Horsetrailriders.com

Super Snow Weekend

2012-02-06T22:46:00.001-06:00

We had our first major snowstorm of the season. Heavy, deep snow, but very pretty. Since we have been blessed with such wonderful weather this winter, I won’t even complain. We got close to 8 to 10”, and quite a bit of it already melted today. Although I was out on Saturday, I didn’t venture anywhere on Sunday and I’m quite disappointed I didn’t go out to take pictures. Driving to work this morning, it was just beautiful out; the snow still layered on the trees.

I did snap some pictures of the dogs on Saturday;

they love the snow.

Well, the boy dogs love the now.

St. Bernards really love the snow.

Fat Springer Spaniels.

Not so much.

Poor Maddie.

The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby

2012-02-04T09:37:00.001-06:00

Late last year, I announced on this blog the start of The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby and very quickly seventy-four riders signed up to participate. And it has been a huge success – partly because of the unseasonable winter weather that many of us across the country have been experiencing -- and most likely because its fun to do something different with your own horse that does not require trailering or group participation. Its just horse and rider.

I bring it up here because there are about 16 riders that have not submitted any miles to date. And it could be they simply aren’t riding yet. I know we have one participant from Alaska and she has not been getting the mild weather we have here in the lower 48. But I thought perhaps others just may have forgotten they signed up or lost The Distance Derby blog address where miles are recorded. Miles must be recorded within 7 days of the ride to be considered in the Derby.

Here is the Leaderboard of miles. Its incredible that we have had riders hitting 200 and 300 miles already and yes, they are from the midwest. Riders in the top two positions are from Iowa. The rider in 3rd place is from Nebraska (with Iowa roots). What the heck? Nebraskans? We need to get out there!

If you signed up for this Derby and have decided not to participate, please click here to send me an email. Just give me your name and team # and let me know that you won’t be participating. And if you do plan to participate and just haven’t been out yet, no problem at all! Ride when you can.

If you are curious about The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby, visit that blog and read the riders’ bios. They come from all over the county and have as a group, ridden over 3,000 miles since January 1.

A Day Off

2012-02-01T20:54:00.006-06:00

After work yesterday, I put a little over five miles on Windy. We had a nice ride through the fields and over on the south mile road. We had some things to do with the kids later last night and by the time I got home, I felt a killer headache coming on. Still plagued with it this morning, I took one of my mega-headache pills, I called work to take care of some items that had to be done, moved some meetings and then took a day of PTO.

By noon, the prisms in my eyes were gone and the meds had kicked in. I wondered out to the barn where the horses were napping in the corral. The sun felt so good. I had the afternoon off. Why not ride? Not being 100% and with the mega pill still in my system, I figured I probably shouldn’t stray from home too far. Perhaps just get the B-team out and do some arena work. (Big groan; I hate arena work). But if I did just two miles each on the three of them and then three miles on both Fancy and Windy, I would break my 100 mile mark in the Distance Derby. Now that was a goal!

Blue was first up. OMG, would someone put some time on that horse? He would sneak in a crow-hop about every 3rd lap! He was nervous and jumpy and more uncomfortable than normal. It didn’t help that Fancy had her head over the arena fence watching him. She’s his new love, you know. I don’t know how, but I pulled 2.61 miles out of his butt!

Round 2 was with Butter. I barely got a mile on her and decided she needed a time out; the pushy beyotch! Baby was up next.

Now you all recall, Baby is a draft horse; a hay-burner. Baby doesn’t have a job. I saddle her up in the only saddle we have that is close enough to fitting her only because of its fiberglass tree. And I slip the headstall on which McCain got for me for Christmas one year that didn’t come close to fitting the quarter horses.Now pretty is as pretty does. The picture above should tell you something about how this ride goes....

Because Baby is a fat draft horse, she has no withers to speak of. She stands close to 16hh tall and mounting from the ground, although doable, is tough. The saddle slips or she moves… frustration building. I tried to sidle her up to the bucket which I use with the other horses and she would move away as soon as I would step up. Finally, I took her to the mounting block by the barn and nine minutes later, I am in the (now very loose) saddle. We went to the arena and I rode her about 3/4 of a mile. That was it. She wore me out.

Butter’s time out was over and I took her back to the arena. She would stall by the corner with the gate and have her little fits. So I fetched Baby and put Baby in the corner. She does not like Butter. The first time Butter stalled near that corner, Baby moved her big fat butt in Butter’s direction. I then had the nicest 2 mile ride on Butterball. She actually got a little soft. Soft Butter.

I saved the best horses for last. I figured if the B-team gave me fits, Fancy and Windy could make up the miles. Since I had been resetting the GPS with each horse, my best guess was I needed about 6 more miles to hit 100 Distance Derby miles.

Fancy was good as gold. I got some nice lopes in the arena and she was light and comfortable so I quickly moved her out to the field. We walked, we trotted and we loped. It was probably one of the best rides I have had on her here at home. I put her up at 4 miles.

Windy was saddled and ready, so I fetched my dog and we headed down the road. I figured I had about an hour until dark and I only needed a couple more miles. It was time to enjoy the ride.

My ride on Windy was remarkable. Not because we broke any speed records or did anything different than we normally; we just simply went down the road. Her ears were forward, her movements steady. She kept a pretty good 4.0 mph pace. I read email on my phone as we moved quietly down the road and before long, we were three miles out. I was wearing just a long sleeve t-shirt and poly vest and was getting chilly. I started to dread the 3 miles trip back home. I tucked my fingers under the front of her saddle pad. She moved into a slow trot and carried us home.

I downloaded my tracks from the GPS and surprised to find I not only hit the 100 mile goal, but rode a total of 17.25 miles. Not bad for a sunny warm day in February.

Work has been pretty overwhelming lately and I am sure the headache was brought on by tension. There is nothing like a little horse time to cure all.

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Nap Time

2012-02-01T11:34:00.001-06:00

Its not too often I find them all snoozing at one time. I snapped this picture off the deck because I was afraid if I moved any closer, I would catch their attention and one or all would get up.

But no, they kept on snoozing and never paid any mind to me as I walked toward the corral.

I wasn’t sure if Butter was in a deep sleep or dead. So I zoomed in.

Either she is dead or sleeping does not become her….

Butter! Wake up! Ah, much better.

It’s 70 and It’s January

2012-01-30T21:32:00.001-06:00

If I wasn’t so busy at work, I would have taken the day off. As it was, I planned to leave early but duty called and I couldn’t get out the door until normal time. It was 72 degrees according to the dash of the Durango. I am told that is the warmest its been this time of year since the 1930’s. Someone at work wondered if we should be concerned with this unseasonable change. A person much smarter than me said the earth has been around for millions of years; who really knows if it is that unusual. So with that comment in mind, I’ll keep enjoying this weather and hope that February gifts us, too.

Along with the nice days, the sunrises and sunsets have been remarkable. The above pictures were taken driving in to work this morning. I just can’t get enough! John and I rode just a little over five miles after work tonight; once again, racing the sunset. It is our 19th wedding anniversary. I’d have never believed 19 years ago we would be riding horses today or any day. You never know what the future holds now, do you?

And Then There Was One….

2012-01-28T22:18:00.001-06:00

For those of you who follow only my blog, long before there was simply horsetrailriders.com, the website. Founded in 2004, the goal of horsetrailriders.com was to provide information on the horse trails in Nebraska and horse trail riding events. In my book, the website was a huge success as far as meeting those goals, but having no website design experience, it was always clunky for me to update. When I found Blogspot, I could easily cater to my lost passion – writing – in a less cumbersome format. Although I tended to the basics of the old website, it was kind of left to grow dusty. I knew I could merge them together but knowing I could do it and knowing how to do it are two different things.

When I asked for help from fellow bloggers about combining the two, many of you provided some great suggestions. But when it came time to actually doing the deed, I didn’t trust myself or what I was reading. So I turned it over to website designer, Robin, of Brown Wing Studio to do all the technical behind-the-scenes stuff. And in a matter of moments, she pressed the necessary buttons and viola`, it was merged. And it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg, either. If you need help with a website, I highly recommend Robin.

By the way, Robin and her husband, Brian are also fellow horseman and bloggers. You can follow their horse life here: On the Trail To Somewhere and A Year of Equestrian Living.

Thank you so much, Robin, for your expertise.

Brown Wing Studio (319) 438-2493 brownwingstudio@gmail.com

Ancestry

2012-01-28T17:58:00.001-06:00

We attended a funeral today for my Aunt Shirley; the last of the aunts on that side of the family. I remembered fondly that while growing up the many “vacations” we spent at Aunt Shirley and Uncle “Fudge’s” dairy farm. Along with the dairy cattle, I remember a horse, who’s name I have forgotten, the apple orchard and the acres of pasture where we used to play. I also recall they had a bomb shelter in their basement, a sign of the times.

My sister Ann, brother Tony, me, and cousins Debbie (Uncle Gerald) & Rhonda (Uncle Ray).

The minister asked if any friends or relatives would like to get up to speak. Had I been prepared, I would have loved to tell those in attendance about what wonderful memories we had “vacationing” at their farm. Although long since sold, gazing to the north at the graveside service, we could still see the dairy barn and silo on the horizon.

One of our cousins brought the above collage of pictures to the funeral and gave to each of us. There were eight boys in the Martin family and evidently Dad (Emery) and three of his brothers enlisted in the service in 1941. Dad would have been 20 years old in this picture. He and and Uncle Slim (Verlin) were in the Navy. I know that Uncle Fudge (Raymond) was in the Army, but I’m not sure what branch Uncle Paul (top right) was in. The uniform looks different than that of Raymond. My dad and his brothers came home safely from the war. Dad grew up in a family of eleven. Today only one sibling survives.

The above picture was taken of my dad probably in the late fifties or early sixties; most likely before I was born. He knew his way around the horse and used them for farming when he was growing up. He bought us our first horse when we were very young; a pony much too small for a man his size, so I never saw him ride. He was gone by the time I got my first horse as an adult. I am sure he would have approved.

Although we regret the reason for the impromptu reunion, it reminds us how time continues to move on. Those of us who played in the fields of that dairy farm are now (gasp!) middle aged; some are grandparents themselves. Nonetheless, its always nice to remember where we came from and share such sweet memories. I was truly blessed growing up.

Flying with the Gov

2012-01-26T19:06:00.001-06:00

I drove down snowy roads to get to the airport on Monday morning and landed in Austin that afternoon to temperatures in the high 70’s. The rental car place tried to place me in a minivan. I wanted a convertible. We settled on a Dodge Avenger and for the record, there was no way in hell I was going to drive a minivan no matter how much they tried to convinced me it was an upgrade. I don’t do minivans.

This was the first trip down to Texas that I actually had some spare time away from work related activities and contacted my old roommates, Kris and Kelly, who live in the Austin area. They moved to Texas about the time I moved to Saunders County. We don’t see each other often anymore, but have always kept in touch.

Kris lives near Bastrop County and was in the path of the fires this past summer. She has horses but no horse trailer. She had a friend with a trailer on standby to evacuate and when they got the call, they had to move quickly. She worried that her friend wouldn’t make it in time and cried as she put tags with her name and number on her horses’ halters; prepared to open the gate to let them go. But her friend made it in time and in the end, the fire stopped about a mile from their place and it was spared. What a scary ordeal.

Did I mention I didn’t unpack my jacket the entire time I was in Texas?

I had a layover in Denver on the way home. I glanced up to see Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman sitting at the same gate as I was at, talking on the phone. I took the above picture with my iPhone, totally Facebook-worthy! I had met our Governor on another occasion and he is very approachable. Before long, he was making the rounds visiting with those at the gate. He stopped where I was sitting and I shook his hand and made small talk. When we boarded, he was seated two rows in front of me, continuing to talk to other passengers traveling to our state capital as they boarded the plane. His body guard was in the row ahead of me. I felt safe.

The sun was shining today and it warmed up to almost fifty again. Feeling almost 80% now, there was no excuse not to ride. I saddled up Windy and we did a quick 4+ mile loop through the fields. Sundown caught us quickly and it was dark when I put her up. Snow is expected again tomorrow.

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I Probably Shouldn’t Have….

2012-01-22T20:45:00.001-06:00

Sometimes you need to put mental health before physical health. And if I pay for it tomorrow, I’ll try and remember that statement.

I probably shouldn’t have, but I did. I rode today. I didn’t plan to ride. I didn’t plan to do anything but more of nothing which I have been doing for several days now. But duty required me to get out of my pajamas, that I had been wearing since the day before, and run to the store. John had told me it wasn’t too bad outside and he was right; although not warm by any means, it was certainly better than the single digits from earlier this week.

I’ve been nursing this pesky injury. I double-downed on the pain killers last night, took a long, hot bath and slept with a heating pad. As a result of one or all of the above, I have to admit I felt a wee bit better this morning. The mom in me said I probably shouldn’t; but the rider in me said to “go for it”.

I saddled up Windy before I could change my mind and headed to the field where Fancy had her meltdown. And we kept on going and going and going. Oh, not that far; did a bit over 5 miles at a rather slow pace, but nothing hurt while riding and it was good for my soul.

After I got back to the barn, I decided Fancy still owed me those two miles from our parting of ways. I took the saddle off Windy and quickly saddled Fancy. I put Ritz in the truck; couldn’t catch the fool dog – he knows when I’m up to something – but when I opened the truck door and motioned for him to jump in, I got him! I didn’t need his help today.

Fancy stood quietly at the mounting block and I swung my leg over. I took a deep breath before I asked her to walk on. We started in the arena and after getting my groove, I asked for a trot and she complied. We trotted around the arena several directions until I was comfortable enough to open the gate and go out into the field. Not as far as the “scene of the crime” but our field in front of the barn.

This is what we did for 3.2 miles. The big red splotch is the arena and the lines are our tracks in the field. Up and down, back and forth, walk and trot. We’d go farther each time and then circle around and come back. She didn’t have any moments of hesitation; she was attentive and easy to ride. My goal was to keep her in her comfort zone and me in mine.

I leave tomorrow for Texas; hopefully these eight miles helped stretch some of my tight muscles out and not hinder the healing. Actually, I feel better tonight than I have all week. Like I said, could be the ride made all the difference. Or the drugs. Or both.

Its snowing now. January in Nebraska.

Horsetrailriders.com

2012-01-22T10:51:00.001-06:00

I am in the process of merging Horsetrailriders.com and this blog. For an untechy person like me, it isn’t easy and it is kind of clunky right now. But soon “the two shall be as one”.

In the meantime, I have added tabs up above which will link you to Horse Trails (in Nebraska) and Trail Rides (in Nebraska and surrounding areas). Come springtime, our Platte River Riders schedule will be housed here and I have put out the information about this spring’s Friday AFTER Mother’s Day Ride (note new day.)

I did have an opportunity to update the Horse Trails information. I added some new pictures and also linked back to blog posts that I may have done about a certain area. Might provide additional insight if you are wanting to check out a new trail.

The Classifieds page is forever sunsetted from this website but you are welcome to post your ad on the Horsetrailriders.com Facebook page. Ads should be equine in nature and kept regional, meaning limited to Nebraska and surrounding states.

Instagrams

2012-01-20T22:02:00.002-06:00

A long time ago, I loaded the Instagrams app on my iPhone; something I read about on The Pioneer Woman. But I haven’t had much of an opportunity to mess with it. Then the other day, I came across a picture of Windy that was so crisp and clear, that I decided to play around with it a bit on Photoshop.

The top picture of Windy is straight out of the camera. While not a bad picture really, I decided to liven it up a bit. I won’t pretend to be able to tell you step by step what I did to this picture but it seemed to work. I then sent it over to my iPhone via Dropbox (another must have app which I do use all the time) and uploaded it to Instagram. The above picture was the end result.

I did the same with this picture of Ginger taken last winter. I didn’t do anything with it in Photoshop but did choose an Instragram setting. Its funny, but it almost looks like she has moved slightly.

Both photos offer a bit more drama than the straight out of the camera picture. It’s a fun little program to play with and another time killer.

(I changed the first picture on the post below to an Instagram 1977 setting.)

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Better Day By Day

2012-01-20T11:33:00.001-06:00

Glancing outside can be deceiving. The sun is shining but winter is certainly back. Although there is no snow at home, the parking lot at work received a dusting and it hasn’t gone anywhere; evidence to the chilly temperatures. Single digits. January. It’s just as well. My activity level has dropped to next to nothing. Although my headaches have went away, my lower back is still very sore. And there are moments I feel I am relapsing but for the most part, I am getting better day by day.

After studying the human anatomy, I have determined the pain to be coming primarily from the thoracolumbar fascia area and my pain is specifically in the area circled in green. Additional pain may be found in the iliac crest, gluteal aponeurosis and the gluteus maximum muscle itself. The spotted areas in purple is the bruising that changes daily; if you didn’t know it, you would think I was tattooed. (I’m not). Let’s just say I am glad that is behind me and I don’t have to look at it all the time because while I am somewhat fascinated with bruising, where this has gone is pretty bad. Scary is too nice of word!

While I am certainly not the epitome of picture perfect health, I am very active and other than complaining about the extra poundage, I really don’t have any health issues. I won’t drive around a parking lot looking for the closest space and I never take the elevator at work unless absolutely necessary. Not having taken any pain pills yesterday, by afternoon I was becoming quite crabby and I needed (NEEDED!) Hot Tamale candies. That candy dispenser is one floor down and let me tell you, I seriously thought about the elevator. (Insert whining noise here.)

Although there may be some warm up this weekend, it is not going to go above the norm like it has been lately. I don’t think I’ll ride this weekend; give myself a few more days to heal. I let the horses out to pasture. There is not much grazing this time of year but I am sure it felt good for them to get out and stretch there legs.

Miscellaneous

2012-01-16T11:35:00.001-06:00

I am sitting at the dealership having keyless entry put on my new truck. Weird that it didn't come with that. There are a lot of "options" I can do without in a truck. I don't need a DVD player or heated seats, but I do need that little clicker on my key chain to make my life easier. The other night I hit lock on the door before John got his coat out of the backseat and we exchanged words. Simple gadgets for keeping the peace.

The dealership does have a business center. I started out by using their computer but found they firewalled all my favorite sites and they were not x rated! Facebook? Blogspot? Please! So I had my laptop (or loaner laptop - long story) with me, so I pulled it out and viola`, I am back in business.

Today is an optional holiday at work. I was feeling pretty beat up last night so decided to take the option. I can't say I feel worse today than yesterday, but I do have some new aches and pains. And a bruise has finally appeared and its not on the side I fell on. Perhaps from the saddle horn as this arm would have been coming across the saddle when I went down? Who knows. Call me crazy but I do find bruising fascinating.

My helmet ended up with some smudges and 2 small cracks. You can see one of the cracks by the vent. The other can't be seen as well; it is over by the ear. This helmet has seen its day. I have other helmets I can wear - I have seemed to collect them lately.

Thanks for all the notes about wearing a helmet. I know those of you who do know the importance, and perhaps someone who doesn't, will think about it now. Its possible I have a mild concussion - undiagnosed by anyone but me (but I bet Mindee would agree.) Having two boys in football, I recognize the symptoms and know there is nothing you can do about it except try not to get hit in the head again for awhile.

My internet doctor says, "For mild concussions, you should get plenty of rest during the day and sleep at night. Gradually return to your normal activities, without over doing it. Ibuprofen can be taken under a doctors advice, but avoid alcohol and other drugs."

I've reluctantly laid off the pinot noir and only rode 5 miles yesterday. At a walk.

Happy Monday, all.

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The Morning After

2012-01-15T07:33:00.001-06:00

Coffee tastes as good in the morning after a horse wreck as it does after a two margarita night. I thought I felt pretty good after soaking in hot water but when I went to roll over in the middle of the night: Ouch! If I had to pinpoint the most pain, it is coming from the tissue on and above my right butt cheek. That took the impact first. Although there might be some swelling, I see no bruising. It is a bit numb to the touch in some areas. I think my tailbone is okay.

I do have to say that my beloved white German Shepherd was no doubt a contributing factor in the wreck. Where he is normally the stellar riding partner leading the way and flushing out deer, pheasant and whatnot, when Fancy froze up and tried to turn around, his herding instinct kicked in and he went behind her barking to keep her going. While our horses are around the dogs all the time, this probably added to Fancy’s angst. Who knows? But he won’t be going with me again with any horse but Windy.

While we all have visions about being a good enough rider to be able to pick where we land, that is true up to a certain point. I do know when I first made a conscious decision to get off, I couldn’t get enough control of her to safely do that in the fashion I hoped… you know… foot in one stirrup, the other leg swinging gracefully over and nailing perhaps a 7.5 landing. There come a point that my mind DID tell me to get the hell off NOW because its not getting any better; she was starting to win the battle and gain some speed. I had already lost my seat and was shifted to the right so the right side it was. The bean field was the better option than the gravel road or driveway should she make her escape for home. I suppose I dropped my stirrup; I don’t remember doing that – maybe it was already gone -- and I remember when going down hoping I had enough distance to get away from her feet. I truly think the horse feels us going and gets away from us not the other way around. But who knows.

But here is the part I want to mention without going into preaching. No matter how good of rider we are and no matter how good we think we can fall, you can’t change the fundamental principles of physics. When your body is being driven somewhat violently downward, so is your head. At some point it is going to hit. It may not with a casual fall, but when there is a lot of motion, the g-forces are stronger and even if you are a weight lifter, your neck cannot control that head from eventually hitting.

I can still feel the fall. Butt, shoulder and then head. It didn’t bang on the ground, it was driven as my body slid along the dirt. Yes, I was wearing my helmet and my right ear hurt instantly from hitting against the helmet. And through the course of the night, I took six Advil and my head still hurt this morning when I woke up. Not bad, but I have to think that 6 Advils did numb it a bit.

I usually always wear a helmet. Its as much a part of my riding tack as my boots are. But the other night while team sorting, I didn’t. We were inside, the arena soil was deep and soft and I was riding Windy. Truth be known, I forgot it in my trailer and was too lazy to go get it so that is what I told myself. And of course I wanted to be cool around the cowboys (wink). I know I wouldn’t be as lackadaisical about it on the trail, but it was a good wake-up call for me. I don’t care if you wear a helmet or not; just don’t have delusions that you can save your head if a wreck could happen. With what I experienced yesterday, I could no more have kept that impact from happening than I could from having my head hit a windshield if I weren’t buckled into a car in a head-on collision. So be careful out there.

I did Google “fractured pelvis” and it told me, “Pelvic fractures are life-threatening injuries. It is usually sustained as a high velocity injury like falling off a great height, crush injury or a road traffic accident.” I couldn’t help but think “all of the above”. Although I am very sore this morning, I do feel better than I did last night.

Time for another cup of coffee.

Eatin’ Dirt 2012

2012-01-14T21:09:00.001-06:00

I should have stuck with housework. But noooo. Tempted by the sunshine and the desire to put on some more Distance Derby miles, I fetched my favorite horse, Windy, and rode for about eight miles. Not a quick ride; moderate compared to late, and refreshing. I still had some daylight left and decided I would put a couple miles on Fancy; finish out the day with 10 miles on the chart.

Fancy and I had an unexpected parting of ways today. Things I learned:

Bean fields are not soft. Although preferred over a gravel road, there is not much give.
Its hard to decide if the tailbone or the hip hurts; they are pretty close to each other.
I’m pretty sure the tailbone is connected to the clavicle because it hurts too.
And the shoulder.
And my temporomandibular joint.
And my pride.
My helmet took an impact because my right ear hurts. Helmets are not overrated.
I landed on the side of my coat where my iPhone was located & it survived.
Wear a helmet and carrying the cell phone on the body – important rules of the trail - paid off. Although I was barely out of our driveway, I called my son to come and get me. He gave me the “really, Mom?” look.

What happened? Who knows. I took her out a little farther than she was comfortable and when she decided enough was enough, we had a communication problem. She didn’t buck or rear; she just wanted to go back to the barn NOW and while I didn’t disagree, I was asking for a bit more control. We dropped into a ditch, there may have been an unexpected spurring, I lost my seat and we parted ways. It happens.

So four advil and a long soak in the tub probably wouldn’t have been needed had I stuck with housework today. But what fun is that? I am just hoping I am not too stiff tomorrow; the weather is suppose to be even nicer. I’d like to get a few more miles on the Leaderboard.

Sister-Wife

2012-01-14T09:24:00.001-06:00

The work week goes so slow; weekends so fast. Here it is Saturday already and I have accomplished nothing for the good of the house or for fun, for that matter. I’m in the work-eat-sleep grind. Not particularly in that order and none of it enjoyable at the time.

I watch some of those home decorator shows and we have a lovely big ol’ house that has grown tired over the years and could certainly use some charm. And I am lucky enough to have a husband who can do a lot of the stuff that needs to be done or would add some flair to it. But I have no ambition for the creativity these days. As I type this, he is downstairs painting. I didn’t even pick out the paint color. We remodeled this home twenty years ago - it had sat vacant for 30 or 40 years – and even though updating needs to be done, doing it again does not interest me. Its enough to just keep up with the day to day.

I need a sister-wife. One who excretes domesticity. I am more the barn type. I don’t even mind going to work if someone else takes care of the house, plants a few flowers and manages to get the clean underwear somewhere other than the laundry basket. How’s that for a tradeoff?

Back to the grind….

Winter Found Us

2012-01-11T21:39:00.001-06:00

I knew we couldn’t hide for long; that Old Man Winter was lurking behind the trees waiting impatiently while Mother Nature handed out her unexpected blessings.

Last night, knowing it was the last night of this great un-January-like weather, I rushed home, changed clothes and saddled Windy and took off through the fields. I had learned the night before that even though it is dusk, when you are moving out at an average of 7 – 9 mph, extra clothing is NOT necessary; heck, even my hair was wet with sweat under my helmet.

We did a quick loop; over five miles in about 40 some minutes, getting back to the place about dark – the moon not yet rising. I towel dried Windy as her thick winter coat was as wet with sweat as the back of my head.

Right now, the temp is sitting in the low 20’s and the wind is howling from the north as if to tell us that it ain’t over yet; maybe its just begun. Shiver me timbers….

Kindred Spirits

2012-01-08T20:35:00.001-06:00

How many of you would agree that weekends go WAY too fast? I see a lot of hands raised. And when it’s a fair weather weekend with only two more days of it forecasted, it makes it doubly hard to think about sitting in an office all day! But… it pays the horse bills. Suck it up.

I just saw the above sign on Facebook. Ah, I think this horse rider might. When I see the bikers out on days like we have been having, I can’t help but think of them as kindred spirits; just chasing the sunshine and warm breezes like the horse trail riders.

I rode four out of five of them this weekend. Fancy got the long workout when we rode the Oak Creek with my friends on Friday. It was a 14 miles round trip ride with gaited horses. Fancy put her big girl pants on and picked up the pace. It was a fun ride.

Yesterday I took Windy out on the roads and she felt a little off. I had noticed a little blood along her coronary band and wondered if she didn’t have a small abscess. I brought her home and put her up and pulled out the “Tubby Twosome”. Since they both suffer a bit from buddysourness, I decided to ride one and pony the other.

Blue did really good ponying Butter. He actually felt like he enjoyed being out. We did some trotting but with Blue it can be pretty teeth jarring; he’s very rough. He looks like a percheron or a Tennessee Walker in the above picture. Just the picture; he is 100% quarter horse.

I switched off and headed out on Butter ponying Blue. She is a lot smoother ride but can get a bit snotty. And stubborn? Wow! We had a few “come to jesus” moments. You could just see Blue telling her, “don’t make waves… just keep moving!” As a little “bonus” for her little outbursts, she got to do some laps in the arena after the ride.

I finished out tonight’s ride under the sunset shown above. Managed to snap that with my iPhone – it was quite incredible. I have logged just under 42 miles in The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby – enough to keep me in the top 10, I think. Last count, the total of all riders is over 900 miles!

Blogger Help

2012-01-07T10:58:00.001-06:00

Since 2004, I have owned the website Horsetrailriders.com. I started it as a way to share information about horse trails in our state, upcoming trail rides and horse events and of course, had a Classifieds sections, as well. With the advent of such forums as Craigslist and Facebook, my small Classifieds became quite laborious (how’s that for a Words With Friends word) than a labor of love and I shut it down this week. I invited readers to post their classifieds on my Horsetrailriders Facebook page.

Why do you care? Because I need help. Technical help. And searching through the help pages of Yahoo and Google have been no help at all, so maybe one of you know the quick and easy answer to this.

I own the domain Horsetrailriders.com (HTR) and it is hosted by Yahoo. If you go to www.horsetrailriders.com you will see that it resembles this blog, but it isn’t. It is its own page.

I blog on Horsetrailriders.blogspot.com (Blog) and have links in the sidebar that go to various HTR pages.

I would like to use Horsetrailriders.com as the name of this blog and continue to use blogger for publishing – basically discontinue the Yahoo web hosting & move those HTR pages over here to Blogger. If someone enters www.horsetrailriders.com, I want them redirected HERE on Blogger.

I tried finding out how to redirect or forward HTR to Blogger and the page on Yahoo that it talks about in their Help section cannot be found when I click where it says. Then it talks way over my head about code….. blah, blah, blah.

I am thinking maybe Yahoo isn’t my answer – that Blogger can do all this for me. That Blogger might let me use my domain horsetrailriders.com right here.

But how?

If there is a simple way, please let me know via comments or email. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to delve into the Help sections of hell….

Entries are Closed in the Distance Derby

2012-01-06T06:14:00.001-06:00

If you are following the Distance Derby, by the time I get the teams loaded that are sitting in my in-box, we will have close to 75 teams. That is more than enough to manage. Therefore, entries are closed.

You can follow the Distance Derby at The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby blog.

It’s going to be a fun year of riding!

First Ride; Last Day

2012-01-02T08:09:00.001-06:00

What time does that Husker game start today? Should be a good time to get out and put some miles on my horse. Although there typically is very little traffic along my roads, riding during the Husker game should pretty much guarantee a quiet ride. The fact that the high is only going to be 34 with wind might thwart any riding plans. Call me a weenie; we’ve been spoiled.

We finished up the last of our family get-togethers at my home town this past weekend and pulled in at dusk last night to find the horses were out. All was well, but I did kick myself because I had noticed before I left that one of the panel fencing was compromised with just one pin holding it, no doubt from the big belgian mare leaning over it to reach a waiting bale. It would have taken me all of 3 minutes to put the other pin back in and find some baling wire to reinforce it, but on my way to doing that, I must have started doing something else and forgot all about it.

The herd was glad to see us and willingly followed us into the corral. They had slipped through a small opening in the panels to get out but I don’t think going back in would have been as easy. I know there was probably 10 gallons in a tank in the opened round pen and it was gone, so they must have been thirsty. Who knows how long they were out; could have been 1 or 24 hours. It gives me heart palpitations thinking about it. Thank God our alfalfa field kept them home.

The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby started yesterday with riders already logging miles. Check out the Leaderboard. I need to get going; hate to be left behind!

It’s back to work and the real world tomorrow. I’m going to miss the sunrises out my front door and the sunsets out my back door, my team of dogs who are at my feet 24/7 and saddling up and riding mid-afternoon. I guess I need to go back to pay for the privilege.

Winding Down

2011-12-31T08:04:00.001-06:00

One more day of riding before beckoned back to reality. Housework, laundry…. one final Christmas party.

Eenie meanie miny moe.

Which of my horses get to go?

I was kind of leaning toward taking Butter. I really want to get the weight off her this coming year and she was pretty good when I had her out a few days ago. More importantly, if I am even thinking of leasing her, she needs some saddle time. But Fancy’s buddysourness with Windy concerned me so I thought it might be good to get her out with other horses and away from our herd.

I loaded up shortly before noon and headed toward Branched Oak Lake to meet a couple of my Cowgirl Weekend buddies. Having witnessed first hand the breakdowns I incurred driving HiHo Silver, they were quite impressed with the new Ram.

The wind had really picked up and even though temperatures were in the fifties, it was very chilly. The wind over the water cut to the bone so we quickly rode down into the trees to get some break from it.

A few times we found permafrost under the leaves and the horses scrambled to keep their footing. Fancy lead most of the ride and about the only mistake she made all day was spooking at a pile of snow, which was quite comical. We rode about nine miles; once again, stealing time from winter. As one of my Facebook friends said, whoever is kissing Mother Nature’s ass for this weather, keep it up!

The equestrian camp at Branched Oak Lake is coming along nicely. I think I mentioned earlier that the pads and electrical hookups were installed, as well as bathrooms and water hydrants. This time we were pleased to find other amenities, as well. Since I was riding Fancy, I did not have a camera handy today so Fancy and I got to be the models.

There are fourteen stalls for the horses. The first 12 were donated by the Nebraska Horse Trails Committee. And the person who made the stalls donated an additional two stalls.

Each pod of corrals has a nice solid hitching post nearby as well as bunkers for manure disposal.

There are two mounting blocks near the corrals and a mounting ramp for riders with disabilities.

We could see that the area had been seeded and hopefully trees will be planted from their nearby nursery. There will still be primitive camping available in a nearby area where riders can use portable fencing or tie to the trailer as they have in the past. There will be fire rings and picnic tables in that area, too. The good thing is, that area has been graded and those nasty holes that we used to have to dodge when pulling in will be gone.

Once again, all of this was made possible because the Nebraska Horse Trails Committee was able to provide the appropriate match needed for an RTC grant. Your time and participation at our fun days and trail challenge continue to help our treasury grow so funds are available when needed for projects such as this one at Branched Oak. Thank you!

Team Sorting

2011-12-30T08:40:00.001-06:00

Thursday night is team sorting practice at Chance Ridge near Elkhorn. In keeping with the horse themed vacation, John and I took Fancy and Windy over to try it out. Practice is not competition; it is an open ride night to give those interested a chance to expose our horse to cattle and to learn the game of sorting. Doc Smith is very good about showing riders the ropes and helping them safely work with their horses in the pen. We are very lucky to have such a facility so close by.

I’d had Windy over there before and even though her bloodlines should lend itself a little bit to cow sports, she wasn’t really interested. Last night was the same thing. She did the job; she wasn’t afraid but she seemed bored with the whole thing.

Fancy, on the other hand, about melted down the first time she saw the cows. She was very concerned but also showed a level of interest that I didn’t see with Windy.

Fancy would put her head down almost to the cow’s butt and follow it. That is when he could get her close to the herd. The first couple runs Windy had to go with her, but by the last couple runs, she was in there doing it herself.

There were a couple dozen riders and Fancy was attached to Windy’s side; dangerously so. Once, when she noticed I had rode off with Windy she grew quite agitated. John tried to hold her back and she bucked and reared up. It was the naughtiest thing I have ever seen her do and HATED to see this. We took both mares to the other side of the arena and practiced letting me ride off from her. Finally, John took her back to the sorting pens alone and I kept Windy away from her. She was okay if she couldn’t see Windy, but once we would come into sight, she would nicker for her and become anxious again.

A buddy sour horse drives me crazy; they are incredibly dangerous. I really need to encourage John to start riding her out away from the herd quite often. I truly believe that is the key to getting her over it. The more they sit in the corral with the herd, the harder it is for them to leave.

My youngest son came with us: not to spend time with dear ol’ mom and dad but because another of our friend’s son was coming to meet him. Both have given up the equestrian lifestyle but still enjoy just “hanging”. While he waited for his friend to arrive, he did hop on Windy and take her for a spin, stopping briefly to text, of course.

Since the loss of Ginger, Windy is becoming the go-to girl in our herd. From being lead horse around the section to leading Fancy into a herd of bovine. She will never fill her mama’s hoofprints in the speed department but she is showing confidence and leadership when needed and I am very proud of her.

Today we plan to ride the trails again. Highs are suppose to be in the fifties, but the wind is really strong and not terribly inviting. With the nice weather this week, I hit my Trail Time goal of 250 hours, so any riding from here on out will be gravy. Next year, The Distance Derby.

It’s Friday already. Where did the week go. I have really enjoyed my horse time this week and being able to share it with all of you. Very soon it will be back to our regularly scheduled program: Work, infrequent blog posts, cold, winter….

Pinch Me!

2011-12-28T20:42:00.001-06:00

Just pinch me. Nebraska does not have temperatures in the mid-fifties on December 28. The above picture was taken just two years ago when we were snowed in on Christmas vacation.

There is a slight chill to the air if you try to do anything outside before noon, but come on! This is crazy-wonderful and I am enjoying every minute of it. I know I should probably be worrying about global warming and a possibility of a draught and I will, I promise, after I go back to work after this short vacation.

Today I went out to the corral. I found Baby laying in the sun and sat down next to her and snuggled in her big neck. It was that time of day when the air was still nippy, but the horses felt so warm. Blue came up to check out my pockets and smell my gloves and nibble on my fingers. I later found a mint in my pocket; he must have known it was there. I didn’t.

I took Fancy over to the front of the barn to treat the wound on her ankle and found that out of the wind, it felt so good. I sat down in the corral, my back to the shed to block the wind and watched Windy as she played in the tank.

Fancy walked over next to where I was sitting and smelled my shoes, my knees, and for the longest time, nibbled softly on my fingers. It is the most affection she has shown since we got her.

The chill of the day was over, the breeze started to warm up. I saddled up Windy and Ritz and I took off down the road. I needed less than an hour to make my 250 hour Trail Time goal and we breezed right past that today. At about the middle of the third mile, Windy started picking up some speed, so I kissed her into a lope. She settled into a nice speed to the end of the mile. I slowed her to make the turn, expecting her to drop back to a walk and was surprised that she continued to move out. We ran the next mile and almost 3/4 of the next one. I was getting tired, but just decided to let her pick the pace. I finally had to pull her in when a car was coming up behind us.

We walked quietly the rest of the way home, giving her a chance to catch her breath and cool off. I think Ritz was even slowing; we don’t normally move as fast as he does. I unsaddled her and put in her in the round pen to let her roll in the grass. After she went through that ritual, I went in and brushed her out.

I am 50 years old and I galloped my horse down the road today in the middle of winter… I thank God for my health and my good horse and the weather and my happiness. There are days, it seems, my cup just runneth over. Today was one of those days.

When Vacation is Really Vacation

2011-12-27T07:40:00.001-06:00

I always seem to end up taking time off between Christmas and New Years because I have vacation time to burn. Technically, I am in the sales department at work and most of the January 1 sales are in by that time, so it is typically a slow week. I kick myself because I could have enjoyed those days off during nice weather but it is also good to spend time with the boys. Two years ago, we had a major snowstorm and were snowed in for most of that time. This year is nothing like that one!

Yesterday, temps once again got close to fifty degrees. Don’t let our heavy clothes fool you; the wind was blowing so we dressed for it, but never once got cold. You can see my heavy coat tied behind the saddle and it stayed there until I unloaded at home later than evening.

I trailered about fifty miles yesterday to join some friends for an afternoon ride on the MoPac trail from Eagle. A little farther than I like to go for a day ride, but knowing who I was riding with, I knew we wouldn’t cut it short. And we didn’t. It is a pretty ride; we chose to ride the stretch east of Eagle toward Elmwood, which is about 7 miles. Up there and back, we logged a little over 14 miles and since my friends ride gaited horses, we moved along at a pretty good clip which is the way I like to ride.

This trail is a limestone hiking/biking trail with a parallel equestrian trail. Although the limestone is tough enough for horse traffic, we try to stay on the dirt horse trail as much as we can, but found it hadn’t been cleared recently and were fighting low branches along the way.

After our ride, Mary and I called our husbands to meet us for Mexican food. A nice break from holiday eating. My boys even stopped by the restaurant for a free meal. (Case on the left, McCain to his right.)

Today is to be the chilliest of the week, so no horse time. Will get caught up on some other things around here. But look at these temps for the rest of the week! Unheard of in Nebraska this time of year. What a blessing; what a treat! A real vacation after all.

The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby

2011-12-26T10:07:00.001-06:00

The Distance Derby begins in one week! Although I’ll be mentioning it from time to time on this blog, the real information will be found the sister blog, The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby. Head over there for new information about this fun adventure.

There is still time to sign up. That’s all you need to do. Oh, and after that, ride your horse of course.

Fancy Christmas Wrap

2011-12-25T21:24:00.001-06:00

When I went to ride yesterday, I asked John if he wanted to go with me. He said “no” and that his horse was lame. Huh? Admittedly, I have been buying trucks and Christmas groceries; I have not made it to the barn all week, even though it is right out my back door. When I went to fetch Windy, I noticed Fancy had a cut on her back leg; not a gaping wound but some puffiness.

I filled a bucket of warm water and Epsom salts and brought her in to the lean-to for a soaking. After fighting Butter-butt with soaking her foot when she had an abscess a few months ago, I was pleased that Fancy stood so nice while it soaked. At one point, our dog, Bo, saw the cat on the other side of Fancy and sprinted under her belly to get to it. Did I mention Bo is a 125 pound St. Bernard and if he could stand erect, he would be close to 5’8” tall (we measured). The horse did not move or flinch. I am not sure she knew he did it. I was sitting on a bucket next to her foot cleaning the wound and about fell off my bucket, but Fancy didn’t flinch. I think she must be drugged again.

While Fancy soaked, I pulled Windy in and started to detangle her mane. It was a knotted mess. I started with a little Show Sheen and a good brush, but eventually had to cut some of the knotted curly locks out. That’s okay. She’s just a trail horse.

She looked much better after her grooming and had to have felt better, too. I even got most of the knots out of her tail.

After Fancy was soaked and dried, I put medication on the wound and wrapped it up. I put her in the front run so that she doesn’t have a lot of room to move around on it and the ground is not as choppy there. It was probably pretty messy when it happened but it should heal up pretty well. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to use her this upcoming week like I had planned.

The temps reached close to 50 again today. John and I pulled the fat mares out of the pen and decided it was time they earned their hay bale. He saddled Baby and I rode Butter. We initially planned to just do a quick 4 miles but the weather was so nice and even though the mares were a bit sweaty, they were traveling pretty well, so we ended up doing a little over 6 miles. Butter got a few bucks in on me but nothing serious or much more than a crow-hop or so. She’s a feisty one! But I did have a great ride on her. Baby was pretty sweated up when we got home; I’m sure riding a wide ride like her was a lot harder on John than riding Butter was on me.

I have another week of vacation left and plan to ride as much as I can while the weather is cooperating. I am heading toward Lincoln tomorrow to ride with some friends. I just might make my Trail Time goal after all.

Santa continued to be good to me. Besides the Ram and the half boots, that I picked out for myself, John and the boys got me a couple of Cabelas chaise loungers for camping and an incredibly soft throw which just might go in the trailer, too. It was a good day.

Merry Christmas To All

2011-12-25T07:12:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas, everyone. It’s my favorite day of the holiday season because it means all of my shopping is done and it is what it is. Just waiting for the boys to get up to open presents. They got to open one gift last night. They made a deal to open two, but when they got to the first one, they forgot all about opening another one. I gave them smartphones. I’ll probably regret it. At least with McCain because he loses everything. Case has managed to hang on to his phone for the two year requirement so hopefully he’ll be as good with this one. And maybe they will now stay off of my computer because they can Facebook on their phones.

Its suppose to be in the high forties again today. A white Christmas is definitely overrated. I’ll take these temps any time. I hooked up my little trailer to my new Ram and hauled over to ride with my friend, Mary, yesterday. She took the above picture with her Droid; said she wasn’t sure why it ended up in sepia so you can’t see the UPS brown. She called it “dark chocolate”. I guess that sounds a little better. And please note that I was backing out of her long driveway, not pulling in. And also note that I did it pretty much in one swoop. Have I mentioned that I love my truck?

The weather outside was delightful. High forties, little wind. We did a little road riding and then entered some “government” property which I won’t say where at because we were probably trespassing but luckily we didn’t get shot. I am only exaggerating a bit because Mary said it was perfectly a-okay for us to ride there and never mind those cameras or barbed wire or booby traps (wink). There were lots of dirt service roads where we could really move out. We entered a couple little forest areas with lot of downed trees that the horses had to be mindful of stepping over. I am getting ready for The Distance Derby; I need to get Windy in shape. We rode a little over 9 miles in nothing more than Goretex, a vest and a thick sweater. I did tie a coat to my saddle just in case, but didn’t need it.

I am thinking a lot of my friend, Renee, who died recently and of her family who is having to wake up to this holiday without her. My prayers are with them that even though their heart is heavy, that they find some peace and joy today.

To all of you whom I know personally or just via cyberspace: Merry Christmas. May your day be warm and happy and full of making memories.

It Didn’t Fit Under the Tree

2011-12-24T09:11:00.001-06:00

As most of you horse folk know, buying the horse is the cheapest part of horse ownership. It’s the toys that go with the horse that cause stress on the pocketbook. About six months after we bought our first horse, we bought a new (to us) truck. And then a couple months later, a stock trailer so we could haul to the trails. We were set to go!

Over the years, I have upgraded trailers but never trucks. Those diesels are suppose to drive forever, right? Our truck become the joke among my friends, from the time it caught fire pulling into Cowgirl Weekend 2004 to driving across Nebraska 45 mph in 2008. And don’t forget last year sitting in our lawn chairs at a truck stop in North Platte for 6 hours while John’s head was under the hood and then having to start it with a pliers the rest of that trip.

Twice this past season, it quit on me while I was hauling and I had to unload Windy and ride her home. The final straw was when the brakes failed a few months ago and the only way I could stop the rig was using the hand brake on my trailer. Thank goodness I was hooked up.

Oh, those are just a few of the stories of HiHo Silver. There were more and they were often. Every year I threatened to get another truck and every year John would say that whatever was fixed took care of it and he was ready to go another 100,000 miles. Empty promises.

Yesterday, HiHo Silver officially retired. At least from my service. John refused to part with it so its his problem now.

Welcome, Ram. (And please note that in 2011, Chrysler officially removed the name Dodge from the Ram truck lines. I don’t know why I think it’s important that you know that but it was important to Chrysler that I do, so I am passing it along.) It’s a 2011 3/4 ton Heavy Duty long box in UPS Brown. Okay, they didn’t call it that color – they call it Rugged Brown Pearl. And its more sparkly than the UPS truck. It’s big and bad and no doubt a gas guzzler but has new car smell and will hopefully get me from here to there for many, many years to come.

Sunny in Nebraska

2011-12-17T20:46:00.001-06:00

The temps creeped up to almost fifty today… 48 to be exact. I continue to be in denial with regards to the shopping that needs to be done for the upcoming holiday especially when time is so much better spent on the back of a horse. My dilemma today: Do I ride in the morning while the ground is still frozen but temps aren’t as nice or wait until midday knowing that it will be muddy and road riding is my only option? I don’t mind road riding – our roads are usually pretty quiet -- but this time of year the farmers have the dang electric fencing so close to the road and after my accident last winter when we got hung up in e-fence, I get a bit apprehensive. I count on those big shoulders for moving to if there is traffic coming that I am not comfortable with. I just needed to get out and around and scope out the safe roads so I’ll be good to go the rest of the winter. I asked John if he’d ride with me and he said he would, once it warmed up.

When we headed out to the corral, I warned him that his mare, Miss Fancy Pants, was not so fancy yesterday; she had rolled in the mud and by the looks of it, she was the only one. Well, I spoke to soon. Evidently Miss Windy Poo heard me talking about a quick ride down the road and did a stop, drop and roll in the muddiest part of the corral. Needless to say, John had his mare cleaned up about the time I got the big chunks off Poo.

We headed west down our road and turned at the first south mile. There is a pack of dogs (domestic) that like to chase the car when I drive by in the morning so I usually don’t go that way. But since I left Ritz at home, I thought it would be a good opportunity to see how Fancy handled them. Both mares kind of locked up at that farm, but it was more due to a trailer with cattle moving around than the yappy dogs. I urged Windy on and we moved on past, turning west at the next mile road.

We kept a nice pace between walk/trot & lope. John was disappointed that Fancy would not move out and was quite happy following Windy at a distance. Ginger was the lead horse and grew up on the trails. Fancy is a pleasure trained horse. It isn’t going to happen overnight and he shouldn’t compare the mares; Fancy will never be Ginger. I suggested that if perhaps he put more time on her this winter and spring and if he wasn’t enjoying himself that we could sell her and look for one more to his liking. He backpedaled quickly and agreed that this is all new to her and he needs to give her a chance and I couldn’t agree more. I do think I am going to get him some blunt spurs for Christmas. Windy tends to drag if don’t keep on her and just a touch of a dull rowel usually reminds her to keep moving.

We did just over eight miles. These are the types of rides I need for next year’s Distance Derby.

Until then…

I know, I know…

Christmas shopping.

It’s killin’ me!

I’d rather be riding.

Flying South & Back

2011-12-16T10:55:00.001-06:00

What a difference a few days make! When I left home on Monday, this is what it looked like.

And today it is all gone again.

You won’t catch me complaining or dreaming of a white Christmas. It’s just fine the way it is. I just returned from yet another warm climate trip; this time to Austin and Houston, Texas. I really think when I grow up, I am going to be a snow bird and winter in the warmer weather states. It was so hard to open the elevator in the parking garage at the airport last night to 19 degrees. It is so not right.

I did meet a couple horse people while I was gone. One is a dressage rider and the other a hunter/jumper; perhaps not my discipline but at least it gave me an opportunity to talk horse, if only for a few minutes.

Now that I have landed for hopefully the last time this year, I have to face the music: Christmas shopping. Oh how I long for the days when I could do it all online and did. But the boys are older and pickier now, so I take them shopping to help me choose gifts for them and each other. It works okay that way, but planning the shopping trip around my work, travel and their school hours puts us right up to the wire. I refuse to let it stress me out (as I take a deep breath…. breathe, breathe, breathe….)

Other news: while sitting in airports or waiting for people to arrive, I discovered Words With Friends. I know, its probably old news to you, but what a joy to find another time-killer! And a fun one at that. I really thought I was pretty well-spoken until I am trying to find that elusive word that has a J or an X in it. I also realize my vocabulary is rather simple.

Finally, we have 23 teams to date in The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby! This is going to be fun!

The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby

2011-12-11T17:28:00.001-06:00

It's New Year's resolution time. As I do every year, I will set my riding goal and hope to make it. Setting my weight goal, too, which is equally if not more important. Hope I make that one, too. I am sooo out of shape. But I did find when I lost weight, I rode more. Besides keeping Windy fit and trim, I have Fancy Pants to work on since John rides about 90% less than I do. I also need to get some weight off Butterball and Blue. I’d like to consider leasing Butter but with her present weight and state of mind, it won’t happen real soon. With a crazy work schedule, I don’t know when I’ll fit all this in, but if I don’t say I’ll do it, it goes on the back burner.

My friend, Christine, showed me a blogger’s “virtual” distance race but by the time we found it, they were no longer taking entries. Not to be discouraged, we decided this is something we can put together ourselves. And it would be fun to have other riders from across the country riding with us, albeit virtually, in our little friendly competition.

The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby will begin January 1, 2012. Pretty simple idea. Use your GPS, record your mileage and type it in the comments on your team post. The person with the most miles, wins the race. I'll provide progress reports along the way; you can provide commentary in your comments about your rides - makes it interesting for the others to read. You must have a GPS or GPS technology to keep it fair.

Head on over to The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby and sign up your team. We look forward to “riding with you” in 2012!

I’m Going To Miss You, My Friend

2011-12-10T19:19:00.001-06:00

I got news late this afternoon that one of my riding friends, Renee Flanagan, passed away rather unexpectedly from a short and (as of yet) unknown illness. A wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, friend and horsewoman, Renee was vibrant, caring, genuine, kind, happy and blessed. We were close to the same age and the reality of it is, she was too young to die.

One of my best memories of Renee was riding in a poker run a couple of years ago. We were nearing the end of the ride and John and I were quite a ways out front of the rest of the riders. We were ready to run. I don’t remember if Renee was riding with us at that time or saw that we were going to move out. John and Ginger took off at warp speed and I was running Windy not far behind him. I heard hoof beats coming up behind me and it was Renee who was soon flying passed me on her horse Taz and it wasn’t long until she was on Ginger’s heels. I loved to ride with Renee because she loved to run as much as I do and we would.

A confident horsewoman, most of her horses were home raised and beautiful. She had every reason to be proud. I remember her most on her Windy, a beautiful grulla mare.

I borrowed these photos from her Facebook page because they really capture who she was. She smiled easy and laughed a lot. The world was her playground. I am shocked and saddened that she is gone and in truth, just can’t believe it. I will miss her very much.

Rest in peace, Renee. And when you feel the need for speed, there is a little red mare up there that will take you for a spin.

“I’m going to miss that smile, I’m going to miss you my friend.“

Beach Baby

2011-12-09T19:13:00.001-06:00

If you have to travel for work in December, it’s not so bad if you are heading somewhere warm. Especially after having our first snow last weekend.

When I parked in the Lincoln Airport parking garage early Wednesday morning, I left my winter coat on the front seat of the Durango and quickly scurried into the elevator and across the skywalk into the terminal, chilled to the bone. But when we landed in Tampa at midday, the coat was long forgotten. It was a balmy day in Florida. We had our sunglasses on and if we had a convertible, the top would have been down. Meetings took up most of that first day, followed by a nice dinner.

The next day, we did a sunset check mid-afternoon and agreed to get through our agenda in time to see the sun set over the bay.

We sat on Adirondack chairs on the beach around a fire ring. I even slipped my shoes and socks off to feel the fine sand on my feet. When I called home to check on the kids, they reported that the snow was falling. Sucks to be them.

The sunset did not disappoint us. Once it was close to the water’s edge, it quickly disappeared. Some older women sitting on the deck above us applauded at its farewell. That kind of gave me goosebumps.

We had an all seafood dinner on the beach, complete with fruity drinks and lobster mac & cheese. (You haven’t lived until you have lobster mac & cheese!)

We walked back to the hotel through the Christmas lit palm trees and regrettably hit the sack early. Our flight would be leaving at o’dark hundred.

Mother Nature had dropped a few more inches of snow on Nebraska while we were gone. From the plane window, I slipped on my sunglasses and took in the different but, yes, beautiful landscape below us. The roads were clear on the way home; the sun was shining.

Tonight after checking the horses, the chickens and the cats, my team of dogs settled into my office with me as I checked email and caught up on Facebook. I glanced out the window and saw the nearly full moon rising. I stepped out on the porch in my slippers and quickly snapped the picture.

When I came back in the house and looking through the dark kitchen, I could see the sun setting on the other side of the house. I went out on the deck and snapped that picture seconds later.

Same time, a half a country apart. Cold, snowy. But its good to be home.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

2011-12-06T18:27:00.001-06:00

I remember going to a movie of this title when I was younger. I don’t remember what it was about but I know I would most certainly remember it if horses were actually shot. Bambi, Old Yeller and Little Blackie in True Grit; all animal deaths that scarred me for life. Glen Campbell died by the rattlesnake pit barely got notice as I was still crying over John Wayne’s horse, Beau, taking a bullet.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been following with interest the case of the five missing rodeo horses taken in November from an Arkansas college. When I first saw the alert on Facebook, I thought they were probably taken by an unsavory lot looking to make a quick buck by driving them to Mexico for slaughter. When I heard the trailer and tack had been found but not the horses, I had hoped the criminals felt the pressure of the manhunt, so to speak, and ditched the trailer and stock and the horses would be found roaming in someone’s pasture.

Four of the horses were found, tied to a trees for who knows how long and although not many details were released, their condition was deplorable at best. There are still some concerns with the long term health of these horses but at least they are alive and under the care of the vets and the people who love them. (See this story here for how they tracked these horses. It is pretty remarkable.)

The fifth horse, Credit Card, was not initially found. I had hoped he got loose from a tree and was roaming nearby. But unfortunately he was found dead. Few details were released “pending investigation”. It sounded like they knew who did it and and arrests were coming.

And they did. But the story that came with the arrests was even worse than the theft itself. From the affidavits released by the sheriff to the news stories in the area, it was a planned theft; possibly by a woman scorned. Not only did she “allegedly” steal from her own rodeo team, she ordered that particular horse killed in what sounds like retaliation for love gone bad. And Credit Card was not just left for dead, but mutilated.

I wanted to title this post Crazy Psycho Bitch because I could not fathom, nor could most of us who run in horse circles, how this barrel racer, this person that we would relate to as a horse person, an equestrian, could do something this horrific, this heinous, to a horse no matter who it belonged and no matter the reason.

And it gets even crazier. Not only was she a Crazy Psycho Bitch, but she and her cronies were Dumber than Dirt. She cased the place before the theft – even asked questions, so the witnesses have stated – about the horses she planned to steal. Then she had her mama’s boyfriend steal the horses and trailer and put the bullet to the horse’s head (while she watched, they say). They enlisted the help of a minor to assist with the mutilation. All this happened near her mother’s home. Heck, the sheriff even saw the stolen trailer on her mother’s property.

Perhaps it will bring closure to the families who lost so much, but I don’t think it will ever bring them peace. And they still have to ride the roller coaster of the justice system and you never know what direction that could go. Yeah, innocent until proven guilty. Sounds to me like she buried herself. They shoot horses, don’t they? This story will haunt me for a long time. Unbelievable.

If you would like to make a donation to the “Credit Card” scholarship fund, or donate funds that will benefit team members and their recovered horses, you can visit the www.saufoundation.org website and click on the “Make a Gift” button. You can also call (870)-235-4078, (877) 235-7409, or mail to SAU Foundation, P.O. Box 9174, Magnolia, AR 71754.

More information on this story can be found at:

http://www.bannernews.net/blog/?p=7165

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/12/041.shtml

http://m.therepublic.com/view/story/f96819078cb2454dba12952c2647c037/#.Tt2UZ1EMMxU.faceboo

Read the affidavit of probable cause in the SAU horse theft case.

A Blogging Fool

2011-12-04T20:33:00.001-06:00

It seems I can go a week sometimes and not find anything blogworthy. Not saying that my recent topics are necessarily so but when I get the urge to blog and have the time to blog, I should definitely blog. Makes up for those times the ideas just dry up.

I woke up pretty early this morning but decided it was too cold and dark to do anything and went back to sleep. It was light out when I finally got up again. Bo had joined me on the bed and he fell off! That’s what woke me up. Did you ever hear a St. Bernard fall off the bed? KerPLUNK!

John had already started a fire in the wood stove and the house was warm when I got up a second time. After I had my coffee, I slipped on my coveralls over my flannel pajama pants and sweatshirt, put on snow boots, grabbed my camera and went out to check the horses. There was no breeze and the sun was shining. At 23 degrees, it didn’t feel too bad.

Baby met me at the fence. That horse really needs a job. I wish I had the interest… I just don’t. Fancy came over next and Ritz barked at her heels. She gave him the “what-not”. You would think his interest in herding the horses would wane since they have no interest in being herded. But it doesn’t.

Windy was dozing in the sunshine on the other side of the barn and I could see by how she was standing that she had snowballs in her shoes. That must be miserably uncomfortable and I once again scolded myself for not getting them off sooner. I went and got a halter and lead and brought her over to the barn. I ended up getting some tools and a hammer from John’s shed to get the frozen mass out of her shoes. She stood much better.

I couldn’t resist. I grabbed a pad and my nylon Circle Y saddle and quickly tacked her up. I held the bit in my hand for a minute to warm it up before slipping on her bridle. I took off my coveralls and put my coat back on over my sweatshirt and rode out into the field. I’d like to say I was dashing through the snow, but the footing was not good especially with shoes on. So we just pondered through the field, down past the cottonwood grove and around by the lower pond.

When I rode back up through the yard, John came out of one of the outbuildings. I don’t know if he was surprised I was riding or not. I told him about how awful the snowballs were in her shoes and mentioned we needed to get them off. Then I asked him to take a couple pictures of us. So seldom is anyone out when I am riding and the snow was awesome.

John is not the best photographer. Actually, he holds the camera so awkward I am surprised he can take pictures at all. I should have mentioned the zoom button, but at least he found the viewfinder. I was hoping he wasn’t taking directly into the sun, but he did and really, the picture turned out kind of cool.

I didn’t ride long; just enough to say I did and get my fill. The dogs enjoyed the jaunt through the field and I think Windy was glad to get out of the corral for a bit, too. I didn’t take her out on the roads because it was too slick.

After the ride, John came over and we pulled out the necessary tools to take off her shoes. And then we pulled Fancy out and took her shoes off as well.

McCain and I went out and started Christmas shopping today. Got quite a bit checked off the list; I wish it were done. Temps will be in the low twenties this week. I will be in Florida for three of those days. As much as I am not looking forward to traveling, I can’t think of a better place to be.

BFLWM – 1 TV – 0

2011-12-03T21:31:00.001-06:00

The Big Fat Lying Weatherman won this first round. We got snow! And it probably warranted the “Weather Alert Day” title. I’d guess we got a little over 4” of the heavy, wet stuff. When we went to Lincoln later this afternoon, it was slushy but pretty easy travel. However, on the way home, the wind had picked up and there was drifting across the roads. Glad the boys aren’t out and about anywhere tonight. I’ll sleep well.

The first notable snow: Winter is officially here. One day down, three months to go.

Tempting Fate & Other Thoughts

2011-12-03T09:12:00.001-06:00

7:38 AM

8:40 AM

11:30 AM

I know you all are worried about me shaking my fist at Mother Nature or at least the BFLWM. But we’re still fine. A little moisture in the air, but its 32 degrees, so not much is sticking; just a dusting, we like to call it. (Update: more is sticking, but there is now wind. Just wet snow. About an inch or so right now.)

I thought the snow might stay south of Lincoln, but looks like it is north; Lincoln is just getting rain. I live in the pink area right above Lincoln.

You may or may not remember that late last winter, I started stripping wallpaper in the kitchen in preparation for McCain’s graduation this coming spring. (I plan ahead, far ahead!) It seems weddings, anniversaries and graduations are typical reasons for remodeling the house! Well, we got it stripped and that was about it. We were heading into spring and I am lucky dishes get done once the nice weather comes! The remodel will consist of new flooring, light fixtures and countertops; perhaps new hardware on the cupboards. So we begin again.

John brought his crew in the last few days and they worked on cleaning the wallpaper glue off the walls. Last night John started to put a skim coat of drywall over the areas where we stripped a little too much wallpaper. It won’t be an overnight project but a winter one.

The above pictures are “in progress” shots. As you can see, the construction equipment has moved in. Not everyone has a table saw in their kitchen!

John has also been working on the ugly building that is to become a tack shed someday. I don’t know if that will ever happen, but someday, I’ll take some updated pictures. It still isn’t pretty but there has been progress. I try to avoid pictures of it because it is so pitiful, but you can see a bit of it to the left of Windy in the picture above. Someday it will come together… tick, tock, tick, tock… We have lots of goals by graduation!

On an unrelated subject, I have not figured out the iCloud technology yet on my iPhone. I need to watch the video. But my friend, Joni, told me about the Dropbox app for iPhones and I use that all the time with my iPhone pictures. You just take a picture with your iPhone, open the Dropbox app and upload any of the pictures you want to save to your computer and ta-da! In moments you will find them in a folder on your hard drive. Not at your own desk? You can also get them from the web, too. Just pretty darn cool!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but technology just fascinates me and scares the bejeezes out of me! It moves so fast that I surely don’t know all that I am missing.

When I lost my GPS at the last ride, I still wanted to keep track of my time and mileage, so I remembered Mikey had mentioned MyTracks app and within seconds, I had it on my phone and still could record our ride that day. When traveling, I have an app called Urban Spoon which will find nearby restaurants and provide ratings by actual users. Solitaire got me through a particularly long holiday get-together.

What are some of your favorite apps?

In case you haven’t figured it out, we are heading into non-horse season and I am finding it terribly difficult to have anything horse related to contribute. So I hope you hang with me on the weather rants, remodeling and other life-in-general posts that I’ll put together to get me through winter. Maybe I’ll even figure out iCloud technology in my down time. But I promise, horse posts when I got ‘em!

Credit Card

2011-12-02T20:56:00.001-06:00

I saw this shared on Facebook and thought I would share it here, too.

SAU Rodeo Team and The Stolen Horses: A Story of Grief, Acceptance, and Recovery

December 1, 2011

By: Brittany Bevis

Once in a while, you run across a truly unique story. One that not only chills you to the core by showing the cruelty of human nature, but also warms your heart with the knowledge that by way of a little horse sense and a touch of divine intervention, things can be made right again. This is that story. (click here).

From Tammy: This story broke my heart when it first came out. I was so happy when they found the first four horses and had hoped the recovery of the fifth would be made quickly. At least Credit Card was found… and they had closure, whatever that means.

The group wants to set up a scholarship fund in memory of Credit Card. If you would like to make a donation to the “Credit Card” scholarship fund, or donate funds that will benefit team members and their recovered horses, you can visit the www.saufoundation.org website and click on the “Make a Gift” button. You can also call (870)-235-4078, (877) 235-7409, or mail to SAU Foundation, P.O. Box 9174, Magnolia, AR 71754.

Embellishment: A Rant

2011-12-02T20:06:00.001-06:00

Since when did weather become news? It seems to be a growing trend. I don’t usually watch local television but the times I have and there are storms in the area, whether it be a chance of rain or a frickin’ tornado, the local meteorologists take up 3/4 of a 42” television screen to track the radar and issue warnings. Now I’m not trying to mess with my fate here, but I am fifty years old and a Nebraska native and have yet to see a tornado. And I have never taken cover in a thunderstorm; cussed a bit knowing it might take down my trees or ruin some flowers. But really? Interrupting Wheel of Fortune for a little rain? Come on! Let’s save that space for a tornado WARNING, not a watch-it-and-see thingy.

I get my weather from weather.com or the app on my iPhone and make my own assumptions about what it all means. This week, I heard talk at work and on Facebook that we were getting bad weather on Thursday! OMG, snow! We didn’t. And it’s now 7:30 pm on Friday evening and following a sunny day with a slight breeze out of the south, still no snow. But once again, I hear rumblings of what is yet to come….

So I click over to the local KOLN-TV station and listen to their “Pin Point Weather on Demand” to see what the Big Fat Lying Weatherman (BFLWM) really has to say. Check this out:

They are issuing a "Severe Weather Alert", he said. There is a "winter storm watch" for Lincoln which "could" result in "moderate" accumulations of snow. They (the television station) has declared Saturday a "Weather Alert Day" (WAD). Delving deeper into definition on their weather webpage, they define the ominous WAD as a day when "conditions are favorable for potentially dangerous weather.”

WAD? WTF? How many broadcasting consultants did it take to come up with that hokey pokey scare tactic. The old folks are probably out with their walkers in full-force buying the last half gallon of skim milk and package of minced ham preparing to hunker down for this made-up weather warning.

Now what I will give the BFLWM is this: It’s a crap shoot predicting weather. Conditions might be favorable to snow. There may be accumulation and there may not. But come on. Enough with the doom and gloom, okay? Weather.com simply says: “Cloudy with rain and snow in the morning, becoming all snow in the afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 90%. 2 to 4 inches of snow expected.” Not really anything that makes me want to make a run to the bread aisle at the Walmart.

(ahhhh, Blue with Ginger)

It’s been almost fifty degrees most of the week and will be in the mid-thirties tomorrow. We ain’t getting no blizzard out of this, folks. A little slush, a little inconvenience IF it even comes this far north. I ain’t no weatherman but I’ve lived in these parts enough to know when a bad one is coming. I don’t think this is it.

See The Blizzard of 2009 – THAT as a WAD! Heck, it was a WAW with an SOS!) I’ll let you know who wins this one. BFLWM or me.

(Pictures are all from my archives.)

Totally unrelated to weather, someone sent me this link to the best of DamnYouAutoCorrect.com. I laughed until I cried. I sent it to my sister and she called me laughing so hard we couldn’t talk; only laugh in the phone at each other. It is pretty R rated, so if you are easily offended by bad language and such, don’t click over.

I Got Nuthin’

2011-12-01T21:08:00.001-06:00

Twas the first of December and all through the house;

Not a creature was stirring ….

Not even any dog farts.

I just say that because the kids are both out, the dogs are quietly laying at my feet, John is watching television downstairs, the dishes are done and laundry can wait. I could be blogging but I have absolutely nothing to blog about. I could be doing Jillian workout, but not yet.

I looked through pictures; sometimes that inspires me.

Nothing there.

But the lack of inspiration does give me an excuse to share some wonderful sunrise and sunset photos I have taken from the car going to and from work this week. Not with my bridge camera; just the iPhone. Talk about artwork from God!

So back to it being the first of December… I have done nothing toward Christmas shopping beside one gift I picked up awhile back just because. I have no motivation toward it. I have to be in Florida next week and Texas the following week, so I am really feeling the crunch. And when I get stressed about shopping, I shut down. I’ll pin the boys down this weekend; have them make a list and hopefully I can extract some reasonable items from those lists. For some reason the boys have mistaken the Christmas tree for a money tree.

I have been perusing the cyber ads and found a lot of things that I would like to have for Christmas. I am the easiest person in the world to buy for! I want what many horse women want: warm riding gloves, a new ear band, maybe some Mountain Horse outerwear or those big rubber winter boots. Perhaps a down vest or a fleece saddle seat cover. If they were really thinking, they would have told me to hold off buying a new GPS. Maybe they’ll read this blog before they hit Walmart on December 24th & 1/2.

I’d like to ride a bit tomorrow. Last day we’ll see temps in the forties for some time, they say.

Frosty Buns

2011-11-27T12:27:00.001-06:00

The day after Thanksgiving, I planned a ride with my Horsetales friends. It wasn’t one of those rain, snow, sleet or hail type rides; long-term forecast promised temps in the high fifties, so that was good enough for us. The sky remained overcast and there was a chill to the wind, but most of the ride was in the trees so really, we didn’t freeze our buns off – it was quite pleasant.

I planned to take both Windy and Fancy as a friend was borrowing a horse from me. I had told her she could ride either, but after a brief ride on Windy Thanksgiving morning, I was pretty sure no one but me should ride her on Friday. She was naughty! We spent more time lunging in a bean field than actually going down the roads! Days like that are few and far between, but it does make me appreciate those good days. And on Friday, for the most part, I seemed to have my good mare back.

I was the first to arrive at Branched Oak Lake. I was anxious to get there early to 1) take the P & V out of Windy if need be and 2) to see the new equestrian campground that was being constructed. I was thrilled to find it was about done. What was once a primitive campground now has 14 or 15 electrical hook-ups, corrals and an out house. Before I pulled in, I stopped to take some pictures from the Durango window so I could share with those on the Nebraska Horse Trails Committee who is responsible for some of the funding for this campsite improvement.

I had both mares saddled when Sara pulled in and she adjusted the stirrups on Fancy’s saddle while I dug though the Durango trying to find my GPS which I had seen in the truck just minutes before. Wasting no more time in that search, we rode off to warm up and see what kind of horses we had under us. It was all good.

There were fifteen of us riding, including our friend Dionne and her team of percherons. Windy has had issues with carts and wagons in the past, so I gave her plenty of time to observe before we rode off and she found her happy spot behind them.

The trails at Branched Oak are pretty wide and we were happy that Dionne could get her team on most all of them sans a few of the single tracks. I am pretty sure she worked harder at driving than those of us riding. I have not had an interest in driving but do have great respect for those who do and frankly, I’m in awe at how easily a small woman handles a team, a cart and all that goes with it. My hats off to Dionne.

There was a fair share of young horses on the trail on Friday but they all did superb for each of their levels of training. We rode just under 8 miles and I don’t think we stopped talking At. All. It’s always good to get together with friends.

As we rode back toward the horse camp, I remembered taking the pictures of the area when I drove in. I made a loop down the road thinking perhaps my GPS fell out of the truck when I took those shots. Sure enough, another rider found it on the road and unfortunately, it couldn’t be saved.

To those of you in Nebraska who read this blog, this new campsite is really quite exciting and I can’t wait to use it next spring. A funding contribution for this campground was provided by the Nebraska Horse Trails Committee though game days, trail challenges and other fund raising activities which many of you have participated in or donated items for the event. Thank you for that! This is what we get in return. Pretty incredible, huh?

Riding Bader Park

2011-11-24T08:24:00.001-06:00

It’s been a week since I last blogged; seems life is going 100 mph and its hard to sit down and find the pieces to share on this blog. Work is busy; its dark when I get home; certainly not much horse time.

Last weekend, I took a class with The Camera Doctor from Kearney, Alan Mais. Although I don’t use an SLR camera (yet), I do take a lot of pictures on what I learned is called a “bridge” camera. My Canon SX10-IS has more functionality than a “pocket camera” but not up to snuff with the big guys. I won’t bore you with my notes from class but I do hope to start taking better pictures as a result. We just scratched the surface in our seven hour class and only yesterday morning did I get the opportunity to try out what I learned, albeit it was quick and dirty. The sun was shining beautifully on the trees out yonder which were covered with a pretty layer of frost.

I am not ready to take the plunge to an SLR quite yet. I think my Canon has hidden possibilities that I want to continue to discover. And since I carry it in a saddle bag most of the time, I don’t think I would be as lackadaisical about a higher priced camera. Since 80% of my photos are from the back of a horse, I wonder if a photography hobby might be separate from my riding hobby. And do you know how much tack I could buy for the price of one of those lenses?

Yesterday we got a break from November as the temperatures soared into the sixties! (That is what we Nebraskans say when it is extreme for the time of year – “the temps soared!”) I had been watching the forecast up to ten days prior; had penciled myself out of the office in hopes it stayed true to what was being predicted and it turned out even better. I planned to take Windy and meet my friend, Jules, at Bader Park. She would be riding her new horse, so Windy would be the “good trail horse” setting a nice example. When Mary decided to come, too, and usually rides her good mare, Sara, I decided to take Fancy instead. I was surprised when Mary unloaded Rosie, her husband’s gaited Morgan. I have never seen Mary ride Rosie and its been a long time since Rosie was out on the trails. I thought “so much for having a leader horse among the ranks.”

Fancy started out leading at a nice clip, but did have her “Vera” shoes on. Veered and this, veered at that, gawked here and there, spooked at a piece of plywood she spotted about the same time I unzipped the zipper to my vest. But nothing I wouldn’t expect from a new, young horse. She was actually really good.

(Side note: by the looks of this picture, I learned NOTHING in class!) The horse is partially shaded, my shadow is in the picture. Don’t blame Alan for this one! )

Jules’ new mare, Zeta, was a rock star for her first time out on the trails. She is a six year old appaloosa mare, trained in reining and making her debut on the trails, as far as Jules knows. She probably stands 14.2hh and is just as cute as a button. For those who aren’t warm to appys, she will change your mind. She has a darling personality, cute little bobbie socks and an interesting tail. Look at the stripes!

Rosie turned out to be a good lead horse and stepped up to the plate on a few occasions when our “new mares” weren’t sure it was safe to proceed. If Rosie goes, they would be less tentative about taking the next step. We trotted through some of the open fields, crossed a sand bridge and walked through some water that still was covered in the morning’s ice. Both Fancy and Zeta weren’t too keen on it breaking under their feet and went for higher ground.

We rode out on the river and interrupted a goose hunter. Evidently he didn’t see us or wanted to make sure we knew he was there when he fired four shots and brought down a goose not far from where we were standing. We decided we should probably find another trail. The same horse that spooked at plywood was unbothered by the sounds of gunfire.

I feel a little like I am cheating on Windy, but I know that every ride I can put on Fancy is important right now. The more I can expose her to, the more she sees, the more conditioned she becomes – the better trail horse she will be. She has some pretty big shoes to fill, and although her style is quite different, she is coming along just fine. I know we couldn’t replace Ginger, but I’m confident Fancy will get where ever “there” is in her own way. Tomorrow I am taking both mares out again and a friend will ride Fancy. We’ll have her good and broke by the time John has time to start riding with us again.

Flying South

2011-11-17T11:17:00.001-06:00

It is a crisp and chilly day here on the plains. (Yes, sounds like my poor attempt at the first line of a bad novel!) Just nineteen degrees. John put the horses in the corral yesterday because he was working on the pasture fence, so the dogs and I went out to check if all is well and pleased to find no fresh bite marks on Fancy. We have an automatic waterer, but I also like to keep a fresh tank filled in case one of the bossy mares would try to keep Fancy from it. The fresh tank was empty and when I went to fill it, I realized I had forgotten to unfasten the hose from the faucet so a bit frozen this morning. I unhooked it and pulled it out into the sunshine. It shouldn’t take long to thaw.

Temps are expected to reach 50 again today (now I sound like the noon weatherman), but with strong winds which seems to be the norm lately. I took the day off today in hopes of getting some outdoor time. Tomorrow I am flying to Austin for the day and as luck would have it, it is predicted to be the last nice day for awhile. The weekend looks wet and cold.

While I was outside, I heard the geese flying south, too, before I could actually see them. We’ll see more of these flocks in days to come – we seem to be on the direct route.

The other day when I put Fancy in with the herd, Butter had been down in the pasture by herself. She saw some activity and came running up to the corral. Windy was standing next to Fancy and approached Butter. It almost looks like she is warning Butter to behave herself so they can all stay together.

Yeah, Butter isn’t buying the plan for one minute, is she?

Later out in the pasture, for the most part, the horses ignored Fancy but every now and then, Butter had to give her a little run. Once again, you can see Windy watching over like she is very disappointed in Butter. I know, I am anthropomorphizing, but don’t all of us who have animals do a little bit of that? Didn’t Dr. Doolittle make us all believers?

Wrapping It Up

2011-11-13T20:52:00.001-06:00

Today it was time to do the dirty. The dirty job, that is, of cleaning out the trailer, winterizing it and putting it away for the next few months. With the price of diesel at $4 a gallon, it certainly doesn’t take much arm twisting. For any day rides, I can take my bumper pull hooked to my Durango and enjoy the 60 cents a gallon price difference. And before you say diesels get better mileage…. ah, no. Mine doesn’t. My 1/2 ton Durango with a hemi pulls my bumper pull with better mileage than my diesel. And most of my friends who have 3/4 ton gas burners get better mileage than my diesel. But if you have hung with me over the years, you know how I feel about my truck. I hate it. But anyway, back to today…..

The trailer wasn’t in bad shape; I am usually pretty good about cleaning it between trips, but hadn’t since we returned from Kanopolis. I swept the shavings out and then pulled the mats and cleaned the floors. I also scrubbed manure and fly poop off the walls; stopped short of the ceiling other than spraying it. The cold water coming down my shirt sleeve was a bit much for November. I took a “before” picture, but forgot to take one after the work was over.

In the living quarters, I cleaned out clothes and food items that I didn’t think would winter well. Drained the water tank and scrubbed the counter, refrigerator and and floor. All that’s left is draining the water heater and pulling the battery. John made room in what I lovingly call his “80% Shed” (My friend Mary and I are blessed with handy husbands but commiserate that many of the projects are only 80% done.) Next weekend I’ll finish the job and hook up the bumper pull to my Durango and make sure everything is working on it. And then Miss Fancy Pants will need to have a loading lesson in that trailer. She has been real good about loading so for and I don’t expect a problem, but I also don’t want to find a problem if I were in a hurry.

I had a minor meltdown today. I was putting things into the tack room and was mindful of Ginger’s bridle, Ginger’s halter, Ginger’s original saddle. A particular mellow selection of songs on Pandora radio and 101 other reminders made my heart ache and the tears poured again easily. Fancy has been a good diversion but the pain of losing Ginger is still so close to the surface.

Speaking of which, today was also herd integration day; all five horses are now together. And it went fairly well, thank goodness. That is Fancy standing to the right of Baby; eating from the same bale. Who’d of thunk? I guess Baby must have figured out that the key to getting back with Blue is being nice to the new girl. The corral is open to the pasture so they all have plenty of room to get away from each other. Help her make it through the night….

Weather Gods

2011-11-12T07:41:00.001-06:00

Early in the week when Friday’s forecast was predicted in the fifties, a few of us with flexible Friday hours started making some ride plans. I work from home on Friday mornings and was so confident it was going to be a slow day that I blocked my calendar and took PTO. But Murphy’s Law kicked in and that didn’t happen. I was worrying if I was going to make ride time at all that afternoon. I did, but was late. I hate being the one people are waiting on because I know how frustrating it is – especially when a day like Friday temperature wise was a gift we won’t see very often again for months.

I brought both Fancy and Windy and Fancy served as a guest horse. I wouldn’t loan her out to just anyone, but my friend, Corie, is an experienced rider albeit she is just coming off an injury. I assumed she would ride Fancy but gave her the option of Windy. Truth be known, Windy isn’t the easiest ride. But from everything Corie had heard about Fancy, she was fine riding her. We tacked up quickly and hit the trail about thirty minutes later than planned (big sigh).

Camp Moses Merrill is a private bible camp and convention center located about 20 miles north of me. And they are kind enough to open their near 600 acres to horse trail riders for a small fee. It is a very tough ride on the horses; lots of hills and tough on riders if you don’t know where the trails are as many are hidden among the the trees. We’ve been riding there for over ten years, so not so tough on me except times like this after the leaves have fallen; sometimes the trails just disappear under it all.

We saw an abundance of deer; they don’t hunt Camp Moses, so I like to think they are taking shelter from the season which starts today. We were startled once by a man approaching us in camouflage. He was coming from the adjoining property and putting up No Trespassing signs in preparation of hunting season, ensuring that riders don’t get off the trail and into the warzone of high powered rifles.

One of the trails open up to a hay pasture which appeared the camp had sectioned off with electric fence for their personal herd to graze. We continued up the field road and before my eye could catch up to the fact that the electric fence was down, Windy stepped into it. She startled, spun and started to head back down the trail. I could hear the fence still on her foot and while attempting a one-rein stop, my brain was telling me to bale off. As I was looking for a soft place to land, Windy stopped.

Now mind you, this field road was not a path but a pretty wide open space. After the fireworks and thinking that was the only suspect part of that fencing, we continued on – all the while watching the fenceline. I was following Mary on her horse Sara and Corie on Fancy. We all saw at the same time the fence was down again. I looked at the horses in front of me and saw that it was laying on the ground about an inch left of Sara’s hoof. Fancy was to Sara’s right.

I got off Windy and gave her to Lauren who was riding behind me and started to approach Sara so I could move the downed fence. Probably hearing Lauren leave with Windy, Fancy started to back around Sara. Before I could get to the fence on the ground, Fancy was caught up in it. I cringed as I saw Corie struggling to keep Fancy still while looking to step off. And what was no time at all, Fancy was out of it and standing still enough for Corie to quickly dismount. I am not sure who was shaking more: the horses or Corie and me.

There were five riders and four mares and a gelding. Corie said Fancy was a bit snarly at the other horses; a side of her I haven’t seen yet (Fancy, not Corie ). I think she is starting to gain some confidence and is getting in a little bit better physical condition so perhaps we are seeing a little stronger Fancy. John will enjoy that; he is not used to a quiet ride although I think he is starting to appreciate it.

The weather gods surprised us with temperatures that reached sixty-six degrees. Such a gift for November 11th in Nebraska. Although today is to be just as nice, rifle season opens for deer hunting, so being out on trails on a horse is not the place to be. I will probably ride a bit in our arena or pasture just to take advantage of the day but won’t be dodging any bullets out and about on the trails.

If Not Drugs, A Tumor?

2011-11-07T22:43:00.001-06:00

I know I have mentioned our past horse purchases. First there was “kid-broke (three-year-old) Ginger. And once, after purchasing a pretty paint mare at a sale, my non-horse sister-in-law called me the next day to ask if I bought a horse. I thought it odd she call, but she went on to explain that a co-worker of hers saw me bidding and knew the horse. It broke it’s last owners back. That mare didn’t stay with us long. There was the pretty black mare that broke three of John’s ribs and the pretty black gelding that was most likely navicular. And there were others. So by the time I bought Windy back, although she had been ridden, I was hoping she wasn’t too old to bring back from the dark side should she have one. (The jury is still out.)

When we found ourselves horse shopping after Ginger died, although I was quite anxious to get another horse, I also knew we had time to look. I wanted to start out looking for our ideal. We saw a few before I stumbled across Fancy’s ad, but none had really tripped our trigger. I consulted with a friend, a very respected horse breeder, about Fancy. She liked her looks and breeding and pointed out that we shouldn’t disregard what training she has had. Although I was somewhat bargain shopping, my friend pointed out that I needed to look at the horse and the training and together, it sounded like a great deal.

You know the rest; the first trip to Rock Creek to last weekend at Kanopolis; Fancy just takes it all in stride. We joked initially that the drugs hadn’t worn off yet, but now long past, I tend to wonder if she has a brain tumor. We just don’t luck out with horses of this nature.

This past weekend, there was a “Haunted Trail Rider Challenge” being held about an hour away. A few of the Horsetalers decided to go and because I knew I’d be in good company, I decided to take Fancy. Why not? She has been unshakeable so far and I haven’t really had a chance to ride her outside the arena. We didn’t have to do anything really; just soak it all in and give her more exposure. I did invite John to come along but told him I was riding his mare. He had other plans so wasn’t interested in going. Good thing, because he would have had to take Butter. I don’t like him riding Windy and I sure didn’t want him competing with me on MY horse. (Ignore the double standard, please.)

Well, we came, we went and we didn’t come home a winner as far as points are concerned, but her performance was a major success in my book. With just a cluck, she attempted most things I asked – most without hesitation or concern. Truly, her only angst was over hoola hoops and even that was a delayed reaction. The following pictures were taken both during warm up and competition.

We started by playing with some of the obstacles that weren’t part of competition. I was surprised at how easy it was to ask her to approach a challenge and see her look and act. Don’t you just wonder what is going through her head (beside the tumor?)

She stepped right over this tarp covered mattress. I had my druthers: I think of all the things that can go wrong like getting one of her shoes stuck in the tarp. There was another tarp over the ground that was covered with garden hose & once again, she stepped on it and crossed. The tires in the foreground of this picture were “steps” which we went up and down.

During competition, we were asked to stop at this plastic birdbath and pick up a stuffed lollipop and then trot a circle 8. I was really impressed with how she set herself up when I asked for a stop and stood quietly while I reached for the item.

We were asked to back through the U-shaped timber. We started on the right side and I attempted to turn her on the forehand to get over to the other side. She had a little problem lining up, but it was really just communication – her learning what I’m asking or me learning how to ask her correctly

I just liked this picture. She had a nice headset. My posture could have been better; I look like I have a touch of scoliosis.

This was an interesting obstacle. The PVC pole was left next to the fence and I was to fetch it and place the end on the barrel and then circle it. I couldn’t get her sidled up to pole enough for me to reach it, so I asked the judge to put it in my hand. Fancy wasn’t too startled by it, but she would attempt to walk away from it when I would lift it toward the barrel, so we just called it good by holding it.

The challenge started by going in the gate which we did, but it wasn’t pretty. And lastly, we had to go out the gate; and we nailed it.

The most important thing I learned is our mare is very willing. (Note, I say “our” mare.) There were some things she didn’t do, but not so much because of fear or stubbornness but more from confusion; not understanding what I was asking. And that is reasonable. She was trained by someone else and we have to learn to sync up with what she has been taught. All that will take time. Don’t tell Windy, but I am pretty sure she would have placed higher than my pretty bay mare. Although Windy is a little more refined to my ask, she has no use for silly pet tricks. I am not sure I would have gotten her to go under the inflatable, as shown at the top of this post. Fancy passed through it like it wasn’t there.

My same wise friend pointed out that I shouldn’t compare the two mares but appreciate what each can teach me and what I can learn to apply to the other. And I think that is good advice. If there is no drugs in this mare’s system and she doesn’t have a brain tumor, I think we may have made one of our best horse purchases.

Did I mention that I had FUN? I really, really did!

Windy Ride

2011-11-05T19:46:00.003-05:00

The title should not be confused with “Riding Windy”. I rode Fancy… in the wind.

I hated to leave my housework post as my only accomplishment this weekend, albeit I did get the place a bit livable for now. Having been gone all last weekend and having to travel twice this week for work, things were looking pretty chaotic on the home front. Laundry is now under control and I could safely invite in guests without too much embarrassment.

Anyway, back to my windy ride.

November is teasing us with near sixty degree weather, but true to Nebraska, it doesn’t come without wind. Today it started blowing in the morning with gusts over 40 mph. It’s hard to enjoy the warmer temps. But, not to be discouraged – because it could be 30 degree with wind – I decided I would ride.

I had planned to ride Windy, but I’m a bit nervous about taking Fancy on an event tomorrow, so saddled her instead. I can tell she is getting much more confident in the weeks since we had her; she lunged nicely for me and I saw enough that I was ready to ride. After a little while in the arena, I took her off to discover the trail around the perimeter of our property.

I worked her on going over the bridge quite a bit before I finally relented and led her over it. After that, we crossed it a few more times on foot and mounted. Same with the water crossing which is next to the highway. I have to admit I didn’t spend a lot of time on the try on this one. I still have nightmares over the highway scene on The Horse Whisperer. In my mind, I could see her bolting up the hill for the highway. In my mind, I told myself to dismount quickly and keep a hold of the reins. The mind can play funny tricks on you. But alas, there were no highway scenes played out.

We did gates, we opened the door to the truck, we walked over a log… we just took care of business. I won’t say she wasn’t nervous – she was – and so was I. But she left the barn, she left the herd and she did pretty much everything I asked, so can’t complain.

So, as I mentioned earlier – tomorrow I am stepping out of my comfort zone and taking her to an event called The Haunted Trail Rider Challenge. From what I understand, these are obstacles set up in an arena; a competition of sorts. I am going solo and my goal is to just expose her to new things and in the process hopefully not embarrass myself too bad.

“New horse.”

“Only 4 years old.”

“Hasn’t been ridden for a year until we got her.”

“Really, she is my husband’s horse.”

I have all the excuses/disclaimers ready! Wish us luck.

Stalling

2011-11-05T10:06:00.001-05:00

This post is terribly off topic and titled as such because my goal today was housework. And then horse time. But I keep getting sidetracked from cleaning. I absolutely HATE it.

Here are a few things I thought I would share with you with regards to housework.

1) Laundry Detergent. I am no longer a brand snob. When Tide and Cheer were no longer available for under $10, I started trying some of the store brands and found there is NO DIFFERENCE in the cleanliness of my clothes. Dress clothes turn out just as nice and football uniforms still need a stain sprayer. But I bet I save 75% by buying the no-name brands.

2) Dishwasher Soap: I did not find the off brands to work as well but a friend’s plumber recommended Finish over Cascade and I tried it and concurred. It works BETTER than Cascade and is cheaper, too.

3) I will never, ever buy a front load washer again. I don’t know if its just me, but a lot of my freshly washed clothes end up on the floor in front of the washer before getting loaded into the dryer. I HATE it. My luck this will be a washer that will last forever but if it doesn’t, I will replace it with a top loader.

4) And unrelated to housework, why the heck is diesel fuel over 50 cents higher than regular. I cannot WAIT to trade in my diesel for a gas burner. So there!

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled program.

First Snow

2011-11-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

Supposedly we had our first snow today, but I was jetting at 40,000 feet to Texas and by the time I returned, it had melted. So does it count if I was sitting in 80 degree weather while my fellow Nebraskans were texting me pictures of the nasty stuff? Believe me, I don’t mind missing it At. All.

Horsekeeping continues to be a challenge. Butter was not happy having to be the corral-mate of the new girl. Fancy's bite marks were just beginning to heal when we returned from Kanopolis and we hated to put her through that again. We decided to try putting Blue, our only gelding, in with her.

Blue and Ginger were the herd bosses and none of the others would cross them. Both were passive leaders; they led the herd through looks, not bites or kicks, and they were respected. Today, however, I realize Blue fed off Ginger’s courage because without her, he hasn’t really stepped up to the plate. He has not really left Baby’s side since Ginger passed and Baby is an aggressive horse. We don’t need her moving into the lead position so perhaps without Blue at her side, she’ll step back to her lessor role.

The first night bunking with Blue, Fancy had some fresh bites but I’m not sure if they were from Blue or perhaps Baby reaching over the fence. Those first 24 hours, from the looks of the poop trail, Blue and Baby stood next to each other, with the fence between them. If Fancy came nearby, she would be within range of Baby reaching her.

I opened the pasture gate so Baby, Windy and Butter could leave the corral. I figured Windy and Butter would, but I was surprised to find that on Day 2, Baby joined them in the pasture. Since then, Fancy has had no more bites and on occasion, I have caught her and Blue eating from the same flake of hay.

Perhaps it will all work out. The sooner, the better.

.

Kanopolis

2011-10-31T22:44:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, we joined our friends Rich & Kathy and Jules & Steve for a last chance camping trip at Kanopolis State Park near Marquette, Kansas. We actually planned this many months ago knowing with weather it can be a crap shoot. We truly lucked out weather wise and if this ends up being the last riding trip of the year, it was a good one!

The first time I went to Kanopolis was for my first Cowgirl Weekend about nine years ago. We had a return visit there a few years ago but it was one place John and Jule's husband, Steve, had never been. In the heart of Kansas, it could be ungodly hot in the mid summer, but quite beautiful in the fall both colorwise and weatherwise, if timed right. And we did.

Having just picked up Fancy, our vet was able to get the Coggins test done quickly for out of state travel and our farrier put shoes on her. It is a bit rockier down there and not knowing how she handles any terrain, it was good insurance that she not get sore. We hit the road early Friday morning for the four hour drive; getting there around noon.

Our friends were out riding when we arrived, so we took the time to set up camp and then rode a short loop that first day. The next morning was a perfect fall day and we were on the trail shortly after nine that morning.

We barely got a mile when I had to stop and take pictures. The reflections of the trees on the water was breathtaking and much prettier by eye than can be captured by the camera, but I tried.

There are a couple caves that provide a great backdrop for photos.

And the water crossings could be a challenge for some horses, but Fancy didn’t blink an eye.

We worked our way though the Red Rock and Horse Thief Canyon, some places walking on sheer rock.

And again, stopped for any photo opportunity I could find.

It was a short weekend for 8 hours round trip of driving time, but well worth it. Hopefully this last big weekend will carry me through the winter months coming up. Not likely, but a good thought anyway.

John’s Fancy mare did outstanding. She never refused a water crossing or a climb. She kept up with the foxtrotters who were leading the ride and loped next to Windy and me. She is as mellow as Ginger was hot. A good change for John, I think. So far, so good anyway.

Washington Arabians

2011-10-30T20:46:00.001-05:00

We were coming through Kansas today and had this big rig pass us. On the door of the truck and the trailer said “Whelihan Farms”. I pulled out my Iphone and googled and found Whelihan Arabian Farm in Washington. I seem to recall Paint Girl mentioned going to Oklahoma for an Arabian show and followed MiKael’s trip to Oklahoma, too. I wonder if this group wasn’t returning from the same show. They turned west before we hit Nebraska.

We had a perfect autumn weekend; will fill you in on it soon. My sympathies to those west and east who had their first snow storm this past weekend. I know our time will come. Until not, we are soaking up what is left of fall.

Say Goodbye to Summer

2011-10-27T23:09:00.001-05:00

We have had a spectacular fall with sunny days and mild temperatures. I keep thinking this will be the last one and then we are dealt one more. This weekend is suppose to be in the sixties and we will be taking advantage of what could be the end of the riding season.

Fancy is bunking with Butter and Butter is not pleased. But she seems to be the most benign solution right now. Fancy has a few bite marks but nothing serious. I let them out to pasture together last weekend and let them run it off until they called a truce.

John and I took our mares out riding the Rescue Road last weekend. Rescue was a small railroad town; abandoned after the tracks were pulled up. The railroad bed is now a minimum maintenance dirt road, lined with trees and not much, if any, traffic. If we ride from the lake, it’s nine miles round trip, but we parked a mile up the road so only got 7 miles out of the ride. Fancy did spectacular and encountering combines, tractors, shredders, cows and ATVs were non-issues for her.

Windy was real good about leading, but I would drop back and see if Fancy would take the lead. And she did. She wasn’t too worried about being first or last. She was very interested in looking at everything around her, but not spooky at all.

We took her to the farrier this week and it was probably the first time she didn’t behave perfectly. Her previous owner said she had only had shoes on as a two year old, so she was a little fussy, but not bad. Considering she has already been camping, trail riding, moved to a new home, beaten up by a little round mare, blood drawn from vet for health papers and now had nails driven into her hooves, I think she is due a little fit.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, we had a little English lesson, too. You guessed it, a non-event. A friend asked me if this mare is going to be too quiet for John. I don’t know? Definitely different than Ginger. How much of Ginger’s fire was nature and how much was nurture? John loved to hot rod on Ginger and she complied. But it was hard for Ginger to come down and many of his rides were a challenge. I don’t think Fancy has that much spirit and I can’t help but think John might appreciate a mellower ride; learning the buttons of this new mare. He can pull out Butter when he has a need for speed.

A Fancy Mare

2011-10-19T18:13:00.001-05:00

“Here’s your one chance, Fancy, don’t let me down.”

Although Lucy was a close second and Maggie May was my personal favorite, John has decided we can try the name “Fancy” on our new mare and see if it sticks. Of course we usually end up with barn names for our barn names….

Blue’s registered name is Reggie Blue. He came to us as Dewey and that just didn’t roll off our tongue, so we called him Blue. But though the course of his life with us, he’s been nicknamed Edgy Reggie and Blue Boy. Baby isn’t registered and when we got her, I named her Duch. But she has always been our Baby. When we got Ginger, her name was Katie. I always wanted a horse named Ginger, so we changed it. She had also been known as Red, Little Red and Redneck.

Butter came to us as Butterscotch. We shortened it to Butter. But depending on her mood, she is Butter-Butt, Butter-Ball, Butter-Nut, Butter-Rum……

I think I told you Windy was named as such because she was born on an incredibly windy day. When we sold her as a yearling, her new owner named her some Indian name like Commanche or something like that… Then the next owner called her Misty. When she came back to us, so did her name: Windy. But her nickname is Poo or Poo-Bear.

So who knows what the Fancy mare will end up being called in a long run, but for now, Fancy it is. And due to chilly temps and biting wind, the above picture is the best that I could do today. There will be better days for better pictures.

A Horse With No Name

2011-10-16T21:18:00.002-05:00

I really wanted my first post about “the mare” to include some pictures that shows her really pretty face. She has such a cute head; very soft eye (except when she unloads in a strange place at dark) and seems very kind. I’ll toss in some cell phone pictures as the story unwinds and get you some good ones later this week.

As you might imagine, in my spare time I have been searching Equine.com, Dreamhorse.com, Craig’s List and all the other sites I could find looking for that horse that fits my description in the prior post. I would filter it to those specifications and find very little in the area I know John would travel to look; going over 100 miles to look at a horse is just plain crazy, in his book. So I’d expand the search to include bays, livers or blacks or maybe geldings but nothing tripped my trigger.

This mare was found buried in a text ad. She fit some of my criteria but there were no pictures posted. I can veto a horse on pictures alone and will. So I requested photos. In the meantime, we looked at some mares the neighbor had for sale; nice enough, but just wasn’t “the one”. I’d gotten a few responses to my ad, but none of them really grabbed me. Although John said he wanted a horse Ginger’s size (14.3hh), I really wanted something over 15hh.

I put the above picture on Facebook & McCain commented that he thought this was an old picture of Dad on Ginger.

The ad for this mare said 16hh which John did not want, and I’ve found many (most?) are represented as being a bit bigger than they really are – not on purpose – I think we just estimate sometimes and it happens. So I was gambling this mare wasn’t a true 16hh. A few days later the pictures arrived. Wow. The pictures matched the description. She may be the one.

Okay, this is getting too long…. just get to the story. She was started by the trainer who started my friend, Joni’s, show horses and who put 45 days on Windy. And Joni knew the girl who rode her in 4H. After 4H, she went to a trainer who I think trained Blue before I owned him. Anyway, small world for just pulling an ad off the internet.

So we want to go see her and she said anytime except 1:00, when someone else was seeing her. I thought, “yeah, right”. Just a ploy to get me there first and buy her. So I told her we would come after the other buyer, if we had time. I texted her at 1:30 and asked if they showed. She said, “yes”, and that they were still there. Darn. So I asked her to text me if she didin’t sell. By 3:30, no text. I was going crazy. So I texted her. “Did she sell?”, I asked? And the reply was, “I still have her.” I told John to get his boots on, “we are driving 82.2 miles to see a girl about a horse!”

We tried, we liked, and we bought. The loaded her up with Windy, who had made the road trip with us, and headed out to one of our favorite horse camps and trails not far from where the horse was located. May as well break her in quickly.

We put her in a corral at the campground next to Windy, fed and watered them and turned in for the night. This morning, we saddled her and rode out with a half dozen or so friends. For not being on the trails before, this mare did awesome. She looked, but didn’t spook. She crossed water and learned how to carry a rider down a hill. Not that these trails were difficult, but for a young mare, her willingness was incredible.

No, she is not a true 16hh. Maybe 15.2hh on her tippy toes; a tad taller than Windy; just about perfect.

What isn’t so great is her name. She is registered as Bartending For Money. So I was hoping she would have a nice, cute barn name. Nope. They called her Bar Maid. Bar Maid?? How could such a pretty horse have such an awful name! Technically, since she is John’s horse, he should choose the name – but if he did, her name would be Sue or Tits. (Don’t ask.) So I will provide a list of names and he can have final say. I think. Out of all the ones I have suggested, so far only “Becky” has made the list. And he wasn’t real keen on that.

On the top side, she is by Lose Money by Two Eyed Red Buck and out of Moneys Best Dream. On the bottom, she is out of Bartender Button out of Miss Acey Button by Silver Bartender. If you are familiar with Pitzer breeding, her papers pretty much include the who’s who of their stallions: Two Eyed Bartender, Two Eyed Jack, Watch Jo Jack, Mr. Baron Red and Two Eyed Patti.

So, what would you name this pretty red mare?

.

We Found Her!

2011-10-16T18:59:00.002-05:00

Here is a portion of the ad I placed on my own website:

Wanted Sorrel Mare
Ad Description : Looking for a 2 - 4 yr old sorrel or chestnut mare. Healthy & nice looking a must; unstarted okay. We do not want anyone else's problems. We recently lost one of our good saddle horses and looking to replace her. QH, appendix or solid paint okay. Grade horses considered. Nothing gaited and no spots. Solid sorrel. Must mature to at least 15hh and be more lean built than stocky cow bred. Big butts need not apply. And please, nothing that is bred or exposed to a stallion......

And this is who we brought home today. Not too bad, huh? Details to come….

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The Dance

2011-10-10T21:29:00.001-05:00

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared beneath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance.

Did I tell you about the last ride I had on Ginger? It was a week before she died (gosh, its still so hard to say that.) I went to ride with the Platte River Riders on the Oak Creek Trail near my home. I always consider that trail “my trail” because our Trails Committee made it; cleared all 14 miles of it for horse trail riders. Anyway, I was on my trail and I could (and have) rode that trail in the dark; I know it so well.

I had a terrible headache that night and almost didn’t go. But it was so close to home and I knew once I was out, I would feel better. After we crossed the first bridge, Ginger put on her walking shoes and we were moving. Before long, I could no longer hear the other riders behind me, nor did I care. I was in my own little world.

That evening as I was riding Ginger, I posted on Facebook, “There are days I just love the red mare. Today is one of those.” And the moments later after a quick sprint across an open area, I said, “She is a different horse when I ride her. Just had the most beautiful 22 mph lope, head down, relaxed. You'd never believe its John's hell bitch. :).”

When I was about five miles out, I realized I didn’t have much daylight left and needed to get back. When I reached that open area, the moon was starting to rise. It was dark. I have never known a more sure-footed horse; I kissed her into a run. Have you ever ran a horse in the dark? It was exhilarating! I’ll never forget that ride. And like the song says, “I’m glad I didn’t know, the way it all would end…. I could have missed the pain but I’d have had to miss the dance.” This was our last dance and it is a wonderful memory.

I haven’t wrote her official obituary yet. I will; I owe her that. One day I will sit down at the computer and it will come easily. But not yet.

Blue and Butter used to be part of The A Team. When we were all riding, they were who the kids would ride. In shape (well, kind of) and ready to go.

As the kids rode less and less, they kind of slipped to The B Team. When I pulled them out last week to start putting some time on either/or, I realized just how grossly out of shape Blue really is and in addition, may need to be adjusted. Riding him was like going over a washboard!

And Butter-butt? Well, at first she just had a bad attitude which she has carried around for the last year or so, but when riding her, I also felt something a bit off. I lunged her and couldn’t see anything. Then when John rode her the next day, he noticed her off right away. A vet visit later, she is being treated for an abscess. So both of The B Team have been demoted to The C Team.

Just for the fun of it, I got out who I refer to as The DD Team: Baby. Ah, yeah. I don’t see her moving up in the ranks any time soon.

We went horse shopping this weekend. We never found anything but didn’t really expect to yet. It’s just the first step. Although its fun to shop, I hate the reason why.

An Award

2011-10-08T20:31:00.000-05:00

Ever so often in Blogland, a fellow blogger passes along awards to those whose blogs they read. I would like to thank Arlene at Grey Horse Matters for recognizing Horsetrailriders.

Like many of you, most of the blogs I read are horse related. While geographically, Arlene and I are a half a country apart, I have enjoyed following Grey Horse Matters, seeing her beautiful farm via her pictures (the landscaping is to die for!) and sharing weather woes while we wait for the next spring. And, we both have horses named Blue. I started following her blog when she rescued Sami and Sweetie, or perhaps read back to the story, but was hooked ever since. Thank you again, Arlene, for the award and especially for your kind words when we lost Ginger.

The award has a couple of conditions. 1) To pass it on to fifteen other bloggers and 2) To mention seven facts about me.

I read a lot of blogs – many of those all of you read – so I will call out a few that may not be on everyone’s blog roll but definitely worth it to click over and visit.

The Cheyenne Chronicles takes us to Scotland. Don’t we all dream of riding there someday? And do any of you who tune in to Cheyenne, read it with an accent like I do?

Mindee’s Our Front Door is another local blogger who I have been following for some time now. Her blog has given me many laugh-out-loud moments.

I love Shiloh Horse Rescue. If I were to ever do a rescue, that is the one I would clone it after. I love the that she has a “gummie” corral and pigs named Lindsey Lohan and Jimmie Dean. This is what I would do if I were to win the lottery.

Horses Are Our Lives: Brenda is from my area and one of my riding buddies. She is a trainer by trade and Windy has spent many days at Camp Messick for tune-ups.

Painted Creek Farm and Ranch Girl Diaries: Bloggers, horse lovers, sisters.

Funder, of It seemed like a good idea at the time..., is a distance rider from Reno. I love reading about her rides, her Dixie mare and she is incredibly funny.

Fantastyk Voyage: Val, and her daughter Sheila, from New Mexico, was a special guest at the Friday Before Mother’s Day ride a few years ago. It’s great to keep in touch with her via our respective blogs.

MiKael of MiKael's Mania is the “mini-series” writer of blogs – focusing on a story line and bringing it to life over several days.

Maery Rose, also from the midwest is a Cowgirl by Proxy. She is a writer, mom to dogs and horses and a wonderful photographer.

When it’s It's Sunny in SD, it is probably sunny here, too, as we share state lines.

The Barb Wire: Raise your hand if you want to look and ride like Tamara! (My hand is up!)

50 + Horses: The title got my attention even though I wasn’t quite there… yet.

KC at All Horse Stuff and I have bay mares separated at birth. And some day, I am going to ride those Oregon trails with her.

Follow Robin and Steen On the Trail to Somewhere. And, she is bringing her husband along for the ride. His blog is Diplomatic Bear.

And finally, Debi from Greener Pastures. I so wish we were closer as I would love to meet her in person. I think we could talk for days.

Please - be sure to check out my blog roll to the right of this post. These are all must reads!

And…. drum roll…. the 7 (dreaded) facts about me. Hmmm. I am such an open book that it is hard to come up with something I haven’t already shared…

1) For those who follow football, although I am a Nebraska native, I am not particularly a Nebraska Husker fan. Oh, I want them to win and all, but the game is on while I am typing and probably 2.8 out of 3 televisions in our state is tuned in, I couldn’t care less.

2) I was 31 when I got married. We have been together 23 years. My mom was 30 when she got married (her first and only time).

3) My first car was a Ford Torino. I think it was a 1968 and disgusted that I can’t remember for sure because, for a girl, I am pretty good about knowing years of cars.

4) I am a speeder. It has taken too many tickets and a teenaged boy on our insurance to finally get me to slow down. But there are still some days I will glance down and be going 80 mph. My Durango with a hemi stays garaged most of the time and I commute in a 2000 Ford Focus. It keeps me out of trouble.

5) I love to mow the lawn. And I don't like vegetables. I know, technically 2 things but I thought they went together. ;)

6) Dogs love me. As I sit here, my “team” of dogs are all nearby and would be on my lap if I’d let them. (I don’t think they like Husker football either.)

Am I done yet?

7) There are a few people in my life who can make me laugh until I cry: my sister and brother, my boss and my friend, Jules. There are others, but these four come to mind first and foremost. I have totally lost it in churches, meetings and stores when with one of these culprits. And in my book, there is nothing better than laughter.

(PS: To sound like I am somewhat interested, I just asked John what the score is. And I have no idea what he just told me. That is just how interested I am…. )

A Hard Act to Follow

2011-10-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

Butter has been on an extended vacation but that’s about to end. It’s time she steps up to the plate and she has some big horse shoes to fill. I guess for now, she’ll be John’s main ride. And my back-up horse. And the guest horse extraordinaire. She’s kind of a cranky thing; I’m not sure she is going to like these extra duties.

Case first rode Butter in 2004, then owned by a friend of ours. At that time, she was just three years old - and certainly not an age for a young child - but had a nice start and was a good size for our then seven-year old boy who had been riding for almost three years. The next year we had an opportunity to buy her and we did.

The boy and the horse grew up together. While good parents would most often find an older horse for a child, Case and Butter did okay together. Oh, she got away with things she shouldn’t have and as a team they probably were a little too wild, but the boy is now almost 15 and Butter is 11, and they have had a lot of fun and survived so far.

From boy....

From boy.....

To young man....

Butter isn’t a tall horse; she stands just at 14.2hh. But she is stocky built and although short, I have never felt “too big” on her. As Case passed me in height, I kidded him about being too tall to ride Butter, his long legs hanging well past her stomach. He hasn’t rode much this year and she has grown more buddy and barn sour. The last time we had Butter and Ginger out, I opted to ride Ginger and let John deal with Butter-butt.

I don’t know what John will do about getting another horse. If it were me who lost Windy, I would probably finish the season on one of our other horses but would definitely look for my own horse. But riding isn’t as important to him as it is me. He definitely had a bond with Ginger. He loved her spirit and I am pretty sure he feels he can’t replace that with another horse. It would bore the hell out of him to go look at some well broke horse that lacks the fire he felt with Ginger. His idea of horse shopping would probably be the loose stock they run through at the end of a sale. And that’s okay, too, if that is what he wants.

For now, if the weather holds, we have one more camping trip planned next month. I asked if he planned to take Blue or Butter and he said Butter. So I will start putting a little time on her so she is in some sort of shape for the trip. Her days of leisure are over.

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A Time To Laugh, A Time To Weep

2011-09-25T19:54:00.000-05:00

I know we all keep horses for different reasons. Some of you show, some ride locally, some just appreciate having them nearby. There's no wrong answer to horsekeeping as long as they are cared for. When we bought Ginger all those years ago, we really didn't have a plan as to what we were going to do with the horse - just ride, I guess. But I credit my friend, Tammy Musil, for introducing me to horse trail riding and camping way back when and there has been no looking back.

John, Case & McCain 2008

The early years were spent hauling four horses and two kids and all that takes for a successful weekend. Don't get me wrong; those were the good ol' days. But kids grow older, have different interests and before long its no longer a treat for them to go camping and there are 101 other things they would rather be doing and horses aren't one of them.

Family vacation to South Dakota 2008

Although Case will occasionally ride with us, I guess the last time McCain and Case both joined us was in 2009 when we went to Big Canyon. But my interest never waned. It became harder to find time to get away with the kids' other activities, but it made me appreciate the time I could even more.

Playing games on Ginger at CGW 2009

This was the ninth year I was invited to Kathy's Cowgirl Weekend (CGW) – a four day riding event with just women and a must attend ride for me.In the dead of the winter, Kathy and I started thinking of a way we could extend it beyond those four days. Heck, its my 50th birthday year - what a great present - to spend a week on the road with our horses. Early on we planned our route, but flooding along I-29 made us change our destinations, but not the vacation. Several of the others who spend CGW with us decided to join our pilgrimage.

Just when you think everything is going to work out, life throws a curve ball and we lost Ginger three days before we were to leave. As I mentioned, I planned to take both Ginger and Windy. It wasn't as big deal not to have two horses on the trip as it was an emotional blow.

I’ve blogged about our rides this past week and shared pictures from each of our stops along the way. What pictures can’t capture is the feeling of complete “vacation” I got from this trip. Not only was I away from work, I only had to worry about feeding myself and my horse. I could go to bed when I wanted to and get up when I wanted to. And my best equine companion was either outside my camper door or under my saddle. I rode four new places and each one was completely unlike the previous stop. And without judgment or embarrassment, I was able to grieve the loss of Ginger when my heart started aching. I could talk openly to friends who understand my loss.

Those moments didn’t come often. They would sneak up on me when I least expected it; like when I saw a blemish on Jules’ horse, Tiki, and remembered Ginger’s smiley face blemish. Or sharing a hug from Gail, whose loss of her Mollie a year ago is still fresh. Then the tears would start. But is was okay; to express my hurt without abashment was their gift to me. But besides those moments of pain, for the most part, my vacation was filled with beautiful countryside, fabulous weather, good friends and moments that we laughed until we cried because what we were laughing about was just plain funny. (Thanks, Joni).

I knew coming home and not seeing Ginger in the pasture was going to be hard and it was. But thankfully, the "survivors" didn't rush to the gate to see if Ginger would unload as they usually do when Ginger travels. They treated our arrival as they do any other time Windy would come home -- they answered her whinny, but didn't stop grazing. I don’t remember if I mentioned this here or not, but when I found Ginger that morning, the herd had already separated from her. Perhaps they had already said goodbye.

I’m okay now. I won’t deny that as I type this there isn’t a lump in my throat or that I still won’t cry when I look through pictures or when someone mentions her name. But what was to be my “vacation” turned into a period of mourning that I needed as much as I needed that vacation. I am so blessed to have had that time to not be a wife, a mother or an employee, but a horsewomen who suffered an incredible loss and could let the healing begin.

Cowgirl Weekend 2011

2011-09-24T07:56:00.000-05:00

My friend, Kathy Newberg, together with her friend, the late Joyce Vossler, started Cowgirl Weekend thirteen years ago as a way to make horsewomen more independent from learning to hook up and pull your own rig to exploring new trails. I was invited to join the group nine years ago. As it has evolved, it has become less of a learning weekend – because we are all that now – and more of a fellowship of friendship.

Modeling our "Pajama Jeans" -- as seen on TV! They make great riding pants!

This year, Kathy planned the weekend in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Following the “pre-CGW” trip I most recently blogged about, we pulled into the campground near Tuttle Creek Lake early Thursday afternoon. A few of those invited were already here and before long, the campground was full with the twenty women attending this year’s event. After we tended to our horses, social hour began. It’s the first time many of us have seen each other collectively since last year.

The riding is the most important part of Cowgirl Weekend and Kathy tries to find places that we may not have been before or that are unique and perhaps someplace we wouldn’t have traveled to outside of this event. Other than a few of the competitive trail riders, none of our group has been here before. So when we set out on the trails Friday morning, it was definitely a ride of exploration.

The trails wound through the woods with drastic changes of elevation. Every now and then we would pop out of the trees for views of the lake or the trees on the next bluff just starting to show hints of fall. The trails are very rocky with a lot of switchbacks; makes for some challenging terrain for our otherwise flatland horses. Trust in the horse under you and you’ll find these trails breathtaking and beautiful. I loved to feel Windy tuck her hind end under her as she descended the hills or turn beautifully on the forehand to negotiate the sometimes sharp switchbacks.

Later yesterday we had our own version of the Craig Cameron (perhaps less) Extreme Competition. It was a great exercise for Windy and me and one I have to admit, we didn’t do to well at. She avoided the cavelettis, would not cross the tarp and veered off when loping a circle hoping to return to the herd of waiting horses. I was very disappointed she would not pass through a curtain of trail tape after just marking five miles of trail from the saddle a couple weeks ago. She did however sidepassed beautifully to the mailbox, make a nice circle with a long stick positioned on a barrel and stand quietly while I dismounted and lifted her back leg to clean her hoof which was the final task. I was very impressed with many of the other riders and it was a tough competition!

At CGW 2004, we had our meals catered. It was the start of a wonderful tradition. Although catered is our first option, if we are at a place where we don’t have that luxury, we come up with other food ideas. This year, we are having a series of potluck. Thursday night was all appetizers, last night half the group furnished traditional potluck and the last night the other half will serve international potluck. No dry sandwiches around here; we eat very well.

Off and on, I think about Ginger. I brought her to Cowgirl Weekend twice and she was going to make the trip with Windy and me this time. I am not looking forward to pulling in the driveway and seeing her gone. It will take a long time for me to get used to her absence, even longer for the hurt to go away. This week and CGW has been a good diversion from the pain and the time with my friends and my good mare, priceless.

Milford Lake

2011-09-23T07:35:00.001-05:00

It was a little over an hours drive from Eisenhower Park to Milford Lake near Junction City, KS. It sprinkled intermittently along the way, so it was a good travel day although annoying from a windshield wiper perspective. By the time we reached Milford Lake, the rain had stopped, but it was still quite windy and chilly. We had planned to give the horses the rest of the day off, so after securing them in one of the nice covered stalls provided by the park, we busied ourselves with setting up camp. It was the first night of the trip that I used the heat strip in my trailer; quite chilly!

We have been blessed with beautiful riding weather and the following morning was no exception. Definitely sweatshirt weather, but the sun was shining and once again, it was pretty much a bug free day. The trails around Milford Lake are mowed paths with occasional views of the water. If I were to compare it to trails at home, very much like those on the south side of Branched Oak Lake. Not challenging, but for Day 4 of our trip, a nice easy ride for the horses and for once, no rock.

There was a river trail that looked inviting. It went along the spillway from the dam. We didn’t find it until three hours into our ride and didn’t have enough time to explore. We’ll check it out next time we are in the area.

Later that day, we met up with the rest of our group to begin our annual Cowgirl Weekend in the Flint Hills of Kansas. We’ll ride out mid-morning. The sun has just come up and it looks like it will be another nice day.

Eisenhower State Park / Melvern Lake

2011-09-22T07:12:00.000-05:00

Gosh, what day is it? This gypsy caravan, as we are now calling ourselves, continue to make our way across Kansas. I am writing this from Milford Lake outside of Junction City. We’ll be breaking camp about noon to head to our final destination – joining other friends for our annual Cowgirl Weekend.

On Tuesday, we camped at Eisenhower State Park and rode the trails of Melvern Lake. The day was absolutely God’s gift to us. After some light showers in the morning, the sun came out, the temperature stayed mild and it was close enough to perfect. Around every corner was a photo-op – the horses back-dropped against such a blue, quiet lake. Although the leaves on the trees aren’t changing quite yet, the sumac is turning red and we are starting to see hints of autumn.

Once again, this Kansas campground is second to none. Each camper is offered a nice rocked camping pad with electrical hookups and water. Huge trees provide appropriate shade that even in the summer, the camping would be wonderful. Each pad comes with a big piped corral for the horses with water and easy access to the compost pile.

We rode just under ten miles and got back to camp in time for a light lunch and another light shower as we loaded up the horses to head to our next stop about 120 miles down the road. It rained intermittently as we traveled but had let up when we reached camp. Once again, the campground is above and beyond our expectations. We settled our horses into their covered stalls and decided to give them the rest of the day off. We had a nice dinner, a few marsh mellows over the campfire and called it a night. We’ll ride today before we head out to our final stop of this trip.

Thank you for your notes from my previous post. Grief is very awkward to me. Its very seldom, thank God, that the pain is deep enough to pass to the core of my psyche and 99.9999% of those who know me and those of you who don’t, have been very kind and supportive and I am touched by your words. Now that I’ve slept on it, I realize I shouldn’t have taken the bait and let one comment overshadow the kind words shown by everyone else. You have all really lightened the load and I am blessed to have people in my life who truly understand.

Defining Loss

2011-09-21T22:13:00.001-05:00

Earlier last week, a fellow horse friend’s son underwent brain surgery for an abscess. This young man had been hospitalized off and on over the last several weeks and it wasn’t until recently that they could identify what was causing his illness. A risky surgery, we were all glued to Facebook that day waiting for updates. And when we received the good news of his successful surgery, there was a collective sigh of relief which went through our online equine community. While prayers are still being offered for his strength and that of his family during this recovery, we are happy to know he is home with his family again.

The loss of a loved one is something most of us fear. As a parent, it is particularly hard when we know someone’s child is suffering because we easily relate to the pain the parent must be feeling which is beyond what any of us want to face. Someone posted that having a child go through this ordeal kind of puts the loss of a horse “into perspective.”

Zing. No doubt geared toward the recent notes of sympathy that I received on the same list serv following the loss of Ginger. And I couldn’t agree more. Our priorities in life should focus on the people we love. It doesn’t, however, make the loss of our pets any less real. How do you define loss?

I have to admit that although Ginger was technically John’s horse, I felt the loss as if she were my own. She was our first horse; the one I feared and the one who helped me overcome that fear. She was the one I would loan to friends to ride; she was my spare. As the mother to Windy, I recognized her traits in my own horse. I told the girls I am camping with this week that I have not taken the loss of an animal this hard since I lost Macy, our springer spaniel, in 1998. The support from my friends though this ordeal has been incredible and comforting.

Over the last few days as I have been working to come to grips with my grief, I worry about John. He suffered a loss, too. How he must feel to not have his horse out in the pasture anymore. Has he thought about upcoming rides and his plans? Does he look at Blue or Butter and know that even though they are there to ride, they aren’t “his horse”? We haven’t talked about the loss of his dad in 2004, how can he articulate how he feels about the loss of something which has been recently pointed out as less consequential? Is it any wonder that it is uncomfortable for people to share their feelings about a loss of a pet when others call you out for not putting it “in perspective”.

This blog was created to share my horse life and unfortunately, it now includes the loss of one of our best horses. And “best” has nothing to do about how well she was trained or a pedigree; it is about how much we loved her. It is not to make it any less than or greater than it was. There is still human sickness, death and war going on and the death of my horse was really a blip on no one’s radar but our own and those who loved her. I understand this, but it doesn't make the loss any easier to take. And it does kind of piss me off when people tell me how I should or shouldn't be feeling.

Perry Lake

2011-09-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

Day 1. I wonder how my family is going to function with me gone for a week? I swear my cell phone didn’t stop ringing until their first period bell rang. And finally, I could drive in peace.

I met Mary and Sharron first and a half hour later, Kathy joined our convoy. Another 40 minutes or so and Kelly, the fifth person in our caravan tucked in behind us. For the most part, we stayed together. I led the pack with occasional cars and trucks getting in between us. It was pretty cool to look in my rearview mirror and see the trailers behind me. We reached our first destination about noon. We set up camp and had lunch while I horses relaxed and then headed out on the trail.

I was surprised to find the trails a little rockier than I had envisioned. Windy is shod on the fronts but has very thin hoof walls on her rear and we have struggled with shoes in the past. My current farrier will not put them on and I agree with his decision. I have a pair of boots that work in a pinch. They seemed to work okay until we got into some muddy areas. I finally gave up and tied them to my saddle. They won’t do much good there, but we seemed to get out of the worst of the rock and would work to avoid it the rest of the afternoon.

It was a nice quiet day to catch up with friends. We talked about Ginger, shed a few tears and then moved on. I know with this group that anytime I want to share, I can.

The only excitement today was Windy bolting. We were second to the last on the trail and all of a sudden she shot off like a bullet; very unlike her. I tried to pull her in with one rein and the same leg to her side when I realized THAT leg was tangled in a branch and every time I moved my leg, I pushed it further under her belly and back legs. Zuni and Kathy heard me coming and cleared the trail. I looked ahead at Mary and her horse, Sara, and knew Mary would take the impact if I needed her to but before we collided, I had freed my boot (spur?) of the branch and Windy stopped. She was a bit shook up but nothing a short breather and a couple of treats wouldn’t fix. She so rarely spooks so I’ll give her this one.

Having just finished our Trail Challenge last week and taking great care to leave the trails as we found them by removing all ribbons and other items used in competition, I am very surprised to find this trail has been left full of trail ribbon and paper plates from some sort of prior ride, based on the condition of what seems to be garbage now. Some paper plates refer to "25 mile this way" so I wonder if it is some sort of endurance type ride. I know there is a CTR planned here in a few weeks but I would think trail marking for that ride would be premature.

Tomorrow morning we will hit the trails again and then load up and head to our next destination, just 55 miles away.

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Southern Bound

2011-09-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for the notes of condolence. Grief over losing a horse - an animal - is very real. People who have never loved an animal do not understand. You all do and I am touched that you reached out.

I slept late, took a shower, did my hair and put on a little make-up. I needed to work at our church bazaar dinner and seemed as good as any to get out of the house. None of the church people will know of my loss; I should be able to make it through the afternoon. Imagine my shock when the first person I served coffee to asked, “So how’d it come out with your horse?” Small town, shared vet.

Later this afternoon, I finished loading the hay and water into the trailer. The sun finally came out and I felt much better. The horses had made their way up to the corral and I filled their extra tank. We have an automatic waterer, but they enjoy playing in a tank.

Cowgirl Weekend falls the same time every year and the first sign of the horse’s winter coats are just beginning to show. Windy turns a beautiful mahogany this time of year. It is tradition that I bath and groom her before the big weekend but yesterday I could barely function. I couldn’t imagine having the gumption to take on that task. Today was a better day and I was anxious to spend some time with my horse. I pulled her out and shampooed, conditioned and Show Sheened her. There is nothing prettier than a clean, bay horse. I couldn’t help but think I just combed Ginger’s tail two days ago. I could still feel the texture of her hair against my hands; much finer than Windy’s black tail. When I finished grooming Windy, I put her in the round pen for the night so she doesn’t get dirty. Butter will keep her company.

I’ll hit the road at o’dark hundred. I picked up the audio book Heaven is For Real; I thought it would be a comforting on my journey. Our first stop will be in central Kansas, hopefully arriving before noon. The truck has a new fuel sensory device, new tires, a new pitnam arm (whatever that is) and two new batteries. A kiss for luck and we’ll be on our way (name that song).

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A Time To Heal

2011-09-17T17:57:00.000-05:00

This was the weekend I was packing for my big trip: Cowgirl Weekend: The Extended Version. To celebrate my 50th birthday (last March), rather than a four-day weekend, some of us were leaving early and making it a week long trip. And to give Windy a little break, I planned to bring both her and Ginger. What a difference a day makes.

My travel plans aren’t changing; I’m still leaving on Monday. But the journey will be a bit different now. It will now be just Windy and me.

I went out to the trailer and readied it now for one horse instead of two. Although both horses could wear the same saddle, I won’t be needing Ginger’s saddle pad. Or her bridle. I touched her fly mask and remembered the last time she had worn it. I’ll keep it in the trailer; Windy can wear it. There are things that will be put away for keepsakes and other things that will be used in remembrance of her.

While she was being treated for colic, I’d combed out her beautiful red tail with Show Sheen. It glistened. I told the female vet that I would like my hair colored to match the colors in her tail. She agreed it was quite pretty. What else would she say? When we knew we had to let her go, I asked the vet to clip her tail for me but not until she died. I didn’t want her to die without her tail. I put it away for now. Someday I’ll hold it in the sun again.

I had hoped to post to my blog the stories of the trail on this upcoming trip. But the road I am taking is no longer a celebration. It’s a time for healing. To be with my good horse and Ginger’s only baby, Windy. And surround myself with friends who knew my good mare and understand this will be the toughest ride I have been on for a long time.
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Ginger 1997 - 2011

2011-09-16T22:46:00.004-05:00

Today I had to unexpectedly say goodbye to our good mare, Ginger. For the first time in her life, she colicked. Heck, it’s the only time she has ever been sick. And we lost her. I am very confident John, the vets and I made all the right decisions. It just doesn’t make it easier to take.

How can you say goodbye in five minutes? And thank her for the last eleven years she was with us? The words wouldn’t come. I could only hold her. I wanted so much to give her a fitting tribute here and once again, words fail me. I am not ready. It’s too fresh.

Last week I had the most awesome ride on Ginger & shared it on Facebook

I just wanted you to know.

God Speed, Little Red. You were loved.

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