddie decided to have issues.

So this morning I saddled up, with little to no melodrama, and was free longeing in the round pen when Pat drove up. Maddie and I had just worked through a little "catch-me-if-you-can"--which is ironic: Maddie's always been a little hard to catch in the paddock, and it's the one thing we've been working on, fairly successfully, this summer. But in the round pen, it seemed that Maddie thought that every time I approached her, she was to move off again. Now, after circling and changing directions [often] for 30 minutes, once she let me approach her and rub on her face, she got to air up and rest.

I put on her bridle and we circled a few more times each direction, and then I walked right up to her. Maybe she's figured that part out.

I led her to the mounting block and Pat held her head, more for a security blanket than anything. I upped and downed a bit, then threw my leg over. Got off, got on. Pat walked beside her the first few circuits of the pen, then unsnapped the lead, an slowly backed off, over the next turn or two.

Maddie and I walked. We reversed. We whoa-ed. We jogged. We were both a little tense, but I focused on keeping my hands light. I asked Pat to grab my camera to record the event. The battery was dead. She stood at Maddie's head while I dismounted, all the way to the ground. No problem. (Pat had been here the day of the graceful departure Maddie and I had back in May, and the subsequent re-mount and 20 minutes of trying to dismount again without panic.)

I ran in the house and got Al's camera. Remounted and walked off, while Pat got some photos.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, Mommy?"

"Sure, Maddie. Let's go!"

Rubbing on her. Although her head was higher than I would prefer, for the most part she was pretty relaxed.

The head came up again when I went to dismount, but other than that, no reaction.

Now we can both breathe again!

Good girl, Maddie.

Maddie Makes a New Acquaintence

2011-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Maddie. I'd like you to meet Ryan.

Maddie. It's time for you to grow up. And Ryan's going to help you (since your Momma has gotten all wussified).

I met Ryan briefly back at the Milwaukee Rail Trail endurance ride, when I first met Aarene of Haiku Farm, live-and-in-person.

It was also the first day that Maddie threw her big fits about both being mounted and dismounted. The former, I was willing to chalk up to Aarene being new, and Maddie never being mounted from the ground before (as this old lady is the only one who had ever mounted her at all). But when she skittered out from under me when I was dismounting, I knew something was up.

Two weeks later, we had my unscheduled dismount, that just served to scare Maddie more--not to mention me. Although I've done a little ground work with her since then, when it came time to throw a leg over, I just couldn't quell the unease in my tummy.

So Maddie has been standing around for two months, waiting for me to figure out what to do. I wasn't sure I could ever trust her again, but I wouldn't sell her without resolving the issue.

Commenting on one of my posts where I mentioned this impasse, Aarene suggested that her young friend Ryan had worked with her temperamental mare Fiddle, and had a quiet but firm way about him. He also lives not far away, here on the dry side of the state. It took us a while to connect (Ryan being a 21st century kind of guy, of the FaceBook generation, and me, being firmly stuck in the 20th century age of land-lines). But he made it out this morning to "consult" with me and Maddie.

In anticipation, I have been working with Maddie some more for the last several days, essentially starting from square one: sacking her out ("I've never seen that saddle before!"), ground work ("What? I'm supposed to follow you willingly?"), round pen work ("Yeah. Look at me race around in circles!"), and mounting block practice ("You can't make me stand there if I don't want to!"). Last night's session was good enough that I almost climbed on...

Ryan started with quite a bit of ground work, asking Maddie to relax and give him her eye. Considering how out of shape she is (remember, she's been standing around for two months), it took a little bit. But Ryan was very patient, and eventually she was willing to give him a chance to partner with her.

He started to weight the stirrups and then went to step up, and Maddie's eyes got pretty big! I reminded him that she had never been mounted from the ground, so, not to push her too hard this first day, he headed to the mounting block, and stepped up, but didn't swing over. Maddie was tense, and he felt like she could blow, but he just went about up-ing and down-ing for a few more minutes until she relaxed. Then he climbed on board.

And off again. And on, and off.

She was tense, and Ryan was pretty sure she would hump up on him, but he asked her to move out, and, although still fairly stiff (note the clamped tail below), she complied.

They walked and jogged for maybe ten minutes, then we called it good.

The dismount was uneventful, showing how far she'd come in just about an hour's time.

Ryan and I talked about him maybe taking her on for 30 days, not only to get past this issue, but also to fill in a few holes in her training that I haven't gotten to (her lope especially needs practice). He doesn't have an opening for two weeks, so it was agreed that I would work with her these next couple of weeks and see how far we can get. Just the last week of regular work seems to have been a step in the right direction. And now that I see that she won't necessarily explode when mounted, I feel better about maybe trying it myself. If I'm okay with her for the time being, I'll haul Beth down to his place instead, to get her a little farther along, so that maybe I can get her sold before winter.

All in all, it was a momentous day:

first ride since May;

first rider other than me;

and no fireworks!

We'll see how Maddie and I do on our own.

You've Come A Long Way Baby [Boy]!

2011-08-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Mikey on Echo, at 2-ish (Spokane).

As mentioned in my last exasperated post, grandson Mike [no longer "Mikey"--he's 6 foot 3 these days!] is here for his annual visit to Grandma Laurie's Farm.

Mikey on Misty at 8 1/2 (that's Maddie in tow).

With Kate's unscheduled time off, we've gotten a lot of work done this week, to be chronicled in a later post.

But we finally decided Kate was sufficiently recovered for us to go out for a little ride.

Almost normal nose (Maddie stepped up to show what "normal" looks like).

Still a few tender cracks--sort of like really chapped lips.

Don't know if the little scar under her eye will eventually return to black.

Mama Misty is responding really well to her new medication for her mild navicular syndrome--She moved out really well (almost to well, until Mike asserted himself) and I only saw one or two bobbles. I had put the girls' Cavallo Simple Boots on her, but they were a little big--I found a slightly rubbed spot on one heel bulb. We'll try the pastern wraps, or some vet wrap to protect it before we go out again.

Other than ponying Brenden around last month, Misty hasn't really done anything but raise babies in a loooong time. But Mike learned all his basics on her, until she started gimping on the fronts three years ago. So they were soon reacquainted. I was really pleased that Mike's form was pretty good, though he only gets to ride the couple of weeks that he's here each year.

Warming up in the arena.

Then in the front pasture.

Headin' out.

Along the ditch road.

After a little bit of an argument about going between the "matching" waterfalls at our irrigation take-out point, Kate reluctantly led--for a bit.

Then Mike and Misty took over. There is a pond behind those trees, and we will sometimes encounter ducks or other wildlife in this corner of the property. Those are some of my baby aspens near the fence line.

One hundred feet further and we're back in the desert!

Through the south gate (more baby trees in the background).

Follow the leader over my telephone pole obstacle.

Oops! Snuck out the side.

"Keep her in the middle, Mike."

It took a couple of tries, and Mike's determination, to get Misty to walk down into the "pond" (no water right now).

Kate and I went up the steep side.

Mike's not fond of "big hills," so he and Misty came out of the pond via the more gradually sloped side.

And over a railroad tie.

You may have noticed that there are photos from two different perspectives. Grandpa Al had snuck out of the house to document our journey.

Look, Ma. No hands!

The watcher in the wood.

It was a great little "warm-up" ride.

We're going to try to get out with Pat Monday morning, before I return Mike to his home in Spokane on Tuesday. In the meantime, he and I have one more project to complete, so I gotta go!

You Wanna Fat Lip?

2011-08-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

I'll give you a fat lip!

I was prepared to do an exciting post this evening showing a ton of photos from the mountain trail show scheduled today at the Washington State Horse Park. Grandson Mike was to be official photographer/groom/general go-fer. Last evening, the tack was all clean, the trailer was hitched up and the gear was loaded, and the water tank and hay bag were stuffed full. Kate was bathed and beautiful--I put a light weight sheet on her to try to keep her that way overnight.

This morning, Mike woke up on the first call (amazing, in itself--he's 14), I braided my hair and squeezed into my skinny jeans (yeah!) and my no-bounce sports bra. We went out at 6:30 to feed everybody and catch up the horse...

Both Mike and I saw it at the same time:

BLOOD!

The Boo-Boo Baby, once again

A palm sized patch of Kate's nose, between her nostrils, was bloody.

I couldn't tell from outside the barn if it was just smeared from a small cut, or if the whole nose was raw. The other thing I noted as I sprinted through to the girls' paddock was the absence of Kate's nylon sheet. The scenario began to form in my mind.

I gave everybody their grain (else I contend with their sense of entitlement whilst trying to assess the damage) and very gently slipped the halter over Kate's head. She did manage to finish most of her pellets, though she didn't hoover up the last little bits in the bottom of the bucket.

I led her over to the water trough and gently rinsed her nose.

"Ouch, Mommy!"

Her upper lip was swollen and hot to the touch. I gingerly checked her mouth, but there didn't seem to be any internal damage to gums or teeth or tongue. It was your basic road rash/rug burn type of abrasion.

There were also a few scrapes over her right eye, and one shallow cut just under her lower eyelashes.

My best guess is that she somehow got tangled up in the sheet (most of which was found later in the pasture), and in arguing her way out of it, she managed to do your basic face-plant. So much for my coordinated trail horse.

I brought her into the barn and smeared Novalsan ointment as tenderly as I could. Kate was not happy with this plan at first, but the cool blue salve must have felt good, as she relaxed and let me liberally cover her nose and the eye scrapes with it. (I like Novalsan as an initial antibiotic, as it is water based rather than oil, and lets the wound breathe--it tends to prevent a lot of scarring.) I also gave her a gram of bute for inflammation. I checked the rest of her body and didn't find any further injuries. In the arena, she jogged out reluctantly, but sound.

Mike took her over to the tall grass while I pondered whether she was up to the trail competition. This was the last of a series; I had missed the first because of rain, and the second due to haying commitments. She had been so together the other day in the wilderness that I thought nothing man-made would slow her down.

Physically, Kate was sound. But when Mike brought her back over to me and said she wasn't interested in the grass, I knew she wasn't going. She was hurting and I wasn't going to ask her to perform just for my ego's sake.

In the end, Kate's injuries are all superficial. The good nylon sheet, however, was toast.

Kate's A THINKIN' MACHINE!

2011-08-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

And she's an absolute ROCK STAR!

Wednesday's KVTR club ride took us west of the Kittitas Valley, outside (way outside!) of the Cle Elum/Roselyn/Ronald "metro" area, into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. It was about a two-hour drive to the Pete Lake trailhead, then we rode a total of nine miles in four hours (plus a half-hour break at the lake). Because of it's proximity to the Seattle area, it's a popular hiking area, so we chose to go during the week, to avoid the crowds.

It was the best club ride I have been on in three years, and one of the most outstanding experiences I have ever had in my fifty years on horseback.

It wasn't just the beautiful scenery and the great camaraderie...

I was riding the BEST HORSE EVER!

Kate was forward, responsive and careful. I let her pick her way, with very little input from me. When I did need her to move over a bit (for the sake of avoiding a tree or outcropping with my knees, or staying away from a steep drop off), all I needed to do was tap my heel on her barrel, and she yielded to the side. I just flexed my fingers on the mecate the couple of times she wanted to hurry up a little slope, and she came right back to me.

She was calm and confident--and so was I!

There was none of the hormone-induced shenanigans of last week. The only iffy moment was when we were buzzed by a fighter jet, seemingly just above the treetops, out of Whidby Island Naval Base. (We had been warned that this is a fairly common happening--the area is on one of their training routes.) Kate tensed up, but stood her ground. (Sorta ruined the whole "wilderness" aura, however.)

Kate didn't crowd the horse in front of her (last week she wanted her face buried in someone's tail the whole day), and wasn't at all upset when the Paso Finos got a little ways ahead of us. At the first creek crossing, she stopped for a half a beat, then trundled across; at the second crossing, she hesitated only a second, never really stopping her forward movement; after that she strode right across every rivulet and rushing brook we came to.

I've just got one thing to say:

I enjoyed the HECK outta my horse!

Even with "trailer-pooling" the parking area was crowded (hikers park in a separate car area).

Into the woods.

Because most of the ride is in a nationally designated wilderness area, you're allowed "12 heartbeats" in a group, so 6 riders and 6 horses made up our contingent. There were 11 club riders altogether, so we went out in three groups.

The trail was varied and at times challenging.

I mostly rode on a loose rein, letting Kate pick her way. I only had to check her a few times, when she wanted to scramble a little on the hills.

We met hikers--some with, and some without, big bulky backpacks--but all pleasant and more than willing to step off the trail for us to pass.

Most of the trail was this rich, loose forest soil.

Once in a while, though, we had to traverse granite outcroppings.

One of the many creek crossings.

We crossed rocky ravines.

Some of the wetter areas had heavy fern and berry undergrowth.

Kate hunkered down for the little climbs, watching carefully where she put her hooves.

Roots were more of a hazard than the rocks.

More roots.

A rocky step-down. If there was a choice of obstacles, you could see Kate look from one to the other, then consciously decide which she wanted to negotiate.

Another creek. Kate drank well on two occasions, once she was assured the others were stopped as well.

Our destination: Pete Lake, in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.

Kate stood quietly in the trees with her trail mates.

This short stretch was the worst of the rocks, but I wish I had put her boots on (it had been reported that they wouldn't be necessary).

Kate really worked hard to pick her route.

Headed back along the Cooper River, visible through the trees.

Signs asked that stock not be brought within 200 feet of the Lake, so this was our group picture, on a rock in Pete Lake, with the Chikamin Ridge (I think) in the distance.

In the photo above, the Pacific Crest Trail is somewhere between us and the ridge--I've dreamed of riding the entire length from Mexico to Canada since I was in college (the first time), but may have to settle for one state's worth...

now that I have such a great trail horse!

A Nice Ride, and Some Thoughts on Fear

2011-07-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

Kate and I joined 12 other riders from the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders for a ride out of the Lower Elk Heights trailhead, to an overlook of the Taneum Valley. She was pretty good most of the time...

In the half hour or so that Pat and I waited last Monday, to see if the rain would quit (it didn't), Kate had done a bunch of flirting with Pat's boys, Rambler and Chief. There was much squealing and tail lifting and squirting. I commented at the time that, because the girls don't pay much mind to RT, I seldom notice when they are in heat. (In the past, when either Kate or Maddie have had a naughty day, someone will often ask "Is she in heat?" to which I usually answer "I don't know. I guess that could be the problem.")
On Tuesday's ride with Rambler, Kate was good as gold, and I didn't think much of it. Of course, she only had Rambler to focus on.
Yesterday, as soon as Pat loaded Chief in the trailer, Kate started carrying on again! When we started out up the hill, Pat was towards the back and Kate and I were in the middle of the group. But the first time we stopped for a breather, Kate suddenly HAD to find her boyfriend, and didn't want to continue up the hill without him. That was okay, as long as we were on a trail that allowed us to ride side-by-side.
When we had to go single file, Kate wouldn't walk in front of Chief ("I can't see him!"), but behind him, she kept pestering him, and he got a bit balky.
After our rest stop at the overlook, I made a point of putting Kate up with the leaders. As long as she wasn't in the very front, with no one to follow, she was okay with this, keeping up well, and with a good attitude. Every time we stopped, she looked back to make sure Chief was still with us, but didn't insist on being with him.
Back at the trailers, Kate started calling and looking for Chief. When Pat tied him up next to her, however, she got really nasty, squealing, and threatening to kick. So we moved him to the other side of the trailer, which just made Kate MAD! She stomped, she called, she paced as far as her leadrope would let her. Eventually she settled down, as we sat nearby eating our lunches. At loading, Kate was worried Chief wasn't coming along, but once both were loaded she behaved herself. Surprisingly, she we dropped Pat off at her place, Kate did not carry on about losing her lover, and traveled well the rest of the way home.

There was one other unnerving incident during the ride, that Kate handled fine--I was the one that got shook.
A gal behind us was riding a fairly green horse, and when she took a drink out of her water bottle, he spooked at the sloshing ice in the bottle. He took off, and I definitely heard several seconds of thundering hooves, before Kate turned slightly and I saw the woman bail out and the horse take off into the woods. Kate scrambled a little as he went by, but as soon as she stopped, I climbed down, as did several other folks, either to keep their horse calmer, or to aid the woman who had gotten dumped.
The horse was soon caught, and we started back down the trail. The woman chose to walk the rest of the way down, and I was hesitant to get back on, even though Kate seemed fine, so I walked with her for a bit. But these feet were not made for walking (I tell folks that's why I took up riding) and after a half-mile or so, I climbed back on. Kate was steady and responsive, but I continued to have butterflies all the way back.

Even though it was not Kate who got spooked, I spent the whole ride back debating whether or not I should even take her to next week's trail competition. In spite of how pleased I was with her behavior and skill level on Tuesday's ride, I was back to thoughts of selling the whole bunch and retiring to a cozy cabin on the beach--With no horses, we could actually afford it!
Fear has been the theme of numerous blogs lately, as well as several magazine articles. Especially for those of us who are getting older, and already facing various other health issues, the fear of getting hurt raises huge road blocks to our enjoyment of our equine pursuits. And I am not one of those women who returned to riding after a long hiatus of raising a family/pursuing a career: I have ridden pretty much continuously for the last fifty years, including training and competition.
I'm not sure how I would handle not having horses in my life, but I've got to figure out how to get past this nagging feeling of dread whenever I ride, or it's not the relaxing escape that I ride to experience.

A Romantic Interlude...

2011-07-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

NOT!

What with me being away for two weeks with my Mom, and Al leaving today for Connecticut to see his Mom for a week, I had a plan for some special "together" time when he got home from work last evening.

At my request, Al called me when he headed for home. This gave me about 20 minutes lead time. Pre-heat the oven for yummy spinach and mushroom pizza, jump in the shower to wash the day's projects away, and put on my silk PJ's. Brush out my hair and pull it back into a easy release clip, for him to let loose at the appropriate moment.

Then sit down to wait for his arrival.

The dog runs to the window and barks a warning.

I glance out, expecting to see the car coming down the driveway.

Um. No.

What I see are five spottie horses, headed UP the driveway!

Pull bib overalls over silk PJs and jump into rubber barn shoes.

Beth is higher than a kite, and running laps around me. RT doesn't know which of "his girls" to guard. Momma Misty, Kate and Maddie just want to fill their faces with the long grass next to the fence. I manage to catch Kate by her fly mask and lead her back to the paddock and through to the south pasture, where they're due to go out for the night anyway. I'm hoping the others will follow. Beth runs another lap, between the drive, the paddock and Kate. I slam the gate shut behind her. RT races from one pair to the other, then does a quick detour into his small paddock--shut that gate!

I'm luring the last two back into the arena as my lover boy shows up.

Dirty feet, dusty hair, sweaty Victoria's Secret, over-crisp (but not quite burnt) pizza.

The height of romance!

Lost in the Woods!

2011-07-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

After getting rained out on Monday (thunder and lightning, too!), Pat and Rambler, and Kate and I headed out to Joe Watt Canyon on Tuesday to explore various possible KVTR routes around the L.T. Murray Elk Preserve.

This is the same area that the Ellensburg Rodeo Posse holds it's annual poker ride, site of Kate's first outing in the big wide world, three years ago.

When Pat and John and I rode the poker ride last month, Pat commented at one fork in the trail "I want to come out here and see where that goes..."

So here we were to check out that trail.

I am SO pleased with the dependable trail horse Kate is becoming! We followed that trail until it dwindled and disappeared, then bushwhacked all over that darn mountain trying to find a decent way back down! There were vast expanses of nasty volcanic rock (glad I put on her boots), a nasty washout that we had to clamber down and back up again, and narrow elk trails that scrambled down the sides of canyons, only to require a careful about-face when we would have had to leap across a small ravine--Kate had to lead here, if only to get herself the heck outta there!

We finally headed uphill until we crossed a forest service road that we were pretty sure would take us back down to the trailers. (It did).

We were out about four and a half hours. Mapping the excursion as best I could from the satellite version of Google Maps, it looks like we did at least 10.6 miles, with 1700 foot of altitude gain.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43424518"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Joe Watt Canyon Exploration&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/?location=Ellensburg, WA"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Cycling Routes / Bike Rides in Ellensburg, WA&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>
[I'm not sure why this site won't let me embed the satellite version of this map, but click on the map to go to their site, then click on "map options" to choose satellite or hybrid, to see the terrain.]
The next day, Pat and seven other members of the Club went out for another four hours, though they took an earlier switch back from the original trial, before it petered out. They managed to avoid the more rugged terrain we had traversed.
I passed on the ride--I was sore all over, and my cheeks were chafed (and I don't mean the ones on my face!). And I felt like Kate deserved at least one day of rest--she did everything I asked her to, and was pretty pooped on the way down the mountain. I stayed home and gave her a good bath, and trimmed both hers and Maddie's feet (so now I'm sore in totally different places) and some other chores that have been waiting. We'll head out with the group on Saturday.

Brenden's Busy Bacation

2011-07-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have been away from the computer for a couple of weeks, for a family semi-emergency. Got back late Thursday, and am slowly catching up on chores and laundry and blogs of my friends. Went to ride this morning, but got rained out!

Here are a few photos from just before the trip, when grandson Brenden visited for a week or so (with church camp locally while he was here).

In past years, I've mostly led him around the arena for short rides. Somewhere I learned the "ABCs" for knowing when one can truly teach very young children:
A: attention span
B: balance
C: confidence
This year 8-year-old Brenden was ready to be more independent. I put him on Misty, because I consider her a little more predictable than Kate, who I ponied him on last year. Misty has a touch of navicular syndrome, but with careful management, she is doing a bit better this year; and we don't do much but walk and a little bit of [giggly] jogging, so she seemed to be doing okay.
After a day of refresher lesson on the lunge-line, he was ready to "steer" all by himself. And did a pretty good job of it, too! Circles and figure-eights, over poles, backing. I was busy supervising this, and totally forgot to get any photos.
Bad. Grandma.

He's starting to do some of his own "gettin' ready" chores.

Learning to lead safely.

Getting on all by himself. [Hey, grandma uses a mounting block, why can't he?]

And off. It's not quite so far down this year.

On the third ride, we took a little "trail ride" around the outside of the property. Kate was balking a bit and definitely taking advantage of my having Mama Misty in tow.

Grandpa Al caught us on the way in from the back gate. It was easier to just lead them the last 200 yards than try to get back on, while avoiding getting tangled in the pony rope.

Helmet Hair [and missing teeth].

Speaking of missing teeth, Brenden also got to accompany me to the vet's for old man RT's semi-annual dental check-up.

Dr. Mark checking RT's teeth--he had to pull two loose/cracked molars that have been questionable since last year. Otherwise he thinks 31-year-old RT looks pretty good, and getting rid of the accompanying infection might actually be better than having the teeth.

I was going to bring Misty along for the ride, to keep RT company (she gets along with him better than the younger mares, who like to boss the old man around). Since she was there, I also had Dr. Mark check her front feet. Her left front heel has contracted a bit, because it's the one that tends to bother her most, and she favors it. But last year when we nerve blocked it, the other foot was also tender, so we just have to be careful with what we ask her to do. She's earned her retirement (12 babies in 22 years), so she'll grace our pasture (and give pony rides when she's able) until she joins Corky on the hill.

An artistic under-the-belly hoof shot by Brenden (Dr. Mark using hoof testers on Misty).

An artistic foot shot (in the shadow of the round pen).

Headed home.

Haying, from the perspective of an eight-year-old.

Unfortunately, with the crazy spring weather we'd had this year, haying season was very late, and overlapped Brenden's visit. This meant he was stuck driving around in circles with me i the tractor.

I gave Brenden the point and shoot and told him to take pictures that he could use to explain the process. Some of them came out pretty artsy, too, I think.

The hay pick-up.

Swather rows, finished bales, and one of the other balers (five total).

Spittin' 'em out the back.

Harrowbed (bale wagon) pickin' 'em up.


"I'm gonna be a farmer when I grow up!" [Grandma took this one.] He actually drove a bunch of rows, until we got to the ends, then Grandma took over for the corners.

Another angle of the harrow bed. Five of these pick up 4 1/2 to 5 ton loads that stack directly in the barn. I've already got a stack and a half in my barn--ready for winter!

We "lost" one of our strings, and had to undo and re-bale a few.

The baler's fly wheel.

Part of the string-tying mechanism.

This gauges the length of each bale and triggers the tying process.

The knotters.

Brenden intuitively knew that this wedge is what flips the bale on it's side as it leaves the baler.

We didn't use the "tail/work light." To keep it's moisture content low, timothy hay needs to be baled and put in the barn before the day cools off and the humidity rises.

Strings leaving their box on the way to the knotter. At the edge the shadow, you can just see the end of one of the big "needles" that pushes the twine up through the formed bale to be tied off.

All in all, it was a good visit to Grandma Laurie's farm, and Brenden is proving to be a good hand.

Next month, older grandson Mike will return for his annual visit. He actually rode out with the KVTR club last year, but we'll have to wait and see if I get my butt back on Maddie before we can count on that.

Lazy Lunch Ride

2011-07-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Monday before the 4th of July, The Kittitas Valley Trail Riders had an early mid-week ride, knowing that as we neared the long holiday weekend, there might be conflicts with up-coming events.

Each year we try to make at least one trip up the Coal Mine Trail, an old rail road bed that runs from Cle Elum, through Roslyn (where the TV show Northern Exposure was filmed) to the tiny hamlet of Ronald. There the group has lunch at the "Old #3", a reference to the #3 mine up the road.

Leaving town; Mike, on foot on the far left, pushed the crosswalk button for us, before driving his trailer up to Ronald for additional tie-up spots.

It's a very green trail, with good footing.

It's a really easy 5 mile walk, so I think they're all just bored. That's okay; we don't need any excitement.

Twelve riders, and four others joining us, made for great company at lunch.

Back down the trail towards home.

A photo opportunity in front of a gorgeous hillside of poppies.

Kate was very mellow, even passing hikers and bicycles. The only thing that bugged her eyes out was one of those big-wheeled strollers, in red! (The blue one later didn't bother her.) The only other excitement was at a watering spot where she willingly went down to the creek, and was getting her drink, something I'm not sure I've had her do before. Suddenly her front feet slid a foot or so down the silty bank! I'm not sure, but I think she ended up on one knee for half a beat, then scrambled back up to the trail.

'Nuff drinkin' for her!

On a different note, I also got a work session on to Beth, her first of the year. She did well, mostly, with a little balking at leaving the place when I long-lined her down the driveway. But we worked through it.

Standing at the learnin' tree.

When we got back from our walkabout, I led her up to the mounting block and weighted stirrups. I could have gone ahead and climbed on, but that nasty little voice in my head (and the sudden butterflies in my stomach) convinced me not to.
I'm not sure what to do about this issue with Maddie, and now Beth...

On a more fun note, grandson Brenden was here for a week, through the 4th, then off to camp nearby. I'll be away for a couple of weeks (family emergency), but I have a post in the works about an 8-year-old's look at haying season.

Is It a Good Fit?

2011-07-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Alright, you experienced saddle fitters out there in the blogosphere. I need your opinion.

I purchased my new Tucker Cheyenne Springs trail saddle for two reasons:

1) My "dream" saddle, a Hereford roping saddle, at close to 40 pounds, was getting too heavy for this old body to heft onto a horse. Although I liked it's heavy-duty construction and full rigging, it was really a case of overkill for the riding that I do.

And, more importantly,

2) The Hereford had a semi-Quarter Horse tree, which it became evident was too narrow for either of my wide-bodied girls.

Kate developed patches of white hair at the top of both shoulders, indicating that the saddle was pinching her there, preventing both sweat (she would have a little dry spot there on an otherwise wet back) and circulation (hence killing the hide's color-producing cells). (By the way, it seems I switched saddles in time to prevent permanent damage: this spring those vague white patches shed out with Kate's winter coat, leaving her dun coloring intact.)

Maddie is white on both shoulders, so the color-change wasn't there, but the lack of a proper sweat pattern was enough to cue me in.

So the Hereford went down the road to a [strong] young gal in Oregon who wanted to do cow horse work, and I began my search for a new saddle.

I looked at various saddle designed for the middle-aged, female trail rider and ended up deciding on the Tucker brand, that was developed specifically for this particular market sector. Because I have my English saddles if I want to ride in that fashion, and I have Paint horses to show/market in cowboy country, I wanted a pretty traditional looking western saddle. The Cheyenne Springs fit the bill.

My friend Anita and I had hauled the girls down to Yakima earlier this year to make sure of the tree width to order, and put in my order.All of Kate and Maddie's rides this spring have been in the Tucker, with escalating problems with Maddie seemingly related to the dropped rigging necessitating a switch in girths. But Kate has done well.
The only question I have is about the sweat pattern that developed after our ride last week in Robinson Canyon. It was the most strenuous ride we've had this year, on a fairly humid day. When I pulled Kate's tack off, here is how her back looked.

Her shoulders where the last saddle pinched were nicely wet. The "tunnel" of the gullet was appropriately dry indicating plenty of air circulation down her spine between the bars of the saddle. The thing that has me perplexed, however, is the dry area 2+ inches either side of that: does this indicate that the saddle is "bridging" between the front and back, and not distributing the saddle/rider's weight uniformly across her back?

This side (left) seems passable to me, but...

...her right side had an odd circle of sweat around the lower dry patch.

And the reality is that as Kate gets a little more fit (and loses a little more weight, though she's not as bad as last year) the "table" that is her back may become more sloped. It will bear watching how this effects the saddle's fit to her back in the future.

What do y'all think?

Our Two Days of Summer

2011-06-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

After a chilly day for the E-burg Posse Poker Ride on Saturday, Father's Day was a bit nicer, and Monday was downright pleasant: highs in the upper 70s, will just a pleasant breeze.

Now that school is out, I can switch sprinklers a little more frequently (efficiently), so I fired up the irrigation on Sunday. But I needed to trim back the thigh-high weeds growing along the edges of my baby tree plantings, so I finally broke down and switched out the post hole digger on the tractor for the bush hog. I'll also knock down the "roughs" in the pastures, before I switch back to fencing (and garage building, I hope).

By Tuesday, I was about half done with the "have-to-finish-before-irrigation-gets-to-this-section" mowing. But it was the first day of actual sunny, hot summer weather! and I was having trouble getting motivated.

Until...

Pat called about noon and wondered if I was riding with the KVTR on their regular mid-week ride. (I obviously miss these during the school year.) Well...Self-discipline is not one of my strong points, but this was a very sweet carrot dangling in front of me. I told her "Only if I can finish my mowing today." So out onto the tractor I went. And I got 'er done! Also got a bit of a sun-burn, but hey, I didn't recognize that glowing orb in the sky as a threat 'til it was too late. When Al got home at 5:00, and I came in for supper, it was 90f!

Wednesday morning promised to be clear and warm, but there was a bit of humidity hanging in the air, as well. It smelled like thunderstorm, though none ever developed.

Twelve riders met up at the base of Robinson Canyon, southwest of town--one canyon east of last weekend's poker ride.

Ready to head out.

Up the road to the trailhead. Saw our only snake off to the side of the road.

Through the trees, you can see the basalt rubble that forms the other side of the canyon.


	Pat rode her little Chief. He was a good boy.

Lupine and Indian Paint Brush alongside the trail. Because of the wet spring, the wildflowers are everywhere!

Winding up the hill.

You can't see them very well, but these little pale blue flowers were everywhere in this meadow. Pat believes them to be flax.

Taking a break at the "pig farm"--an old abandoned homestead.

A first! Kate accompanied me up the hill to a bush, and fed her face while I "relieved myself." I've always had someone else hold her for my pee breaks, but there was lots of grass, so she was happy to stay put.


Chief and Tonka, both greenies, weren't sure about stepping down this little embankment to the trail, after bushwhacking down the hill.

We cross-countried in this area to avoid a little creek that is always a bit troublesome, especially this year with it being so wet--it would be all boggy, I'm sure. One of the riders today had had a major wreck there three years ago (helicopter ride out!), and Maddie had given me fits in nearly the same location back before we worked our way through the getting-the-feet-wet issue.

Through a high mountain meadow. The grass was just the right height for nibbling, but a gentle reminder kept Kate from rude snacking behavior.

Looking out across the meadow.

One last loop took us up the ridge. (No that's not me riding in a cowboy hat--that's Debby on her little mustang Kate-clone, Wendy.)

At the top of the saddle.

Looking back towards the valley.

Another rider, not familiar with my little camera, caught us in a not-altogether-flattering shot against the hills. (Barb, you were supposed to take it while I had my double chin stretched up and my gut sucked in!) Kate looks good, though.

We took a short cut straight down the hill to head back. It was pretty steep, and I got just a little fussing from Kate--her tail started swishing a mile a minute. I'm not sure if the saddle was shifting forward against her hair or what. When we got back into the grassy meadow, she also attracted a swarm of tiny little bugs, and I could tell she was a bit agitated, but we kept moving, and once we cleared the gnats she settled again for the rest of the ride back.

Snacks and a bit of good conversation before heading home to switch the irrigation.

I have some photos of the sweat patterns from this ride--Kate's first good workout in the new saddle. They look a bit strange to me. But I think I'll save my questions for another post.

***

Also, Maddie and I had a really good groundwork session the other day. Fairly calm and very cooperative. We did a lot of work, from both sides, at the mounting block. I was tempted to climb on board, and I think she would have been okay with it. But Al wasn't home, and I hadn't planned on it, so therefore hadn't called Pat to come down. So maybe another day...
***
Yesterday was back down to the 60s, with a horrendous wind blowing all day, so no horse work. Today looks nicer, but one never knows when the wind will start up again (in E-burg, that could be now!), so I guess I'll get out and see what I can get done. After all, there's a ride tomorrow!

Posse Pursuit

2011-06-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the first local "poker" (prize) ride since the EHV-1 scare.

The Ellensburg Rodeo Posse has sponsored it for years, to raise funds for the youth show, and the Ellensburg Rodeo Royal Court.

This was Kate's first outing into the big wide world three years ago! Today, it was oh so very ho-hum.

Because the day dawned cold and rainy, there were considerably less riders than usual. (Some may still be cautious of the EHV-1, as well.) Only three KVTR riders made it, Pat, on Rambler, John, on his slightly hyper Tennessee Walker, Durango,, and I, on Kate. But by the time we got there it had stopped raining, and the sun started peeking out from time to time as we made the two-hour loop. It did NOT, however, feel like the middle of June!


Heading out across the face of the ridge.

Leaving the third check point.


A view of the snow-covered Stuart Range through the trees. (As long as it stays in the mountains!)

Kate, Rambler, and Durango in front of the lilacs at the old homestead (4th check point).

Back at the trailhead.

It wasn't a particularly challenging trail, but Kate was very cooperative, other than giving the fire-breathing Tennessee dragon the stink eye when he crowded her (she's got one ear on him in the last photo). She stood well at the trailer, too, while we had lunch, visited, and waited for the awards. Neither Pat nor I were very high up in the rankings (she won the $500 grand prize three years ago!). With our higher "hands" Pat got a bottle of fly spray and I picked up a nice Professionals Choice corner feeder for the trailer. We were hoping our second hands would get us up there before all the Dairy Queen certificates ran out--we would have stopped for the "good" type of blizzard on the way home--but no, things got pretty well picked clean and they never called our names again.

Oh well! Still a good excuse for a nice ride.

Can It Possibly Be Summer?

2011-06-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I know. I've been AWOL for awhile. Between craziness at school (Drug Prevention Month, and winding down for the year), the EHV-1 virus, and continuing spring projects, I just haven't been up to blogging.
Here's a catch-up post.
***
Mid-May, I took a long weekend to attend a mountain trail clinic at the new Washington State Horse Park. It was a great (if soggy) weekend, and Kate and I built some trust in each other and in our abilities together. I'll do an entire post once I get the CD of pictures from the weekend, 'cause I'll be able to go through things one activity and one obstacle at a time.
***
The next weekend I had a major issue with Maddie, right in my own back yard! By now, folks were restricting their movement around the west, so I figured to do a couple of things at home. One goal was to teach the girls to pony each other, and I also wanted to try a new "jumping hackamore" on Maddie: it's essentially an English style sidepull noseband. With Miss Diva's thin skin, my regular bosal, which she seemed to like when I tried it on her a couple of years ago, had rubbed the white side of her face a bit so I haven't used it on her since then. So when I got a deal on this noseband, I thought Maddie might prefer it over a bit. I saddled up, installed the hackamore in my headstall, and went into the arena to let her get used to the different cueing system. We walked about a little, then suddenly Maddie became a whirling dervish! I don't think it was the sidepull that upset her, but it was definitely the sidepull that prevented me from getting her stopped. She was fish-tailing and crow-hopping along, seemingly scaring herself more and more with each jump. We were in the older, sandier end of the arena, but she was rapidly making tracks for the corner where I have all my jump standards and such, so on the next leap I [semi-voluntarily] dismounted on the fly.
Whoa! What's up with THAT?!?
Back up to step one: Check the saddle position and change back to her regular headstall and full-cheek snaffle. Over to the mounting block and climb back on. This time I only got about three steps, before Maddie took off again! I had enough control with the snaffle to get her stopped, but I decided I wasn't up to anything more today--I needed to figure out what this was all about. I went to step off, and she tried to go ballistic again! It took me twenty minutes of just shifting my weight and lifting my right foot up in increments before was finally able to step off her safely.
I was pretty shook. I hadn't been hurt in my fall, but my confidence was suddenly shaken, big time.
This seemed related to the two mounting/dismounting issues I had had with her on my previous two rides. And all three rides had been her first in my new saddle--Was there a connection? My theory is that the mohair string girth that I have been using on it is pinching her. Again, she is very thin-skinned and sensitive (even to too-stiff brushes). The new Tucker saddle has dropped, in-skirt rigging, and her old felt-lined girth is too long. I called all over town until I found a shorter one, and have switched it out.
I have gone back to square one with Maddie, treating her as though she has not yet been started under saddle. We've been working on sacking out, weighting stirrups and longeing.
She seems to be settling down.
I still haven't been back on her.
Some days I think "That should solve it. I'll go ahead and climb on!" But by the time I get home, I chicken out.
Other days, I decide that the problem is bigger than equipment, and that I don't even think I can ever trust her again.
Some days, I want to sell them all, and take up quilting.
(I just realized that this last statement is strangely reminiscent of two years ago, when Maddie managed to off-load me at the schooling show. I was just getting to the point of trusting and enjoying her again...)
***
I did get in a ponying lesson the next weekend, riding Kate and having Maddie tag along. Kate was making her "Don't crowd me!" fuss face, so Maddie was a bit reluctant to come up alongside my knee where I would like her, but overall they did okay. I'll try it again around the pasture one of these days, then maybe out with Pat someplace where there is plenty of room for maneuvering. Then maybe I can start exercising two horses at a time. (I'd like to do the same with little Beth.)
***
With the very unpredictable weather we've had this spring, and all of the caution around the EHV-1 virus, the Trail Riders club has not had any group rides since May 14th. But a few individuals have gotten together with well-known horses for a few limited rides, on out-of-the way trails. Pat and I joined Terri, another KVTR member, the first weekend of June for a couple of hours in the saddle, northeast of town, near the Wild Horse Wind Farm. It was my first real ride since Maddie's tizzy-fit, and it was pleasantly uneventful.

Through the sage brush towards the Wild Horse Wind Farm on the ridge in the distance.

We jumped a couple of young elk, but all three horses just looked, as they wandered up the hill.

Kate and I, looking across the Valley and Manastash Ridge, with Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Pat and Terri, with Rainier and Mt. Adams (just barely visible above Terri's hat).

Sage brush and lupine alongside the trail.


Down a draw back towards the valley.

***
Today was the Trail Riders' first scheduled club ride in over three and a half weeks. I loaded Kate, and picked up Pat and Rambler, and we headed to town, where we met up with five other riders and headed west towards the Cascades.
In case I haven't made it clear before:
I LOVE the TREES!
The Elk Heights area is less than thirty miles west of the previous week's ride on the east side of the Valley, but look what a difference those thirty miles makes!

Heading up the trail.

Takin' a break.

The wildflowers were abundant!

Back out of the woods.

Kate started out a little jazzy, and I realized I had butterflies. But the first half of the ride was mostly uphill, and after about half a mile she had settled. She's never been one to lead, but was happy to keep pace either in the middle of the group, or bringing up the rear (when I would drop back to take a photo). We crossed several creeks, climbed up, and then clambered down one gigantic ridge. Ninety per cent of the time I was directing her with a slight twitch on the draped rein, and leg cues. Kate was steady, responsive, and willing. It was a very pleasant ride.
Maybe I won't give up these silly beasts after all.
Maybe tomorrow, I'll give Maddie another try.

News From The Home Front

2011-05-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't get much horse work done this weekend--I did spend some "quality time" with Kate: got her feet trimmed up, in anticipation of a very horsie weekend coming up. More on that later. Suffice it to say, that's why, though she could really use the work, I felt obliged to work on projects instead of riding--I'll be away all next weekend.

Remember this new fence line and barn driveway?

I got the brace posts all finished and some holes dug, at least until I ran out of shear pins for the post hole digger. These are bolts that are designed to break (shear off) when the auger hits something solid (like a rock, of which I have a few), the theory being that it's better to break one pin (or six) than to break the auger or gear box or other expensive part of the post hole digger. That's a very good theory, until one runs out of replacement bolts, and the hardware store is 20 miles away.

Time to move on to another project.

Every year I dread starting up my irrigation system, for fear of whatever catastrophe will ensue after a winter's rest--and there's always something!
At the end of the season last year, my primer pump was giving me fits, so I knew that would be an issue right from the get-go. Plus, the pump had sounded very odd to me, when I went to drain the sump that feeds it last fall. I ended up bailing the six-foot deep sump by the bucket full.
When I walked out a couple of weeks ago to check on the system, the foot valve that should have let the pipe empty of water had malfunctioned and the four inch pipe intake supporting the mechanism had shattered when the water froze. I was so disgusted that I didn't get a picture until after the pump guy came and picked up the intake--that's the sawed off pipe at the right.

He also suggested that many of my priming issues might be eliminated if we were to shorten the distance the hand pump had to draw the water across (it's harder to "pull" water than it is to "push" it). So I poured a new pad for the pump, right next to, though slightly above, the sump--that's it to the left of the electric pole. Now to cut apart the piping and relocate the pump assembly.

When I went to move the 7 hp pump from the lower pad, this is all the farther I could get it, and only by sliding it across the cement. Once I hit the dirt/grass, it wouldn't budge. So back to the barn to get Babe, the blue tractor. I jimmied together a chain "harness" and lifted the assembly gingerly to the new pad (sorry, no pictures).

Pump guy brought out the refurbished intake on Friday, so I glued together the discharge pipe, and went to prime the pump, fearing that the odd sound from last fall meant that the pump would need rebuilding as well. >:-(

No.
I couldn't get the primer pump to draw water!
All that work, and the primer still didn't work!
But I could hear faint air leaks, and as I have done many times in the past, I disassembled the pump (it's the little thingy on top that looks like an old kitchen hand pump, because that's essentially what it is), greased the rubber diaphragm and carefully reassembled it--this sometimes takes two or three tries, but I lucked out today--first try!

Now came the big question:
Would the actual irrigation pump work right?
Amazingly, YES!We've got sprinklers!

One last project:
What's this hole for?

It's the initial test hole for the garage!
I took my drawings into the county plans examiner the other day, and he said I did better on them than some professionals. He made a few suggestions, and told me some details drawings I need to include. I'm waiting for another bid on the trusses, which have to be engineered--the company that produces them will provide the drawings.
I just wanted to check the nature of the soil in the garage's location--and gauge whether the post hole digger would be sufficient, or if I would have to rent a backhoe.
Look Ma, no rocks! (or at least, very few).

I'm hoping to have the fencing projects all out of the way by the time school's out. Then, once haying season is done, my focus will be the garage. And riding.

In Which We Join A Pirate Crew For The Day

2011-05-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Me: Hey, Maddie. Wanna go for a ride?

Maddie: Sure, Mom. Where we goin'?

Me: Kate, Wanna go for a ride?

Kate: Do we hafta? I'm trying to get me some beauty sleep here.

Me: Come'on, Kate, in ya go.

Kate: Oh, Ho-kay.Went yesterday to observe and help (a wee bit) at the Milwaukee Road Rail Trail endurance ride, just outside of Kittitas. Corky and I did a little bit of Competitive Trail Riding back in Montana, when we were both way younger (and skinnier!), so I knew the basics. I have no need these days to hurry through 25 or 50 or more miles on a super fit horse (and these horses, if competitive, are super fit). But I was there for a purpose:

I wanted to finally meet in person with Aarene of Haiku Farm.

We had tried to meet up last year at this ride, but I had a 4H show for little Jackson, and wasn't feeling well, besides, so it was not meant to be.

Aarene had said she aimed to be at the ~~trialhead~~ ridecamp about 10-ish (she wasn't riding this event), and that's just about when I arrived, with both Kate and Maddie in the trailer. Looking around, I spotted shelties! Luna and Mimsy, so I knew Aarene couldn't be far.

She promised to teach me to "pulse" horses as riders come in from a loop--I've never been successful in finding a horses pulse (or my own, for that matter), so I was dubious. (Please note--the only reason Aarene uses a pink stethoscope is 'cause she can't find an adequate one in purple!)Here they come!I don't have any photos of me actually pulsing anyone, 'cause everyone was sorta busy about then, but I did do a few horses--from the middle of the pack, where there wasn't quite as much urgency. It's a matter of getting the stethoscope in just the right place--one good trick is to move the horse's foreleg a little forward, to "stretch" the vein out closer to the skin. If I didn't find it right away, I called in someone who could, so that I wasn't penalizing a rider with my incompetence.

Here's a lovely mule and her rider that were one of the first teams in, riding the 25-miler. (This long-eared photo gratuitously included for Carson of the 7msn.)

These two grays were probably a mile away, and I didn't have the long lens with me. But they stood out against the sage well enough that you get the idea. They had just left on the last 8 mile loop of the fifty miler, and they're just lopin' up that hill, easy-peasy!

Aarene and I with Monica, from Horsebytes, who was also doing a little OJT in pulsing (she was definitely better at it than I). There were a couple of other bloggers there, some actually riding their horses!So we decided we'd better get on some horses!
Kate and Maddie had been standing very nicely at the trailer for a couple of hours.

Aarene wanted to try out my Tucker, and I wanted her to try out my go-fast-cat Maddie, so we put the Tucker on her. (There is no way anyone could ever imagine Kate as an endurance horse! Aarene later described riding Kate as somewhat akin to riding a sofa--soft and wide and slightly slower than said couch.) Having no other wide-body saddle but my Crosby, that went on Kate.

That's when the problems started.
I had pulled off my stirrup leathers when I put the saddle up for the winter, and I could NOT get them back over the stirrup bars! Oh well, I can do Kate stirrup-less, as long as I figure out how to get on.

But Maddie had other thoughts: It occurred to me the previous night, and I let Aarene know, that I have been the only one to ever ride Maddie. (Her one occasion of doing some ground work with another trainer was not a happy one, either.) Maddie did a little bridling evasion with her head, but Aarene is an excellent horsewoman, and gently worked her through it. Then she went to mount.
Aarene is terribly fit, and used to mounting her "Gigantor" 15.3h Standardbred mare, Fiddle, so I assumed she would do okay from the ground.
My mistake. Aarene might do fine, but Maddie wanted no part of it. I don't think it was so much "buck" as "duck and run." After a couple of valiant tries, Aarene decided discretion was the better part of valor, and we decided to trade horses.
Maddie was too worked up at this point for our usual mounting strategy of standing next to the wheel well of the trailer, so I dug out my little Rubbermaid step stool. With it I could just follow along with Maddie's wiggles until she stood still. Then some upping and downing at her side.

Finally, she stuck to one spot, and I climbed aboard.

Now to get Aarene on the stirrup-less Kate. She moved half-way cooperatively up to the trailer, Aarene slipped into the saddle, and we were good to go.

Once we got going, Maddie was very good. She's used to lots of commotion, but had never been to this particular trail before. She was happy and forward most of the time, and led the way, except in a few instances that steady-Eddie Kate had to demonstrate the safety of going between horse-eating hazards such as laying down gates and cement retaining blocks.We went about a mile up the railroad grade, then dropped down the hill on the final leg that riders use to come back into ridecamp. Aarene described riding Kate like this:

Kate is short. Kate is cushy. Kate is calm. Riding Kate is about as thrilling as riding the futon in my living room.

They say in endurance that "To finish is to win!" and here we are crossing the finish line!We WON!

Unfortunately, Maddie was not quite done with her naughty shenanigans. When we returned to the trailer to dismount, just as I got to the same spot as Aarene's mounting issues, with my right leg finished coming over her back, and me just getting ready to slide down, Maddie did another frantic leap away from me, and I ended up on the ground, but not on my feet! She had done a mild version of this behavior two weeks ago on a club ride, but I had chalked it up at the time as a one-time distraction.
This is new behavior! Or maybe not--thinking about it later, this was strangely reminiscent of a day early in her training, when she got pretty wild-eyed at my weighting her stirrups (I hadn't been on her yet).I began to wonder if there was some kind of back issue, but it just so happened that on our way home, we had a planned stop for Maddie's very first chiropractic visit. The chiro did not find anything that far "out," and did only some minor adjustments.
Now, it seems we have a training issue for the coming weeks.

This Is SPRING?!?

2011-04-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

Okay.

So I'm running about a week behind--on everything in my life!
The next month will be worse, as I have my very busy "Drug Prevention Month" going on at school in May; I'm going to an endurance ride (to volunteer, not ride) next weekend; and I've got my mountain trail clinic in the middle of the month! I'll try to keep things updated as best I can.

Last weekend, Maddie and I trailered with Pat to a KVTR ride towards the east end of the valley, near the Wild Horse Wind Farm. She loaded right into Pat's smaller trailer, even though she's only been in it once, about two years ago.
The group of ten riders did about a 7 mile loop up one draw, over a saddle in the hills, and then down the next draw, so we were able to stay out of the wind, mostly.

These HUGE machinery tires have been brought in (by the BLM?) to provide watering stations (for range cattle? or elk?), and they created quite a stir among the horses, especially as we drew up the rise to the first one and discovered it was full of wind-blown H2O.

Maddie really did well, only looking a little askance, and more at the behavior of the other horses than the tank itself.

She also crossed several little creeklets and two boggy spots on the trail, with hardly any hesitation! She thought about jumping one, and then chose on her own not to, just as I was about to check her back.

She did jig on me a bit, so I asked for a lot of two-track/side-pass and made her work, and that settled her down a lot on the way up the hill. Coming back down she got revved up again, and the extra work didn't seem to help--she just got more frustrated.
Putting her in behind Pat , ponying Chief from solid as a rock Rambler, helped her slow down some, as they created a bit of a roadblock. I was glad she does seem to have gotten over the nasty habit of walking right up on the horse in front of her--bad manners, indeed, and dangerous with some horses.

I actually had her leading the group for a bit, and she really likes this: she stops the wiggles and just strides right out! But then another gal's horse, who is also a jigger, came up alongside us, and suddenly the race was on! At this point I dropped back into the pack again.
As the terrain opened up, I did some full circles to get her listening, and this helped. We were close enough to the trailers that she wasn't too upset by the other horses getting so far away.

Using this nice big trailer as a windbreak, we had some lunch and conversation (and Evra's great cookies!). Something happened with a couple of the tied horses, but Maddie stayed calm throughout the hubbub. Then we loaded up and headed for home.

Sunday, I got three of my four brace posts set for the new section of driveway fence. However, I hit a lot of good-sized rocks (softball-to-soccerball), and ended up doing almost as much digging by hand with a shovel and pry-bar, as with the tractor's post-hole auger.
Unfortunately, I threw my back out in the process, so I've been taking it pretty easy, project-wise, all week.

I opted not to go out with the club today, because, along with all my fencing projects, I also found out I need to do some major rehab on my irrigation pump system! So it'll be a work-weekend, since I know I'll be playing horsey all day next Saturday.
If I make enough progress, I may ride a bit here around the place, to try teaching the girls to pony one another. (Pat and I both suspect Maddie will be the better leader, just because she's more forward than Kate.) That way, I could conceivably start doubling the value of my exercise sessions on the trail...

Plotting and Planning

2011-04-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

Spring is trying to happen, and summer can't be too far away (I hope, I hope!). It's time to get going on this year's projects.

You may remember that last summer I replaced the 4X4 fence posts in front of Beth, here, with the 6X6 posts beneath her in the foreground.

I'm slowly replacing all the 4X4s that were my original paddock fencing, with sturdier 6X6ers. I am just about finished replacing the posts in the fence line that was behind her:

All I need to do is finish the H-braces and re-stretch the wire and re-hang the gates.

Another project just getting underway is replacing the horse-eating high-tensile field fence along the driveway with safer 2X4 mesh.

In the process, I will alleviate a long-standing issue where the auxiliary drive turns towards the barn. See the telephone pole to the left?Let me show you the view from the other direction...

Although I have gotten very adept at negotiating the turn under the guy-wire, visitors (including those with horse trailers, dump trucks, and harrowbeds full of hay) are reluctant to risk the tight turn.
So I am going to sacrifice a small (usually sparsely turfed) corner of the pasture to make a new access road to the barn, on the nearer side of that pole. The new corner is at the left, and the old corner brace by the pole will come out. I plan to take advantage of some of that extra width to plant some trees to provide shade for that pasture, and a little screening from the road for the house.

Another longstanding wish-list project will hopefully be addressed this year: replacing this small shed (whose door finally beat itself to death in one of last month's wind storms)...

...with a real garage, about where the horse trailer is parked in this photo (south and slightly west of the house/arena/barn).

This will be possible because we just used our tax refund to pay off the horse trailer loan. And the monthly amount that was going to that loan is now going towards the tractor loan, which will officially go bye-bye next month (the loan, not the tractor). Then both of those chunks of money will be split between building materials and double payments on the truck, which should be paid off by next fall! Then one last credit card balance (by next spring) and maybe pay off those pesky student loans early?
In the big picture, we're trying to get out from under all our debt and finish things up around here, in anticipation of retirement in a few years. Of course, it could all be sabotaged by our little commuter car dying (it's been thinking about it) or the unexpected medical expenses that sometimes come with horses and/or increasing maturity (ie. getting old!--It ain't for sissies!).

If I'm really ambitious, I'll add the south wing onto the barn. Although Al and I have identified the garage as the priority (because the horse trailer really needs a home), completing it will also allow me to move my shop and various stored items out of the barn. Then, if the wing is done, I could conceivably create some additional income by taking on one or two retirement boarders, in addition to RT.

If I can manage the finances, it would be really easy (hah!) to create a certain degree of economy of effort by doing both building projects concurrently: get both permits, rent the backhoe to dig both sets of post holes (both will be pole-buildings), set all the posts and pour all the cement (one delivery truck), raise all the trusses and sheath both roofs (a week or so of rental man-lift), then close them in as time and energy and cash allow.

Then, again...Did someone say something about going for a ride?

Rained Out, Stuck In The Mud

2011-04-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been two weeks since spring break, so I need to finish off the week for you--not that there's much to tell.

After our ride with KVTR on Wednesday, Thursday dawned clear and pleasant. I should have gone for another trail ride, but instead, Sandy and I climbed in the truck and drove east to Moses Lake, where a farm supply store had put fencing on sale. I have several projects to do (next post), including enlarging the fenced part of our yard for Sandy to have more room to move. By buying four rolls of horse fence and two of lighter weight dog fence, the extra distance was compensated for by the sale price.

We got back to the home place, unloaded the fencing rolls, ate some lunch, then hooked up the trailer. But not for a trail ride.

My friend Anita has a mare who has had on-going issues with laminitis. She has been working with a therapeutic farrier, but there is no electric available for the vet's portable X-ray. The road to her pasture is long and has been a mucky, muddy mess all winter, and the mare has been too uncomfortable to walk out to either their house (power) or the road (trailer trip to the vet's).
So with the infamous Ellensburg wind drying things out a bit, Anita scheduled an appointment at the clinic.
I gingerly maneuvered the trailer in, backwards, almost to the mare's pen. With an extra dose of bute in her, the mare managed the rest of the distance fairly easily. She has only been in trailer a couple of times in her life, and the last time was six or eight years ago, so we left plenty of time for loading. She stood at the open doors of the trailer while Anita wrapped her legs, then leaned forward to check it out...and loaded herself!
Great! Plenty of time to ease our way back to town.
The X-rays were more positive than expected, with less rotation of the coffin bones and more hoof sole still present, so now the farrier knew where he could go next. So we loaded her back up, and turned towards home.
And as we turned south west, the sky turned absolutely BLACK! Every mile we drove, the rain came down harder. By the time we got to the driveway to Anita's pasture, I could barely see out the windshield! And a river had developed in the road. To save the mare any more standing as we tried to turn around, I drove in frontwards, feeling the slop pull at my wheels. We got her off-loaded, then I tried to back the rig out. But the ruts kept grabbing the trailer and pushing it off to one side, trying to jack-knife it. There was a little bit of purchase in the grass on either side of the drive, but the ruts wouldn't let go of my front tires, even in low-low four-wheel-drive! Anita's husband had his tow chain in hand, just about ready to pull the front end around with his old tractor, but first he tried laying the chain under one of my slipping front tires. With just that extra bit of traction, I made it onto the grass, and we slowly and gingerly proceeded to where I could finally turn around and head for the county road. All-in-all, it had been at least forty-five minutes, with the rain continuing to pour down, and the footing getting worse. I was happy to hit the pavement and drive back through town towards home. Half an hour later, the rain had completely stopped (though it started up again and rained all night--Anita could hardly walk to her barn the next morning, for all the additional water, on top of all the mud I had churned up!).

Friday was a recovery day, but Saturday, Pat and I wussed out on the scheduled KVTR ride: it was windy and spitting snow about the time we would have had to load the horses.
Only a few intrepid riders went out......though some more joined in for the chili feed afterwards.Monday, it was back to school, and one of the craziest weeks of my professional life. I won't go into that here, but suffice it to say, by Friday, I needed another week off!

The following weekend, rather than ride with the club, since Pat had her granddaughters with her, I tagged along with them, back to the Army east trailhead, for a sunny, but windy ride. Kate was really good going out, with me riding on the buckle, and her moving in a relaxed and forward (for Kate) walk. She even complied nicely when I asked her to move off to the side of the trail so I could take pictures of Pat, her daughter, and the grand-girls.Unfortunately, when we turned back towards the trailers, we also turned IN to the wind, and Kate didn't appreciate that one bit! She gave me several little crow hops, and one good buck, for no more reason than that she was being a snit. I managed to stay where I belonged, and even was able to keep a safe hold of the big Nikon I had opted to bring for the day. But I was not pleased with her shenanigans.
Sunday and the rest of the week has been cruddy, weather-wise, so not much got done. School was a little better this week, but today the wind came up again, and I decided to stay inside (besides chores) and get caught up on here and on reading other folks' blogs.
Maybe tomorrow I'll get something accomplished.
Then again, maybe not.

So Busy I Couldn't Blog!

2011-03-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it's certainly been a busy week!

Our spring break is earlier than most schools, as we coordinate the timing with the end of Central Washington University's winter quarter. The weather is always a bit iffy this early in March, but I had hopes of getting some rides in and some projects accomplished.

However, first I had some celebrating to do!
Grandson Brenden turned EIGHT, and we partied like crazy at Chuck-E-Cheese's. Birthday boy is at the rear, wearing Grandma's present, a U-Dub (University of Washington) purple jersey.

Here he is wheelin' along on his new bike.
Joined by little sis, Delaney on her "Princess" Big Wheel.
Daughter Terri's two kiddos are joined by son Maxx's, Mike, who rode Kate last summer with me. (Love the tall, slender silhouette of Grandma's shadow!)

Before returning home Monday, Terri and I had a late breakfast, before she was called for a court appearance (as a witness). Then I managed to zone out in Home Depot for nearly two hours (I did buy a saw blade and some zip ties for an upcoming project), then shortly before noon I hit the highway .
Or...the highway hit me.
About an hour into the drive, the hectic weekend caught up to me: I could hardly keep my eyes open. I pulled into the next rest stop, thinking I'd close them for a few minutes....and woke up almost an hour later!
Feeling refreshed, I continued home, in time for dinner with my hubby.

Tuesday was spent setting some fence posts, where I had pulled out another section of 4X4's and was replacing them with 6X6's. I wanted to get something accomplished, as I knew Wednesday would be another day for play!

The first "official" ride of the year for the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders was originally scheduled to be at the Ancient Lakes area, northeast of Kittitas, on the coulees above the Columbia River. But with the weather still being a bit unsettled, and gas prices being what they are, the group decided to stay a bit closer to home, though still on the Columbia. We headed out to the "Army East" trailhead of the Iron Horse State Park/Milwaukee rail-trail, where a group of club members had snuck out for a ride in January. (You might recognize a few of the landmarks from that post.)
I knew it would be a small-ish group (we ended up with 10 riders) and that the area wasn't too steep, and the footing was pretty good, so it was Maddie's turn to get out. I had only ridden her that little bit a couple of weeks ago, so I didn't want to push too hard, either physically or mentally, so this would be a good chance to see where she would be, attitude wise, in this, her sixth year. She's really only had about 30 rides total since I started her at three, twenty of them of them last year.

Well, the first challenge was this bottomless puddle! The group spent about twenty minutes here, with most of us asking our horses to cross what obviously could be gone around. Maddie was the only one who didn't make it! We danced around the fringes, both mounted and from the ground, driving her. We got a couple of decent tries, and she did get her front toesies in to the muck, so I called it "good enough" and the group moved on...

...to the RIVER!
We're about a mile below the Wanapum Dam here, so it's fairly shallow and lazy, with an easy approach. Maddie followed her trailer-mate, Rambler, down to the edge of the Columbia.

She thought about it a minute.
There's obviously no way around this big puddle.

And in she went!

Once she made her decision, she walked right in with no hesitiation, and trundled around for about five minutes. Then we ambled up the bank and rejoined the group.

We did a little rock climbing, but Maddie is bare foot, so I let the others play a little more than us. A couple of riders had just competed in a ACTHA competitive trail ride last weekend, so they wanted to practice/show off their skills. You might remember the speculation in January as to the purpose (and age) of the little rock "hut" in the foreground. Someone did some research and found out that it was one of several "ovens" that were constructed by the crew that built the railroad line, "The Milwaukee Road," and the bridge back in 1906-1909.
Some side passing of logs was accomplished, as well. Maddie remembered the basics, and didn't get flustered with the lateral work, so I was pleased.

The little buckskin to the left is the little mustang mare, Wendy, who might pass as a Kate clone, except that Kate is a dun, with all of that gene's primitive markings--I often have to look twice at photos to make sure which one it is (tho Wendy is tiny compared to my tank). To compare, here's a photo from last fall, when they got to play cowpony together.

We ended up with a group picture at the abandoned railroad trestle between the little towns of Beverly (on the east side of the river) and Doris (on this side).

This pretty much covers the first half of the week. The only reason that I've had time to post it, is that today's (Saturday) club ride has been rained out! So I'll finish here and post the rest of the week later.
TTFN!

It's Here!

2011-03-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

And here.
And here.
Last week when I went down to Yakima for my post-operative check-up, I was also able to pick up my new Tucker "Cheyenne Springs" saddle!
It's GORGEOUS!
Unfortunately, between the weather, and the Doc's release to go back to work on Thursday, I didn't have a chance to try it out until Saturday. (PanKake told me it is very comfy.) This was Maddie's first ride since last fall, and, although she was pretty amped, she stood quietly while I mounted.
PanKake was right.
Pat had ridden Rambler down, while ponying Chief, and once Maddie settled a bit, we rode part way back towards her place with them, then returned home.
Today, Kate and I picked up Pat and Chief and we headed for the Boyleston trailhead for a little walk-about on the old Milwaukee Railroad rail-trail. The sun was out, and the windmills across the freeway were barely moving. There was one trailer there when we arrived, and several more pulled up in the time we were there, but we only saw two other groups of riders out on the trail.
Chief was a typical baby, wide-eyed and a little hesitant. He took one or two big jumps at carnivorous railroad ties hiding in the sagebrush, but settled quickly afterward.
Kate, however, was a POOP!
A couple of times when she would hesitate, Chief took that as an excuse to stop, and once he stopped, Kate would use that as an excuse to try to stop herself. They just fed each other's worries. Then Kate would give me an all out balk, and because of the narrowness of the railroad bed, and the fact that in places it dropped off rather precipitously on either side, I was not altogether comfortable getting after her. Once, I just got off and walked.
After a reasonable stretch of forward movement, we turned back towards the trailers, and both of them walked out nicely. We made a point of having them pass the turnoff to the parking area, and go another little distance down the trail in the other direction. Then, before either one of them could throw a fit, we made it our choice to turn back towards "home".
I'll give little Chief some wiggle room, because he is so green. But Kate was supposed to be setting a good example for him. Instead, she acted like a nitwit!
Who, me?