Note to Self (and anyone else who reads this)

Don't load your tack into the trailer in flip-flops!

Here's the story:

I was going to haul Angel and Squirrel down to Pendleton to ride with Tracy Kenyon. She is a barrel racer and ran the Pro circuit in the past. I figured I could get two ridden, and get some pointers from a pro girl! Sort of my own private clinic.

Anyway, I was loading my tack into the trailer. I was pretty much done and stepped up to hang the extra cinch on the hook. I took a step back, caught my flip-flop and fell backward out of the trailer.

So now I'm bruised and hurt, muscle spasms and twinges every time I try to move... or breathe.

My husband and I are a matched set!

So no horses get ridden today, no poop gets picked up, the arena doesn't get groomed, and the dishes don't get done.


*sigh*

The Poopy Moose

Literally! Bullwinkle has taken to napping in the "toilet". As such, he is covered in poop - face, neck, shoulder, belly...all of him is covered in poop. And he naps a LOT!!

Squirrel was a little stinker today during work on the barrels, but she's getting it. I just need to get past the fear that she'll buck. Or...maybe I can send her to someone for a week or so to get her "over it."

I went through the calendar and marked barrel races I want to enter. Not that I will, but I WANT!

Thai has a new boo-boo on her front ankle. It looks like Classy was being witchy. So I doctored it and it's not swollen or sore, so she's out with her bestest buddy Honey. They really get along very well.

Jazzy also has a boo-boo, naturally, right where the cinch goes. I'll swear...the things they do to themselves and each other!

It's another beautiful day. We should reach 95 today. I'm glad I got my riding done early today!

Got three ridden

(Sorry Candice.....too tired to re-type.)

I was VERY ambitious today!!! I actually rode three today!

Jazzy - She is so awesome! I saddled her and turned her loose in the arena. She bucked around like she'd never been saddled before. Then I got on her. She dropped her head and walked quietly. She is so totally suited for Western Pleasure. Nice low natural head-set, slow walk and jog. I didn't lope...just walked and jogged. She was such a good girl! I rode for about 20 minutes and she was just starting to break a sweat!

Squirrel - Same thing...saddled her and turned her loose. She was confused at what I wanted her to do, but did run around a little bit. Then I got on and started her on the pattern. Walking through, walk the rail - about 4 times. Then trot that pattern, walk the rail. By the end of 30 minutes, she was trotting through and had a decent pattern. I'm not totally sure she "gets" it, but she's easy to steer. I'm really excited about her!

Angel - We walked around for the duration of time it took me to smoke. Then walked, trotted, loped the pattern. Then I made a "RUN". I'd forgotten to put my barrel reins on. I was using super long stretchy white ones. I even dropped the reins going into the first. Didn't matter! She remembered and had a great pattern! I just love that little Boo!

New pics

I tried to upload to blogger, but I can't...

Thai


Classy


Honey


Bullwinkle


Squirrel


Millie She looks funny because she's standing with her butt downhill. I'm standing uphill from her. Professional photographer I am NOT!

Recovery Mode

WHAT A WEEKEND!!! Oh My! So much fun!

Friday morning, we went up to the race and watched a few. Then Candice and I came back to go for a ride. I thought I'd put her on Squirrel, who so far has given me very minor trouble. Well, there's a pony down the street and as we were riding by, Squirrel decided that ponies eat horses and lost her mind. Candice tried to get her under control and make her stand, but Squirrel was having no part of it. She did a couple little bucks, then reared. Candice decided to bail and slid down her butt. That would have been all fine, but Squirrel took a step back and stepped on Candices foot, at which point, Candice plopped over on the road and Squirrel headed for home. Candice popped back up and walked the 100 yards back home, while I followed the now loose Squirrel back to the house.

Candice had a cut on the palm of her hand, so went in to wash it up. When she came back out, she gave Squirrel another try. Little terd was having none of it, so we switched horses. From there, we had a nice little ride. Candice didn't complain about Angel beating the crap out of her, in fact, said she "wasn't that bad." Candice's horses must be REALLY rough riders!

I ended up with a migraine on Friday, which put a damper on the fun for the afternoon, but by Saturday morning, I was 100% and ready to go!

We went up to the race for a while. Then went over to the Harley store, then took a scenic drive of the Tri-Cities. (Because Candice kept "letting" me take wrong turns! LOL!!! She was so good natured about "taking the blame" for wrong turns, wrong exits, and getting lost!

We went to the BRN4D horse sale on Saturday night. I was astounded that even FINISHED barrel horses went for less than $6,000!! There was a VERY NICE 5 yr old DAUGHTER of Frenchman's Guy that was bred to Honors Abounding that no saled. She couldn't get a bid over $5,000 and was probably THE quality horse in the sale. There were a couple of nice yearlings, on the other hand, that sold for over $4,000!

By Sunday morning, the arena was HOT and MUGGY, and I didn't want another headache. I mowed the lawn, then we watch Sue Ruzicka (my friend) run her 5 yr old, then came back home. After my shower, Candice and I sat on the back porch all afternoon. It was 90 degrees, with a light breeze blowing, and neither one of us had any inclination about moving. It was pure unadulterated heaven to just sit and B.S.!

Monday was the last day of the barrel race and we spent most of the day at the arena. It has cooled down in there and was actually very pleasant, except for the hard metal benches. We left only to go to lunch with Sue, and take Mike some food. (He'd wrenched his back and was "crippled" on the couch.

After the race, we watched the Top 20 Championship Race. WHAT A HORSE RACE!!! The "normal" GOOD time in that arena was a 17.1. The top three finishers ran 16.812, 16.854, and 16.986! It was AMAZING!

Candice left this morning to head for home. Her flight was, of course, at 6:35 am. I rolled past the terminal, opened the door and pushed her out, then came home and went back to bed. (Just kidding....I stopped the car) LOL!

When I find the camera, I will take pictures of all the "kids". They are all looking AMAZING!!!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N !!!!!

I'm on vacation! This is the weekend of the BRN4D Northwest Finals - 4 days of barrel racing, friends, shopping, drooling, and FUN!!!

My friend Candice flew in Wednesday afternoon from Minnesota. She's here to watch, ride, talk, shop, etc.

Yesterday, we went on a road trip to the Boise, ID to pick up Caddis Cool Dorado, aka Bullwinkle! He's a 14.1 hand MONSTER yearling, sired by Cathy's VLC during the night of a fencing failure. While stunning, he's SO mis-proportioned! Two year old body, big knees, teeny-tiny feet. Now I know what Cathy meant when she talked about her BYG - mutant. He's just going to look funky for the next year or so.

He loaded without hesitation, hauled quietly, and unloaded with a little hop. Mary did such an amazing job with him!

I have a few barrel racers staying at my house for the weekend. I love having the Kenyons (Kenyon Barrel Horses) because they are truly wonderful folks!

Our schedule for the weekend is W-I-D-E open, with nothing to do and all day to do it. I'm looking forward to a very fun weekend!

I will TRY to get updated pictures. I just wish my stupid computer would post them in the blog!

Quick Saturday Update

The farrier comes this morning. He's putting shoes on Angel, Squirrel and Jazzy. Jazzy hoof has a huge chunk out of the side...looks to me like she needs bond-o to fix it. Seth is magic with a rasp though, so he'll have her fixed up in a hurry! Thai and Classy will get trimmed.

Steve - the $690,000 property behind me... I don't have all the details but I heard the "F" word happens at the end of June. The "F" word being foreclosure. Again... no details. All you'd have to do is add a couple of loafing sheds, which would create a vacuum, which in turn you'd have to fill with a really great rescue from SOS Equine! Or TB Friends! OR.. Or..

Barb O - You write code, right? Anyway you could telecommute?

Yesterday we pulled weeds and weed-whacked 600 feet of the back fence. The back of my very out of shape legs are sore. The day promises to be beautiful and a trail ride in the Wallula Gap is in order after the shoes get put on. I'll even get to wear my new boots!

Nikki - Honey is fat. LOL! She's such a "Super Model" and I always worry about her weight. Turn her out on pasture and she puffs up.

Rest in Peace, Sweet Dobbs

Big Cadillac Mac - aka Dobbs 1988 - 2009


He was in so much pain, I couldn't let him suffer another day. He was down this morning when I went to feed. He looked at the hay I set out, but made no effort to get up. I put a halter on him and tugged him up, then watched him hobble over to the hay to eat. He was hungry and he was eating good.

But by the time I was ready to go to work, he was laying back down. I couldn't let him suffer any more. I gave him a double dose of bute and went to work.

Mike, my hero, left work early, loaded him in the trailer for the two miles to the vet. He was still standing when he got there and Mike fed him apples while the vet got the syringes ready. Dobbs was able to eat 4 apples before she was ready.

He went down quickly and quietly. Mike said it was over really fast. While the vet was in the trailer with Dobbs, Mike stood outside and silently cried. He felt so bad for the horse, but knew that for me to do it, would break my heart.

Dobbs was with for far too short a time. He was very well bred, very well train, polite, sweet, and willing. He was such a gentleman, not only with the mares, but with me and Mike and Kali. He died far too young.

Rest in peace my sweet Dobbsy-Doodle. You will be missed, but never forgotten.

Decisions, decisions.....

The Tractor - We were approved for financing. Since we paid off my daughter's car, Mike figured we'd replace the payment with something USEFUL. 0% financing for 60 months, and 10% off attachments. With a front loader, rototiller, and pull-behind rotary mower, our payment would be $155/mo. He knows my feelings. (I want to roll the payment onto another bill and lower our debt) BUT...

We used the tractor with the loader all weekend and yes! It WILL lighten our work load a LOT! The decision is up to him. I'm just guessing here, but I believe he will get the tractor. Very rarely does he buy something for himself. He shells out a ton of money for MY horses, the least I can do is not pitch a fit when he wants a new toy. Besides, at least it's not something totally impractical like a motorcycle, which is what he REALLY wants. And the tractor will help us out a lot around here. My only stipulation is that he also gets me the arena groomer that I want so I can "top dress" the ground in the arena after he rototills. (Yeah...that's like $100) Stay tuned...

We will be saying goodbye to Dobbs this weekend. He can barely walk. I hate to see him in pain and he's been getting progressively worse over the last three weeks. A horse shouldn't have to live on bute. I thought initially that he had an abscess or that he'd gotten too much grass. I'm not sure what happened, but I can't stand to see him in pain. We will stuff his face full of apples and carrot on Friday, then say goodbye and ease his pain. This just breaks my heart. He was totally fine a month ago.

Little Miss Honey in the Money is feeling better. She was really long in the hoof, and the farrier trimmed her short. She was foot sore for a couple days. I put the brown goop on the soles of her feet (I can't remember the name, but it's what they use on the track for foot sore horses. Their slogan is "The Sole-Solution") and she's all better.

Thai and Classy are looking a LOT better! They've gained weight and are starting to get slicked out. Thai's hair is growing back and she's looking a LOT healthier! Mike suggested that perhaps that awesome hay we were feeding had too much protein. Anyone ever hear of that? I know that dogs will lose their hair with too much protein, but horses? It makes sense actually. As soon as I switched her to straight grass hay and orchard grass pellets, her itchy issues sort of disappeared.

Millie the Fillie is all shed out and starting to look like a horse rather than a bratty baby! She is very vocal and is really turning into a nice little mare. Once I have a decent day, I'm going to actually cinch up the saddle and see what happens. My hope is that I can saddle her and pony her off Angel or Squirrel. I might even introduce her to the bit. I want to be able to everything except climb on. We'll see...

Hiatus

I know...I'm such a slacker! I haven't written anything in a week. But you know..every post started sounding like the one before it. Like a broken record. Today isn't going to be much different.

Every one is fine. The skinny are gaining weight and looking better. The gimpy are still gimpy. The fat are still fat.

Our neighbor, Rex, is an 89 yr old widower who putters. He's been puttering with his rototiller. And today, he got it working. So to test it out, he rototilled our arena. I'm going to start riding again. Start working the sound. Start working the barrels.

Mike, the "Cooker Bitch Super Honey", decided with his promotion bonus, he's going to put a down payment on a tractor. So the tractor dealer brought over two tractors for us to try. We did some work in the runs, we drove around the pasture. Either one will work. I don't see it happening though. But hey, gotta let the man try, right? *sigh*

I got new tires on the truck today. That's what we spent our tax money on. They are DESPERATELY needed! However, the dealer found out AFTER we dropped off the truck, that our truck won't fit on their alignment machine. So we have to take it to a place that works on BIG trucks, and they aren't open on the weekend. Perfect! I was rather irritated, but Mike was the one that had to deal with them. (Lucky for them!)

There was a barrel race at the equestrian facility one street over. So I saddle up Angel and rode until dark. It was fun, but I find myself tensing in my lower leg, which makes my knees ache. I NEED to take lessons on my horse. I ride her like crap! I won't even START on the incident with Pam, but know this...I was highly irritated, though not really surprised. She's a hag! I'll leave it at that.

So I came home, started typing and climbed into my closet.

Ah...The Closet... What's that mean? A year and a half ago, I started a new job. I was MISERABLE! I hated it! I cried every night for a week! I posted on a Discussion Board that I was going to get a bottle of booze and a blanket and got sit in my closet with the light off. I am now known for the Fat Spotted Donkey (my appy Angel) and The Closet. Well...at least I'm known for something.

Barb O has been to my closet. Cathy has been to my closet. Nikki is going to come visit my closet. Candice (from Minnesota) is coming to stay at my closet for a WHOLE WEEK! WOOT! She'll be here May 20th! We've been planning this since last September!!! We've talked on the phone a few times, but mostly we chat via e-mail. But I feel like I've known her forever! (Even though she talks funny...) Just kidding Candice...you probably think I talk funny too!

So now I'm done rambling and am heading off to the bath.

Nikki - thank you again for everything. I can't wait to meet you!

Barb O - I love you Dollface! Hope you dodged the bullet! I've still got the snake in case you're interested.

Candice - 12 MORE DAYS!! My God! How will we ever make it!!! Don't forget your boots!

Steve - the place is still for sale.... Neighbor's cute house next door won't be rented though....

AMY - How's everything? Got the new place sewn up yet? Isn't property ownership great?

Mary - It'll be ok. He'll be safe. Wouldn't have chosen me if you didn't believe that.

Cathy - Do you EVER sleep?

Friday Off

It was a BEAUTIFUL day! It was about 70 degrees by the afternoon, bright and sunny!

After feeding the babies their breakfast, I went for a ride with Pam. I rode Deuce, a horse that Pam is trying to sell. He's a half brother to Pam's good horse Duck. He's a six yr old, 16 hands sorrel gelding. She wants $5,000 for him. He's a really nice ride!

We went up a canyon on an old ranch access road just above the Wallula Junction. The view is amazing! We didn't see any wildlife, but the wildflowers are blooming. Just beautiful!

When I got back, I brushed horses until Mike called me in to eat. He's made steamed rice, teriyaki beef and sauteed onions. It was delicious!

Yesterday was also my gramma birthday! We bought some flowers in the color of pink that she loves and went over and sat with her for an hour. She is very frail but she was having a good day. She knew I "belonged to her" but could remember my name. I let it go.

Dobbs is dead lame in the front. I suspect it's an abscess, bu not sure. He was bad last Sunday, improved some over the week, but was really bad this morning. He WON'T stand for a bucket to soak his foot in and I don't have a soaker boot.

The farrier come this morning to shorten some feet.

Classy is about 50% shed out. Either she has sleek summer coat, or long fuzz. There's no in between.

Yesterday, there was a stray dog hanging around. We've given her shelter until her "mom" comes looking for her. She's a young adult female Blue Heeler, well cared for, well trained. A VERY nice dog! Someone loves this girl and is looking for her.