January 2nd, I go riding at Six-O with Liz. We ride the rocky side first and Summer just doesn't seem "right". She is off a little. It's felt like riding a barefoot horse over gravel. Very tender and tip toey. In the grass, she seemed better. After about 4 miles, we head back to the trailers to meet Mary and grab a quick bite. I pick Summer's feet and find a stone in one about the size of a shooter marble. I figured that was her problem and we head back out to the other side of the ranch. She is moving much freer now and seems like her old self. Even picked up a wonderful QH lope without being asked. We ride another 8 miles or so and head back in. Besides the first 4 miles of Summer feeling funny, it was a wonderful ride. Summer cantered and gaited so nice on the second half of the ride.
Well, when I get her home, she is off again. Doug, my farrier, checked her Monday night for me and gave me an idea. But the main consensus is that she has a stone bruise in her right frog. There is also a tad bit of swelling in her pasturn. No heat, just fill mostly.
Tuesday night I slather Ickthamol in her hoof and make her a boot out of gauze, vet wrap and duct tape. Before I do this tho, I notice she is walking a little more freer and natural, and I even walked her over gravel and didn't see any tip toeing. I also noticed the fluid in her pasturn was gone.
Last night I pulled the boot and all was about the same. She was walking okay and even out walked me. I did notice some slight fill back in that pasturn and rubbed some Thermaflex on it.
When I got home last night from the barn, my back decided it had had enough and started acting like a jerk. I took some pain meds and crawled into bed to let it rest. I have a sorting clinic on Saturday and sorting on Sunday. Our first SWTPA show is on the 15th. I just pray that my back and her hoof are ready by then. As I sit here and type this, my back is reminding me it is still there. Stiff and sore.
I just pray that these two issues that Summer and I are having aren't a sign for things to come in 2011.
Showing posts with label Trail Riding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trail Riding. Show all posts
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Monday, April 12, 2010
Another nice weekend...
...horses, friends, and a new church.
My friend Robin came to my barn on Saturday with her mare, Taz. Taz is a finished cow horse and this was Robin and Taz's first trail ride since Robin has owned her. Taz was wonderful! The only real problem she had was water. She would cross it, but she didn't like it. LOL We went out 3 times for a total of about 13 miles or so. We got some nice cantering in, and I took several pics of Robin and Taz so she would have some lovely, frameable pics of their first trail ride. Tracey joined us the 3rd time and the horses did very well together. I think we have Robin hooked as a trail rider now. Her main passion is sorting, but I bet trail riding might come in as a very close second.
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Me and Summer, Robin and Taz (thanks for taking our pic Tracey!)
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Sunday, June and I visited a new church called Three Nails Cowboy Church. We loved it! My old friend from high school (23 years ago), Lisa, goes there and is always talking on facebook about their acitivies and just how much she likes this church. The people were kind and friendly, the music was great and the sermon was wonderful. I told June on the way home that I would be going back. She said, "good, cause I was already thinking that if you weren't, I was!" LOL
After church, it was lunch time and then back to the barn for chores and just relax with the critters that we love.
This is gonna be a short blog, but it was just a wonderfully nice weekend that I had to share.
Happy Trails
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I hate back injuries but I love riding horses!
Well, Monday, January 18th, I loaded Summer into the trailer and we headed to the LBJ Grasslands for a nice ride with Toni and two of her other friends. Summer loaded great and unloaded just a good. I got there and saw Jonni Jewell http://trotonhank.blogspot.com/ and we chatted a bit. She is a super nice lady and has a super awesome horse named Hank. It is quite a story about him. Go to her blog and get to know NATRC's 2009 Presidents Cup winners, Jonni and Hank. (Can you tell I am a little proud to call her my friend.) (smile)
Anywho, Toni, Gail and Kathy got there and tacked up and off we went. We were having a great ride and we broke into our second canter of the day (which was about 3 miles out from camp) and that is when Summer and I got out of sinc with each other. She was moving out very nice, but when we got out of rhythm in our canter, she came up and I went down, hard. My back then screamed, "you are done!" I felt horrible. It hurt bad. Bad enough I missed work the next day. Toni and her friends escorted me back to the trailer. I couldn't get off and walk back, not 3 miles. And I couldn't get off as I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get back on. So I had to ride it out. And that hurt. I noticed though that if I kept one of my hands on my back for pressure and kept talking with Toni, it took my mind off of the pain.
What made me feel worse though was there were three large gullies we had to go down then up in. NATRC has taught me to get off the horses back when going up a hill. Especially steep ones like the three we had to go back on. I felt horrible. I could not get off her back. She had to carry me up with my full weight on her back. At the first one, I cried, because I felt like I was hurting her. Toni settled me and said she noticed Summer moving so quietly and gently. Like she knew I was hurting. That she was really taking care of me. So the next two hills, I didn't get so upset and Summer maneuvered those just a quietly and gently as she had done the first one.
Once back at camp, I used the handicap mount to dismount and hobbled with Summer back to the trailer. Toni untacked her for me and even loaded her up. Thanks Toni. You're a super good friend. One of these days, we will get to ride a whole loop at the grasslands! LOL
I hate having a bad back, but I have to say, this is the first time I have hurt my back by riding a horse. And I haven't hurt my back this bad since the beginning of 2004. It still hurts from the accident, but not enough to keep me off. I rode Sunday evening and yesterday evening. Course I used my 18lb endurance saddle and not my 45lb western saddle. And I used a tall mounting block to get on and off. I usually just kick my right leg over, and kick my left foot out the near side stirrup and just drop to the ground to dismount, but, don't think that is a good idea right now. And we are only walking, no moving out fast. My biggest thing is, I just have to be ready for February 20th, my next sorting competition. I think I will be as long as I don't push it right now.
It hurts and stiffens up most when I sit, but not when I sit on a horse. I guess because it is a different posture than sitting in chair. But this injury is a sign that I NEED to loose weight and exercise. Guess I will join the WW online. I have a friend that is doing that too. Guess we could do it together so we could be accountable to each other with our losses and gains.
Anyway, that is my blog for this week. I know, I know...not as exciting as my last blog, but there is a lesson in my injury for my other horse friends out there. Don't get out of sinc with your horse, it could be hazardous to one or both of you. And by this I mean, don't get out of sinc physically or mentally with your mount. And if you do, then do what you need to do to get back into a good "rhythm" with your animal. Whether it be lessons for you or training for your horse or both. Just do it. A horse and rider team with a good rhythm physically and mentally, and that stay in sinc with each other is a winning team. Whether pleasure riding or in major competition, you and your horse should be in harmonious state with each other. A true team.
Thanks for reading
Anywho, Toni, Gail and Kathy got there and tacked up and off we went. We were having a great ride and we broke into our second canter of the day (which was about 3 miles out from camp) and that is when Summer and I got out of sinc with each other. She was moving out very nice, but when we got out of rhythm in our canter, she came up and I went down, hard. My back then screamed, "you are done!" I felt horrible. It hurt bad. Bad enough I missed work the next day. Toni and her friends escorted me back to the trailer. I couldn't get off and walk back, not 3 miles. And I couldn't get off as I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get back on. So I had to ride it out. And that hurt. I noticed though that if I kept one of my hands on my back for pressure and kept talking with Toni, it took my mind off of the pain.
What made me feel worse though was there were three large gullies we had to go down then up in. NATRC has taught me to get off the horses back when going up a hill. Especially steep ones like the three we had to go back on. I felt horrible. I could not get off her back. She had to carry me up with my full weight on her back. At the first one, I cried, because I felt like I was hurting her. Toni settled me and said she noticed Summer moving so quietly and gently. Like she knew I was hurting. That she was really taking care of me. So the next two hills, I didn't get so upset and Summer maneuvered those just a quietly and gently as she had done the first one.
Once back at camp, I used the handicap mount to dismount and hobbled with Summer back to the trailer. Toni untacked her for me and even loaded her up. Thanks Toni. You're a super good friend. One of these days, we will get to ride a whole loop at the grasslands! LOL
I hate having a bad back, but I have to say, this is the first time I have hurt my back by riding a horse. And I haven't hurt my back this bad since the beginning of 2004. It still hurts from the accident, but not enough to keep me off. I rode Sunday evening and yesterday evening. Course I used my 18lb endurance saddle and not my 45lb western saddle. And I used a tall mounting block to get on and off. I usually just kick my right leg over, and kick my left foot out the near side stirrup and just drop to the ground to dismount, but, don't think that is a good idea right now. And we are only walking, no moving out fast. My biggest thing is, I just have to be ready for February 20th, my next sorting competition. I think I will be as long as I don't push it right now.
It hurts and stiffens up most when I sit, but not when I sit on a horse. I guess because it is a different posture than sitting in chair. But this injury is a sign that I NEED to loose weight and exercise. Guess I will join the WW online. I have a friend that is doing that too. Guess we could do it together so we could be accountable to each other with our losses and gains.
Anyway, that is my blog for this week. I know, I know...not as exciting as my last blog, but there is a lesson in my injury for my other horse friends out there. Don't get out of sinc with your horse, it could be hazardous to one or both of you. And by this I mean, don't get out of sinc physically or mentally with your mount. And if you do, then do what you need to do to get back into a good "rhythm" with your animal. Whether it be lessons for you or training for your horse or both. Just do it. A horse and rider team with a good rhythm physically and mentally, and that stay in sinc with each other is a winning team. Whether pleasure riding or in major competition, you and your horse should be in harmonious state with each other. A true team.
Thanks for reading
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What a great lllooonnnggg holiday weekend.
I took Wednesday off to get house cleaning done as my parents and Amanda's boyfriend Andy were coming over for Thanksgiving. The house wasn't bad, but there were things that had to be done before I wanted to cook a Thanksgiving feast and have company over on Thursday. And I did get quite a bit done.
Andy came over this day also as I have never met him. It was time to get it over with. He seems nice enough, but don't they all at first. He helped me load the car to take some items to Good Will. I treated us to lunch. He went to Cowboy Junction with us as Amanda and I shopped for candles. And went to the barn with us while I turned out horses. I bomb barded him with questions. I even threw a trick question in and he failed that one. But what can I do but pray I raised my daughter right. David treated to our usual pre-Thanksgiving dinner, pizza and at 11pm I had to shoo the boy home.
Thanksgiving came and went very well. We had the usual spread of food. All the Thanksgiving norms. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, gravy, etc... We watched the movie Angels and Demons as Dad and Andy had never seen it. Took pictures and just hung out. Mom and dad left about 3 o'clock or so and once again, I shooed Andy home at about 6pm. Amanda then went to Taylor's house and hung out and played games until about 10:30pm. So it was a nice day.
Friday came and David, June, Tracey, Amanda and I went and bought hay from our usual hay guy. Plus David did some other "heavy" chores that us chicks didn't need to be doing around the barn. (Yes, I am very blessed to be married to a non-horse guy that doesn't mind doing horse chores).
Anywho, I wasn't sure if I was going sorting or not. But decided I would. We didn't go the previous Friday and I don't like missing to much practice. And I was glad we went. However, practice was a bit different. Instead of 11 head, they were only running 8 head. I guess they couldn't get all the calves out of the pasture so we had to make due with what we had. I did my first run with a guy named Jimmy. We got all our calves in right at 60 seconds. But remember, we were only running 8 head. How would we have done with all 11? Anyway, the rest of the evening, I ran with Robin. It was bust after bust. I still don't understand why we don't do well together. Our second to last run, we got 4 and our last run of the evening together, we did get 6. After that she was a little beat, and wanted to stop. I was already in line and wanted to do one more with this young girl named Kim. She is 12 but looks like she is 15 or so. Anyway, we got all our calves and had several seconds to spare. I was really proud of that run. She is a beginner and was taking direction real well when I was communicating with her. We were just peeling our calves off the wall and working great as a team. So after that run, I called it a night and put Summer on the trailer and went back in to watch the jackpot. There were no novice teams running, just Pro/Am. During practice however, Retty, the announcer, asked if I was running jackpot and I told her no, and she called me chicken so everyone could hear her. LOL Just don't think I am ready to run with the big dogs yet. I am still just a pup in this sport. LOL
On Saturday, Tracey and I headed to Six-0 Ranch in Cleburne. We made plans with Kim W., Toni J., her beau Kelly and Alice Y. Kim invited a co-worked named Katie who invited another friend named Judy. Alice invited Karen H. and in the end, we had nine folks all together. It is hard riding in a large crowd on single track trails if some horses walk faster than others. But at Six-0 there really aren't that many single track trails. There are plenty of trails where you can spread out. That is what I like about that place. Plus, we did inadvertently break up into groups. Kim, Karen and I way out in the front in some areas where we did some fast cantering when the others were safely, far enough behind us. Tracey, Toni and Kelly in the middle where Toni was giving instruction to Tracey and Amira. And Alice, Katie and Judy right behind them. But there were several areas where we just stayed together as a group. It was just such a fun and relaxing ride. We all did the first "loop" for a total 10.7 miles and Tracey, Alice, Karen and I went back out later for about a little 3 mile loop. Very relaxing. Can't wait for the next one.
Andy came over this day also as I have never met him. It was time to get it over with. He seems nice enough, but don't they all at first. He helped me load the car to take some items to Good Will. I treated us to lunch. He went to Cowboy Junction with us as Amanda and I shopped for candles. And went to the barn with us while I turned out horses. I bomb barded him with questions. I even threw a trick question in and he failed that one. But what can I do but pray I raised my daughter right. David treated to our usual pre-Thanksgiving dinner, pizza and at 11pm I had to shoo the boy home.
Thanksgiving came and went very well. We had the usual spread of food. All the Thanksgiving norms. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, gravy, etc... We watched the movie Angels and Demons as Dad and Andy had never seen it. Took pictures and just hung out. Mom and dad left about 3 o'clock or so and once again, I shooed Andy home at about 6pm. Amanda then went to Taylor's house and hung out and played games until about 10:30pm. So it was a nice day.
Friday came and David, June, Tracey, Amanda and I went and bought hay from our usual hay guy. Plus David did some other "heavy" chores that us chicks didn't need to be doing around the barn. (Yes, I am very blessed to be married to a non-horse guy that doesn't mind doing horse chores).
Anywho, I wasn't sure if I was going sorting or not. But decided I would. We didn't go the previous Friday and I don't like missing to much practice. And I was glad we went. However, practice was a bit different. Instead of 11 head, they were only running 8 head. I guess they couldn't get all the calves out of the pasture so we had to make due with what we had. I did my first run with a guy named Jimmy. We got all our calves in right at 60 seconds. But remember, we were only running 8 head. How would we have done with all 11? Anyway, the rest of the evening, I ran with Robin. It was bust after bust. I still don't understand why we don't do well together. Our second to last run, we got 4 and our last run of the evening together, we did get 6. After that she was a little beat, and wanted to stop. I was already in line and wanted to do one more with this young girl named Kim. She is 12 but looks like she is 15 or so. Anyway, we got all our calves and had several seconds to spare. I was really proud of that run. She is a beginner and was taking direction real well when I was communicating with her. We were just peeling our calves off the wall and working great as a team. So after that run, I called it a night and put Summer on the trailer and went back in to watch the jackpot. There were no novice teams running, just Pro/Am. During practice however, Retty, the announcer, asked if I was running jackpot and I told her no, and she called me chicken so everyone could hear her. LOL Just don't think I am ready to run with the big dogs yet. I am still just a pup in this sport. LOL
On Saturday, Tracey and I headed to Six-0 Ranch in Cleburne. We made plans with Kim W., Toni J., her beau Kelly and Alice Y. Kim invited a co-worked named Katie who invited another friend named Judy. Alice invited Karen H. and in the end, we had nine folks all together. It is hard riding in a large crowd on single track trails if some horses walk faster than others. But at Six-0 there really aren't that many single track trails. There are plenty of trails where you can spread out. That is what I like about that place. Plus, we did inadvertently break up into groups. Kim, Karen and I way out in the front in some areas where we did some fast cantering when the others were safely, far enough behind us. Tracey, Toni and Kelly in the middle where Toni was giving instruction to Tracey and Amira. And Alice, Katie and Judy right behind them. But there were several areas where we just stayed together as a group. It was just such a fun and relaxing ride. We all did the first "loop" for a total 10.7 miles and Tracey, Alice, Karen and I went back out later for about a little 3 mile loop. Very relaxing. Can't wait for the next one.
Me, Kim W., Toni J. on Amira, Judy, Tracey on Sammy, Alice Y., Karen H. and Katie. Kelly was the photographer.
Sunday was "get my barn chores done day" and go home and chill the rest. Plus get a little scrap booking in. And that is just what I did.
So, I couldn't have been blessed with a more perfect 5 day holiday. I could have asked for better I guess, but that would just have been plain greedy of me! LOL
Thanks for reading.
Monday, November 9, 2009
God has yet to bless me with another great weekend.
What can I say but thank you Lord.
The weather was just too absolutely beautiful Friday to stay at work. So I asked my co-worker Sharri and my Sergeant if I could just take off the rest of the day and that is where my blessings began!
I left work at 1pm, went home, changed into fun clothes and headed to the barn where Tracey already was. She was off this day too. So I did my chores, we saddled up and went for a very lovely ride. The sun was shining, the temps were perfect and the horses were good. What a great way to start the weekend.
Friday night I had a hard time falling asleep. I had a sorting lesson with my instructor on Saturday with my friend Robin. I was excited and nervous as I realized Friday, Summer was in her monthly season (if you know what I mean). And during that time she usually seems extra spooky. I think I fell asleep about midnight.
Well, I woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning. Yuck! Of course when I woke, my mind started working and there was no shutting it off.
Got to the barn about 8am. Did chores (again). Got the freshness out of Summer in the round pen. And she was feeling her oats. Running, bucking, snorting.
We got to James' at about 10:30am. And started our lesson at about 11am.
Summer is getting more and more relaxed with sorting. She still gets a little nervous about the breaking the herd up, but she is more willing to try. Our lesson lasted about 2 1/2 hours. During one point of the lesson, James pushed the calves from the round pens to his larger arena. He wanted us to practice heading the calves. That was fun! It was sort of like cutting, but on a more distant scale. We weren't right in the calves face like a cutting horse is. Summer was very responsive to me. Again I rode in the S-hackamore with a neoprene cover on it for comfort. She is doing very well in that rig. Then James had me ride another horse of his that is for sale as he has already sold Larkn. I was bummed, but I couldn't find that buried treasure so it wasn't meant to be. But he quoted me a price on this guy that I might be able to do. Gonna ride him this next Friday night to see if we "mesh". Sorrel is not my favorite color, but like I have said before, no good horse is a bad color.
Anyway, back to Summer's lesson. Once I rode the sorrel for a minute, I got back on Summer and we pushed the calves back into the round pens for more sorting work. Robin and James ran several times while I watched, then James and I would run while Robin watched. But the thing that happened that I was REAL proud of Summer for was this; when Robin and James would bust, he would talk to her about what happened and why. While he did this, I would push the calves back into the other pen for their next go around. I really noticed Summer penning her ears snaking her neck at the calves when we were doing this. I wondered, "would she take a nip out of one if I let her get close enough?" So I tried, and she did!!!! Now, that is not allowed in sorting as it is called "roughing up the stock" and can be grounds for DQ. But I was just AMAZED that she is getting so comfortable with them that she did that. I started laughing and told James and Robin what she did. That she must have wanted to see what steak tasted like. LOL
As for our lesson it was GREAT and I can't WAIT for this coming Friday night. James is bringing the sorrel up for me to ride too, but I will be on my Tennessee Walking Cow Pony as well! LOL
Sunday brought ANOTHER beautiful day. My plans were to drive Summer to make sure she is ready for the Driven Trail Challenge at C-Bar next weekend. So I drove her around the barn yard a bit with Tracey riding Amira. Once I knew Summer was relaxed, we headed out on the trails. And she was SOOO good! I gaited her out there and she would come right back down to a lovely relaxed walk when asked. So I think we are ready for next weekend.
This is to be the first Driven Trail Challenge and I SO want to see it succeed. My barn owner is going and so is my friend June. They want it to succeed as well. If it does, we are thinking of holding one at our barn. We have enough mileage to do it and it would just be great fun!
Anyway, that is my blessed, horsey weekend. My "do-it-all" horse, did it all this weekend! LOL
Thanks for reading.
The weather was just too absolutely beautiful Friday to stay at work. So I asked my co-worker Sharri and my Sergeant if I could just take off the rest of the day and that is where my blessings began!
I left work at 1pm, went home, changed into fun clothes and headed to the barn where Tracey already was. She was off this day too. So I did my chores, we saddled up and went for a very lovely ride. The sun was shining, the temps were perfect and the horses were good. What a great way to start the weekend.
Friday night I had a hard time falling asleep. I had a sorting lesson with my instructor on Saturday with my friend Robin. I was excited and nervous as I realized Friday, Summer was in her monthly season (if you know what I mean). And during that time she usually seems extra spooky. I think I fell asleep about midnight.
Well, I woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning. Yuck! Of course when I woke, my mind started working and there was no shutting it off.
Got to the barn about 8am. Did chores (again). Got the freshness out of Summer in the round pen. And she was feeling her oats. Running, bucking, snorting.
We got to James' at about 10:30am. And started our lesson at about 11am.
Summer is getting more and more relaxed with sorting. She still gets a little nervous about the breaking the herd up, but she is more willing to try. Our lesson lasted about 2 1/2 hours. During one point of the lesson, James pushed the calves from the round pens to his larger arena. He wanted us to practice heading the calves. That was fun! It was sort of like cutting, but on a more distant scale. We weren't right in the calves face like a cutting horse is. Summer was very responsive to me. Again I rode in the S-hackamore with a neoprene cover on it for comfort. She is doing very well in that rig. Then James had me ride another horse of his that is for sale as he has already sold Larkn. I was bummed, but I couldn't find that buried treasure so it wasn't meant to be. But he quoted me a price on this guy that I might be able to do. Gonna ride him this next Friday night to see if we "mesh". Sorrel is not my favorite color, but like I have said before, no good horse is a bad color.
Anyway, back to Summer's lesson. Once I rode the sorrel for a minute, I got back on Summer and we pushed the calves back into the round pens for more sorting work. Robin and James ran several times while I watched, then James and I would run while Robin watched. But the thing that happened that I was REAL proud of Summer for was this; when Robin and James would bust, he would talk to her about what happened and why. While he did this, I would push the calves back into the other pen for their next go around. I really noticed Summer penning her ears snaking her neck at the calves when we were doing this. I wondered, "would she take a nip out of one if I let her get close enough?" So I tried, and she did!!!! Now, that is not allowed in sorting as it is called "roughing up the stock" and can be grounds for DQ. But I was just AMAZED that she is getting so comfortable with them that she did that. I started laughing and told James and Robin what she did. That she must have wanted to see what steak tasted like. LOL
As for our lesson it was GREAT and I can't WAIT for this coming Friday night. James is bringing the sorrel up for me to ride too, but I will be on my Tennessee Walking Cow Pony as well! LOL
Sunday brought ANOTHER beautiful day. My plans were to drive Summer to make sure she is ready for the Driven Trail Challenge at C-Bar next weekend. So I drove her around the barn yard a bit with Tracey riding Amira. Once I knew Summer was relaxed, we headed out on the trails. And she was SOOO good! I gaited her out there and she would come right back down to a lovely relaxed walk when asked. So I think we are ready for next weekend.
This is to be the first Driven Trail Challenge and I SO want to see it succeed. My barn owner is going and so is my friend June. They want it to succeed as well. If it does, we are thinking of holding one at our barn. We have enough mileage to do it and it would just be great fun!
Anyway, that is my blessed, horsey weekend. My "do-it-all" horse, did it all this weekend! LOL
Thanks for reading.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Another great weekend...
Went sorting Friday night...again. Had a good time. We didn't win this time but we didn't bust either, so that was a good thing. We just didn't have the luck of the cow.
I sorted with Robin and a girl named Kim. Robin and I didn't bust on the first go around, but we did bust on our second, we just didn't bust with a cow. Sound odd? Well, as we were switching places, our left knees collided and it hurt like hell. However, I shook it off and went after the calf that she had trouble with. I never thought to look back to make sure she was okay. Mistake. I was bringing about 5 calves around and when Summer and I turned around to face the hole, there was Taz with no Robin. CRAP! I pulled Summer up and a couple of guys were jumping in the pen to back the calves off. Robin was bruised up but not broken. I never thought that our colliding would knock her off as it didn't knock me off. But 20 years of riding compared to 7 months, might make a difference. I felt HORRIBLE! I was so focused on that number 4 calf (see, I even remember which number I was going for!) that I didn't realize that the spectators were hollering at me to stop. Maybe had they hollered my name I would have realized they were talking too me and not just yelling cause they were excited about the action. Heck, they may HAVE hollered my name. Stupid Tunnel Vision! You have to get out of that tunnel vision if you're going to do this sport I guess.
Kim and I finished with 4 head. Robin and one of her other partners finished with 9! I was real happy for her. She has had several wins but is still having some confidence issues. She and I are having a lesson this next Saturday so we can work on our team skills. I want so bad for her and I to have a win together. We practice together and we jackpot together a lot, but just no wins. Our horses are even starting to get along we run so much together! LOL
Robin and I talked for about 30 minutes Saturday morning and all was good. I just told her that I felt bad as Kim's dad wanted me to run with her so he paid for her to run an extra run with me. I told Robin that I felt like I wasted his money. She told me to quite thinking like that. I told her that Kim and I have never run together and we only did 2 practice runs that night. I think we just need more practice runs together and we should be fine if we jackpot again. But, Kim and I didn't bust, so that is a plus.
Summer was real "on" again. She worked REAL good for me. She was working that hole like a experienced Quarter Horse. 3 times, she used her chest to block a calf. I put her chest right on the corner of the hole to block a calf and she totally listened to me and did it without loosing her cool. One of the three times, the calf was going to go through no matter what, it pushed it's way between Summer's chest and the pen and she still didn't loose her composure. That was a win for me. Just her not loosing her cool when a bust was going to happen no matter what we did, even with a calf pushing it's way through the hole. I told Robin that even when you don't actually win $ at the end of the night, you still have to look at the personal wins. And Summer working that hole like she did was personal wins for us.
Saturday morning, about 10ish, found Summer and I on the Trinity Trails in Fort Worth with Tracey and a new friend, Toni James and her beau, Kelley. Tracey got to go as something happened with someone that was to come look at Gypsy that morning. Not sure of the story, but I talked her into going with me as I didn't leave the barn till about 9:20am. So she threw her saddle and Amira in the trailer and was glad she did!
That Toni is a hoot!!!! We had a great ride on good horses. Toni had never ridden there and was pleasantly surprised. I just think it's neat to ride near and around the city. I love regular trail rides, but it's nice to change up the view once in awhile.
We stopped at the little train station in the Trinity Park and the kids had a blast. We let them sit on the horses while parents and grandparents snapped pictures. Once the train was ready to pull out, I made Summer go stand next to the engine as it pulled out, then we started gaiting with it as it moved down the track. She was so good. She left the other three horses to do this and did it willingly! Toni said I looked like a train robber! LOL But the kids and families ate it up. I was glad we could be a part of their day.
After our ride and practicing city type obstacles, we went and had lunch and promised that we would go to places that neither of us had ridden. Tracey has been to more local trails than Toni and I, so she promised to be our guide! LOL And Toni has never been to the Six-O ranch, so I think if the weather holds up, that will be our next destination!
Sunday was chores day. I got all me pens cleaned and I cleaned the bathroom as June is always the one doing that. Tracey had some folks out to look at Gypsy and they fell in love. I let the experianced 8 year old daughter ride Chompers and she just rode him and he behaved like he had been doing this forever. No lead line. She just took him off and rode him around while her mom rode Gyp. Her dad took video and they said they would send Tracey the vid so I could have it too. It was so cute, here is her mom on Gyp and her on Chomps riding down the barn rode. Tracey called them David and Goliath. LOL
After they left, we went to lunch, got back and I harnessed up Summer. The last time I drove Summer she actually scared me. She was a ball of nerves and was NOT good. I had worried that doing the sorting was screwing her up. Barb said no, it was not. She was not an idiot and sorting would not mess her up. So I ground drove her last night and she was good. Tracey helped me hitch her up. I asked Tracey to get her helmet and Summer's lead rope and ride with me. If Summer started to act up again, she could get out and go hook to her halter while I still had the reins. But Summer was her old sweet self and we had a good drive. Tracey had to remind me that even horses can have a bad day and she said like Barb did on that bad day, Summer was just having her bad day. I guess we all deserve to have our bad days every now and then.
Thanks for reading!
I sorted with Robin and a girl named Kim. Robin and I didn't bust on the first go around, but we did bust on our second, we just didn't bust with a cow. Sound odd? Well, as we were switching places, our left knees collided and it hurt like hell. However, I shook it off and went after the calf that she had trouble with. I never thought to look back to make sure she was okay. Mistake. I was bringing about 5 calves around and when Summer and I turned around to face the hole, there was Taz with no Robin. CRAP! I pulled Summer up and a couple of guys were jumping in the pen to back the calves off. Robin was bruised up but not broken. I never thought that our colliding would knock her off as it didn't knock me off. But 20 years of riding compared to 7 months, might make a difference. I felt HORRIBLE! I was so focused on that number 4 calf (see, I even remember which number I was going for!) that I didn't realize that the spectators were hollering at me to stop. Maybe had they hollered my name I would have realized they were talking too me and not just yelling cause they were excited about the action. Heck, they may HAVE hollered my name. Stupid Tunnel Vision! You have to get out of that tunnel vision if you're going to do this sport I guess.
Kim and I finished with 4 head. Robin and one of her other partners finished with 9! I was real happy for her. She has had several wins but is still having some confidence issues. She and I are having a lesson this next Saturday so we can work on our team skills. I want so bad for her and I to have a win together. We practice together and we jackpot together a lot, but just no wins. Our horses are even starting to get along we run so much together! LOL
Robin and I talked for about 30 minutes Saturday morning and all was good. I just told her that I felt bad as Kim's dad wanted me to run with her so he paid for her to run an extra run with me. I told Robin that I felt like I wasted his money. She told me to quite thinking like that. I told her that Kim and I have never run together and we only did 2 practice runs that night. I think we just need more practice runs together and we should be fine if we jackpot again. But, Kim and I didn't bust, so that is a plus.
Summer was real "on" again. She worked REAL good for me. She was working that hole like a experienced Quarter Horse. 3 times, she used her chest to block a calf. I put her chest right on the corner of the hole to block a calf and she totally listened to me and did it without loosing her cool. One of the three times, the calf was going to go through no matter what, it pushed it's way between Summer's chest and the pen and she still didn't loose her composure. That was a win for me. Just her not loosing her cool when a bust was going to happen no matter what we did, even with a calf pushing it's way through the hole. I told Robin that even when you don't actually win $ at the end of the night, you still have to look at the personal wins. And Summer working that hole like she did was personal wins for us.
Saturday morning, about 10ish, found Summer and I on the Trinity Trails in Fort Worth with Tracey and a new friend, Toni James and her beau, Kelley. Tracey got to go as something happened with someone that was to come look at Gypsy that morning. Not sure of the story, but I talked her into going with me as I didn't leave the barn till about 9:20am. So she threw her saddle and Amira in the trailer and was glad she did!
That Toni is a hoot!!!! We had a great ride on good horses. Toni had never ridden there and was pleasantly surprised. I just think it's neat to ride near and around the city. I love regular trail rides, but it's nice to change up the view once in awhile.
We stopped at the little train station in the Trinity Park and the kids had a blast. We let them sit on the horses while parents and grandparents snapped pictures. Once the train was ready to pull out, I made Summer go stand next to the engine as it pulled out, then we started gaiting with it as it moved down the track. She was so good. She left the other three horses to do this and did it willingly! Toni said I looked like a train robber! LOL But the kids and families ate it up. I was glad we could be a part of their day.
After our ride and practicing city type obstacles, we went and had lunch and promised that we would go to places that neither of us had ridden. Tracey has been to more local trails than Toni and I, so she promised to be our guide! LOL And Toni has never been to the Six-O ranch, so I think if the weather holds up, that will be our next destination!
Sunday was chores day. I got all me pens cleaned and I cleaned the bathroom as June is always the one doing that. Tracey had some folks out to look at Gypsy and they fell in love. I let the experianced 8 year old daughter ride Chompers and she just rode him and he behaved like he had been doing this forever. No lead line. She just took him off and rode him around while her mom rode Gyp. Her dad took video and they said they would send Tracey the vid so I could have it too. It was so cute, here is her mom on Gyp and her on Chomps riding down the barn rode. Tracey called them David and Goliath. LOL
After they left, we went to lunch, got back and I harnessed up Summer. The last time I drove Summer she actually scared me. She was a ball of nerves and was NOT good. I had worried that doing the sorting was screwing her up. Barb said no, it was not. She was not an idiot and sorting would not mess her up. So I ground drove her last night and she was good. Tracey helped me hitch her up. I asked Tracey to get her helmet and Summer's lead rope and ride with me. If Summer started to act up again, she could get out and go hook to her halter while I still had the reins. But Summer was her old sweet self and we had a good drive. Tracey had to remind me that even horses can have a bad day and she said like Barb did on that bad day, Summer was just having her bad day. I guess we all deserve to have our bad days every now and then.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Trinity Trails ride with friends....
Well, I didn't realize how long ago this had been, but here it goes.
**************Summer's ears and Fort Worth...what a combination!
******************************The Trinity River
**************************Under University St bridge
******Cyn, Em, Sarah and John in the lead to cross the pedi bridge.
Crossing the wooden Davis Bridge. I drove across this when we drove our carts and buggies out here. My most favorite driving picture of Summer is her crossing this bridge while hitched to a cart.
Saturday, September 20th, Tracey and I went to the Trinity Trails in Fort Worth. I have driven Summer on those trails, but never ridden them. It was quite nice and not muddy like every other place there was to ride.
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We met Cythia and Emily there and a couple of other boarders (Sarah and John) from our barn came with us. The weather was gorgeous and it is kinda cool riding near the city. Don't have much to write about as it was a month ago today, but have lots of pics. Here you go:
*************************The city of Fort Worth to the right.
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**************Summer's ears and Fort Worth...what a combination!
Fixing to ride under a train trussle, that is Cyn and Em in front of us.
******************************The Trinity River**************************Under University St bridge
Very pretty trails through here. There was a large cemetery on the left. And the horses were a little spooky as there were people there that they could hear but not see. LOL
The pedestrian bridge we had to cross. It was little creepy for me but the horses took it in stride. It is used for runners, walkers, bicyclist and of course us.
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******Cyn, Em, Sarah and John in the lead to cross the pedi bridge.
Here we go. Actually, this was the fourth time to cross such a bridge. We crossed this one going out and then crossed another one a short time later. We crossed the other one coming back and this one again going back to our trail head. I took pictures this time as I knew Summer didn't care about crossing them. I wasn't sure what her reactions were going to be the first couple of times and didn't want to take a chance dropping my camera if she boogered at something.
***************On the pedi bridge looking to the right.
***********************Trinity River looking towards Main St. bridge
Summer and I after the Main St. bridge with the Tarrant County court house and the Tandy towers in the back ground.
Crossing the wooden Davis Bridge. I drove across this when we drove our carts and buggies out here. My most favorite driving picture of Summer is her crossing this bridge while hitched to a cart.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
B-B-Q and trail ride 06-14-09
This past Sunday we had a cookout and a trail ride. It was kind of a last minute thing, but turned out real well. One of the other boarders at our barn had invited a few of his friends from his other barn and I think some from his riding club, so we had a pretty good turn out. I was especially happy to see Summer's sister Shelby show up with her new owner. They took her in and tied her in the covered arena. So I took Summer in the barn and Shelby's ears perked up and it was so cute to watch them nuzzle, then I almost caught the cutest picture ever when Shelby licked Summer muzzle. The picture shows Shelby's tongue going back in her mouth after giving her sister a kiss. Summer and Shelby have the same daddy.
Another boarder named June just thinks Shelby is the cat's meow and has always called her Miss. Licks cause all she does is lick. And here is a pic of June visiting her and Shelby licking the fence right before she started licking June's hand for peppermints.
After June got done visiting, I went up to her and she reached over the fence and licked my face like she remembered who I was. AAAWWWW....
After we all visited and ate hot dogs with all the fixin's, we mounted up and took out for the ride. I guess there were about 10 riders or so and it went pretty well. Even the Appy that didn't want to cross the Honey Hole, finally did.
Once we got back to the barn, I had promised a lady named Donna a buggy ride on the trails. She had had an unscheduled dismount from her horse a week prior and couldn't ride this weekend, but I wanted her to enjoy the trails as well. Plus, it is good for Summer to both ride and drive the same day. I got Summer harnessed up and we drove about a mile around the barn yard. I even let Donna take the reins and I think she had a blast. I believe I heard her hubby Scott, say, "No, I am not buying you a cart!" as she drove by. LOL I took the reins back and asked her if she felt comfortable if I cantered Summer and she said yes. I think she kind of liked that part too. LOL
We took off out into the pasture and she really enjoyed herself and said she would absolutely be back out to ride next month, broken ribs or no! I think we were out there longer than some folks expected cause her hubby called her and a few minutes later, June called me, checking on us. LOL
If you go to Tracey's blog you can see a slid show of pictures from the ride: http://traceysrandomramblings.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading
Monday, February 2, 2009
What a beautiful weekend!
Saturday, Tracey and I loaded up the girls about 11am and headed to the Six-O ranch in Cleburne. What a beautiful day. The girls were good, the temps were just right and the calf fries were crunchy! Yes, you heard me. Kim, the co-ranch foreman, had made some calf fries for her son that is home from college. This is a working cattle ranch, so I guess they let nothing go to waste here. And to my surprise, they were quite tasty. I am a fan of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on one of the travel/learning channels, so I have been getting brave on new foods. I tried Raccoon last year and it tasted just like Roast Beef. The smell, texture and taste were exactly like roast beef. No joke. The calf fries, at least Kim's, tasted a lot like chicken fried steak. Again, no joke.
Anyway, back to my original story. I wanted to try a saddle that Tracey has for sale. Needless to say, it didn't work. Summer wears a SQH bar saddle, but this SQH seemed extra narrow. I could tell by her stride and her mannerisms, that she was uncomfortable and probably a little sore. So we took a short cut and headed back to the trailer and I put my saddle back on her and used one of Tracey's Toklat woolback pads. As of Saturday, I am getting one. We did a good little conditioning ride with some gaiting, cantering, hauling it through the deer plots, going up the twisty, windy side then down the steep side of the big hill, and just having a good ole' time. We got back to the trailer and Summer had a perfect sweat pattern on her back. Plus, no sore loins. I have a pad that is great for her saddle, but have never been able to find another one. It is a gel pad that, thank you Lord, my barn owner gave me. I am affraid that I am going to wear it down and then be without. So, I have been on the search for another pad that will work. I have not been able to find a pad that works on Summer with that saddle without causing some sort of soreness issues. But thanks to Tracey and her owning more than one of these pads so that I may try one while she rides in her other, I have found another pad that is going to work. So, yeah for me and Summer. WooHoo!
Sunday, mom and Amanda came out to the barn. I harnessed Summer and put her on the "Dub" cart. She had a bit of an attitude at first but quickly quieted down. It has been a while since she has been driven. Barb harnessed up one of her mini's named Jon-Jon and June harnessed one of her mini's named Jerret. Mom got in with me and Amanda hopped in with June and off we went down into the pasture. Of course with Summer's "full sized horse strides" we lead the way, stopping ever so often to let the other catch up with their little "mini-legs". It was too cute watching those ponies take the trails we normally ride. But I knew which trails the cart would fit through and we all had a great time. Amanda even drove Jerret for a little while.
Once we got back to the barn, mom hopped on June's cart for a "mini-spin". Next thing I know, June handed the reins to mom. It was too cool seeing my mom drive her first horse and it only being the second time in a cart. A couple of minutes later, I turned back around to look at mom and June, and I watch June hop out of the moving cart! Course it was going pretty slow, but there was my mom, driving the cart by herself. Amanda was walking next to them with mom's camera and was taking pictures. It was so cool! June and I are trying to talk mom into going out there on Tuesdays and learning to drive a cart and that would give her some girl time as it is only ladies on Tuesdays. I really hope we can talk her into it.
I just had a blessed and beautiful weekend, and I am very thankful for it.
Oh, will post pics when I get them...
Anyway, back to my original story. I wanted to try a saddle that Tracey has for sale. Needless to say, it didn't work. Summer wears a SQH bar saddle, but this SQH seemed extra narrow. I could tell by her stride and her mannerisms, that she was uncomfortable and probably a little sore. So we took a short cut and headed back to the trailer and I put my saddle back on her and used one of Tracey's Toklat woolback pads. As of Saturday, I am getting one. We did a good little conditioning ride with some gaiting, cantering, hauling it through the deer plots, going up the twisty, windy side then down the steep side of the big hill, and just having a good ole' time. We got back to the trailer and Summer had a perfect sweat pattern on her back. Plus, no sore loins. I have a pad that is great for her saddle, but have never been able to find another one. It is a gel pad that, thank you Lord, my barn owner gave me. I am affraid that I am going to wear it down and then be without. So, I have been on the search for another pad that will work. I have not been able to find a pad that works on Summer with that saddle without causing some sort of soreness issues. But thanks to Tracey and her owning more than one of these pads so that I may try one while she rides in her other, I have found another pad that is going to work. So, yeah for me and Summer. WooHoo!
Sunday, mom and Amanda came out to the barn. I harnessed Summer and put her on the "Dub" cart. She had a bit of an attitude at first but quickly quieted down. It has been a while since she has been driven. Barb harnessed up one of her mini's named Jon-Jon and June harnessed one of her mini's named Jerret. Mom got in with me and Amanda hopped in with June and off we went down into the pasture. Of course with Summer's "full sized horse strides" we lead the way, stopping ever so often to let the other catch up with their little "mini-legs". It was too cute watching those ponies take the trails we normally ride. But I knew which trails the cart would fit through and we all had a great time. Amanda even drove Jerret for a little while.
Once we got back to the barn, mom hopped on June's cart for a "mini-spin". Next thing I know, June handed the reins to mom. It was too cool seeing my mom drive her first horse and it only being the second time in a cart. A couple of minutes later, I turned back around to look at mom and June, and I watch June hop out of the moving cart! Course it was going pretty slow, but there was my mom, driving the cart by herself. Amanda was walking next to them with mom's camera and was taking pictures. It was so cool! June and I are trying to talk mom into going out there on Tuesdays and learning to drive a cart and that would give her some girl time as it is only ladies on Tuesdays. I really hope we can talk her into it.
I just had a blessed and beautiful weekend, and I am very thankful for it.
Oh, will post pics when I get them...
Monday, January 26, 2009
David has the flu but I still went riding this weekend
Last Thursday, David had to come home as our septic system was backing up into the shower. He came home and my dad came over with a 35 foot septic snake. Luckily, they fixed it.
Not long after however, David called me and said he wasn't feeling well. Might be coming down with a cold. Friday morning we woke up and he was REALLY sick. So I dug out all kinds of cold medicine and such for him then I went to work. I came home from work and he was sicker than a dog. Amanda and I went to Walgreens and I bought more cold medicines and two boxes of Air-Born. I am making Amanda and I take Air-Born everyday and making David take three doses a day as well. Saturday and Sunday he stayed sick. Sunday though, he was a tiny bit better, but not much. This morning he decided he was going to work. He made it to work and an hour later his body told him it wasn't done being sick. I made him a doctor appointment and he has the flu. Now this is a guy who didn't want to go to the doctor! They gave him antibiotics and sent him home. I am just praying that his stubbornness doesn't make Amanda and I sick. Course I am being a little selfish, I want to go ride this weekend weather permitting, I DO NOT want to be sick.
Saturday was way to cold to do anything outside. At least it was to me. So I stayed in, cleaned house and played nurse maid to David. Sunday I met Liz at the Rocky Creek trails at Benbrook to ride. Mary surprised us by coming as well. After about 5 miles out, Liz went back as Shelby wasn't having a good day. Mary and I continued to the end of the trail and then headed back. We did 16 miles and it was real nice. Summer was a good girl, well, for the exception of a few unnecessary spooks, but nothing I couldn't sit, at least this time. She and I even cantered a bit by ourselves and she was really good. I usually don't canter her by ourselves as she inevitably finds something to spook at, which usually always unseats me. Now, I don't come off the horse, I just usually loose my seat and end up hanging onto her in an odd way. One stirrup lost, one rein dropped and hugging her neck so I don't hit the ground. LOL
Tracey and I may take a couple of our friends to Six-O this weekend. Don't know which day yet and weather permitting. I sure hope the weather cooperates! We shall see...
TTFN
Not long after however, David called me and said he wasn't feeling well. Might be coming down with a cold. Friday morning we woke up and he was REALLY sick. So I dug out all kinds of cold medicine and such for him then I went to work. I came home from work and he was sicker than a dog. Amanda and I went to Walgreens and I bought more cold medicines and two boxes of Air-Born. I am making Amanda and I take Air-Born everyday and making David take three doses a day as well. Saturday and Sunday he stayed sick. Sunday though, he was a tiny bit better, but not much. This morning he decided he was going to work. He made it to work and an hour later his body told him it wasn't done being sick. I made him a doctor appointment and he has the flu. Now this is a guy who didn't want to go to the doctor! They gave him antibiotics and sent him home. I am just praying that his stubbornness doesn't make Amanda and I sick. Course I am being a little selfish, I want to go ride this weekend weather permitting, I DO NOT want to be sick.
Saturday was way to cold to do anything outside. At least it was to me. So I stayed in, cleaned house and played nurse maid to David. Sunday I met Liz at the Rocky Creek trails at Benbrook to ride. Mary surprised us by coming as well. After about 5 miles out, Liz went back as Shelby wasn't having a good day. Mary and I continued to the end of the trail and then headed back. We did 16 miles and it was real nice. Summer was a good girl, well, for the exception of a few unnecessary spooks, but nothing I couldn't sit, at least this time. She and I even cantered a bit by ourselves and she was really good. I usually don't canter her by ourselves as she inevitably finds something to spook at, which usually always unseats me. Now, I don't come off the horse, I just usually loose my seat and end up hanging onto her in an odd way. One stirrup lost, one rein dropped and hugging her neck so I don't hit the ground. LOL
Tracey and I may take a couple of our friends to Six-O this weekend. Don't know which day yet and weather permitting. I sure hope the weather cooperates! We shall see...
TTFN
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Very nice weekend with horses, family and friend
Friday, I took a vacation day. I was going to go to the Rocky Road TTC, but other financial obligations came about and I stayed home. But that was okay, I got a couple of new trails at the barn cut and marked. Summer was really good about ground tying when I was cutting trail on foot and real good about finishing the trail off her back. Course she is usually a pretty good trail working horse. However, coming back into the barnyard, the wind was blowing and she is was in heat so she gave me a little fit but nothing that was too dangerous, just not acting her normal self.
Saturday, my mom came over and she, Amanda and I went shopping and out to eat. It was real nice. I don't think she has ever come over without dad and it has been a while since just us three girls spent the day together. After she went home, Amanda and I went to the barn and cleaned up trash off the trails for about an hour and a half.
Sunday, Summer and I met Liz and her horse Shelby out at Benbrook and we rode about 4 hours. It was a wonderful day. The horses did great, Liz's pain has really subsided since she had her hip surgery. We haven't ridden together, just she and I, in a very long time. It was nice just getting to visit and really catch up on stuff. Shelby and Summer pace real well. Summer is usually not the type of horse that cares if she is in front or in back, which is great for Shelby as she likes to take the lead and not let anyone pass her. But even she did good when Liz put her behind Summer for a bit. She didn't get upset like she might normally do. So that gave Liz a good ride without a big ol' arguement with Shelby. Could be though, because they are half sisters and were raised in a pasture together as youngin's. Who knows. I just know it was a real nice day of riding and I am glad it started and ended well.
Here is a pic of Summer (right) and Shelby (left):
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
What a nice weekend...
My mom and her friend Cindy came out to my barn Saturday and actually went on a trail ride with me.
My mom and dad came out a few weeks ago and I harnessed Summer up and gave her and dad a cart ride. Then saddled Summer and she rode her for maybe a minute in the round pen. I got pictures, but they are from her 35mm and I don't have them on the computer.
When she said she would go on a trail ride, you bet I had my digital camera with me. I borrowed a couple of horses from some friends. I got Gazz for mom from June and Amira for Cindy from Tracey. Tracey asked if she could go and I said "of course." She took the role of trail boss so I could hang back with my mom. Gazz's speed of walk is about 2.5 mph, where as Summer, Amira and CP (Tracey's mount for the day) is about 4mph. I wanted mom to be comfortable so put her on Gazz. I think next time she will ride Amira. I was real proud of Gazz and Amira, they took real good care of mom and Cindy. And mom and Cindy had a blast. Cindy is my age and is mom's neighbor. She didn't tell her parents she was going horse back riding as she said they would have had a fit. So she will just show them the pictures! LOL
I tell you, it will be one of my favorite memories. Now I have to get Amanda out there, and she, mom and I will go on a trail ride. I will put mom on Amira and Amanda on Gazz. Maybe in November after my ride season is over. I can't wait!
Later!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Been awhile since I posted...
What can I say but "same stuff, different day", at least for the most part.
Been riding at the barn a lot. Went to the LBJ Grasslands last Sunday (July 6th) with Barb, June, Denis, and Deborah. We had a WONDERFUL time. I haven't had a day so nice in a long time. We rode the 10 mile red loop as Barb's mare "C" is a greeny, but you wouldn't know it by riding with her, she was as solid if not more so than the other horses she was with, she just got a little more tuckered out than the others.
June brought her miniature horse "Little Bit" and stayed in camp to drive (cart and harness) and just walk around. She said that next time she is bringing her riding mount and going out with us. She didn't know it was going to be that nice out there.
Once we all got back from riding, Denis and Deborah brought hot dogs, links, and a little bar-b-que pit to cook them in. June brought all kinds of snacks and drinks. Before we ate tho, Barb, June and I took our horses into the pond. Summer actually drug me into the pond and headed straight to the middle and took me for a swim. She loves to swim and I just hang on to her lead rope and let her take me "skiing" of sorts. It is real fun. Then she decided to stick her nose in the water and blow for as long as she could making bubbles, Barb and June laughed so hard.
David and I were on vacation this past week to spend time with Amanda. She is 17 now and it won't be long before she is grown and gone. I actually cried about that the other day. I told David I was going to be a horrible "empty nester"! He told me I wouldn't, I would probably just buy another horse to take up my time and $$. (smile)
Tuesday (July 8th), we took Amanda and her beau Eric to Fossil Rim wildlife park, then on to the wax museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Eric had never been to any of that and has lived here all his life. His family is very much into their church and so every thing they do is church involved, which I really like. He is a good kid, David and I really like him. Amanda told me today that Eric really likes us too and wants to meet more of her family. Hmmmm...??? Never know, he could be my son-in-law some day.
Yesterday, Tracey and I went to the Six-O ranch to ride. We only got to ride about 14 miles, but spent to whole day out there. Not sure we will do that again any time soon. It was about 103 degrees and no pond to get in. I guess that is why I REALLY like the grasslands, I love that pond. We had planned to ride this morning out at Benbrook, but her hubby was home and I wanted to spend my last day of vacation with my family, so we decided not to go.
Got my barn chores done this morning. Got Summer's pen, trough, feed bucket, etc...cleaned and ready for her. Bought fed and got that dumped. David and I bought hay and picked up a few bales for Tracey and got that stacked this evening with Tracey's help. (Thanks girl!) BTW...GORGEOUS hay and HUGE bales.
Well, it has taken me all day off and on to write this and I think I will say ta-ta for now.
Been riding at the barn a lot. Went to the LBJ Grasslands last Sunday (July 6th) with Barb, June, Denis, and Deborah. We had a WONDERFUL time. I haven't had a day so nice in a long time. We rode the 10 mile red loop as Barb's mare "C" is a greeny, but you wouldn't know it by riding with her, she was as solid if not more so than the other horses she was with, she just got a little more tuckered out than the others.
June brought her miniature horse "Little Bit" and stayed in camp to drive (cart and harness) and just walk around. She said that next time she is bringing her riding mount and going out with us. She didn't know it was going to be that nice out there.
Once we all got back from riding, Denis and Deborah brought hot dogs, links, and a little bar-b-que pit to cook them in. June brought all kinds of snacks and drinks. Before we ate tho, Barb, June and I took our horses into the pond. Summer actually drug me into the pond and headed straight to the middle and took me for a swim. She loves to swim and I just hang on to her lead rope and let her take me "skiing" of sorts. It is real fun. Then she decided to stick her nose in the water and blow for as long as she could making bubbles, Barb and June laughed so hard.
David and I were on vacation this past week to spend time with Amanda. She is 17 now and it won't be long before she is grown and gone. I actually cried about that the other day. I told David I was going to be a horrible "empty nester"! He told me I wouldn't, I would probably just buy another horse to take up my time and $$. (smile)
Tuesday (July 8th), we took Amanda and her beau Eric to Fossil Rim wildlife park, then on to the wax museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Eric had never been to any of that and has lived here all his life. His family is very much into their church and so every thing they do is church involved, which I really like. He is a good kid, David and I really like him. Amanda told me today that Eric really likes us too and wants to meet more of her family. Hmmmm...??? Never know, he could be my son-in-law some day.
Yesterday, Tracey and I went to the Six-O ranch to ride. We only got to ride about 14 miles, but spent to whole day out there. Not sure we will do that again any time soon. It was about 103 degrees and no pond to get in. I guess that is why I REALLY like the grasslands, I love that pond. We had planned to ride this morning out at Benbrook, but her hubby was home and I wanted to spend my last day of vacation with my family, so we decided not to go.
Got my barn chores done this morning. Got Summer's pen, trough, feed bucket, etc...cleaned and ready for her. Bought fed and got that dumped. David and I bought hay and picked up a few bales for Tracey and got that stacked this evening with Tracey's help. (Thanks girl!) BTW...GORGEOUS hay and HUGE bales.
Well, it has taken me all day off and on to write this and I think I will say ta-ta for now.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Had a nice weekend...
Despite having a sick pooch at home, I did have a nice weekend at the barn.
Tracey, Wes (her son) and I, worked on the trails all last weekend, cutting, trimming, clearing and marking. Then Saturday, Traci, June, Amanda and I took back a trail that hadn't been used in about three years.
Sunday morning, the barn owners brother in law mowed all the trails. It was wonderful. All the trails were ready for company.
About 11am, Mark and Melinda showed up with their ponies and they brought some friends of theirs and they brought their ponies. All the boarders showed up and they brought friends who also brought their mounts. So it was wonderful. We had all kinds of food and drinks.
At about 1pm we saddled up and went out. It was Kelsie, Tracey, Larry, Mark, Melinda and their two friends and I. We rode about 1 1/2 hours in the sweltering heat. Course Mark decided he was going to sneak up on me, pass me at a trot and then take off. Woohoo, what a gallop. Larry stayed with us and Tracey took the other folks to another trail. I love galloping Summer but don't do it very often. She just feeds off of Gypsy and does great when following her. She has dropped some of that hay belly she put on so didn't show any signs of stress when we got back to the barn.
When we got back we ate and visited. Then about 5:30 went out again with several other folks. Dennis, Deborah, a couple they know who brought these two BIG black Tennessee Walkers (absolutely gorgeous!),Dennis Jr. , Kelsie, Tracey, Mark and Mel, their friends and Barb (the barn owner) on her green but VERY capable mount and June on her very steady, bomb proof mount. No galloping this time, just a nice ride.
I got to play trail boss on both rides, which was okay cause I know the trails pretty well and was able to give everyone a nice tour and not keep hitting the same trails or retracing them to much. When you hit all the trails, you get about 5 miles or a little better.
During the second ride though, I felt kinda bad as all the gaited horses, Amira (Tracey's Arab) and Kelsie's barrel horse were just walking out and leaving the other behind. Mark's Gypsy could have kept up but he couldn't leave his company, which got seperated from the group anyway when they took a wrong turn. Thank goodness for cell phones as Mark and Mel had to go find them. Barb and June walked the slowest and stayed together. Which was great. Barb's green mare needed a reliable horse to ride with and that would be June's girl, Gazmarra.
But it was a great day. I hope to do it again real soon. Which may be 4th of July as Mark and Mel invited us to go horse camping that weekend. So far, it sounds like a plan, as even David would go if Mark will be there.
Tracey, Wes (her son) and I, worked on the trails all last weekend, cutting, trimming, clearing and marking. Then Saturday, Traci, June, Amanda and I took back a trail that hadn't been used in about three years.
Sunday morning, the barn owners brother in law mowed all the trails. It was wonderful. All the trails were ready for company.
About 11am, Mark and Melinda showed up with their ponies and they brought some friends of theirs and they brought their ponies. All the boarders showed up and they brought friends who also brought their mounts. So it was wonderful. We had all kinds of food and drinks.
At about 1pm we saddled up and went out. It was Kelsie, Tracey, Larry, Mark, Melinda and their two friends and I. We rode about 1 1/2 hours in the sweltering heat. Course Mark decided he was going to sneak up on me, pass me at a trot and then take off. Woohoo, what a gallop. Larry stayed with us and Tracey took the other folks to another trail. I love galloping Summer but don't do it very often. She just feeds off of Gypsy and does great when following her. She has dropped some of that hay belly she put on so didn't show any signs of stress when we got back to the barn.
When we got back we ate and visited. Then about 5:30 went out again with several other folks. Dennis, Deborah, a couple they know who brought these two BIG black Tennessee Walkers (absolutely gorgeous!),Dennis Jr. , Kelsie, Tracey, Mark and Mel, their friends and Barb (the barn owner) on her green but VERY capable mount and June on her very steady, bomb proof mount. No galloping this time, just a nice ride.
I got to play trail boss on both rides, which was okay cause I know the trails pretty well and was able to give everyone a nice tour and not keep hitting the same trails or retracing them to much. When you hit all the trails, you get about 5 miles or a little better.
During the second ride though, I felt kinda bad as all the gaited horses, Amira (Tracey's Arab) and Kelsie's barrel horse were just walking out and leaving the other behind. Mark's Gypsy could have kept up but he couldn't leave his company, which got seperated from the group anyway when they took a wrong turn. Thank goodness for cell phones as Mark and Mel had to go find them. Barb and June walked the slowest and stayed together. Which was great. Barb's green mare needed a reliable horse to ride with and that would be June's girl, Gazmarra.
But it was a great day. I hope to do it again real soon. Which may be 4th of July as Mark and Mel invited us to go horse camping that weekend. So far, it sounds like a plan, as even David would go if Mark will be there.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Mother's day...
Summer got all her shots Friday night so she got that night and all of Saturday off.
Sunday was mother's day. I got my mom some real sentimental stuff of Granny and Grandpa that I had her open in the back bedroom cause I knew she would cry. One was an older picture (late 60's early 70's) of Granny and Grandpa kissing. I blew it up and framed it. One was a beautiful porcelain, I guess you would call it a pill box. It was about 2" tall and 3" long and 1 1/2" deep. It was painted with flowers and had a gold color lip and clasp. On top was written FOREVER. Inside was red silk with a cushion under it. I have had Granny and Grandpa's wedding rings for a LONG time. But with Granny gone now, I just didn't feel it was my right to have them anymore. So I put them in there and gave those to mom too. She cried. I know she was trying to hold it in and not show emotion. This was, as you know, her first mother's day without Granny. She really cried hard when she opened those two gifts. The other gift in the same bag was a smaller, square 1"x1"x1" porcelain box with a rose painted on top. What I put inside of it was Granny's mothers day locket mom gave her several years ago. Granny never put a picture in it. I brought it home from Granny's on that sad weekend. I put a pic of Granny on one side and a pic of Granny and Grandpa on the other. She cried with that gift too. But I think the hardest one was the rings. But like I said, I just didn't feel right having them anymore.
The larger gift I got her I let her open in the living room. It was an angel mom holding her angel baby. The mom was reading to the baby. I bought it cause I thought of me and my mom. After I got it though, I thought of Granny and Aunt Betty. Granny and Grandpa had a little girl named Betty who died at 2 days old. I thought of Granny getting to hold and be with Betty now. But I wasn't going to say that to mom. Of course when she pulled it out of the bag, she cried. I asked her what she was thinking, and she said Granny and Betty. That she shouldn't be selfish, that it is Betty's turn to be with Granny now.
Then we got the old home movies out. They are on reel to reel and are getting very old. Amanda had never seen them so it was a treat to get to see her mom (me) as an 18 month old. And she got to see Grandpa (who died when I was 7yoa). I cried when I saw him put me on his lap then I cried when I saw a shot of Granny giving me a kiss when I was about 2yoa. I just still can't believe it's real that she is gone.
Anyway, David and Dad checked into the price to have all those put on DVD. It will be about $320.00. I told Dad we would pay for half. I want those memories to live on and I want Amanda to have them some day.
Onto a "not so emotional side", Sunday evening Tracey and I went riding in the pasture. I was a nice ride. Summer and Amira were great. Then last night we met up again and she brought her son Wes. We all rode out and we all had a good time. However, with all this rain we are getting, the pasture and wooded areas are really growing over. We have some serious trail work to do. I may try to do some this weekend if the ground isn't too icky.
Anyway,
TTFN
Sunday was mother's day. I got my mom some real sentimental stuff of Granny and Grandpa that I had her open in the back bedroom cause I knew she would cry. One was an older picture (late 60's early 70's) of Granny and Grandpa kissing. I blew it up and framed it. One was a beautiful porcelain, I guess you would call it a pill box. It was about 2" tall and 3" long and 1 1/2" deep. It was painted with flowers and had a gold color lip and clasp. On top was written FOREVER. Inside was red silk with a cushion under it. I have had Granny and Grandpa's wedding rings for a LONG time. But with Granny gone now, I just didn't feel it was my right to have them anymore. So I put them in there and gave those to mom too. She cried. I know she was trying to hold it in and not show emotion. This was, as you know, her first mother's day without Granny. She really cried hard when she opened those two gifts. The other gift in the same bag was a smaller, square 1"x1"x1" porcelain box with a rose painted on top. What I put inside of it was Granny's mothers day locket mom gave her several years ago. Granny never put a picture in it. I brought it home from Granny's on that sad weekend. I put a pic of Granny on one side and a pic of Granny and Grandpa on the other. She cried with that gift too. But I think the hardest one was the rings. But like I said, I just didn't feel right having them anymore.
The larger gift I got her I let her open in the living room. It was an angel mom holding her angel baby. The mom was reading to the baby. I bought it cause I thought of me and my mom. After I got it though, I thought of Granny and Aunt Betty. Granny and Grandpa had a little girl named Betty who died at 2 days old. I thought of Granny getting to hold and be with Betty now. But I wasn't going to say that to mom. Of course when she pulled it out of the bag, she cried. I asked her what she was thinking, and she said Granny and Betty. That she shouldn't be selfish, that it is Betty's turn to be with Granny now.
Then we got the old home movies out. They are on reel to reel and are getting very old. Amanda had never seen them so it was a treat to get to see her mom (me) as an 18 month old. And she got to see Grandpa (who died when I was 7yoa). I cried when I saw him put me on his lap then I cried when I saw a shot of Granny giving me a kiss when I was about 2yoa. I just still can't believe it's real that she is gone.
Anyway, David and Dad checked into the price to have all those put on DVD. It will be about $320.00. I told Dad we would pay for half. I want those memories to live on and I want Amanda to have them some day.
Onto a "not so emotional side", Sunday evening Tracey and I went riding in the pasture. I was a nice ride. Summer and Amira were great. Then last night we met up again and she brought her son Wes. We all rode out and we all had a good time. However, with all this rain we are getting, the pasture and wooded areas are really growing over. We have some serious trail work to do. I may try to do some this weekend if the ground isn't too icky.
Anyway,
TTFN
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
What a weekend...
Well, needless to say, I didn't do my first LD. But I did get a little riding in this weekend. But better than that is, my husband actually went horse trailer shopping with me! I about fell out! My friend's fiance (David B.)is selling his little 2 horse BP. So we went and looked at that and then David (my hubby) wanted to go look at a few others before he wanted to commit. After a day of shopping and getting on the net and looking locally up to 75 miles, he said I could have the trailer (David B) is selling. I have a little 2 horse BP (bumper pull), but mine is a circuit trailer (no tack room or dressing room). This one is a performer. It has an actual tack room/dressing room and it is big enough for me to sleep in when I go camping! I won't have to sleep in my SUV anymore unless I just want to. YIPPY! It does need a little work, but I plan on really fixing it up and it will probably be my trailer for a long time. The little trailer I have now is ugly, but it is functionally sound and gets me where I need to go, and it was free. This little old lady gave it to me because I used to take care of her old TWH gelding. I did have to buy tires and rims for it and have a couple of running lights fixed, but the floor was good and it pulls good. So as soon as I get a few things fixed on my new/used trailer, then Brownie (my old trailer) will be finding a new home. BTW, I know my new/used trailer is old (see picture) it is about a 1984 WW brand but Brownie is a 1972 WW brand. So for me, it is a step up.
*******************
On Sunday, Liz, Mary, Kim and I went to the Grasslands for a light and easy ride. No conditioning, just a pleasureable stroll in the woods. It was real nice. I actually felt like riding too as the infection in my tooth is pretty much gone and I am only having some pain now, not excruciating pain like before.
*******************
Also, another good thing for me this weekend, during my ride with Liz, I borrowed her Skito pad for Summer. Summer's back is so touchy that it took me forever to get a proper fitting saddle. Now I am looking for a proper fitting pad. I have been using my barn owner's gel saddle pad for the last year or so. It has done me very well. The other day, she finally said she would sell it to me. I have been looking for months for this same pad for me to buy and cannot find one like it anywhere. Anyway, I have also bugged Liz, on and off, to sell me her Skito pad as it is too long for her paint mare Jazz, and Shelby, her TWHxQH, doesn't require a built up pad. This particular Skito is about $200.00. She told me Sunday that another friend of hers wanted to buy it but she told her that she had promised it to me if she ever sold it. Well, bless her, she sold it to me this weekend (of course for less than $200). I kinda guessed she would since it would be for Summer and who do you think I bought Summer from? Yip, Liz. So Summer has a special place in Liz's heart and I know that if Liz has something for sell that will benefit Summer, then she will let me have first shot at it.
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As for today, I started my root canal. Everything was great, until I got back to work and the novacain wore off! Thank you Lord for vicodin!!! I go back in two weeks for him to finish the root canal, and make a "mold" for my crown. No, not my tiara, I already have that! (hahaha) I just can't wait for all this to be done. All I can say is, this root canal so far, has not hurt any worse than that abscess did. So I was a big girl at the dentist office today and didn't cry once. (smile)
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Well, better quit rambling for now.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, January 14, 2008
A good riding weekend. Well, sort of...
I went riding Saturday with Tracey, Anita and Robin. The sun was out and the air was cool so the horses felt good. We did a lot of moving out with a little walking in between. You see, I rode with three Arabs and they have a little more stamina than my poor ol' TWH who has been on vacation for the past 5 weeks. Anyway, Summer kept up pretty good with the others, I was real proud of her. She didn't care if she was in front, middle or in back. She just kept going. We even got some real nice cantering in. She is really learning how to use those legs of hers. She used to feel like you were riding an octopus when she tried to canter, legs going every which way. Well, on our second good canter episode, Summer was in the lead and Anita and Tiny were right behind me, Summer thought she saw a bear and spooked real hard to the left, throwing me out of my seat but not off the horse. However, I saw out of the corner of my eye, something hit the ground. I turned fully around and saw Anita on her back. Apparently, Tiny believed Summer when Summer said she thought she saw a bear and Tiny startled too. But Tiny was a good girl and stood there for Anita to get back up. Luckily Anita wasn't hurt and sat there for a minute to gather her wits then got back on and we rode off again. Of course I felt horrible, had Summer not startled, Tiny wouldn't have startled. I am just glad she wasn't hurt. That first loop was 18 miles, it was great, and other than the "bear", Summer was wonderful.
We got back to the trailers, ate, and visited for awhile, then got back on the horses to do the little 4 mile trail (2 out and 2 back). Well, we took a wrong turn about a mile out. There were ribbons on the trail we turned onto. We all saw them, and all agreed we were on the right trail. There were no ribbons we could see on the actual trail. Anyway, we get to a "fence". It is the thick gauged cable that prevents vehicles from going where they shouldn't. This one was at the end of the cut trail and was only about 2 inches of the ground. We have all asked our horses to go over something like this before. Well, Anita and Robin go over it and Tracey is next with me in the rear. Amira goes over it with all feet, as her right rear hoof starts to go over, it catches the cable. Amira takes another step, now the cable is a little higher up on her leg and she starts to panic and kicks out trying to get free, this only causing the cable to loop around her leg, then the poor thing starts to go down and Tracey bails off so Amira can free herself. When she frees herself, she takes off. This was De-Ja-Vue (sp?). 14 years ago, Fawtal got loose at Benbrook lake and took off. I remembered what we did to keep him with my friends horse and it worked with Amira too. Well, I keep "cookies" in my saddle pack and Amira knows it. So I got off of Summer, took out the bag of cookies and Amira settled and came right over to me. Thank God. I know how Tracey felt watching her baby run loose with paved road around and such, she could have ran anywhere. It happened with Fawtal and Summer and it is a horrible feeling of helplessness. Well, Amira has some wounds, and is limping, but I really believe she will be fine, it could have been so much worse.
Other than our two accidents, the horses were actually on their best behavior. Other than acting like a horse every now and then (slight spooking due to wind), they were really good.
Sunday we just rode around the barn yard for a couple of miles. I wanted Summer to loosen her muscles after her previous days work out. I put her out next to a colt and they ran and played through the fence, so I knew she felt pretty good if she felt like playing.
As for today, I get a phone call from my husband who says he found a job. I didn't know he was looking. He could go to Iraq as a mechanic on a military base for $30,000 a month. Yes, that's what I said, $30,000 a month. He would be there a year and bring home, tax free, $360,000. I was so upset. I hated when we were apart while he was in the Army. We are older now and more settled, I really don't think I could handle not having him around. I know what he is thinking. We could buy the property and house we want right now and still have money left over. But I just don't know what I would do not having him around. I actually started crying just thinking about it. Money is nice, but it isn't everything. However, I have always supported him in his decisions, so we will talk more tonight.
TTFN
We got back to the trailers, ate, and visited for awhile, then got back on the horses to do the little 4 mile trail (2 out and 2 back). Well, we took a wrong turn about a mile out. There were ribbons on the trail we turned onto. We all saw them, and all agreed we were on the right trail. There were no ribbons we could see on the actual trail. Anyway, we get to a "fence". It is the thick gauged cable that prevents vehicles from going where they shouldn't. This one was at the end of the cut trail and was only about 2 inches of the ground. We have all asked our horses to go over something like this before. Well, Anita and Robin go over it and Tracey is next with me in the rear. Amira goes over it with all feet, as her right rear hoof starts to go over, it catches the cable. Amira takes another step, now the cable is a little higher up on her leg and she starts to panic and kicks out trying to get free, this only causing the cable to loop around her leg, then the poor thing starts to go down and Tracey bails off so Amira can free herself. When she frees herself, she takes off. This was De-Ja-Vue (sp?). 14 years ago, Fawtal got loose at Benbrook lake and took off. I remembered what we did to keep him with my friends horse and it worked with Amira too. Well, I keep "cookies" in my saddle pack and Amira knows it. So I got off of Summer, took out the bag of cookies and Amira settled and came right over to me. Thank God. I know how Tracey felt watching her baby run loose with paved road around and such, she could have ran anywhere. It happened with Fawtal and Summer and it is a horrible feeling of helplessness. Well, Amira has some wounds, and is limping, but I really believe she will be fine, it could have been so much worse.
Other than our two accidents, the horses were actually on their best behavior. Other than acting like a horse every now and then (slight spooking due to wind), they were really good.
Sunday we just rode around the barn yard for a couple of miles. I wanted Summer to loosen her muscles after her previous days work out. I put her out next to a colt and they ran and played through the fence, so I knew she felt pretty good if she felt like playing.
As for today, I get a phone call from my husband who says he found a job. I didn't know he was looking. He could go to Iraq as a mechanic on a military base for $30,000 a month. Yes, that's what I said, $30,000 a month. He would be there a year and bring home, tax free, $360,000. I was so upset. I hated when we were apart while he was in the Army. We are older now and more settled, I really don't think I could handle not having him around. I know what he is thinking. We could buy the property and house we want right now and still have money left over. But I just don't know what I would do not having him around. I actually started crying just thinking about it. Money is nice, but it isn't everything. However, I have always supported him in his decisions, so we will talk more tonight.
TTFN
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