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.

More Horses and Things

Hot. +1C  and sunny! What better day for a ride? It was Alpine's turn and she was not impressed by being forced to get up and do something. It will be a while before we get to ride in the paddock due to excessive snow, however the roads were good and not too icy.

 I even let Alpine trot for about a mile! She is a trotting devil.

My outriders were away. It's hard to leave them at home. We did manage to wander up to a moose at the crossover. I figured it was going to get exciting, but Alpine listened to me (from Defcon3 level). There was a whole bunch of stiffening, but no attempt to flee, fortunately. When they are loose in the pasture and a moose shows up, there is panic, running and blowing. Good horse! she trusted me.

Sorry there are no pictures of the moose because I wasn't sure what was going to happen. It was safer just to be prepared and not to complicate the issue.

Before playtime, I took the opportunity to use the snow blower to get rid of some big drifts in front of the trailer. We may need the room. There is the possibility of a heavy snowfall on Sunday. Hope not!
Only 21 days till Spring!!!!

Start 'em Young!

It was a grand kid day Friday. At the ripe old age of 4, he is quite comfortable being around horses, and knows most of the rules.Although a little young to be riding alone, he is quite content to be led around. The reins are there but the saddle horn gives more comfort.

 The lead horse walker did quite a few laps around the paddock before saying that he had had enough. The rules for grandpa were simple: No running! No fast turns, and no running!

The "cheater" stirrups worked fine. His short little legs would not otherwise reach the peddles. All in all, a fun way to keep him amused!

Biz was very docile and compliant, almost as if she knew there was precious cargo aboard.

Getting Ready for Seeding

Maybe I'm rushing the season, but with 2 nice days, the snow is going fast. I still have this area and an equal amount behind me to improve by digging the stumps out and leveling with a pick ax then harrowing to get it level and safe for the horses. After this, the remaining treed part of the acreage will remain as is providing shelter for the deer, moose and the rest of the critters.

My helper is overheating (from hair, not work) and likes to get her belly down in the snow. I guess she does help by making big sticks into little ones.

The holding pasture is starting to dry out again. Biz should have been a boy horse because she sure likes to spend time in the mud. I spent 2 hours grooming all three horses yesterday. You'd never know it by looking at her.

Two Down, One to Go

Before

 I'm trying to spread out the farrier work, mainly to ease up on the old back. Biz's hoof's were slightly splayed, a little long in the toe, and in need of a frog clean up.

After

 The after shot shows her still a little long in the toe, but without the "duck foot" appearance.

Before

 The frog was a mess, with the growth growing out, and causing a pocket for crud to catch in and possibly cause bacterial growth. Not good! The nail was about 1/2 inch longer than it should be.

After

A good frog and nail trim shows the hoof the way it should be. Good to go for another 8 weeks, or 100km, whichever comes first.  The nail is still a little long to give some better traction. She can rest up Friday, then maybe a little ride on Saturday would be in order.

In case you are wondering about the striped hoof, it is a characteristic of an Appaloosa.

A Good Friday!

Total Concentration!
(Or it's tough being a horse today!)

First Ride in February

Today, I cleaned up the paddock again and moved another 9 wheelbarrow loads to the compost pile. While I was doing this, Biz knocked over my rake, my pick, the wheelbarrow and the ramp. She was being very mischievious.

The temperature floated up to 0C today, so I thought "Here I am with a naughty horse, warm weather, so lets go for a ride".

She haltered OK, but had that look in her eye which said "You may want to rethink this idea. I am with my buddies, the sun is warm and I want to nap!"

I know that look . I walked her with halter and bridle on for about a mile while checking out her compliance. It seemed OK until I decided to mount up. No way was she going to stand beside a snowdrift while I climbed aboard. I am long past the days when I could jump up like the movie cowboys do, not that I ever could. Have you ever noticed how short those movie horses are? Ponies!

Eventually, I got on board. Biz was OK with that until I decided it was time to continue on. She wanted to go home! We had a little bareback rodeo going until she settled down. However, I now know what a turkey wish bone feels like! After her hissy fit, she settled down. Next time, the saddle is going on! It's easier on the old body. (Note to self: Cut that out, those are old thoughts!)

Boots fared well. Brooklynn on the other hand, hit the driveway, both ends at the same time, and went to sleep.

Tomorrow, if I can still walk, I will try the same thing with Tucker, with saddle!

Horse treats all around!

Warm Weather and Riding

The weather was back to its seasonal norm today-4C (+24F), something that we haven't seen for several weeks. It was a great day for tossing a saddle on Biz and working some of the fat and laziness off. I figured that she would be herd bound with the other two, so I spent about 20 minutes lunging her in the paddock, then another 10 making sure she was compliant. For the first 10 minutes of the ride, she kept wanting to go back to her herd, but with some circling she soon straightened out. Actually she was pretty well behaved, but with lots of energy. A half mile of cantering up the road and then a half mile back through the snow drifts settled her right down. I asked Elaine to take the photo as I realized that I had lots of pictures of Biz, but none with me on her.

I then returned to the field and spent some time working on her halts, turns on the hindquarter and attempting a side pass. I have got to get the side pass down before the spring cattle drive! Tucker was a cutting horse and she knows automatically how to get out of the way, and how to prevent cows from circling back. Actually, I am just along for the ride with her! My goal is to get Biz up to that point.

A good day, warm temps, and a well behaved horse (sort of) . What more could a guy ask for?
Oh yeah, I kept the horse between me and the ground.