It's a Good Day to Die

That's what I told myself, anyway.  I mean...is any day really a good day?  So today was just as good as any other, I figured.  May as well at least go with a bang...or a buck...or a bolt...

So the first thing I did (after trying to kill myself on one of the Cowboy's spooky quarter horses) was go out and take a look at my wild, rambunctious, untamable hoodlums of the horse world known as mustangs.  And I said to myself..."Self, you may as well go big, or go home.  No point putting your life on the line at the end of the day.  May as well step right up to the plate and do the riskiest one first."

And that's just what I did.  I went out and sweet talked the oldest, wildest, most unpredictable of all my mustangs (not to mention the most beautifulest) and asked her, pretty please, will you let me put a halter on you today?

And she did.

After sending her in a few circles in the round pen, I pulled out the saddle and bridle and held my breath and put it on the Diva.  And again, she was good and allowed it.  And again, I told myself it was a good day to die, and to go like a brave cowgirl, not a wimpy little wannabe.  

I gave the red head a pat and stepped into the stirrup.  I reached across and patted her neck.  She wiggled her lips, but stood still.

Go big!  Go big!  I stood all the way up, still rubbing and patting.  First the shoulder and neck, then back behind the saddle on her hip and rump.  She stood patiently.  No fire, no flames.

And then there I was, up top, astride, back in the saddle again.  The mare I'd brought home as a seven year old, put a couple dozen rides on as a nine year old, was now standing quietly beneath me two years later as an 11 year old.  And no one died.

With that done, Darling decided she, too, wanted to get into the act.  Beamer's been out on a couple of trail rides this past week, packing me for a couple of hours each time, over bridges, through water, up and down hills, trudging right along.

Darling decided that Beamer needed to go English, so she pulled out her saddle and climbed aboard.

After a few laps around the pen, Darling decided that she'd be riding Beamer on the trails from now on!

As Darling was trotting about, posting up and down, I was saddling Flirt.  She's been at the bottom of the 'to do' list for quite some time.  Counting down to the Trail Challenge with Oz, and knowing I needed to get Beamer ready to sell, meant that Flirt was just going to need to wait. until I had a bit of time.  Well...today I had a few extra minutes.  And, apparently,  a death wish.  So I saddled her up and for the second time this month, and then I climbed on board.

Maybe my death wish wasn't really as strong as I'd thought, because I didn't ask her to go anywhere.  Just climbed on and off a couple of times.  Or maybe it was that I was saved by the dinner bell?  City Boy called from the patio, and who was I to turn down a meal?

With nightfall creeping closer, and a full tummy, we sat down and watched a movie.  But my heart was still restless.  Something more needed to be done.  I returned to the barn as the sun slipped behind the trees and mosquitoes came out for their evening meal (seriously...blood sucking winged miniature vampires!)  I called to Oz, and saddled him up.  We made a couple of quiet walks around the pen, then I opened the gate and rode into the paddock where Flirt stood waiting, wearing her halter and lead.  She turned to face us and I reached out to pet her face, then slid my hand down her halter to her lead rope.

I asked Oz to turn and we headed back into the round pen, this time leading the two year old behind us.  Talk about the green leading the green.  And while it was a tiny space, there's still enough room to get into trouble.  The lead rope bounced off Oz's hip, crossed around behind him, even got clamped under his tail at one point (which I didn't know until I was ready to get off), and he just walked quietly while she followed nicely.

Seems it wasn't my day to die after all.  Good thing, because I have a trail challenge to go to in just...oh my word!...three weeks! 

The Girls

Indeed overdue! This was from last weekend, when the girls came up on the BLM trailer. They roamed the arena for a few minutes while Gary pulled his trailer out, and I backed mine in. And then, play time was over, and they climbed into the next trailer for the final leg in their journey.

These two girls have such different personalities! City Boy's little red filly is bright and energetic. She's got boundless energy in the round pen, and despite the fact that we end each session with scratches and rubs, we begin each day the same as we began the day before...flighty and rushed.

Turned out together, Rep stands quietly, while the red filly (City Boy...what is her name?) hides behind her. And yet, walk out with a scoop of grain and you'll be mauled. Rep allows you to rub all over her face in exchange for grain. Red filly, on the other hand, becomes frustrated, grabbing at the scoop while trying to keep you from touching her.

Both girls have had the lunge line on them and are moving both directions pretty easily. I got the red filly leading yesterday, though a big shakily. She has a strong sense of what she wants to do. No fear. She's more like a toddler who wants her own way. Right now, she's the challenge of the two, but I'm sure that will swing the opposite direction many times over the next few months.

Sunday Potluck

Over at Sunday Stills, the theme is Potluck. At first I was confused...was I supposed to host a potluck and take photos? But no, it was simply meant that we could post an array of photos of our choice. Basically, bring to the table whatever photos we wanted to share. Now, does life get any easier than that? I dun think so!

Naturally, my potluck involves horseflesh. First up, we've got a nice walk along the creek with City Boy and Sandy. We'd been on our way down to the pasture for some grazing time, and it was just too pretty with the cherry blossoms over top, wouldn't you agree?

Oh! And I've got to tell you, because this is exciting (at least to me)...Tika got her feet done! All four! And she only tried to kick out once. Sadly it was with gusto, and the farrier was not too happy about it. He took the lead and got on her case big time, which was really good for her because, you know...I don't seem to have those same issues with her and she needs to know she can get into trouble and still be friends with someone. She got over the punishment and stood nicely for him after that, and he complimented her ability to come back around and be such a good girl. He's very impressed with my wild child. Of course, she kept doing her funky lip thing through the entire process...

( I know...this potluck photo is leftovers!)

One last tidbit (okay, it reads more like a novel) that I'll leave you with is this: I've decided to stop thinking about what Red and I have not accomplished. It's far too easy to dwell on the negatives and as slow as he's moving, they tend to overshadow the positives. But a snail's pace is still progress, right? And progress he's making. The lead is back on, though in a shortened state so that it no longer drags the ground under his feet. When it first began to swing around beneath his face, he was startled and confused. But rather than running in a blind panic (which he'd have done a couple months ago) he simply bobbed his head and tried to figure it out. Yeah! Progress! And proof that he's a thinker.

Red is able to tolerate being touched on the left and the right. I can now touch him up near his poll, just behind his ears, when on his left. I ran my hand halfway to his knee yesterday. I rubbed down onto his ticklish flank. He leads nicely. When we come to a stop, I can now walk towards him, right past his face and stop alongside his neck without him turning his hip to me. He allows me into his 'head space' on the right side, too! While eating grain from a pan on my lap, he'll let me rub on his cheeks, and he's even eaten a mouthful from my hands.

Gone are the days when he used to kick out like a bronc and not stop until I feared for his well being. He's not broken into a white lather in weeks. I tied a piece of sheet to the end of my lunge whip and can drop it over his back and neck, and let it bump on his hind legs. I can throw the end of my long rope towards him and he doesn't go cuckoo; it can even bounce around his front legs without any reaction, and limited reaction when I toss it over his hindquarters to fall down his back legs (he's destined to be a roping horse, so rope training is essential!)

But Red's biggest accomplishment this weekend was the placing of the saddle blanket into his back. He allowed me to rub his left side with in, and I could even pull it off from the right side with little trouble. In fact, I put it on him, laid the rope over his back and came in to get my camera and found him standing where I'd left him, no worries, just waiting for my return.

So there you have it. A little bit of almost everything. And just so Steve Holt! doesn't feel left out...here he is. He needs a shave.

Crazy Weather

If you live in the northwest, you're undoubtedly wondering what the heck is going on with this weather! Beautiful and sunny one moment, hailing golf balls the next, snow falling on the hills and rainbows forming during showers. And then there's the wind...

The view from my computer

This does not stop the activity here, however! Wishing I'd had my video camera with me the other day when Tika was showing off to a couple of Arabs at the riding club. She was snorting and blowing and absolutely floating...or was it flying?...around the round pen! This girl is a total Diva.

Red is now allowing me to touch the right side of his body. He's not thrilled about it, but no longer trying to drag me through the mud (which he doesn't do, because I'm a wimp and let go of the rope before getting that mudnure facial.) I was even able to let fingers slip up to his poll and onto his cheeks. And he sniffed me...of course on accident. He would never admit to actually moving his nose over to my arm on purpose.

Sandy and I have been working on our cutting skills on a regular basis, and I'm seeing the fruits of our labor beginning to bud. Would like to see his head down a bit lower...cutters like low heads. But will we ever make it to a show? Probably not. So I'll take what I can get on this boy, learn all I can, and maybe by summer Tika will be ready???

Curt got the better of me when he turned the bull around the opposite direction. I thought we were done! Way to confuse me...so easily done. I'm going to have to keep a sharper eye on that sneaky devil...

I Was Sittin' Here Thinkin'...

...that it just may be time for a new pair of boots.

City Boy was thinking I needed a new pair, too. One day he hollered at me, "Hey, Desperate Horsewife, git yerself washed up cuz' I'm haulin' yer hiney off to Laurel Farm and buyin' ya a pair a boots."

Okay, so it didn't come out sounding quite so hick-like. After all, he's a City Boy and knows how to enunciate (even though the rest of the world can't spell enunciate...) and properly pronounce pronouns and other such words. I just like to make him sound hickish now and then for fun. But I did clean up and headed reluctantly off with him in search of boots.

My reluctance was not over the boots so much as I just hate to spend the money. Have you seen the price of new boots? I was busy checking tags and City Boy continually scolded me for it. "Stop looking at the prices or I'll just by the most expensive pair," he threatened.

Did I mention I hate spending money? Here is my solution to the problem of mud seeping in between my toes and permanently staining my socks (er...City Boy's socks...sorry, I stole another pair...)

Now...isn't that pretty? I thought it should work just fine. But City Boy was insisting he'd never be caught with me...not even dead...while I was wearing my patched up boots. So off to Laurel we went, and I began my search for a good fitting pair of boots, and City Boy threatened me over looking at the prices, and finally...finally I slipped into a pair that felt almost like I'd been wearing them for a year (minus the holes blow in the sides), and I said this is it. And I never looked at the price, but I could tell I didn't spend enough because when we went to the checkout stand, City Boy nearly went into a coma, and I'm sure it was because I had come in way under budget...don't you think?

Virtually Everything You Wanted is Online...

The other night City Boy couldn't sleep. He was tossing and turning and keeping me awake. At 12:30, he strikes up a conversation.

"I was just wondering...how did Sears get their money when people in the 1800's ordered from their catalogs? There were no debit cards, so how did people pay? Did they pay before they ordered? Was money wired, do you think? Did they pay the postmaster upon deliver?"

"Seriously, City Boy? Do you know what time it is?"

"I was just wondering."

The next day, City Boy had all the facts he needed. Sears was founded by a man (Richard Sears) who'd worked for the railroad. He'd purchased a bunch of watches that had been unwanted by a local jeweler, and then sold them for a tidy profit. I listened as City Boy went on with the story, which to be honest was a bit more interesting now that it was daylight than the midnight ponderings had been. Of course I shan't bother you with the whole story...you can click the link and read it yourself a bit later. Or perhaps you can read it to your bed mate at midnight. But I will tell you that Sears' catalogs were not well loved by local merchants, who were struggling to compete with the first big box store and their mail order prices.

Today, those catalogs are online. We don't even need to pick up the phone and speak to a real person...just click the little box indicating which color and size we want, and presto!, You've got mail. Yep, good old Richard Sears helped change the way we do business in this world in ways he never imagined.

And that got me to thinking some midnight ponderings of my own. What if we had a virtual horse show? Nothing fancy...just some basics. It's winter, and who wants to give their horse a bath? Who wants to haul 20 miles in winter weather? Not me. I'd much prefer to go outside when it suits me, get a little video of some pattern work, and send it in to the judge ten minutes later. No frost bit fingers and icicles on the forelocks. Just saddle up, take a quick spin around the arena, then go inside and drink hot chocolate while the video uploads.

Of course, the more I pondered, the more doable this began to seem. And as luck would have it, Andrea posted a link on the mustang forum of someone already doing this very thing. Which means...I've got some inspiration! More fuel for the fire!

A fee would be paid, classes selected. Patterns would be given out and you'd need someone to help video your ride for you before submitting it. Everyone would have fun, horses would get worked, prizes would be won. Most importantly, funds would be raised to help support Mustang U's efforts to get sale authority horses into homes.

I can hardly wait to get started.

This Day, Last Year

This day, last year, I had Steve Holt! in training for the Mustang Makeover.

Today, I have no horses heading to makeovers, but I have got Tika in training, and as you know, I'm fond of looking back to see what life was like at this stage of the game with previous horses.

We had the four letter S word most of December last year. The ground was slick and white, so no hauling about like I'm able to do this year. Still, we had the round pen at home, which worked quite well for getting the long legged lad worked from the ground. I was thrilled when I was able to touch his head and get a bridle on three times.

THREE TIMES!

Tika's worn it how often now? Too many times to count. She's not at all head shy like the boys were. Which is odd in a way, because when she first got here she'd step on her lead and you'd have though someone had fired a bullet into her chest from her reaction! She'd sit down on her haunches and her head would fling up into the air as her forefeet lifted off the ground, releasing the lead they'd just caught beneath them. She's very sensitive to pressure, but not to touch, which has been a real blessing.

Mom...your horse doesn't like me.

About this time, the snow was beginning to melt, and City Boy had helped me get Steve Holt! into the trailer a couple of times for our first journeys to the arena. A video in this link, posted December 30, 2008, shows what we probably did the day before. I was surprised to see him being sensitive to so much, especially considering what happened just two days later, on New Year's Eve.

This week, City Boy again traveled to the riding club with me to get some footage of Tika being worked. Darling, of course, worked her magic and put together a lovely little piece for me to share with you. I'm simply in awe of this pretty little mare...there's something very special about her.

Yes, it truly is a beautiful video, showing the special bond I've created with this lovely mare...I especially love the whiplash segment...

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas...

Best Christmas Gift Ever. Hands Down. A pair of pink rubber boots that cost about $10. City Boy bought them for me when he was unemployed. Not expensive or fancy, but the color had me laughing the moment I pulled them out of their box. I loved them and wore them to the grocery store that very morning.

There's something about the color pink that just puts a smile on faces. Take Darling, for instance. Sure, she's dressed in holiday red, but ask her what her favorite gift was and she'll tell you, it was the pink saddle pad that her grandmother gave her. Never mind that she's riding a gelding...he's just going to have to get tough enough!

Thing Two stripped herself of her red Christmas dress the moment she arrived to clad herself in pink.

Thing One managed to keep her holiday dress on, but played with a pink sock monkey.

Well, she played with it for at least a little while before deserting it on the living room floor. Dead sock monkeys aren't much fun, you know...

Of course, my favorite gift of the day wasn't pink...

...but I'm going to have to lose a little of my pink muffin top in order to truly enjoy it!

Hope y'all had a fantastic Christmas. I've had a nasty cold (held at bay by some wonderful drugs) that has left me with plugged ears and supreme lack of energy the past week. However, I feel a bit more energetic this morning and am hopeful that I will be back to normal soon.

Stay tuned, as I'm heading up on my 3 year bloggiversary soon! Wonderful prizes could be headed your way!

1, 2, 3 Baby You & Me!

Darling keeps putting these movies in wide screen. It messes with my side bars!

City Boy is a great shopper of Craigslist. He finds things I never even see listed. Last week he spotted a shed for sale. Turns out it was one of those heavy plastic Costco sheds we find ourselves admiring each spring as we walk down the isles. It wasn't very old, I believe last year's model, but the owner was moving and his new home had covenants that stipulated no outside sheds or other such nonsense. And that sort of nonsense, of course, was good news to us, because City Boy talked them down to less than half of what it would cost new!

While it's not huge, it's preferable to using the tack room in my horse trailer all winter long. I've moved a saddle stand in with a couple of saddles. Note the window behind them; there's one on each side. I think I may need to hang curtains!

Darling and I found an old, wooden suitcase over at Greenhill when the former owners were cleaning the place up. They were more than happy to let it move to someone else's home so they didn't end up paying to haul it to the dump. City Boy wonders if at some time it had been a shoe shine box? Whatever it was, it's not sitting empty inside my new tack room, acting as a shelf upon which sits a folded up wool blanket and a radio which needs batteries if I'm ever going to use it.

I think I need a 3 tier saddle rack in here, and of course a place to hang bridles and halters and ropes. I tucked a chair into one of the corners. Perhaps I need a lantern? It'll be my own little cozy hideaway. Like a man cave, except without the man.

Nothing says I Love You like...

ROCKS!

And I'm not talking the shiny kind you string around your neck or wear on a finger. Oh, sure, there are those of you who'd expect something of the diamond variety for your 30th wedding anniversary, but not this Farm Diva. No...around here, gravel is a girl's best friend!

It was time for the annual paddock re-do, and this year, thanks to a friend in the construction business, I had been blessed with some of that road fabric stuff. City Boy scraped the paddocks down and dug a big trench, filling it with drain rock which will (or should) help with the water issues around here. The fabric was put down on top of that to prevent the clay (aka, winter mud) from oozing up between my toes.

Now I'm sure you're wondering what the heck I'd be doing out there with bare feet, but in the past the clay has been so thick that it's sucked my muck boots straight off, and while a farm diva mud treatment is nice and all...well, I'd prefer to skip it this year.

On top of the fabric went the rocks. I had a difficult time deciding which kind to order and lay down. In the past it's been 5/8ths minus. That, however, packs down like concrete and it's only taken me two years and someone saying, 'hey, dummy' for me to realize that perhaps this is why I'm struggling with drainage? So I spoke with the folks at Cowden Gravel and while I'd been thinking of 5/8ths clear, they said maybe pea gravel would work better. So pea gravel it was...or is.

So there you have it...a romantic Farm Diva wedding anniversary gift. Isn't City Boy the best?

Wild Weekend

This weekend City Boy loaded up his family and hauled us over the mountain for a non-horsey day in Winthrop. The drive was lovely, as evidenced by the above photo, although the top of the pass still had plenty of snow. 6' pushed off to the sides in some spots! And while we did hit cloud cover and sprinkles driving down the other side, by the time we got to town it was lovely out once more.

Unbeknown to us, there was some sort of festivity taking place just outside of town, where tents were pitched and mountain men were hawking their wares.

Darling liked the looks of this hat, but with the lowest priced chapeaus starting at $100, we passed on that and purchased her a few scraps of fur instead with which to create her own, including a little skunk tail as well as his itty bitty face. We think she'll make a lovely little stinker.

Darling and Avalon struggled to bond at home.

Avalon has made great strides this past week. Great for Avalon, that is. On Friday morning I decided she needed to be at Greenhill where it would be easier to work her. Rains have been pelting us here and the paddocks a soggy mess once again, making it difficult to work a horse still dragging a lead rope around.

While her leading skills are not great, Avalon's following skills were good enough to get her into the horse trailer with no hesitation, and before she knew it she was at her new temporary home. Avalon is very insecure, so it's been good for her to learn she doesn't need to worry when people wander in and out of the barn. Over the course of the weekend we've been able to start turning her out into the big paddocks along with Empire and Goody, an old Thoroughbred mare who acts as baby sitter. Not surprisingly, when put into this new situation Avalon has become much easier to reach out and touch. She can even go ropeless because she comes straight up to us when we walk into the pasture. Still a little jumpy, she at least is allowing Darling to handle her a little more each day.

Empire has some play time in the paddock.

Empire, by stark contrast, is more than ready to go to work each day. She's thrilled with people coming to visit and has learned to trot with a bit of coaxing while on the lead. Darling hauled her to the Laurel Farm open House last weekend (below) as well as the riding club where she practiced walking over poles. A little pushy and impatient, Empire does need to work on her willingness to stand quietly, but she's a cute little filly with a lot of personality.

Darling introduces Empire to new faces at Laurel's open house.

City Boy goes Car Shopping

Or...
I'm Not Spoiled, My Husband Just Loves Me!

City Boy's been wanting a new car. Not that we buy new...not any more. City Boy now loves chasing the deal, finding the car that suits his needs & whimsey as well as his pocket book. If it's not below blue book in price, it doesn't sit in our driveway.

Recently City Boy and I had a disagreement. What it was about, I do not recall, but I do know I gave him the cold shoulder for a couple of days. When he finally had a day off, he asked what would make me happy.

"Easy. Gimme a thousand bucks."

"Why?"

"I want a new saddle and I can't find one in my price range."

To which I received a grunt and roll of the eyes. Hey...it only seems fair if he gets a new ride, so do I, right?

City Boy informed me he was heading south to look at a car and would be late getting back. I had to run and get some hay. After the hay, I ran a couple of errands. I spotted City Boy on his way home while I was out. He'd taken Geek Boy along with him in case he came home with something new, but it was just the two of them in the same car.

When I got home, this is what I found:

It's a Crates Reiner, only ridden in once, and to tell the truth it's cleaner than one I'd been looking at recently at the tack store. I'd found a merino fleece cinch recently as well as a fleece pad, so once Steve Holt! is healthy we'll be ready to roll!

I'm not spoiled!

My husband just loves me, that's all!

So City Boy was set back a little in his car fund. On Saturday we decided to go to the auto auction here in town as he'd seen a couple of used BMWs on the list of vehicles being offered. He wouldn't go as high as blue book for two reasons; first, the auction yard tacks on an additional 10%, and second he wanted to make sure he had a little left over in case there were mechanical problems needing to be dealt with.

We were amazed and a bit dismayed as the bidding began. People were not caring what the vehicles were valued at and some of the nicer cars that were up early went for above their valued listing. It didn't appear we'd be waiting it out, as City Boy was certain he'd not get any of the vehicles on his list. But since they were going through roughly 10 cars every half hour, we decided to hang around and see how it all played out.

There was one BMW in particular that City Boy liked, although he wasn't fond of the color (silver), but it seemed to be getting a lot of attention from several folks. It blue booked at $9000, but ended up selling for $11,000! Crazy.

As the cars began to dwindle, my attention began to slip to the other side of the lot where there was a row of pick up trucks. My old Ford really struggles to make it up the passes and I'd love to find something that had a little more power. City Boy followed my gaze and groaned. Together we walked over to them and I pointed out a couple of newer Fords (you know, only 10 years old as opposed to my 20 year old.) He looked them over and decided only one of them was worth considering.

And so it was that we stuck around until the trucks began to sell, and City Boy raised his number not once, but twice when 'my' Ford was on the block...

We didn't win.

Two trucks down was a Dodge. I don't do anything other than Ford simply because it's easier to tie into the whole mustang theme and I'm always looking for ways to hook up with sponsors. But City Boy told me that truck would pull my trailer, and he quickly pulled up blue book on his cell phone (yeah...he's got the internet on his phone) and five minutes later we were the proud new owners of a '98 Dodge Ram! And City Boy is still without a new car.

Darling thinks it's pretty nice inside

But I am NOT spoiled!
My husband just...

Okay, okay...I'm spoiled!