What a Day!

This was one fine day! The temperature got up to +11C (+52F) and the sun was out! Water was running off the fields like crazy. Spring may have finally arrived. I was going to saddle up Biz and go for a nice quiet ride. It was quiet, but busy. Lady (yellow lab) and her small boxer buddy decided to come along. Brooklyn and Boots showed up also, along with a chocolate lab from somewhere in the neighbourhood. I could not get all 5 in the picture because Boots is a bit of a loner. I think dogs have a sixth sense that tells them when somebody is going riding. No dogs in sight to five in front in 4 seconds flat.

I tried several times, but could not get them all. The small ride turned out to be 2+ hours. Needless to say, the dogs were somewhat pooped.

 Me, I hope I can still walk in the morning.

Boots disappeared about 1 1/2 hours into the ride. We are riding on the county roads and side roads, plus a few fields that were in the sun. During the day, there is not much traffic, and what there is slows right down for horses and dogs. Generally, there is a good natured wave, a smile and perhaps a laugh.

The latter happened today when one of the County workers stopped his truck and said "You need another dog". I told him that I had another one when I started out, but he disappeared.

I also asked him if he'd seen any foxes around

You know "a boo-halloo!"  Just kidding. No one fox hunts in these parts.

When we got home, Biz, Brooklynn and myself, (the others branched off at their homes) this is what we found.

Overall, I would say that Biz is our best all'round horse at the moment. She is very trusting, quiet and well behaved. 

Alpine will be getting a few more miles on her to get her up to the level that Biz is at. Yesterday, she decided that she was going to go into the ditch. She bounded in, sunk to hip level ( mine) and panicked! First time I have been on a horse that was rearing and jumping at the same time. It was a good little rodeo until she managed to get out. I had to lead her for  a couple of hundred yards until she calmed down. If you are a horse,  there are many horse-eating ditches around just waiting to suck you in.

All in all, a very good day!

Bits and Pieces

I got a little riding in before the snow came in again. It was slippery, so I stayed on the property. This is a photo of me taking a photo of the two gals that were supposed to stay behind. All three horses seem to be enjoying the exercise and attention of tacking them up and of course, the horse treats that go with it.

We had two of the grand kids for Saturday. A long walk took the energy out of them, particularly the little guy.

 The snow is starting to go, but then we get dumped on again, and again, and again..... It is encouraging to see bare road and mud once again. Did I just say that I enjoyed mud? The old age memory loss must have kicked in.It's hard to believe from the pictures, but water is actually flowing off of the fields. The surface snow is freezing during the night, but there is still enough snow to act as insulation for the water under it.

 The wee nipper had to walk the whole length of the road on top of the snow bank I wished I still had all that energy! The forecast for the next 10 days is great, with highs of +8C to +12C. Enjoy the snow, it will soon be gone. I hope!

Wordless Wednesday

Alpine 2012

Canso, Kenora, 1967

It Seems Spring Riding may Be Delayed a Bit.

 Just when I was getting ready to ride, down it came and is still coming. It took two hours of plowing with the quad and snow blowing to clean up the worst of it.Alpine needs some exercise. She is carrying 100 pounds more than when we first got her, but was overly thin then. Somewhere half way is probably the right weight Currently she weighs in at 1100 pounds.

 Tucker is sitting at 1150 pounds and is a little bulgy also.

 I figure we got about 8 inches of snow (20 cm) and like I said, it's still coming down.

I think I will wait a few days before digging out my truck. I probably won't need it until Wednesday. By then maybe the white stuff will melt. Ha, not going to happen. Then again, why do today what you can put off 'till tomorrow ( or the day after).

Spring? Continues

At plus 6 C (43F), I decided to take a break and go for a ride. The day was bright and sunny, and the road ways, and fields were not very icy. Biz was the victim of choice, and let it be known that
 A: It was warm,
 B: She was tired,
C: Her buddies were not going with her.
D: Did I mention it was warm?

Anyway, once awakened  saddled up, she was very cooperative. A few turns around the pasture and then the open road. There is a pretty good hill going south from our place and she decided that she wanted to lope it. I figured that it was a good way to burn off some extra energy. After that we trotted down  a subdivision side road and a big field. That got her sweating and wanting to return home. Her toes are in need of a trimming, but served real well as anti-slip extensions on the hard pack. With the country around here, we let the horses go barefoot year round. Knock on wood, I have not had a horse go down yet.

The picture is a before one. The after one of a sweaty, rolled in the snow horse was not very flattering.
The question to be answered, " Who is the worst out-of shape, Biz or me?"

Tomorrow will be the answer. Fortunately, there is church in the morning and the Superbowl in the afternoon. Perhaps the next victim will be Alpine. Tucker is in heat and I prefer not to ride an 1100 pound horse with attitude (PMS?)

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!

A Good Friday!

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

Working the Horse!

Tucker was not cooperative on the ride this afternoon. She did not want to be caught, She did not want to be lead. She did not want to be tacked up. She normally gets this way when coming into heat, however, I saw no sign of same.

I figured on lunging her in my shoveled out corral for a few minutes. 20 minutes later, she was still resisting. Now when Tucker resists, the ears go flat back. The neck extends and she just plain looks ornery.

After the 20 minutes, she calmed down enough that I got the saddle on, and bridle, and then did a mount. So far, so good! Her intention after all of that was to return to her buddies just out of sight behind the building. After backing her, spinning her and trying all sorts of things to make sure she was compliant, I decided to take her out.

 We wandered back up to her herd and then went out of sight and down the driveway. She was very good on the road and I was comfortable trotting her and did a brief cantor.

There was no one around to take pictures of the fun in the corral, but I snapped these after. Tucker was in one of the heaviest sweats that I have ever seen on her.

So, back with her buddies she proceeded to roll.

And roll.









The other two were content to watch for a while, then Boom decided to get into the act






There is nothing more awkward than an old horse trying to get back up.

Note the spring-like Cumulus clouds building. No rain or thunder boomers yet, but it shows promise!










                                                                                          

The End!

  

Ready to Ride!

The last of the corral, at least the small part is ready to go. The surface crust was cut with the chain saw and tossed aside. The sugar snow underneath was tossed with the snow blower.

My helper declared it ready and left the perch.

It's not a very big riding area, but good for 3 herd bound horses that have not been ridden much all winter. Time to work out the bad habits and start getting them ready for spring.

The weather forecast is -5C (+18F) and sunny for Wednesday. I figure on getting one submissive then doing her hooves. Unfortunately, I won't be able to reward good behaviour with apple flavoured horse treats, as my helper got into the garage and ate them!

Think warm, and keep the horse between you and the ground.

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.