Crappy birthday to me

Okay, I'm going to try really hard not to sound whiny and petulant, but if I do can y'all cut me some slack? It truly was a crappy day yesterday.

It started out nice enough. I got up pretty early, fed the horses and let them out, keeping Gem and Sparky in for the day as Gem got himself wounded (long story) and I wanted him out of the bitter cold. Even the trip down was nice: clear and dry roads and very little traffic. I got to Mom's around noon, and that's when the 'fun' began.

Mom had almost nothing wrapped, and she put me to work wrapping while she sorted and micro-managed and wrapped a couple of DVDs. After three hours, I was finally done. I packed the stuff in her car, then headed over to my brother's house for the gathering. No dinner, just grazing all day, sort of an open house. The kids were high on the never ending supply of brightly wrapped presents and noisy obnoxious toys. I got a lot of 'Happy Birthday' greetings, and a couple of presents, and that's about it.

Now, to be fair, there were some other things going on that distracted everyone. My great aunt Doris died that morning, my great aunt Astrid had died a week earlier, and my grandma was distraught. Mom was distracted with funeral arrangements, talking with her cousins, and comforting grandma.So I guess I can cut her a little slack. But come on, not even a cake?

Then the fun really begins. After most of the relatives leave, and it's just me, my brothers, mom, and my sister in law, I let it slip to my younger-younger brother John that Ken was in Michigan with his girlfriend, and that I'm finally going to file for divorce. That gets my older-younger brother Jay and my mom plotting on how I can ditch all my 'dead weight' and move closer to home.

I think their favorite plan was to have me turn the farm over the the bank, find homes for as many of the animals as I can, and move into a run-down house on a farm that Jay's renting. It's on 15 acres and has a barn and shed, so I could have some of the horses there, and maybe board for extra cash. I guess the house looks better on the inside and just needs some cosmetic work (I kinda doubt it's that easy).

After 2 hours of listening to them plot and my sister-in-law exclaim about how disrespectful Ken was to me to have an affair (it baffled her that I cared more about the animals than my marriage, which really died 10 years ago), I made a hasty retreat. I stopped by to drop off the rest of the cookies for dad, then started for home.

The trip back was pretty good, clear sailing until I hit Madison. That's when the snow began to fall. It was the storm I had been trying to avoid by leaving early, but apparently I was destined to drive home at 40 mph on the expressway all the way home. The closer to home I got, the more snow was on the road. I was so not amused.

I finally got home at 11 (I had left at 6:30, so I guess I didn't do too badly). Our neighbor hadn't been able to plow us out before I got home, so he did the best he could by driving around the driveway with his dually. I had to really gun it and keep going, but I didn't get stuck and was able to make it to the shed to park. Jac and the dogs met my outside to help bring in packages. After we got in and settled, Jac surprised me with two little pecan tassies with a candle in each, as I had let it slip that I hadn't gotten a birthday cake. I felt a little better, but I was so wired on stress and caffeine that I went online to check my emails (3 automated birthday greetings, none on any of my forums or networking sites) and then stayed up until 2am watching 'Love, Actually'.

So, that's how I spent my 35th birthday. Not too exciting, and a little disappointing. Anyway, today is a new day, and hopefully I can get my life turned around the way I want and next year I can have a better birthday.

Holiday wish list

I've got a wish list at Amazon.com, but there are some things that Amazon just doesn't have a listing for. Here is a list of things that I would dearly love but I don't expect to get, in no particular order:

-20 bags of shavings a month for a year (or even 6 months)
-a pallet of Nutrena Senior horse feed a month for 6 months
-more T posts and fencing materials
-a new roof for the barn
-someone I trust around horses to help around the farm (cleaning stalls, planting trees, putting up fence...)
-a $3000 gift certificate for vet care
-unlimited access to Clavamox or Zithromax, Tobramyacin drops, and Frontline Plus or Revolution
-a boyfriend for my sister/roommate (a veterinarian-architect-millionaire philanthropist would be awesome)
-a grant or loan to get my farm/rescue started (details here, here and here)
-a divorce
-my life back on track

I've not listed anything about a boyfriend or dating or anything like that for me, because I've pretty much given up. I just can't seem to find anyone that I find interesting enough to date, and anyway, once I get divorced I'm never getting married again. I really shouldn't have made it legal the first time. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

"I totally lost it when..."

The topic of one of my favorite blogs Behind the Bit yesterday was "times when you totally lost it", your emotions went totally out of your control. The first story that came to mind was from when I was around 10 years old, and colored my view of trainers for years.

Shady was my first horse, born just 6 months before I was. She was true black 7/8 Arabian mare with a blaze and a mischievous personality, mostly because the other 1/8 of her genetics was Shetland pony. She was curious and smart and somewhat of an escape artist, but she was mine and I loved her dearly.

When I was old enough for the 4-H horse project, Mom sent Shady to an Arab breeder friend of hers who's son was a trainer. After he had put about a month or two of work into her (I think, I don't quite remember) he had me in for a lesson.

I knew something was off about her, as she would hug the wall of the dim indoor arena while going counter clockwise, but when she went clockwise she stayed about six feet from the wall. I mentioned my concerns, but the trainer just said she was being stubborn and I was letting her get away with being naughty. He had me get off, then hopped on and proceeded to beat the crap out of my mare with a whip RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I so mad and frustrated I was crying, and kept trying to convince him that something must be wrong with her eyes. Mom was horrified by the whole scene, and pulled Shady out of there soon after. I never forgot or forgave that jerk.

As a result of that lesson, I kept a close eye on Shady and her reactions to things: sticking close while I led her, rearing in a halter class when the judge came around the back, going though a fence at dusk. It was about 5 or 6 years after the trainer incident when the vet determined she had glaucoma in one eye, the one on the side she had issues with. I felt vindicated, in a way, but sad and upset too. She lived for a few more years in comfort, but we decided to have her put down when she continually broke through the fence. She was 21, and so was I.

I have another 'lost it' story about a trainer, but I think I'll save it for another day. Remembering this took more out of me than I thought it would, I'm pissed off all over again!

Success and Frustration

Never is now a gelding!

I was so impressed with his behavior. He took everything in stride, hardly blinking at loading into the trailer, though the last time he was in one was when he was 4 months. He loaded and unloaded like a pro, and while he had a little sweat on his neck when we got to the clinic, he was dry and calm when we got home.

At the clinic, he was a sweetheart, curious but not volatile or jumpy. He led to the holding stall, walked right in and turned around so he watch everybody. When I came to pick him up after surgery, he saw me and whickered. I think I melted a little. *S*

I had his shots done and his wolf teeth pulled, so all we need to do is his Coggins test and booster shots in a month or so.

That was all the success part of the story. Here's the frustration part:

It's been cold here for the past few days. Not the 'oh, it's 30 degrees and I need a hat and mittens' type cold, but the 'it's 15 degrees with a wind chill of 25 below, break out the lined pants and two pair of long underwear to walk to the barn' type of cold. I had Never on stall rest on Friday, and turned him out on Saturday to get some air. I wasn't looking forward to hand walking him, but it's something that needed to be done.

So I thought, until I looked out the window and saw him doing laps in the pen! I checked up on him a couple of times that morning, and noticed he would eat, then trot around trying to catch a glimpse of the other horses (my round pen is on the other side of the barn, effectively blocking most of the view of the pastures). I had to bring him in around noon, however, because the wind was picking up and the pen has no shelter.

That's been the routine for the past few days. Today, it's a balmy 25 and no breeze, so he gets to stay in the pen all day, at least until the blizzard hits us. He's swelling a little at the mouth of his sheath, but after a couple of calls to the vet, 3 digital thermometers, and convincing Never that playing with his tail was really okay, we determined that there probably wasn't an infection and he's probably just a little puffy from all the stall rest he's gotten.

I can't wait until he's all healed so I can stop worrying about infection, and start focusing on his training. He's going to be a wonderful show horse, and maybe he'll even like trail riding!

Gelding day postponed

Nevermore was scheduled to get snipped today, but the vet called this morning and said that it was way too cold to safely sedate him at the farm. So, after much thought, I rescheduled for Thursday at the clinic. Now I need to track down a trailer (I have a few leads) and hope he remembers how to load. I may also call and schedule Alex too, but he's not as urgent to get done as Never is.

By getting Never gelded I can play musical pastures: Bahim goes in his old paddock, the younger/dominant mares get the paddock that Bahim was in, and the older mares can get the big pasture. Everybody will have access to ice-free water, hay, and shelter, and a sperm-free Nevermore will have other horses to keep him company.

I moved everybody around this morning in anticipation of the vet visit (she called as I was leading Bahim to his pen), so Never is going to be staying in the round pen for the next couple of days. He will be coming in at night, though, as it's supposed to be pretty frigid for the next week or so. I picked up a heated water bucket so he has ice-free water, and I hope to tie some sort of material to the pen to help block the wind, as he's gotten used to a run-in shelter.

I can't wait until this is all done. Too bad spaying mares isn't this easy.

Being thankful

Winter is pretty much here, and between the cold and the state of the economy (and the state of my economy!), it's really hard to feel positive about anything. So with Thanksgiving coming up this week, I thought it would be a good idea to list things I'm thankful for and focus on the good things for a while.

I'm thankful for my health. I'm not in the best shape, but I'm rarely sick and I'm working to improve my fitness and diet.

I'm thankful for my friends and family. Yeah, they can be annoying at times, but they're there for me whether I need them or not and that's good to know.

I'm thankful for all the animals I take care of: horses, cats, dogs, etc... there is a lot of them, and they cost money to feed and vet and such, but they make me feel good and give me purpose and drive to achieve my goals.

I'm thankful I have a roof over my head. The rest of the house may look like hell, but it's mine as long as I keep paying the mortgage, and that feels good.


I may gripe about all of this, but I truly am thankful for them. Without them, my world would be a lot different and very meaningless.

Things Not to Do Around Half Blind Horses, a Cautionary Tale

You would think, after literally spending my whole life around horses, that I would know better. Here's what happened:

I was turning everyone out after breakfast yesterday, and we have a particular order that we go in. Starting with Sparky in the big stall at the west end, I let Tassel and Callie out, then shift to the east end and let Emmy, Hope, Heather and Alex out. Gem and Jul get more to eat, so they get to stay in their stalls until they're finished, and Fiesta stays in too, as he likes to try and get into their feed pans (the stall fronts that I have are easy for a determined pony-sized hinny to get his head through).

Callie had stopped to eat some hay that got pushed out of Gem's stall. I didn't think much of it, just let her eat while I turned everyone out. Tassel decided to come back in as I was walking away (I had the gate open).

This is where I did something completely stupid.

I approached Callie's hip. On her blind side. Without saying anything or patting her rump.

As I tried to walk behind her, she thought I was Tassel and kicked me three times in the thigh. I've never been kicked so hard before, and I can't even blame her as she thought I was someone else.

After sitting for a bit to get the wobbly feeling to subside, I moved to Callie's good side and got her and Tassel out, then let Gem, Jul and Fiesta out, fed hay to Never and Rho and go to the house to check out the damage. Lots of heat and swelling, of course, in a space larger than my hand. I sprayed Arnica on it throughout the day, and by evening it hurt a lot less and the swelling was down.

This morning my leg is stiff, but the swelling is way down and the heat is almost normal. Now is when the colors will come out. I'll probably post a picture to document my moment of stupidity, and to remind me never to be so distracted around horses.

Autumn weather

In Wisconsin they say 'if you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it'll change'.

It's true enough, especially lately. We had the expected 40's and 50's gray days for a week or so (we even had some flurries!), then suddenly it's sunny and 74! After a couple of days of bliss, we're back to 50's and rainy, with the possibility of snow this weekend. At least I'm being given a chance to finish up with the outside work before it freezes.

Don't get me wrong, I like Winter, to a point. I like snow and ice, but I like it in small bits on my terms. It looks very pretty from my office window, and through the viewfinder of my camera. I don't spend a lot of time outside in the snow, I go out to feed and water and let everyone in and out and that's about it. If I could, I'd have my groceries and feed delivered and use the money saved on gas to get the movie channels and buy more books.

I’m planning on using the time spent inside this winter to get my photo business plan revamped and ready for next season. The big priority is advertising, I need to do more of it. I need to redesign my business cards, set up brochures or flyers, come up with newspaper and magazine ads, and keep in contact with my customers. I’m thinking of starting a blog specifically for the business.

I also want to make myself known to publishers and magazine editors, so I can get published and get my press credentials for Rolex 2009, and eventually the World Equestrian Games in 2010. I would dearly love to be able to cover the entire 16 days for a publication, maybe get my meals covered, a hotel room would be nice but I can sleep anywhere, really.

Anyway, this will be may third year officially in business, and I hope to break even for a change, or at least upgrade some of my equipment.


In other news, Alex is doing well. He seems pretty level headed for the most part, but he does have a tendency to freak out at times. He gets jumpy if you touch him anywhere that he's not used to (his belly, mostly), but he's still pretty okay about his feet. He needs to learn to stand better while you're holding them, but at least he'll pick them up without kicking. We're going to learn to tie pretty soon, that should be fun.

Musical Pastures

I've had Alex in the round pen since he was weaned, with a few exceptions. There's no shelter out there, so if it's raining (or lately, snowing) I have to bring him in, or keep him in if it's morning. I also feel bad because he doesn't have a lot of room to stretch out and run, and the horses I've had out with him are either old or aren't interested in playing with him. So yesterday I decided to put him out with Never. I though they would both like the company, and Alex would like the chance to actually run.

It started out well. I put Bahim in the round pen so we could get Alex in Never's pen without hassle (someday I'm going to have better access to all the pastures!). I tossed in some hay, and watched Never sniff Alex all over while Alex made the 'don't hurt me I'm a baby' face. I watched them for about 20 minutes or so, felt everything was going well, and went to work. I popped out a couple of times during the day to see how they were doing, and they seemed fine, grazing with the occasional gallop. At feeding time, though, everything went to hell.

Oh, at first everything was fine. Jac set up the feed buckets and supplements, I doled out hay and filled water buckets, and everyone came in without too much fuss. The problem turned up when we went to feed Alex and Never. Never, apparently, wanted Alex nowhere near him while he was eating, and was very clear about it. Poor Alex, I felt so bad for him. I took his pail of feed out to him, and tried to get him to eat, but Never followed me out and chased Alex right through the space between the gate and the shed! I felt nervous that Alex was now in with Bahim, but apparently Bahim was more interested in his food than a spotted weanling.

I got to the barn as fast as I could, and coaxed Alex through the gate and into his stall. I think he looked relieved, and ate his hay and grain quietly while I looked him over for blood and scrapes. When I was satisfied, I said good night and went to relax and try to figure out what to do.

This morning I turned him out with Tassel again, as I know she's calm and he knows her pretty well. I think I'll just have to keep him out in the round pen until Never is gelded and can be turned out with the others. Then, I can put Bahim and another horse, maybe Tassel, in the shed pasture, put the old mares that come in the barn at night into the pasture that Bahim's currently in, and the bossy younger mares can have the bigger pasture. I'll put Never in with the bossy mares, and either put Alex in with the older mares and have him come in at night, or put him with the younger mares and put his mom Willow in with the older mares, as she has a toe crack that needs regular care in order to grow out properly. I don't know, I'm still working things out. *sigh* We'll see how things work out, I guess.

Weaning

Yesterday I got a call from a neighbor who was driving by:

"Christel, one of your horses is in your hayfield. I think it's one of the young ones."

Well, needless to say I was out the door in a flash, with horrible thoughts of the fence down and mares running all over (I'm glad I finally got the perimeter fence finished). I walked out around Never's paddock and let out a little of the breath that I was holding. No mares running all over, just Alex, grazing and keeping an eye on his mom on the other side of the fence.

I breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to Alex while trying to figure out how he got there. I pet him for a bit, then the herd moved. He followed, then *scoot* under the fence he went! He figured out that I hadn't electrified the second strand. He was back with the herd, so I went and cut the power, spliced the second strand into the rest of the fence, turned it back on and went back to working.

I took a break later in the afternoon to mow the lawn. I finish up and go to park the mower, and who do I see? You guessed it, Alex the Great on the wrong side of the fence again! By this time, I've done the math and figured out that he turned 6 months on Tuesday and Willow hasn't shown any desire to completely wean him. So, I get his halter, a lead rope, and Jac and go get him. He didn't want to be caught at first (I think he was a little surprised that the fence 'bit' him this time), but Jac and I finally calmed him a bit and got his halter on (which finally fits!).

He tried to walk off after the halter and lead were on. He got to the end of the rope, discovered resistance, and proceeded to do his best impersonation of a giant marlin. He dragged me around for a little bit, then settled down. I caught my breath, steeled my nerves, and started walking him to the barn, away from him mom and the rest of the herd. He got 'stuck' a couple of times, but he did well for the most part. I put him in the round pen, watched him for a bit to see if he'd be okay, and then went to the house to fix supper.

After supper, I went to do horse chores. I lead Alex to his stall, and he only tried to bolt once. Of course, Willow lead the herd into the barn, checked on her baby, then went to her stall to eat. I let everyone else in, fed and distributed hay, and then let the younger mares out. Willow went right out the gate without a word, thinking her baby would be right behind her as usual. I closed the gate, turned off the outside light, and started to walk away. Suddenly, Will is at the gate calling to Alex.

*sigh*

In the end I gave her and Alex treats soaked in Rescue Remedy. When they settled a little, I turned off the barn light and went to bed.

This morning, I get to the barn and Willow is still camped out by the gate. I feed all the horses that stayed inside, then make a decision. Tassel is 30 and pretty calm and easy going. I put her in the round pen, then go get Alex. He walks through the barn like a old pro, outside and right up to the round pen gate. There he balks a little, but after I shoo Tassel away he comes in. I take the lead off and he starts trotting and calling for his mama. His mama hears and calls back. Tassel just goes back to grazing. At one point, Alex tries to go to Tassel for comfort, but she half-heartedly kicks at him and walks off. I give him a few treats, then head to the house to get some work done.

I've been checking on him every 15 minutes or so, and he seems to be relaxing a bit. The neighing has stopped for now, and he's doing a little grazing, but mostly he's walking round and watching as the herd grazes across the paddocks. Tassel still seems not to care, but she's letting him get closer now. I feel bad, but he's 6 months old now and a big boy, he's more than old enough to be weaned. I'm glad the early lessons in haltering and leading have stuck with him, or else this might not have gone so well for either of us.

Heather part 1

I've been meaning to write about Heather for a while now, but with things so hectic I really hadn't spent much time with her. Since today was so lovely, and we may not have very many more days like it left this year, I decided to spend some time with her.

First, some background. I went to the feed store earlier this summer and saw an advertisement for 'an older Arabian mare' for sale, $600 or best offer. I took down the number, as there aren't many Arab people in the area and I was curious. Plus, the faded picture looked a lot like one of my mom's foundation mares: liver chestnut with a blaze and stockings. I called the owner later in the week, and after a long chat about Arabians and such we arranged a day and time to meet.

I arrived at the farm without any difficulty. It wasn't far from my farm, just tucked out of the way on a back road that I hadn't traveled before. Nice place, shiny happy horses, plenty of grass and a nice barn. The owner was friendly and talkative. She introduced me to another horse that we had talked about on the phone, an 18 yr old gray Arabian with almost the same name as my mare that passed on 2 years ago now. Tiara, the gray mare, was lovely, but she had a big problem: she ran the fence in a big way. Even when placed in a pasture with other horses, she would run back and forth along the fence. The owner (who wasn't her first) tried to get her to stop by placing her in a pen by herself and making it odd shaped, but it didn't work. She was wearing herself down, and the owner just didn't know what to do. She offered her to me for free, but I'm not equipped to handle a horse like that. So, though it broke my heart, I had to decline. Then she took me to see Heather.

Heather in person looked even more like Bahara, mom's old mare. She was wonderful, smart, steady, healthy, and apparently 30 years old! Yikes! She was fit and in good shape, so I had Jac ride her first, then I took a turn (nothing strenuous). We went back to the barn, and the owner showed us Heather's trick (nodding her head for a treat when you ask if she want's one), and then introduced us to the rest of the herd. After that, I said I would get back to her about Heather, and we took our leave. I kept meaning to call and tell her that i couldn't justify the $600 for a horse at the moment, but the weeks just went by.

Just days after Sketch died, I get a call from Heather's owner. I apologized profusely, telling her I meant to call and explaining about Sketch. We talked for a bit, and then she said 'If you still want Heather, I'll sell her to you, and only you, for $150'. Stunned, I told her I'd have to talk it over with Ken, but I'd let her know. Well, a week later I called back and said 'Sure'.

September so far

It's been pretty busy around here since my last blog entry. I didn't do much for most of this summer, but the halfway through August I seemed to be doing something every weekend! I went to a Trakhener mare inspection and branding on August 23, photographed a local dressage schooling show on the 24th, attended the county fair from the 27th to September 1st, went to see a local band in Wausau on September 5 and stayed up all night, and on the 14th I traveled down to Mequon with some friends and their horses to see an Oldenburg inspection and branding. I was planning to go to the Michigan Renaissance Festival this coming weekend, but I'm not sure I can make it, I may have to push it back to the 27th and 28th.

I promised in an earlier blog that I'd write about Heather, my newest addition, and I will, but I think she needs to have her own entry with pictures and stuff. I'll try and write that up tomorrow.

Other things in the news: I was on a ladder, without a spotter, and of course fell off and screwed up my knee. It was dumb, really dumb, and I knew better, but for some reason I did it anyway. Hopefully it will continue to heal nicely, and I won't see any lasting effects.

Otherwise, there's not much going on. I should get back to working on pictures for Ken, and stuff for Cafe Press. I finally subscribed to the pro shop, and hopefully I can get it to generate enough money to cover the feed bill this winter. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can make enough to get shavings too.

Flymasks and paychecks

I was going to head to the fairgrounds early today, but after checking the schedule again, I decided to head off later. The hitch classes start around 5 or 6pm, so I'm going to get some work done around here and avoid most of the heat.

Two good things came in the mail today: Ken's paycheck (woohoo I can pay bills! *S*) and the full face fly mask that I ordered for Glory. I'm not used to horses with lots of white on their faces, the ones that I did know didn't burn much, maybe the tip of their nose. A little cream, and they're fine. Glory is a medicine hat patterned 3 year old mare, cute in a fugly sort of way. She hadn't burned in the past, which is why I didn't worry much about her this year. Imagine my surprise and dismay when I did a pasture walk with the lady that sold me Heather and saw Glory's face covered in flies and scabbed pink skin! Horrified and embarrassed at the very least, guilty and sorry for her are in there too.

So, that very day I went looking for a fly mask with a nose cover. I eventually found one at my favorite online 'tack shop' Valley Vet Supply. I picked up the horse sized Crusader Pasture Long Nose Fly Mask on Tuesday, and got it in the mail today. Great service, fast delivery, and they take Paypal! I love these people.

I headed out to the pasture with the mask in hand to try it on. She didn't want to come anywhere near me as long as I was holding it. So, after playing 'ring around the Christel' for a bit, I got smarter: I brought her into the barn, gave her a bit of grain in her stall, and then tried it on her. For some reason, she's a lot better about doing things in her stall, anything from putting on her halter to picking up her feet. Anyway, the mask fit great, she seems to be taking to it well, and it doesn't look too awful either. I think I may have to pick up a couple more horse sized ones for Cora and Zora, as they wanted me to put Glory's on them while I was walking around. Valley Vet has a Buy 2 get 1 free deal going on right now, maybe I'll pick up 6. It never hurts to have extra on hand.

Daydreaming...

Yeah, I know I should be working, but I needed to take a break because my mind was wandering. Since it is, I thought I should try to record the train of thought and see what comes of it. If nothing else, I can see the thought process in print, and maybe I can figure out how to make it happen. I've had this seemingly impossible to reach goal for a while. I say seemingly, as I've made baby steps toward it, but now I've hit a bit of a wall. Anyway, here it is:

I would like to purchase the rest of the farmland near mine, about 60-70 acres. I have 40 acres, 35 tillable, though 13 of that is in pasture, so my total acreage would be about 100-110. I would plant the newly acquired land with hay and maybe oats, fence and cross fence some of the current hay land for more pasture and paddocks, and plant more hops (up to 5 acres). I'd plant more trees for windbreaks, give the old apple tree some friends, and expand the ponds to help drain the muddy-marshy spots.

After that, I would build the new house and horse barn farther back on the property. I have the spot all picked out: back beyond the second hill, past the old apple tree, for a bit of privacy and safety (we're currently too close to the highway for my comfort and the safety of the animals).

The barn so far is going to be a large building, with about 30-40 12x12 box stalls, 4 larger stalls for foaling and/or very large horses, wash stalls, tack rooms, feed storage, a lounge/viewing area, and the office. The stalls will be arranged in a U around the indoor arena, with doors on every wall for easy access and cross breezes. It won't be too far from the house, with the driveway situated so I can see when someone pulls in. A smaller barn for quarantine and storage would be off to the side but convenient for the vet and grooms to get to.

The house is going to be set into the hill, earth on 3 sides, with an atrium in the center and a greenhouse on the south side adjoining my bedroom and office. The main area will be open concept, with all rooms able to enjoy the atrium view. The kitchen will have an island and tons of workspace, plenty of cabinets, a large walk-in pantry, and a 'cold storage' room for the freezers and root cellar veggies. The mudroom will have a toilet and shower, and the washer and dryer as well. The two guest rooms will have access to the atrium, which will have a breakfast nook, a fountain or two, small trees, and a nook here and there to hide and read. In general, the house will be energy efficient, water conservative, solar and wind used wherever possible, and comfortable. We fondly call our dream house 'the Bunker', because that's pretty much what it is!

After the new house it build, we'll have a house burning party! The old house is pretty much un-salvageable, with the basement crumbling, wiring from the 50's, and really old insulation that has settled quite a bit. With the old house gone, we'd pour a new foundation and build a cottage to rent to a trainer, for good reason. Here's where life gets better.

This is what I really want to do with my life: I want to rescue, rehab, and retire horses. Now, I don't want to be a 501 certified type rescue, as there's one right across the street and they're doing a great job. I would focus on rehabbing lay-ups, finding good horses that just need more training (or training in general) and upgrading them, and giving people a place to retire their old show horses that made them so much money in the past. Honestly, I don't think people will pay much for the retirement, but the rehab and retraining aspect should somewhat cover that area. I'd like to attract a good trainer or two, someone that's not breed-ist or discipline-ist (someone like Mugwump would be awesome) to not only train the horses we're upgrading, but who may like to take in other clients for extra cash, and maybe offer riding lessons.

There's all kinds of benefits of this type of operation: more jobs for the area, more money circulating locally (especially at the feed store!), horses that might have had an unhappy ending finding good homes and useful work, and a place for kids to go to learn about horses and responsibility. I'm planning to sponsor the local 4-H and FFA, as well as offer tours and classes to schools and other youth groups.

Of course, all of this is great, but it's a dream unless I can come up with the capital, somewhere between $500,000 an $750,000. I would pay off every bit, though it will take a while, but it would really be worth it to help out so many lives in so many ways. There are 'angel investors', but I'm a bit leary of that angle because they typically want a high and fast return on their investment. Government grants and loans are full of hoops to jump through and tons of qualifiers, and are usually focused on 'traditional' farmers. And I refuse to beg for money. Right now, I'm just trying to save as much as I can while taking care of my oldsters and working with the youngsters. Not easy, but I'm trying.

So, that's pretty much it. If anybody happens to read this that has a lot of money sitting around that they want to invest in an interesting horse venture, I'm working on a business plan that I can send to you!

Finally, a day of 'rest'

Today is the first day in about a week that I can kick back and 'relax', meaning I can finally get some stuff done around the house. The only thing that's stopping me from mowing the lawn right now is the dew still on the grass. Laundry is washing at this very moment (I ran out of jeans), and a list has been made of other things that need doing today: clean my room, wash dishes, finish editing the photo proofs for printing, sweep the office, mop, etc....

I got behind starting last Friday, when I went to my friend Billie's to spend the night so we could leave early the next morning for the American Trakehner Association's mare inspection at KD Trakehners in Watertown, Wisconsin. We stayed up late chatting, and thus at 4 am we were a little wasted to say the least. The trip went well, though, and was a lot of fun, with gorgeous mares and cute babies everywhere. After the evaluations and scoring (one was approved as a model mare), we were treated to a jumping exhibition featuring their stallion Blitz Und Donner.
I would dearly love to breed Hope to such a handsome boy, I just have to find the money for the stud fee!

After the brandings, we said our goodbyes and went back to Billie's for supper. It was late, so I stayed the night again and went to the Marshfield Saddle Club's schooling show the next day. The weather was wonderful, not too hot or cold, and the sun and blue sky made taking pictures easier. Hopefully I can get enough orders to put towards a new (to me) camera, as having just one makes me very nervous.

Heather was delivered Monday morning (more about her in another post), and the rest of the day was spent running around town, shopping for food, and downloading cf cards. Tuesday was mostly spent in front of the computer converting RAW to jpg, sorting the good from the bad, and posting the proofs to my site. Wednesday and Thursday I spent at the Central Wisconsin State Fair taking pictures of friends and working on my gymkhana photo technique. I'm planning to make prints of the best run of each person and handing them to the county horse project superintendent to hand out to the riders. Maybe next year I'll donate my time to take ribbon pics if they're interested.

So we come to Friday and the weekend. Tomorrow starts the Pepsi All Wisconsin Draft Horse Show at the fairgrounds, with the youth classes in the morning and the first of the hitches in the evening. The biggest crowd pleaser is the ten horse pyramid hitch, though I like the four horse competitive driving class. That gets exciting! Sunday is stallion and gelding at halter, then the cart and other hitch classes, and in the evening the tandem classes and champion four horse hitch. Monday wraps up with mare and group halter and the last of the hitch classes. It's a fun time, and if anybody is in the area they should stop in and check it out. The horses are top quality, and the handlers are incredible!

Well, I should get back to work. Hopefully I'll be able to start preparing for winter next week. It seems a little early to be thinking about it, but I'm tired of cutting wood in a foot of snow and ice, and I'd really like to get my gardens laid out and fertilized for next year.

Just a quick post

Thought I would do a quick update before I head for bed.

We baled second crop this afternoon, and I may have just enough of it to last Gem and Jul the winter, maybe 200 bales total if I'm lucky. It cost a lot to make it, in regards to fuel mostly, but they're worth it. I have more than enough first crop for everybody, but those two prefer the second crop for taste and texture. Who am I to argue with a 35 yr old mare and her 30 yr old son?

A friend called me the other day and invited me to go to a Trakehner inspection in Watertown on Saturday, and of course I jumped at the opportunity! Woohoo! Then on Sunday I'm photographing a schooling show in Marshfield, which is always fun. I must be one of the few photographers out there that enjoys taking pictures of dressage shows, no matter the level.

Also, I did something spontaneous and possibly foolish today, but I don't think I'll regret it much. I can't say anything at the moment, as I don't know if Ken or Jac (or anybody really) reads this blog, but next week I'll write about the what, how and why.

And that's it, I'm going to bed...

Moving on...

I know life needs to go on, but I'm in a bit of a quandry. Sketch was the only horse I had that was ridable and of a good age. My other ridables are really old and retired. The others are young and of riding age, just not trained yet. I need to find a dressage trainer (or a good trainer period) that knows Arabians as well as stock horses to get my girls (and one boy) properly started.

Still, though, I would like a horse that I can just jump on and go on a trail ride, that won't need to be schooled every time I get on. I had gone to look at a horse earlier this summer, the ad said older been there, done that Arabian. There's not many Arabians around here, so I had to go see her.

She was wonderful, she reminded me of one of my mom's foundation mares, and she rode wonderfully for her age, which happened to be thirty! She's very solid and well built, you would never guess her to be that old. Her owner wanted $600 and a good home, but I just didn't have the money or the room. Well, a few days after Sketch passed on, the owner called me and asks if I still want the mare, and for me she'll drop the price to $150! I think I need to buy this mare, I just have to figure out how to get more money coming in to cover the other costs.

I will accomplish my goals, I have to keep telling myself that so I keep going.

Etched n Stone 1993-2008

Last night I went to feed everybody, and noticed Sketch standing funny. I walked over to the fence, and he stood there looking at me, a sign that something is really wrong if he won't walk over to dinner. I hopped in the pen he shares with Never (corral panels in a shed with a door to their pasture), and he pivoted on his front end to look at me. I checked him out, and discovered his near front leg was swollen really bad around the knee joint (where the leg connects to the shoulder).

Crap.

I have no pain meds left, and no liniments. Double crap. So I halter him up and slowly lead him out to the round pen (we had to push him after half way), give him hay, some treats with Rescue Remedy for the stress, and some topical Arnica spray for bruising (it was all I could think of). I decided to wait until morning to call the vet, as they're 45 minutes away and I might not get the doctor I want. I spent half the night trying to search for similar injuries on the Net, and came up with nada.

The vet came early this morning, and after the exam he gave me the news. Sketch managed to break his humerus up by the top of the joint.

We decided it was for the best to put him out of his pain. It was the type of injury that, even if you had thousands of dollars to toss at it, it may never heal. What amazes me is that, even with all the pain he was in, he still ate like a pig and just favored the leg. He didn't whine or complain, just whinnied for his food and company.

So, now he's in a better place, with no pain and all-you-can-eat unfenced grassy pastures, and he'll have a burial place on the hill in the pasture next to Tiara. And a little black humor: he was always trying to get out of work, he just took it a little far this time. (morbid, I know, but it's how I deal sometimes)

Etched n Stone aka Sketch 1993-2008 RIP

Cora's Evaluation

Cora's evaluation has been ongoing, more observation than anything else. The trainer that gave her to me warned that she was buddy bound to Zora, so I've let her just settle into the herd, only handling her when she needs it (worming, hoof trimming, etc...). She seems calmer now than when she first arrived, but is still nervous when taken away from Zora. Her ground manners are pretty good, she leads, stands for the farrier, takes her wormer well, and likes getting fly-sprayed. When she's with the herd she's calm and friendly and stands like a statue when you pet her all over, but take her away from Zora, her head is high and she has a slightly tense look to her.

Today, though, I though I would try something a bit more, so I when out to pasture to get her. Well, the whole herd decided to greet me, swirling around begging for scratching, Alex the baby most of all! I have to say this: I may have one or two fuglies (I didn't breed them, they needed a home) out there, but everyone is fat and shiny! I was almost blinded by all the glossy, almost metallic, coats!

I approached Cora, and she walked off. I persisted, she sort of sighed and then stopped. I haltered her and started back to the barn, Cora in tow and the others wondering what they should do. About halfway to the barn, Zora starts up with her wussy high pitched whinny, and Cora starts dragging her feet and trying to look behind her. Then the herd makes up it's collective mind to follow along too, with Alex walking alongside Cora. He is going to be something to train!

When we got to the barn, Zora stopped to flirt with Bahim again and seemed to put Cora from her mind for a bit. I got Cora into the barn and cross-tied her, which she didn't fight, just tried to turn around a few times and settled with standing a little sideways to look back at the gate to the pasture. She was quiet with very little dancing, but tense.

After grooming (and a treat for being quiet), we went to the round pen to see what she knew. She started off with cantering halfway, then trotting halfway, for a couple of rounds. Then I sent her around the other way, and she did the same. I was okay with all of this as I wanted her to get it out of her system. Then we started getting more serious. I had her trot around, and every time she called out in response to someone in the pasture, I clucked to her and asked her to move out more. After a while, she got the idea. Then she tried to test me by changing direction on her own, but I wasn't having any of that. After a few good rounds in each direction, her head came down a little and she seemed to relax, so I asked her to whoa. She stopped, then walked right past me to look over the fence. So I asked her to move out again, had her circle a round or two, then told her to whoa. When after a few repeats of this I said whoa and she stopped and looked at me, I decided to take it. I took her out for some grass, then brought her back in the barn for a quick brushing and treat, then turned her out. She was calmer, and didn't take off after the herd like I thought she might, just walked over, joined the herd and her buddy, and wandered off for more grazing.

All in all, she's not to bad a mare, she just needs more time and patience. I should probably try and work with her at least 3 times a week. I also think that I won't get on her until she's a bit calmer in the pen, though I probably could have tried her today and she would have been like Zora: wired, tense, worried, but no bucking or bolting. I just didn't feel like risking anything today. I'm just glad I ended up with these two, because while the person who gave them to me said they were broke, a beginner or someone timid could not handle them when they're separate, unless they had a trainer working with them. They need a refresher on what their job is and how to focus on it, and that's going to take time, patience, and work. I'll probably focus more on Cora, as she's younger and has better conformation than Zora. Zora will still be ridden, just not hard.

Zora's Evaluation

Today was such a beautiful day that I decided, after general housework and lawn care, that I would try working with Zora. Zora is a 20 something sorrel Quarter Horse mare, supposedly a veteran show horse with lots of training, so I didn't think it would be much of an ordeal. Live and learn, I guess.

Zora and her buddy Cora came to me in December from a trainer I used to work for. She had bought them from a friend to help her out, with the intention to use them as lesson horses. She ran out of time and room at her barn, so she boarded them out at another place while she tried to sell them. When she couldn't find a buyer, she tried to donate them to a local horse rescue, but they were full so she came to me. I took them in, fed them and cleaned them up, and pretty much left them alone until now.

The trainer had warned me that Cora was really buddy bound to Zora, and I kept that in mind when I went to the pasture. Zora walked willingly up to the barn, followed closely by Cora, and then veered over to say hi to Bahim, my aged stallion in an adjacent pasture.

That's when she started acting like a brazen harlot. Great, she's in heat.

I got the halter on her, brought her into the barn and cross-tied her. She danced a little, but not to bad. Cora was at the gate calling and tap dancing around, but Zora didn't say a word, just stood like a statue and took in what was going on.

I groomed her, put a topical ointment on the worst of her sarcoids, and sprayed on the fly spray. She seemed to enjoy it all, but was still alert and a little tense. Cora was still carrying on outside. You would think I was taking her best buddy ever away to do horrible things to.

*A word about Zora's sarcoids: she's got large patches of raised bumps on both sides of her neck, a bump on her leg, and some bare skin and bumps around her ears and poll. There aren't any in a spot that tack would cover and rub, they just look bad and sometimes she rubs the bumps open and they bleed a little. Before she came to me, the people taking care of her put some sort of paste on the bumps to try and get rid of them. It sort of worked, it burned off the bumps but also ate away the hair and skin too, leaving huge raw patches for the flies to get into (yeah, they did it over the summer). I left them alone, just focused on healing the raw skin, and everything looks better for the most part. I'm looking into a couple of treatments, as I can't remove them like I had done with Sketch.

After the grooming session, we went to the round pen to see what she knew. I started her going left, and she did pretty well at the walk and trot. She came to the center when I said whoa, but that's not a big deal with me. All seemed to be going well, so I sent her to the right. She tried to go left again. I turned her back to the right and she stopped. I coaxed her into moving again, she cut across the pen, hugged the fence close to the barn, cut across the pen again, turned to the left, got to the gate and stopped. All this time Cora is fussing and calling out of sight behind the barn. So Zora starts to think there's something to worry about. She starts calling and hugging the rail and fussing. So I keep her moving, hoping to burn some of that energy and get her focused on me. Right.

After fussing and arguing with her, I decided to see if my saddle fit her. So I tied her to the rail and went to get it and the pad. She was not happy. Dance, dance, dance, call, paw, paw, dance, call. I finally got her saddled (yay, it fit!), which was an entertaining experience, and sent her around again. A few more rounds each way and I put on the bridle with a loose ring comfort snaffle. The bridle was a little big, so I'm going to have to get her her own. Again, I worked her for a couple of rounds each way, and then decided to be bold and get on, even though she was acting like a pretty big butt-head. I was betting she wouldn't do anything more than hug the rail and walk a little fast. And that is pretty much what she did. She seems to neck rein, and backs up pretty well, and has a nice walk and not too bad of a trot. We did a few rounds, and I dismounted.

Again I tied her to the rail, and started to untack her. I had just gotten the cinches unbuckled and was starting to take it off, when a grain truck went by and blew it's horn. Zora had been dancing from the minute I tied her, and the horn startled us both. I'm just glad the jerk hadn't driven by earlier or else I may have had bigger problems.

I turned her loose in the pen, put all the tack away and got the hose ready for her bath. She was a little better, but still danced and called. After she was rinsed we went for a walk to dry off. She kept wanting to walk ahead of me, but I would change direction and get ahead of her. We went to the recently baled hay field so she could graze and see Cora and her antics from afar. Cora was running and calling and bucking, and the funny part is that 3 month old Alex was following her around, racing and bucking and having a great time! Willow didn't seem to mind that her baby was 'playing' with Cora. I think Alex is going to be easy to wean (fingers crossed). When Zora was dry, we went back to the barn, used the last of the fly spray on her, dosed her sarcoids again and turned her out to pasture. Cora became glued to her side.

I think Zora will be fine, she's just been left alone for a while and needs to be reminded of her job. Under saddle she's fine, but instead of the snaffle I may try a mild curb instead, as she seems to prefer to neck rein over direct rein. Given time (and maybe when she's not in heat!), I think she'll make a pretty nice trail horse.

Time for a change...

I've been looking at this blog, and it seems to have taken a turn off the original path. That tells me that I need to change something, and so I've changed the title of the blog from 'Sketch and Me' to 'All My Horses'. I have more than just Sketch that need work, and by posting their progress here as well I should be able to get more accomplished. We'll see how it goes.

I'll update this evening, right now it's time to get back to baling.

Saturday again

I didn't post last night because of the storm. We got a little over a half an inch of rain, which is nice because I won't have to water the hops today! We do have to get the trellises up soon, though, as the plants are really starting to grow fast.

It's a beautiful day, and I have no idea what I want to do. I have lots of things that I should do, but I've been feeling blah lately, even though it's nice out. So things that I want to do I can't because of limitations (no real good/safe place to ride, access to a skidsteer is limited, no money, etc...), and the stuff I should do I don't feel like but I'll probably do anyway. Some may say I have a case of the lazy, but I think it's frustration. I clean and clean, and get very little help. I don't really have a space all to myself yet, no one here truly does. I can't wait to build the new house so I can have a couch and a decent kitchen and my own room and a pantry and storage space and my own office...

So, the list of things I should do:

Work with Sketch
Play with Hope and Never
Clean the kitchen
Organize the office
Clean litterboxes
Sweep and mop
Wash windows

Waiting for rain

It's cool, humid and only a slight breeze... feels like rain. The weather report says that we should get about an inch to an inch and a half by Sunday morning. If everything goes well we'll be mowing on Monday and baling Wednesday.

So it looks like I'm going to be doing mostly inside stuff today. It's grocery shopping/go-to-town day, so inside stuff isn't a problem. It's just a little boring, though we are talking about catching a movie matinée (Wanted looks interesting). It's just more time out of my day that I could be doing something other than spending money on food, necessary to survival I know, but I just want the basics while Jac wants to wander and shop. I'd rather squirrel some of that money away for a new-to-me dressage saddle and some lessons with a trainer.

Anyway, I should go take a shower, but let's put up plan suggestions for the day first:

Grocery shopping (high grade cat food, Nutrena Senior horse feed, and cheap stuff for me)
Build the model of the new house and the new barn
In that vein, do a layout/model of the property and how I want it to look in 10 years
Groom Sketch and Never
Clean more of my tack
Clean my room

What a blah day

Today just sort of petered out about 2pm, which is when I finally got done watering the hops (I told Ken I would if he would trim Cora and Zora's hooves this morning) It takes about 4 hours. I can't wait until we get some kind of drip irrigation (probably next year) or a small vehicle like a Gator or even a trailer to pull behind the lawnmower, to go up and down the rows. Right now we're using a large tank in the back of the pick-up, with a hose attatched. We have to drive next to the bed and walk across, watering hills as we go. It's tedious and hot and awkward and boring and very inefficent.

So needless to say, I was just beat by the time I was done. I ended up taking a nap around 3, then Jac came home around 4 with a pizza and The Spiderwick Chronicles movie (not bad, really). I cleaned one of my saddles while watching CSI, started the beef stock to cooking (should be ready Saturday evening), did chores, and now I'm heading to bed.

I did play a little with Sketch and Never today, lots of petting and scratching. I played with Alex's feet and scratched all his itchy spots. He's going to be a good gelding: level headed, smart and calm.

Goin' to be a hot one

Like the title says, it promises to be warm and muggy. Hopefully the breeze will stick around for a while.

To do:

Water hops
Trim Cora and Zora's hooves
Play with Sketch and Never
Empty dishwasher and wipe counters
Do anything from previous lists
Sign up for 43 things?

Early to bed...

I'm posting this early, 'cause I'm beat.

Haying went pretty well. The weather held, with sun and a nice drying wind. We're going to have to water the hops in the morning, and we need to put up the trellises.

I didn't do much with Sketch or anyone else today (they did get treats and petting), though we did trim Hope's hooves. I'd like to get Cora and Zora's hooves done tomorrow, but I'll have to see how willing and able Ken is in the morning.

The neighbor says that we'll probably mow the rest of the field and the back pasture on Friday or Saturday, and then rake and bale on Sunday or Monday, weather willing. By all the best guesses, we've got roughly 800 bales in the hay loft, and if we put all into small bales we should have around 2000 bales total. We're aiming for at least 1200-1400, and may put the rest in round bales, though having all the hay in small squares saved my butt this past winter (last year was a bad hay year. Too dry.) By my calculations, I use a little over 1000 bales a year if I don't feed round bales. If I do feed round bales I only use about 600-700 small bales, which gives me extra for emergencies, or if I want to sell, trade, or donate to a good cause.

Alright, I guess I'm done for now. I'm going to relax a bit before chores, and then go to bed!

Haying today

Time to rake and bale! The weather is holding so far, crossing my fingers.

Plans:

Rake hay
Bale hay
Unload and load dishwasher
Play with Sketch and Never
Play with Hope?

Sheath cleaning and other fun

Time for a quick update, and then bed.

I did dishes and some laundry, puttered around outside, swept the barn, 'sheared' Misty, and then decided to try cleaning Sketch's sheath. I think I got it a little cleaner, but I'm going to have the vet do it next time, or get some sedative, because he won't drop so I can clean it better, and he's taken to dancing around. I rinsed him as well as I could, and then did a quick wash with one of the easy wash soap sprayer type products. He dried pretty fast, so I took him in the barn for a brushing, tested a couple of saddles for fit, gave him some treats, then doused him with fly spray and turned him back out in the pen. I'm leaving them out in the round pen tonight, as their stalls need to be stripped and washed.

I ordered wormer today, so about 2 days before I open the back pasture I'll de-worm everybody. When I change pastures I'll block off the sacrifice pasture to let it rest, and maybe spread some lime and diatomaceous earth to help bring it back. I'm hoping to split that pasture into 2 sections and separate the horses by age, and one of my projects this summer is to build shelters. I'm thinking about using an Earthship technique, dirt pounded into tires and stacked like bricks, and then cover it with earth and plant grass. We'll see how ambitous I get!

A gorgeous day!

The sun is shining, a nice breeze is blowing, the birds are singing... it promises to be a warm, beautiful day!

I've already had Ken trim Festy's hooves this morning, they're looking better every time. Everybody had been fed and turned out, and now it's time for a list of things to do:

Set the fence posts
Get the back pasture ready for mowing (looks like next week)
Do some cleaning in the barn
Sweep and mop in the house
Run the dishwasher
Trim the dogs claws
Clip Misty, and maybe shear the sheep too
Buy some chickens!

It's been too nice out to sit too long at the computer, so I haven't gotten a lot of photo stuff done. I really need to, though, so maybe tonight.

Better...

I feel that I got something done today, even if it wasn't much.

After lunch, I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, folded clothes, ran the washer, hung out sheets to dry, and moved the lawnmower back to where it belonged.

Ken and I went to walk the hop yard, and as we finished the neighbor pulled in with the haybine. We're taking a calculated risk, gambling that the weather will hold for the next 3 or 4 days so we can bale. I only mowed about half the field, mostly the finer stuff on the hill that will dry faster. With the best luck, we'll be able to bale late tomorrow afternoon, but I'll be happy if we can get to it on Wednesday. We'll probably mow the rest of this field next week, and mow the back pasture as well (it's a little behind as I had horses in it until April). I'm really praying for a good harvest, as I'm just about down to the dregs in the loft, and the neighbor has nothing to spare. He does have a back up field that he just rented, but I trust my fields more as I know what's growing in them.

Jac got home from work and stole the 'bine and finished the field (for a city girl, she really likes driving tractors!). I planted some more tomatoes, then sat for a bit and watched Platinum Weddings on WE. I don't know why, but I like the show. Maybe because I'd like to try being a high end wedding photographer or wedding planner. I'm a bit of a chicken though. I just hate the thought of ruining someone's big day.

We rented 'The Seeker' on pay per view, and I have to say I want my $4.00 and 2 hours of my life back. They say it was based on 'The Dark is Rising' by Susan Cooper, but it had very little in common with it. It was a travesty, and not even a really good movie on it's own.

Chores went well. The boys came in with no problem, Never is really being a good boy when he isn't trying to be a stud. I played with Alex when he and his mom came in. He's getting better about picking up his feet, and about giving to pressure. I even managed to pick up one of Willow's feet of a bit, which is good because she really needs a trim. I brought Festy in because he needs his feet trimed as well. Tomorrow should be a fun day of hoof trimming for all!

Time to get something done

I'm posting a bit later than usual, as Ken was on the computer all morning catching up on his email and forums.

The morning has gone pretty well so far. I fed and turned everyone out, Sketch and Never are in the round pen (and Sketch isn't too amused), and I've even done some laundry.

Plans for the rest of the day are about the same as yesterday's:

Get the field ready for haying (open up fence, pick up trash, move large rocks...)
Check on the hop yard
Empty and load the dishwasher
Sweep and mop
Do some laundry
Groom and play with the horses
Set posts for the new paddocks
Do some photo editing
Work on my business plan

Nevermore

I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped. Cramps kicked in around 10am-ish, so I was pretty useless for most of the day. I did get a little laundry done, but that was about it. Neighbor Guy stopped by to fix the tire on my lawnmower, and he was nice enough to throw down some hay for me. I was getting ready to rise from the dead to do evening horse chores, when he came in saying Never was trying to breed a mare through a metal gate, and she was trying to help him. Crap. By the time I get out there they've lifted the gate off the hinges, but luckily they swapped places: the mare in question was in his paddock with Sketch and two other mares, a foal, and Fiesta the hinny, and Never was in the main pasture with the older, apparently not in heat mares. He was a pretty good boy and allowed himself to be caught and brought in, but now I have to figure out how to rearrange pastures. I can't open up the back pasture until a week or so after we've baled it (so in probably 2-3 weeks). I've been planning to restructure the sacrifice pasture into smaller paddocks, and I guess now's the time. For tomorrow, though, I'll have to put him and Sketch in the roundpen. Sketch is not going to be happy.

I guess when I have the vet come out to float teeth and do Coggins, I'll have him check Glory the tramp to see if she's bred. If she is, I'll have to have it terminated, as I don't want her bred for a variety of reasons (really poor conformation, a very large hernia, she's only three, I don't need more half-breds...) I'd really like to get her spayed, maybe at the same time her hernia is taken care of, but my vet has never spayed a mare before. Maybe he'll cut me a deal...

A day of rest?

My morning has already been a little eventful.

I led Never, the three year old colt, out to his pen then went back to the barn for Sketch. Never either got the gate open or I had left it unlatched, because when I got back, he was wandering past the barn door and down the drive! I put Sketch in the pen and went after Never. He stayed on the driveway, didn't stop for grass or to say hi to Rho, walked right up to the road and turned right. I couldn't quite get to his head, and I didn't want to run because I was afraid he would trot off. I was so afraid a semi would show up, but there wasn't a car or truck in sight (thank all the equine gods!). In a fit of desperation I got a hold of his tail and pulled, not hard but to get his attention. He turned and walked into the tall grass of the ditch. I still couldn't grab his halter, he just walked right past me, back down the driveway, broke into a trot and then galloped past the barn and almost ran over Misty. I thought he was going to run out the other side of the driveway (I have a U-shaped drive with two entries), but he turned and headed for his pen to see Sketch. I caught up, let him in, and triple checked the latch. It looked okay, but I'll check throughout the day to make sure.

Anyway, things to do:

Get the field ready for haying (open up fence, pick up trash, move large rocks...)
Empty and load the dishwasher
Sweep and mop
Clean up the office
Do some laundry
Do some photo editing
Groom and play with the horses
Check on the hops
Set posts for the new paddocks

Almost bedtime...

We decided to head out to Custer for the Energy Fair, and I'm glad we did. I had a great time, got a lot of info for when we build the house, saw some friends and got a lot of exercise. My neighbor had talked about mowing the hayfield today, but when we got back he wasn't here and the field was untouched, so something must have come up. I ended up watching Music and Lyrics and eating pizza rolls.

Time for chores, and then bed. All that sun and wind really takes all the energy out of you!

edited to add: I'm glad we didn't cut hay today. Just as I was finishing chores, the skies lit up and it started to downpour. We didn't get much, but it was enough that I got soaked before I could make it to the house.

Saturday

It's the weekend, but since I work for myself it doesn't seem to have much meaning anymore. It's just a time when more fun stuff is available to be done!

Today's list of possibilities:

Go to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair (eliminates many of the choices below)
Help Greg get ready to cut hay
Do more cleaning around the house and yard
Plant stuff
Work on the fence
Wash horses
Clean out the shed
Organize the office (needs to be done, but today?)

Day is done, sun is gone...

I got a lot done today, but not everything that I had planned. *sigh*

After I got off the computer, Ken asked for help watering the hops. We got about halfway done when Jac got home from grocery shopping, so I hiked back to put stuff away and make lunch. I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher and washed the counters while I waited for the food to cook.

After lunch, I hung out the sheets to dry, planted a couple of the tomato plants, and got the mail. Then, as I'm planning my next move (probably washing horses), Ken asks if I have any of the pics printed for his portfolio/brag book to take to the Ren Faire. Crap. So the next few hours are spent looking through all of my pics, trying to find pics of stuff that he doesn't have on display that people might be interested in seeing. Then it's a matter of figuring out how to get the computer and printer to communicate properly. During all this, it starts to rain, not much but enough to have me scrambling for the laundry on the line. By the time 8 pm rolls around I'm finally done, and Ken is out the door for Chippewa Falls.

I breathe a sigh of relief, then realize that it's almost time for chores and I forgot to have Ken toss down hay! Crap. So, wearing boots and shorts (I know, bad idea), I head up to the loft to wrestle with bales. I get enough for a day or two, then bring everyone in, distribute feed and hay, fill buckets (I really have to scrub them this weekend), and tuck everyone in. Sketch seemed slightly spooky, but it may have been nothing. I'll check him tomorrow.

Since Jac's at work until 11pm, I had to do dog and cat chores by myself. Not a big deal, it's mostly supplements for the cats to facilitate a head count, and the dogs are pretty easy: some meat, a little kibble and some milk and they're pretty happy.

It's getting close to bedtime, but I think before I go to sleep I'll rough-sketch out the floor plans for the house and barn. I haven't decided if I want to go to the Faire tomorrow or if I want to go to Custer for the Energy fair, or if I just want to stay home and get more done. I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

To do today, and other goals

Well, the horses are fed and let out, I've had my breakfast and shower, and now I'm checking email and stuff before I get on with the day.

To do today:

Clean the kitchen
Water the hops
Wash Jul and Sketch (and clean his sheath)
Try the other saddle on him and pray it fits both of us
Bake some soda bread for Ken, and maybe cookies too
Work with Hope and Never
Make some calls
Mail Mom the papers she asked me to get
Plant my tomatoes!

While I was in the shower, I 'think'. It's more of a stream of consciousness thing, but it brings ideas and stuff to the front of my mind. A few short term goals that bubbled up:

Build the new round pen
Make hay (weather willing)
Set up the new pastures, place better corner posts, and make gates
Build the picnic table I've been wanting
Paint and put together the doctor's buggy
Paint the other buggy
Re-render the plans for the new house and barn, and make scale models
Get the barn roof replaced
Clean out the barn (strip and wash stalls, scrub buckets, sweep cobwebs, replace lights...)
Write an updated, more focused, business plan

How the day went

Looking at my list of goals for today, I think I did pretty well.

After morning chores I groomed Gem and Jul: combed out the tangles, curried and brushed, and fly sprayed. I'm hoping to wash Jul tomorrow, as she's pretty grubby. I may have Ken do her feet while we're at it.

Then I washed up and had my own breakfast and checked my email, comics, and forums. Ken came in just as I finished up and asked if I want to walk out with him to check on the hops (we've planted a test crop, and after some general hesitation it seems to be growing pretty well).

When we got back I started on the lawn. I ran out of gas about halfway through, and of course it was at the farthest point of the property (I was mowing the path to the hopyard). I walked back to get the gas can, and decided to have lunch before I hiked back. I finished up, then started the fine edging, pulling weeds by hand and cutting grass around the shrubs and stuff with shears (the weedwacker would damage the plants).

I felt like baking, so I made a rhubarb crisp. Then I went out to work with Sketch.

I didn't do as much warm up with him as I probably should have, just walk-trot both ways around the pen. I did try to coax him into a canter, but while he took a few steps one way, he just extended the trot the other. I used a bareback pad instead of the saddle, just to see what he would do. He didn't seem as stiff in the trot, but he still offered a buck at the canter in one direction.

After some false starts, aggravation, and hunting for a better mounting aid, I finally got on. I am really out of shape, and it's times like this that really underscore that fast. The biggest reason I like riding Western and shy away from bareback is the ease of mounting. The second biggest reason: security! I had the pad, which kept me pretty much in place (it's the good felt and suede type). We walked for a bit, to the left first. He wanted to trot after a few laps, but I did a one rein spiral to slow him back to a walk, and then spiraled out again. Pretty good.

Not so good the other way. All he wanted to do was trot, fast or slow he didn't care. He has a nice trot, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I tried the spiral slowdown again, and discovered he doesn't bend as well to the right as he does to the left (good to know). He just kept trotting, even in a tight circle. At one point he tried to speed up, turned, I lost my balance a little and overcompensated: fell forward, grabbed mane, gripped with my knees and legs. He's sensitive, so he took this as a cue to collect and canter. Just a few steps, but enough to startle me a lot. *S*

To see if maybe it was just to roundpen that was making him antsy, we did some walking in the yard and around the driveway. He has a very smooth ground eating walk and pays attention to everything, but he wasn't that spooky. We went back to the pen and I dismounted there, then went to the barn where he got a treat and groomed again. We did some hand grazing and then I turned him back out with Never.

Things I learned today:

*Sketch bends better to the left than the right
*I need a bigger round pen, and an outdoor arena wouldn't be half bad
*While he may be pudgy and out of shape, he still has a lot of energy and extra laps won't hurt him
*He's really good on the ground, almost puppy-like, but while mounted he's got a lot more spunk
*He seems to collect really well
*I need a dressage saddle, or at least a saddle that fits us both
*I need lessons, with or without Sketch
*I need to start working out again

I think tomorrow I'm going to try cleaning his sheath to see if that helps, and I have one more saddle I can try on him. If that doesn't fit, well, I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably try and improve my seat bareback, I guess *shudder*

Okay time for chores.

Quick post, plan for the day

In an effort to try and get more accomplished, I'm going to try something: twice a day posting. I'll start with a morning post of plans for the day (posted much earlier than this one!), and then an evening post with what I actually did. That way, I should be able to see how much I'm actually doing.

Today's plan:

Grooming the oldsters
Do some groundwork with Never and maybe Hope
Work Sketch, do some riding bareback/with the pad
Mow the lawn and finish weedwacking
Plant my tomatoes!

Crossing my fingers this works...

Day 1: Evaluation

I decided that with such nice weather, (and no one to bother me) it would be a shame not to play with Sketch today.

Sketch and Never

He eventually came when called, and I rewarded him when he did. We went to the cross-ties and had a really good grooming session. I got most of the mud off, but the rest is going to have to wait for another day (just his socks). I'll probably have to clean his sheath as well, as it looks a bit cruddy. Joy.


Sketch after grooming

After the grooming and a liberal dose of fly spray to repel the horse-sized horseflies, we went to the round pen. Walk and trot one way, walk and trot the other way. He mostly listened to voice commands. He does have a problem with stopping when he wants to (especially by the gate), and after he warmed up he offered extended trot to canter, with the occasional buck, but all in all he wasn't to bad.

When he was warmed up, I saddled him. He took it pretty well, just a little snort while he watched me put it on. I worked him both ways with it, and I'm not totally sure that it fits him right. His walk was fine, but his trot was short and upright, if you know what I mean. I then worked him both ways with the bridle without reins, to get used to the bit.

Sketch all tacked up

After all this, he seemed to be okay, so I thought about it for a second and then went to get a bucket to stand on. We need to work on standing still while mounting, as he stepped forward a bit (but not much, I think the bucket made him nervous). We walked for a bit, testing his response to leg and rein cues. Not too bad, so we tried a couple steps of trot. I had triple checked the girth, but apparently I should have checked it yet again, as it slipped to the right as we turned. I'm proud that I didn't panic, and I'm glad to find he has a good whoa! I dismounted and walked him in hand, then un-tacked and brushed him, let him graze a bit, gave him a couple of treats, and put him out in the paddock with his buddy Never.

Not a bad first day. I know what we need to work on now, and it's really not too bad. I'm going to try to work with him a little every day, as we're both out of shape, but the next day I'll be able to do anything is Sunday, as the Wisconsin Renaissance Faire opens tomorrow and I need to help Ken set up.

Here's to a good first day!

The Beginning...

Well, I've resisted this as long as I can, but I think it's something that I have to do. I'm not a huge fan of blogging, though I do enjoy reading certain ones. I just don't think people will be that interested in what I have to say. So, I'm not doing this for attention, or to inform, or anything like that. I'm just using this as a journal to log our progress and to measure the distance to my goals.

That being said, let me introduce the characters:

Me: short, pudgy, and haven't really truly ridden in quite a few years (I've hopped on now and then, but no shows, trail rides, lessons...). While I was never one of those kids that was fearless in the saddle, I could hold my own and stay on. Over the years, while I've gained knowledge of horses and riding, I haven't really put it to use. I still have a pretty good seat, but that's about it. *S*

Sketch (AHA registered name Etched n Stone): a 15 yr old out of shape chestnut Arabian gelding, about 15.1 hands or so, mostly Polish http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/etched+n+stone (I know he's the product of a father/daughter breeding, I'm not thrilled but he's a good boy anyway, and he's gelded). I bought him in 2005 from a lady who was selling him on behalf of her daughter. Said daughter had wanted a show horse specifically so she could win top honors at a particular show. After she did, she lost interest in him. *sigh* I saw a picture of him at the feed store, under saddle and moving out well. I had images in my head of dressage, so I called the lady, went to see him, and arranged a payment plan ($1500 in $100 weekly installments). I brought him home, and since winter was quick approaching and I don't have an indoor arena he got to rest and adjust to me and his new home.

The next spring I saddled in up a couple of times to find out what he knew. He seemed hesitant, but not uncomfortable. After the third session, though, I noticed that the bare patch on his girth (that the previous owner warned me about) seemed to be bubbling up. When the vet came out to check teeth and do Coggins tests, he biopsied it and it turned out to be a sarcoid. It kept getting bigger so I took him in to get it removed. It was gross and fascinating and I took pictures. The vet stitched him up and sent us home with a topical spray and instructions to take it easy. I put him in his paddock to rest, and go to work for a couple of hours. I check on him at supper time, and the doofus had ripped out every one of his stiches! I put in a call to the vet, who say he can come out and re-stitch him, or we can just let him heal the way he is. Well, I chose the latter, and it took more-or-less a year to fully heal (with a bout of proud flesh to deal with).

Spring of 2007 comes and I'm ready to try riding Sketch again. The day before my day off, a tree falls onto the fence separating Sketch from Rho-Dawn, a stallion I had gotten the year before. I can only guess that Rho went after Sketch, chased him through the fence to the mare pasture (thank goodness I have electric rope instead of smooth wire!), and then mostly left him be to court the mares. The poor boy had a huge bruise and gash along his back, either from the rope or Rho. So, more rest and healing.

Now it's a new year, 2008, and I'm ready to try again. I don't have a lot of safe places to ride, as I live near a county highway with a lot of logging traffic, but I'll find a way. I have a small round pen that I'm going to be renovating (expanding to a 60 foot diameter with wood fence instead of corral panels), so that will help. I've had the saddle and bridle on to check the fit, and I've hand walked him to get used to it all. So I guess we'll see what happens!