A Further Update on The Acreage

Today after 5 weeks and one day, I was able to bring Elaine home. She is very week, but in good spirits. The prognosis is it will be a long slow recovery, but she is back home and likely will do better here.

We have had a few viewings on the property, plus one low ball bidder who was politely told "Not on your Life".

Alpine

Biz

Today, as I said, Elaine came home and our two horses, Biz and Alpine, were sold to an ideal family. Mom has ridden forever and 13 year old daughter was looking for a replacement horse due to her old Appy being of an ancient nature. The family also rides chuck wagons which means the other horses are a little hot for   riding. Mom and daughter are going to have fun sorting out who gets which horse. They also do not sell to market, and that is a promise i got from them.

On top of these two pluses, my son found a buyer for the hay that we just purchased, so we aren't out that money. Letting the horses and hay go to the future buyer of the property, would have meant that we would have no control over the life style situation of the horses.

The last item, which may not be a plus, is that Boots is officially retired. When the trailer was loaded with the horses and closed up, he had to go all around sniffing to see if he could get to them. Both horses walked right into the trailer as if they did it every day! When we bought Alpine, she loaded easily. Biz had only been in a trailer once before. talk about good horses!

When the new owner climbed up on Biz, Biz wasn't very happy, so I took a little ride in the corral. Same with Alpine. I just had to get a few minutes in the saddle before they departed.

My back sort of let me know that the rides were probably not a good idea, but what the heck, it was worth it! The back is still bruised  6 weeks after the buck off, but is doing fairly well all things considered. I met a young nurse in the hospital today that sort of looked at me funny. She finally asked if I was the guy that got tossed off a horse. When I said that I was, she said she was the nurse that admitted me. I had to apologize and say that I really don't remember very much of those two days.

Any way, the work load around here just dropped way off. Now Boots and I, and Elaine can sit on the deck drinking tea until the house sells. Ha!

The next step now is to photograph and list a large dog crate, dog cage, and three saddles.

Wordless Wednesday

Crisp and Clear!

It was another nice day at -2C (+29F) and a great day for another ride. I figured on about an hour, but ended up at 2 1/2. It was Alpine's turn and she was more than willing to go. We didn't ride the whole time, but ended up at a neighbour's where I was shown 2 carts for single or tandem driving. No pictures as they were still in the shed. She has a couple of matched Walker horses that are trained.
 Alpine also stood her ground when three large dogs rushed her, barking and being aggressive. Good horse! I don't bounce as well as I used to!

We chatted horses for quite a while as Alpine adapted to 5 strange (to her) horses. The roads were pretty icy so no trotting, just walking to avoid any slips or falls. Needless to say, she got a half gallon of sweet feed as a reward when we got back. OK, OK, the other two also got sweet feed, but Alpine didn't seem to mind.

It was a quiet trip with only my two dogs plus one of the neighbour's along for the ride.

Spring! I can almost taste it, but I know we will get some very cold weather yet.

Ride when you can, and keep the horse between you and the ground!

Still Snowing!

When it's snowing and only -5 C (23F), it's a good day for a ride. There was no wind and the trails were eerily silent. Alpine here, was not very happy with me because just before the ride, I dosed her with the deworming medicine. It must taste awful as all three horses wanted no part of it. Any way, that's one task done for a while. Hooves are good until a trimming around Christmas. Now all there is left to do is try and work some riding in.

 Boots and Brooklyn accompanied me on the two hour ride. Boots was in much better condition than Brooklyn, who assumed her favourite sleeping position.

Only 6 more days to the U.S. election. We don't get much news about it in Canada, but I try to follow it on the internet. It is much the same as in Canada, lots of hype and not many detailed plans. Can anybody tell me why states like Virginia, are considered to be "swing" states?

BFF

Well, not really. Alpine took over from Tucker as the Alpha mare. Now and again, she will show a little affection towards Tucker.

You can see the effects of the fly bites on Tucker. She is healing up quite nicely. Pardon the dirt, but a good roll seems to take the itch out for a while. I did just brush her just before taking the photo.

What 2 Days Do

The clear, bright snow of two days ago has turned to MUD. To see what it was like click here 2 Days Ago

By tomorrow, the warm days and rain will have made all the white stuff gone.

The old road is hardly recognizable now, and the bent over trees have straightened up.

One good thing about two black horses is that it is hard to see the mud from a distance. I brushed them down yesterday and trimmed the feet on two horse. One more to go!

Even closer up, they don't look too bad. (Just kidding). After a Dr. appointment tomorrow morning, it is going to be "Ride a Horse Day", if it isn't raining.Two Days Ago

It Pays to Be Patient

It has been a tough year getting the quirks out of Alpine. We can now pick up all her feet (one at a time). We can now put our hand on the top of her head without her blowing up. It has been a long road, and a tough one to get her trust level up to where it should be. She is still the alpha mare of the herd, and not to be mussed with. All the time spent paid off today!

Elaine is away at family camp and I am into the-get- Alpine- used- to- trail -riding. I decided to wander over to our hay supplier's place to see when the cutting begins. With all the storms we did not get there. The swampy area was flooded and we had a bit of a tussle as to whether she would go through knee deep water and long grass. She did. When we got to a creek, the trail became impassible. Swamp on both sides and a ditch with about 4 feet of water in it.

So, we turned around and started back up the power line. On the way down  Alpine was very reluctant to go past a certain spot. I spun her until I was dizzy and she complied and moved on.

Coming back I saw the reason for the reluctance. There was a good sized black bear feeding on the power line right of way. Alpine saw the bear and went to Defcon 3, and froze. Now this is my idea of the start of a nightmare. Horses hate bears and normally high tail it away at warp speed.

I hollered  and waved and the bear stood up on its hind legs, took a look and headed into the bush. I waited a moment and then urged Alpine on. She walked by as if nothing had happened. Good horse!

All the time that I have spent with her was worth it at that moment. She accepted me as leader, and trusted me not to feed her to a horse eating bear.

Farther along, we spooked out 2 whitetail deer and she did not even flinch.

That was one of my worst fears, to meet a bear or a moose on a trail and get tossed. It's funny how, when the  unexpected happens, sometimes the worst fear is in the anticipation.

Yes, I did have a camera with me, but discretion said to me, don't muss with a camera, she could still blow up!

A Good Ride

I decided that I was not getting enough riding in. The  trip to Texas and work at the Men's Shelter has taken up what seems to be a large part of the summer. Alpine was my first victim candidate. Most of her previous riding with us has been road side and fields. I decided that it was time to take her on some trails and see how she performed.

She was reluctant to leave the other horses, but gave in without a tussle. She did not much want to go down the big, long hill by our place, but again, she complied. Along the way, we picked up our two dogs plus the neighbour's Yellow Lab and Pit bull. Nothing would deter them from coming along. It seems the word gets out pretty quick in doggie land when somebody saddles up a horse.

The temperature was 27C (81F) with a very high humidity. When we hit the trail, I was surprised how well she took to it. Even when we came to blow downs from the big storm, she was willing to leave the trail and go around, or step over some pretty big trunks. When we got to the river, she looked at it and I think wanted to go into it, but the banks were eroded out too bad from the flood and there was no safe way to get down. I took her back a different way and she was fine. The standing water on the trail was no problem for her. She looked at it and plodded on through.

The dogs were another story! They all hit the river and had a very long drink. All  4 tongues were dragging the ground from the heat. Brooklyn and Boots lagged behind about a half mile coming back, and were walking at a dead slow pace. Boots hit the shade and was so tuckered out, he did not even eat his dinner that night. It seems that a two hour ride in that heat was a bit much, or they are not getting enough exercise.

Brooklyn ate OK, but was the next best thing to useless ( Boots) the next day. Maybe next time, they will listen when I tell them to stay, or go home. 

No, I guess that will likely not happen.

I Stole a Horse!

Elaine's that is! Elaine was busy and it was a nice day, so I cleaned Alpine up, tacked her up and headed off to the mountain.

It was peaceful with only Brooklyn coming along for the ride. Boots was sleeping in the sun, and being deaf, did not hear us leave.

The road up was muddy, but not overly slippery and the day was sunny and 18C, not bad for this time of year.

As we were going along, I noticed two mallards in a little pot hole and thought "This might be interesting" They took flight right under Alpine's nose. All she did was stiffen up. I was expecting a good spook! It did not happen. Once we got up on the high country field she definitely did not like the wind! We had a couple of differences of opinion to sort out. She wanted to go home, I wanted to go on. We went on for a half mile, just to remind her who is boss, then I turned her and started home. She likes to trot, so trot we did, for about 2 miles. I slowed her to a walk going up the driveway, again, to show her who's boss.

It took a while to get the sweat and mud off her. The sun was hot enough that after a good brushing, she was dry in about 10 minutes. Brooklyn lagged about a half a mile back and was worn out. A few trips like this and some of that extra weight will come off her. I must be getting in shape also as the pain wasn't so bad this time.

Easter Sunday.. A Gal With Her Horse

After a very good Easter Sunday service, we decided to tack up and go for a ride. Elaine had not ridden since the fall, but did exceptionally well. The horses are all shedding like crazy, so the area around the fence was like a hair carpet. Elaine took her horse, Alpine, and I chose Biz. 

After checking out whether Alpine was in a receptive mood, (she was) we went around the field once just to make sure. Alpine tucked in behind Biz as if she was glued there.

 Following the test flight , we went out on the county road, followed by 3 dogs, and then down to the end of the next subdivision. There were no slips and no slides and only one minor spook caused by Biz..reason unknown.

All in all, it doesn't get much better than that for a nice relaxing day!

We hope everybody had a great Easter, and remembered the true meaning of Easter.

Oh yeah, pardon the mud. It is starting to dry out, sort of, maybe.

Wordless Wednesday

The Girls ( plus Friend)

Spring time is not the time to be taking portraits because all three of the Girls are shedding like crazy. I have been brushing almost daily, but they still look like woolly mammoths. What can I say? They are horses and aren't too worried about "lookin' good", even though they are all mares.

Tucker's Fire Star aka  "Tucker "

 Tucker is 23 this year and is still going strong, well, slowing down a little. She gave up being the alpha mare when Alpine showed up on the scene, without even a fuss. Tucker is now number 2 in the herd between Alpine and Biz.

Masten Alpine Black Magic aka "Alpine "

Alpine is the queen. When the ears go back and the neck goes forward, it means one of three things:  

1. Coming through! I am the Boss. 

2. Don't muss with 1150 pounds of PMS! 

3. You are too near my feed, my friend, or________ (fill in the blank. 

Biz aka "Biz "

What can I say? Biz is now eight years old, laid back and gentle. She is a nice horse to ride and has good manners.

I put the AKA in just to make her feel good. It makes her feel like royalty having a title.

No paddock pictures today as it is a sea of mud, and you know, the stuff that horses produce. Yecht!

Oh yeah, the "Friend" is still on guard in case you missed him.

A Little Ride

It went up to the freezing temperature today, and being as caught up as I ever get around here, I decided to take Alpine out for a bit of a ride. She knows all the tricks to prevent a rider from mounting. We worked through that.

She really did not want to leave to the herd! We worked through that too.

All in all, a good hour or so  well spent.

It was a busy time yesterday and today. We went over to Edson and picked up a new (well, new to us) SUV for Elaine. The all wheel drive is great in the snow and on the hills around here. It appears that I might have banked some "Atta boys" for future need.

I also managed to strip 4 teeth out of the main drive sprocket on the quad. That required about an hour's worth of work in the field doing enough repairs to get back to the garage. Now I have to re-do it when the new sprocket comes in. I guess when the sprocket comes in, that will eat up one of the "atta boys". Or maybe more than that!

The next 10 day forecast is all around the freezing point which is good as I plan to wear off some of the fat on the horses.

Only 54 days 'till spring!
Bring it on!