Hoof Adventures & Other Equine Experiences

Well, after Saturday's fiasco (see ACTHA Take – Two) I was unsure if we were even going to be able to complete the audition, but when the time came to go feed Sunday morning, the sun was shining and there was no wind (yay!).  That boosted my spirits a bit and although it was still cold enough to see your breath, I felt that the lack of wind and the shining sun was a sign we were going to pull it together. Dee was very relaxed and seemed to be back to herself.  I remember telling Randy she had her "eyes back"  I don't know if I can explain what that means, but basically she seemed to be interested in what I was doing and even made an effort to check for shoelaces (she loves to tug on my shoe laces - weird, but cute!) I was wearing boots-no laces, so she just nuzzled my hand and waited for me to put out her hay.  I spent some time grooming a bit, it had rained (mixed with snow – hello, DESERT) over night and I thought she was going to be a mess, but she had not rol...

We arrived at Triangle T Guest Ranch in Dragoon, AZ earlier than we had originally expected, having left home early to avoid a looming dust storm.  We found Dee’s pen and got her setup with water and a bit of hay then went to set our trailer.   The couple times I checked on her she was upset, pacing the pen and whinnying.  I was hoping someone would bring her a buddy soon.  After we got the trailer set up I went back over and she had gained a couple neighbors, but there was no instant bond as there had been with Lloyd in La Union – she was charging at the gelding next to her whenever he even looked in her direction.  I decided to take her out on an exploration trip around the ranch to see if we could find a round pen.  She did pretty well, coming with me and doing anything I asked – but she wasn’t really with me – more like sucked into everything around her.  This is not unusual for Dee, who seems to be pretty talented at multi-tasking at home –...

Well, the first ACTHA ride is over and we made it home in pretty much one piece.  I’m sporting a swollen eye that is turning an impressive shade of purplish red, (That is one thing I do well, bruise!) and Dee has a small scrape down the inside of her right hind leg.  Stay tuned to learn the stories behind the wounds.  :0) I am still trying to wrap my mind around the whole experience.  It was a great weekend and I hope to have many more weekends like this with many improvements in horsemanship along the way. When we first arrived, the barn manager showed me how to get to the pen. We went through the barn with horses on either side of the isle and then through a hallway that was maybe three feet across (concrete walls that were 12 feet high) and six or eight feet long, then down another isle with horses on either side.  My first question was “is there another way for me to get here?”  she was nice enough to remove the few horses that were turned out in ...

  My efforts to further Dee’s education have definitely gone “up a notch”.  Seems like every time we play there is a new element involved.  Our first trail ride as members of the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) is coming up fast…March 19!  We are signed up in the “Buddy” Division for that ride,  which means we are literally, just along for the ride.  We will not be able to complete obstacles or earn points.  The next day will be our second ride and we are signed up in the “Pleasure” Division for that one.  I really can’t wait, it seems like just the thing to keep us motivated!  It is going to be a great weekend and Randy and Shorty will be there to cheer us on.   Over the past few weeks we have come face to face with the neighbor’s cows (hence our blog title!), Found our way to the end of Marengo and beyond, and gone to the vet with no companion horse going along for moral support.   To the non-horse enlighte...

It has certainly been too long since I have posted a new message.  I guess for awhile I didn’t really feel like writing anything – what would I write about?  Everything revolved around Moli before, she was my inspiration to learn new things, dig deeper into the material I had already been through, and to keep cataloging what I had already done so I wouldn’t be going in circles. It seems I was happy to finish out 2010 with an attitude of relaxation when it came to my horse related adventures.  Not only was I mentally recovering from losing Moli, I was also physically recovering from my wreck with Dee – she had reared up and fallen over backwards while I was riding in June.  She landed on my left calf, which was dutifully crushed – and I landed on my left hip, causing bursitis, which took almost six months to diagnose.  Needless to say I wasn’t trying to find extra time to play. One little window of encouragement and inspiration came in the form of a visit fro...

My worst fears have come to life...my special Moli has succumbed to the laminitis that she has so valiantly fought for over two years. My heart is heavy today, broken by the loss, but full of comforting memories at the same time. My renewed hope that we may have found an answer to providing some recovery was changed once again to disappointment on Sunday, September 12.  Moli looked comfortable, and was moving well when I released her from the small pen where she gets the portion of her meal that is not to be shared with the others.  She stepped out quickly, excited (as always) to be moving on to the second course...little piles of hay dispersed around the 2.5 acre turn out, the twice daily event that all three of my horses look forward to - like a group of excited children being released for an Easter Egg Hunt.  A couple hours later I glanced out my kitchen window to see her hobbling over to the water trough and my heart sank.  Her movement was worse than I have ev...

There is a strange thing going on in the “pasture” these days.  The standard brown dry dusty dirt lot has more than the random pile of aromatic horse  poop – there is grass growing!  Yup!  Bonified shoots of green stuff, sprouting in happy little clumps all over the 2+ acres that make up the horses’ turn out.  Mostly on what I think of “Moli’s side” of the area, but there are traces throughout.  I’m not talking about blowing in the wind, knee high, ready to bale grass – but there is a definite green hue to the ground.   We have been blessed with an abundance of rain, and I have been trying out a new method of feeding the grass hay portion of the horses’ diet.  Instead of putting the hay in the feeders I am leaving small piles all over the turn out.  I wonder, can grass grow from the small pieces that are left?  Crazy…I spent the first three years we lived here trying to grow a small patch of grass..bought new seed every year, put i...