Painted Promise Ranch

Swimming Again!

2011-07-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

John Henry's passing seemed more important to post yesterday, so I delayed this one...

Yesterday it was back to Lake Pleasant again, but instead of riding we just went straight from the parking lot to the lake... it was just too hot! This time I took Katie and someone had a camera...

RIP John Henry

2011-07-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have read many a story about a gorgeous mule by the name of John Henry in issues of the Brayer Magazine, which I get being a member of ADMS so that I can register my miniature donkeys... well today I heard that he had passed away. I really felt the need to reach out to Kathleen, who owned him, even though she didn't know me, and let her know how her stories of life with John Henry had touched me... so I dropped her a quick e-mail. I was amazed to get the following response and wanted to share it with you all, because whether you knew him, or knew of him, or not, please note that the world just lost an awesome equine!

the e-mail and pictures:

hi susan,

you know it is people like you who take the time to send me a note that just warms my crying heart. i have gotten over 300 emails 90% from people i don't know. they all talk about john henry like they know him and love him. the whip [am driving society], the yankee peddler [east coast horse mag], the ADMS and the CAA [carriage assoc of am] all have asked for an obit. i just couldn't face doing one so i asked my trainer, jeff morse, [http://green.meads.com] if he would. this is what he wrote…i think he nailed it - just the right amount of facts and smiles…. thank you for your thoughtfulness...

John Henry 1991-2011

Kathleen Conklin, “John Henry’s human”, knew she had to be part of his life the moment she laid eyes on him in an Amish mule dealer’s barn in Lancaster County, PA. on a cold winter night in 1994. The impressive force of his charisma is rare among equines. He usually wasn’t hard to notice. 1500 pounds of 16.2 hand, black shiny Percheron Mule with 12” ears. Hard to be wallflower. Plus he had the uncanny ability to launch a loud, clear, friendly bellow at the precise moment that doing so would have the most powerful effect on a crowd of people and horses. We smiled. Everyone knew who it was and they were glad to have met John Henry. He even gave the lucky ones a kiss.

John Henry began educating Kathleen about mules as a 3 year old. He knew only how to be tied and to be lead. He would not let anyone touch him. What an education he would provide! And what a fortunate mule he was to have Kathleen to work his magic on. She was receptive. Dedicated. Horse smart. Kind and fair. She always did everything the right way for John Henry.

His competition championships stretch from Shelbyville to Saratoga to Gladstone to GMHA to Lorenzo….and to Walnut Hill. The prestigious summit of carriage driving … Walnut Hill! A Mule at walnut Hill!?! Imagine that. Invited there, even. A barrier broken. John Henry was a champion or reserve champion at Walnut Hill 6 of the last 7 years. Few that saw him will forget the turnout: the restored royal blue butcher’s cart with bright yellow trim and Kathleen absolutely correctly appointed in her blue and white striped apprentice butchers apron. Every detail meticulously researched and executed. But the joke was on Walnut Hill. A mule would never have been used to pull a butcher’s cart! Only fast horses like hackneys’ would be able to make the rounds before the meat spoiled. But still he won and won and won. Always loved that joke. It was impossible not to smile at John Henry.

Few know that it was John Henry that caused the American Horse Show Association now the United States Equine Federation to overturn a 50 year ban on mules in competition. Mules were banned because their exceptional skills beat society’s horses. They were reinstated because of the skillful ambassadorship of John Henry and Kathleen. It was hard to say no to John Henry. A barrier broken with a smile.

I taught John Henry and Kathleen to dance in preparation for an invitational musical Kur at a meeting of the American Driving Society in Fair Hill, Maryland. How could I say no? But what music to use? This had to be special. The choice? I knew it the second I heard it. Canned Heat’s “Too Much Giddyup (Not Enough Whoa)”. Look it up. It was perfect. And of course John Henry was his usual superlative self and made everyone smile again.

John Henry’s legend is larger than space allows to tell it all here. His magic broke down barriers too numerous to list, but…. and I speak for the horsemen that knew him… in a lifetime, we count on the fingers of one hand the good horses by whom we measure all the rest. John Henry will always be at the top of our list. A mule on the top of the list? Imagine that! We are truly privileged to have known the magnificent John Henry.

“Take this hammer, and carry it to the captain,
Tell him I'm gone, tell him I'm gone”. ~ prison work song about John Henry attributed to Leadbelly

tally ho,
kathleen, john henry \ / & agnes \ /
http://john.henry.org
http://horseblanketetc.com
http://pbase.com/conklink - photo albums

I immediately wrote back to Kathleen to thank her for sharing the pictures and info with a total stranger who nonetheless was a big fan... and she gave me permission to copy for this blog, and sent me one more:

Here is the last picture taken of John Henry 8 days before he died. In our last class at that show he stopped dead during the first trot and wouldn't do anything but walk. I excused myself and took him out of the ring. That was the beginning. He was champion of the commercial division and also won the carriage dog class with my JRT, Cracker Jack…..John Henry was a real trooper….

RIP JOHN HENRY, you will be sorely missed!!!!!

Swimming with the Horses

2011-07-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today it was off to Lake Pleasant to swim with the horses then go for a little ride... I took Glory today. She wasn't sure about the water at first but she was a good girl and went in with me. Then we went for a little ride which was nice but HOT! Sorry no pictures, since I was going to be in the water I didn't bring the camera.

Quick Trip

2011-06-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Just a few shots of my quick trip to Eaton Rapids, Michigan for Randy's family reunion...

This is Randy's "immediate" family... his parents, siblings and their spouses and kids... wow, huh?

Same family but with great-grandma added... and this time we can actually SEE Bruce (dad)!!!

I love this shot of Bernie, Robin and their kids, in their corn field... what a NICE family and I felt really comfortable staying with them!!

Uncle Bernie and hus buddy Gunner... unfortunately he did want to cuddle with me, no matter how much I begged... but he WOULD chase a ball! Um, GUNNER that is!!!!!

Randy's cousin's wife Suzanne was kind enough to share her chihuahua pup with me... I was missing my dogs so bad, and although there were a couple where we were staying, they weren't real happy with "strangers"... this little angel was TOTALLY friendly!!!

They really throw quite a shindig... a HUGE pot luck with amazing food, and there was log-sawing, hammering, sack race, several different ball games for the kids, water balloons, a sand box with pennies for a treasure hunt for the tiny kids, and I am sure I am forgetting a bunch more...

Randy and I with our medals for winning the sack race! Not bad for a couple of old f@rts!!

I was amazed at what cousin Jen's husband did in their yard...

Flowers at Jen's... WOW!!!

Sunrise on my way to the airport to come home... although the day started and ended well (happy to be home with my critters), the in between wasn't so hot. I think in the future I will stick with Southwest Airlines, I did NOT like Allegiant Air!!!

And I am home safe!!!

Boys and Their Toys

2011-06-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

More pictures Randy took to replace the ones lost last year... we did a great little video last year too but although I offered to go to the park and recreate it with him, he said he had already been back there...

Shipshewana Indiana

2011-06-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Since I left the camera in the rental car last year, I lost the pictures I took of our visit to Amish country... I did not make it back this year but Randy made sure to take some pictures for me!

So many, many big old barns!

Love this!

And here's why they have those signs!

Only in Amish country - a horse tied next to a fuel pump!

Thanks for thinking of me honey!!!

Got My Aspen Fix!!!!

2011-06-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Rachelle and hubby Mike who hosted a group of us near Kindrick Park, north of Flagstaff... I have been so sad ever since the Little Elden area burned last summer, it was the best place ever to go for aspens... the trees aren't quite as big or as thick as Little Elden but wow did I EVER get my aspen fix!!!

This is our camp - made the trip with my friend Pat :)

Heading down the trail... wait... what's that I see ahead???

ASPENS!!! The first of many patches :)

Sherman leading the way

Rocket catching a quick drink at a tank

They are such good little trail doggies!!!

Another stand of aspen

This one had FERNS!

There was still snow at Snowbowl!

Sunday's trail took us through an old burn... very sad...

I took 139 pictures so if you want to see them all, you can go here: http://s754.photobucket.com/albums/xx181/ppranch-azbcr2010/Kindrick%20Park%2006-17-11/

Hutch Mountain

2011-06-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Spent a great weekend out of the heat with my pal Lisa, camping near Hutch Mountain... thanks to Sheila for the invite!!!

We had water...

Old and new friends...

ASPEN!!!!!

Gorgeous flowers...

And I got a double ear-cam! Sherman AND Katie :)

Not so fun to come back to the heat but it was a nice weekend :)

And The Girls Come Home :)

2011-06-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

Meet Lola... born spring 2010

and Aspen... born December 2010

It looks as though I have another pair of zebu where one will always be hiding behind the other {sigh}
They don't seem to mind making friends with the donkeys though :)
Seriously, they are not near as skittish as the boys, in fact we herded them into the trailer at David's so when I got home I spent some time in the trailer with them, getting the halters on so I could move them to their pen... I was able to pet both of them fairly well in that small space. It's a little harder in the bigger pen but I put a chair in there and I am determined to work with them!!!

Sycamore Canyon

2011-05-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend a 4-day weekend... just a few of my favorite pictures from this weekend :)

Our camp

Incredible scenery...

Beautiful flowers

Wild horses!!!

Adorable minis!

Water, water and more water...

Good friends and good dogs...

Old barn...

And a new headstall for my horsie :)

For ALL the pictures, click here http://s754.photobucket.com/albums/xx181/ppranch-azbcr2010/Sycamore%20Canyon%2005-2011/

Riding Despite the Virus...

2011-05-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am. BUT following the vet's advice and using common sense... restricting rides to small groups of well-known friends with backyard horses only, in places that are NOT popular horse places... so no lectures necessary :)

That said, please enjoy a few shots from Sedona...

I took a TON of pictures, if you want to see more go here: http://s754.photobucket.com/albums/xx181/ppranch-azbcr2010/Sedona%2005-21-11/?start=all

And if you want to join us for part of the ride... click here

Two Days Later Another Graduation

2011-05-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Kinda sprung on us at short notice but as things worked out, it worked out... so this morning I picked up my next-in-line brother, Scott, and headed over to the main campus of ASU for the graduation of my niece, Stephanie, from the teacher's college (Lindsey's graduation Thursday was from the business college).

Hilary had a job interview in Wickenburg which conflicted so she didn't make it, but Lindsey and Andria were there, as well as my mom again, and of course Scott, and my dad and his wife, and my "little" brother Steve with his wife Laura and all but one of their six kids...

While we were waiting we took some pictures because Lindsey had to get Andria to the airport for her flight home and we weren't sure they would be able to stay for the whole ceremony... and as it turns out, they weren't...
Uncle Steve with Andria and Lindsey. Wow that flash really washed them out, so I turned it off.

My dad with Andria and Lindsey. Apparently turning off the flash was the wrong move {sigh}

And for my brother, who didn't have a camera with video, some action, although {sigh again} I discovered that even though I knew in advance to be careful of it, I still moved the camera when I screamed... that was her on the far left just before the camera dipped, but I did get back to her and catch her coming down the stairs and the aisleway...

Afterward we took more family pictures, won't bore you with too many...

Me and my "little" brothers... and yes, the biggest one is the youngest...

And I learned something today. I learned how my kids feel when there is an event that necessitates both parents being in attendance... even at almost 50 years of age, with parents having been divorced almost as long as they were married, it was awkward for me. To add to the stress, my little brother informed us all that since the last picture of the 5 of us was taken at his wedding to Laura 23 years ago, he wanted a picture of us all together. He had figured out how everyone should stand and although some strain met his request, he did get his wish.

Me with nieces Stephanie, 22, the graduate, and Dennarae, who turns 17 next week.

I'll leave you with the two graduates

Mini Therapy

2011-05-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Andria joined me and some of my friends for a mini visit today, a first for her... we took Foxy, Ozzie, Susie Q and her boy Victor, and bottle baby Emily Ann...

Foxy is an old pro:

Emily Ann is going to make an AWESOME therapy donkey!!! She has no fear of anything!

Susie Q kept a close eye on her baby boy, and he was glad for that, it was all new to him, his first time indoors!

This facility includes several trips in the elevator...

Victor wasn't too sure about this... so Andria assisted! (We came across a scale later and weighed him, 52.7!!)

He was much better about LEAVING!

And he got used to things as the visit went on.

Emily Ann decides to put on the brakes!

This gentleman was trying to convince Foxy to wear his hat for a picture, she wasn't too sure...

So he showed her how it works!

Later Foxy got a lullaby

Susie Q being petted... I just love pictures of the old hands on the minis!

This gentleman was so excited, he didn't want to let go!

But he had to share his ponies...

And check this out... WHAT IS IN THE ELEVATOR?

THE END!

Or not... one of the caretakers went and got her daughter from the attached daycare and found us in the parking lot...

"Just my size!"

Lindsey's graduation!

2011-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I got up REAL early - 4:00! - so I had time to feed all the animals and get ready, and by 6:00 I was headed for Scottsdale to pick up my mom in time to make it to Tempe for Lindsey's graduation from ASU at 8:00 in the morning...

It was really crowded but thanks to cell phones we did find her... she is just to the left of the close end of that light bar to the right of the ASU sign...

What, you can't see her? Let me get closer...

Yeah, I know, I can't tell which one is her either - but I tried!!! Meanwhile, I got a nice shot of Andria and Hilary waiting...

And then Hilary took a shot of Andria, me and my mom waiting...

Hey it was something to do to pass the time! Along with this... take a WILD guess how many times I had to take a picture before I got the words lined up just right...

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2011!

Now for some ACTION!
Apparently when I scream I can't hold my hand still {sigh} so I missed the actual handing of the diploma, but you can recognize the long blonde hair...

Watch the left side of the screen, Andria did a BETTER JOB catching the actual hand-off... but on the big screen...

Afterwards we went outside to look for her in the crowd...

And take some pictures, starting with Grammy and the 3 girls... Hilary - STOP TEXTING!!!

There, that's better :)

My turn...

The graduate and her diploma - well, her diploma cover anyway, apparently they mail the real things later, saves from problems with which one to hand which person!

Found a nicer background so took some more... my 3 girls...

My 3 girls being goofy...

Three generations...

Afterwards Grammy took us all to lunch at Olive Garden, YUM!

Didn't take any more pictures but I got to spend the rest of the day with all 3 girls, we had pedicures and were going to catch a movie but the one we wanted wasn't playing at the theater we found (since not one of us is familiar with Tempe! Lindsey attended the polytechnic campus of ASU in east Mesa, bu the graduations were all at the main campus) so we ended up hanging out at Tempe Marketplace and finished off with Coldstone...

Then we said goodbye and after dropping Hilary off on our way home, I had Andria all to myself for a little while...

More Pictures of Zachary

2011-05-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Yup the new owner decided she liked Zachary for a name... the little guy was sold the day after he was born!
After work today I opened the gate so that XZachary and his mama could stretch their legs a little while I was there to supervise... but instead, everyone else came in! They all want to check out the new arrival...

Where did he go???

Once out of the pen, mama kept close tabs on him...

And she did her best to keep him away from the other donkeys.

I just love this picture, these are 3 of his older half-sisters (all have the same sire), and they actually lined up by age!!! Sarah Beth in the back was born 11/02/09, then Emily Ann born 10/02/10, and Jessica DeAnn born 01/30/11... guess what they are looking at?

Yup they wanted to see their baby brother, but his mama is having none of it!

Just a little bit closer...

And then she made sure he walked right on by!
It's ok girls, just be patient and before too long mama will be HAPPY to have you babysit for her ;)

Foaling Season Ends on a Good Note!

2011-05-09T09:17:00.001-07:00

FINALLY Ellie Mae had her foal... I was beginning to think I was crazy, per my records from last year she was due no later than April 24, but she had barely an udder, and then it went away! Being a maiden jennet she wasn't REAL huge but big enough that I sure didn't think she could hold off until October... I was hoping for another boy so I could sell him and put more in the hay fund, prices are crazy... but the first thought in my head when I saw the foal this morning was OH I HOPE IT'S A GIRL SO I CAN KEEP IT! What a cutie... BUT it IS a boy, so someone is going to get a REALLY adorable lil donk!

Yes, he has spots in his blaze!

Looks just like Nicholas but MORE white on his hips...

Victor wants to know why he can't come in and play!

Still not much of an udder under there but lots of nipple and the lil guy is nursing away - just goes to show that like people, some donkeys are just different!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Lindsey got me the cutest card...

On the inside it says:

Thanks for always putting up with me, even when I was a little pain in the... well, you know. Happy Mother's Day

Then a gal from the mini donkey yahoo group shared with us a card she got for her mother:

On the inside it says...

SO I GOT YOU THIS CHEAP-ASS CARD!

I about fell off my chair laughing and I figured it was a good thing Lindsey hadn't see this one!!

Groom Creek for the Day

2011-05-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Forgot my own camera but did manage to find a shot of me and Sherman riding Glory through the forst that one of my friends took :)

Another fantastic ride!!!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2011-05-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

11 years... it's been a bit of a rollercoaster but I have to say that overall, I've enjoyed the ride :)

I love you Randy!!!

My Grand-donkey Madeline!

2011-05-04T15:11:00.001-07:00

Wow is she having lots of adventures and she is doing really well learning to drive... bop on over to her own blog and catch up!

Happy Birthday to...

2011-05-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

RANDY! He is only 43, still a youngster lol... at least compared to me!

Love ya honey!!!

Stasia's Fundraiser

2011-05-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

I will add pictures soon but today we had a poker ride and raffle and potluck fundraiser for Stasia, a member of AzBCR who recently had surgery for cancer and WOOT she is clear now!!! So this was a celebration of life and we all had a BLAST! And as an added bonus we got to meet Bella, her 5-year-old daughter, and her mini Tickles, in person...

OK I Know I Have Been A Bad Blogger...

2011-04-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

...but seriously, am I being punished by receiving NO comments????? I have just been incredibly busy, but I try to catch up within a week...

Another One Bites The Dust!

2011-04-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

Breeding season, that is... with temperatures climbing, I did some moving around today {after a lovely ride at the White Tanks!} including separating the two zebu bulls, as it has been recommended to me in order to get them more friendly...

Foaling season, however, is NOT complete, as I am STILL waiting on Ellie Mae, whose due date was no later than April 24... {sigh}

Chaparral Day Two

2011-04-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday's ride was just as gorgeous... this time Sabrina and Savannah did the 25-mile ride with us while Jersey rested from her long Saturday. AND I remembered I could do movies so we have a few of those...

Rode with a gal from Vegas and her mustang for a little while, what a gorgeous horse!

Brenda and Patch, bringing up the rear...

Such a beautiful trail
Sabrina and Savannah leading us down the trail

Then we came to THIS
Can't really see the rocks I was looking at but I love how this shot turned out...

This was the most awesome trail... come along with us for a few minutes...
Jacked this shot of us crossing the creek from Brenda

Sometimes we couldn't even see the trail until we were right on top of it...

Indulging my fascination with dead tree branches against the sky...

Do you see what I see?

Yup it's a lil prickly pear, growing right out of the rock!

In the wash, by this time we are almost back and the horses are tired and the last thing they want to walk in is sand!!!

We finished in good time and packed up to head home, unfortunately didn't get to stay for awards as we had a long drive ahead of us...

AND I didn't do this on Friday on the way in, so I made sure to do it on the way out... even though I've already done it once, I find myself wondering if the itty bitty truck is going to fit!!

In fact I would have loved to jump out and take a picture of the truck inside, but I don't think I could have gotten the door open enough to get out! Look in the mirror, not much room!!!

Whew made it!

Got home just before dark so I got everyone fed and HIT THE SHOWER boy did THAT feel good... and had me some puppy time, since we camped on a private ranch and they requested no dogs in camp, this is the first time Sherman and Rocket have not come along, I missed them SO MUCH!!!

Chaparral Endurance Ride in Skull Valley

2011-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

For years it has been a dream of mine to move to Skull Valley someday, based solely on what I can see from the highway driving through on my way to Prescott countless times... well this weekend, actually spending time in and riding this area has solidified that dream! What an incredible area...

The ranch where we camped:

Our camp:

Saturday, Sabrina did 50 miles on Jersey, and Brenda and I did 30 miles on Patch and Glory.
Shirley got us right before we headed out...

Shirley caught us as we came into...

The vet check - and LUNCH!

Lovely green trees mean a creek!

and, back to base camp!

Shirley caught us coming in...

This is getting quite long so I'll blog today's ride tomorrow :)

Off I Go Again...

2011-04-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

This time it is the brand new Chaparral endurance ride in Skull Valley, a two-day ride. Glory has done two days twice now, but at three-day rides with a break day in between when I rode Katie. Since this is only a two-day ride, I am just taking Glory, and we will see how she does with two days in a row and no break... because although this time last year I thought "those people" were CRAZY, I am now contemplating trying a 50-mile ride in the fall myself... I doubt I will make it a regular thing but I'd like to be able to say, I did that!

A "Cupcake" Update

2011-04-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Last Friday after visiting Winchester, I also stopped by to see Harmony, our "orphan" rescue donkey formerly known as Cupcake. She will be 9 months old on the 26th, wow how time flies!

Um, sweetie, it's kinda hard to take a picture when you are THIS close!

There that's better...

The horses are sure she must be getting something from me that they would like...

I think she might like her new friend McKenzie JUST a little... what do you think?

National Guard Earth Day

2011-04-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

What an awesome day, although it got a bit warm toward the end - by the time we got home and unloaded, the minis weren't the only ones needing a nap!

At first it was just the volunteers, families and Guard personnel...

Victor was shy and wouldn't approach the fence right off, but he finally got brave and then it was all over, he is a smart boy and figured out that these hairless, 2-legged creatures are very useful as scratching slaves!!!

And I finally caught him on camera, Nicholas is the only baby I have EVER had that nurses from BEHIND!!! I wonder if it is because his mama is taller than the rest... this blows me away that mama is so patient and allows it...

THEN the school buses arrived and it got really busy!

And then it was off for a walk with volunteer Heather, Ozzie and Emily Ann

Although Emily Ann quickly got stolen by some more eager volunteers

Then she saw this dinosaur and asked me if she could have her picture taken with it...she wasn't scared like this little girl!

The handler told her it was actually a "water monitor"

...and he even tried to give Emily Ann a kiss! Or was he after those pesky flies???

On the way back to the pen Ozzie stopped to admire the helicopter

He wanted to hop in but the step was too high

Victor decided he wanted to see why all the kids were climbing up in that big truck

Liberty Wildlife was there again with several birds including my favorite, Frodo the burrowing owl - SO CUTE!!!!!

Then 4 Guard approached, one I recognized from last year, he had walked Ozzie around and really enjoyed it so he wanted to do it again... he had a friend who agreed to take Emily Ann again, and then I said you need another friend to carry the poop bag and fork... the other 2 guys elbowed each other and said let's get out of here, we aren't scooping poop... so the first 2 guys each took part of the equipment and off they went...

Do you think he will be back next year again?

Ozzie is just SURE that this nice lady has a treat for him... pretty please with sugar on top

One of my AzBCR friends asked me to leave a couple donkeys and bring her back a Guard... and I actually had one in the pen... but he got away :(

And this made me laugh, Heather made her son take a picture of her scooping poop! I think she will be back next year as well...

A Visit With Winchester

2011-04-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

After my pedi last Friday I stopped by to visit with Winchester... unfortunately it took longer than I expected so I missed out seeing Shelly, but she told me to make myself as home so I did!

There he is...

And hanging out with his new buddy, a mini pinto mare

The best part was I got to visit with their new zebu calf, and look! They actually CAN be friendly!!! This gives me hope for my guys and tells me that perhaps Susan from the mini group is right and I will have to separate them...I hate to do it to them BUT if that's what it takes to get them to cooperate, IT WILL HAPPEN! In fact I am throwing that in the mix as I plan for the moves at the end of breeding season, which will probably happen on the last Friday in April...

Yup looks like Winchester has found a new mama!

A Little Jaunt to the Gila

2011-04-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Evelyn for sharing a little of her backyard with us today...

And some action

This will be a great ride to do again when it gets hot!

Indian Springs Wash

2011-04-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well despite having turned 20 in February, my daughter is still a teenager in that it takes a crowbar to get her out of bed before noon... so, despite my nagging and rushing, we arrived at the parking spot 11 minutes after ride out time... to find one trailer and Kim's car and nobody around. Well, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to follow tracks and find the wash and it was supposed to be an out and back ride... and we did find where they started out at, hoofprints and fresh poop WOO HOO... we followed the wash and it kept splitting and soon we saw no hoof prints and no more poop... but looking back there was a particular shaped mountain so we figured what the heck, we will just go ride around a while, maybe we will find them, maybe we won't, but we should be able to get back to the trailer if we just head for that mountain...

Saw javelina and a big ol bunny and at one point decided we probably should have zigged when we zagged so we went cross country and kept thinking over every ridge we would find the right wash... well after 8 or 10, WE FOUND IT! Hoofprints and, eventually fresh poop YAY! We followed their tracks a little ways and they exited the wash onto a hard-packed gravel road, tracks disappeared but no worries we followed the road... until it split! We actually did choose the right fork this time but shortly after that they made a right turn which we missed on the way out, we followed the road quite a ways and finally decided to head back, on the way back the sun was at a different angle and we saw their prints going off to the left (remember we are coming the other way now) so we turned off that way and followed the tracks and within 10 minutes we spotted two bay arabs and it's Kim and Barb!!! Good thing we did find them because my plan was to take the RIGHT wash back, which would have worked well until almost the end when there was a little trail over a mountain between the two washes which is the turn we (well, Hilary WAS leading I was just following her and taking pictures!) missed within the first 5 minutes getting us lost in the first place... well not lost, we always knew where the trailer was... and we DID eventually find them! We were disappointed to hear that the trail actually goes to a river and we missed that part, but it was beatuiful out there and I hope to go again but will probably take someone else besides my daughter - someone who can actually get out of bed!! We saw lots of pretty flowers too. So here are a few pictures...

And we did have some fun moving out in the nice wash on the way back!!

Katie Update - 3rd Trim

2011-04-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Katie is coming along wonderfully!
fronts
before

and after

rear
before

and after

This is the right front from underneath, the same one we have been using to measure where the heel SHOULD be... I asked Rusty to point it out this time for a new pictures and his response was, NOW it is where it should be!

And this is the left rear, with the injury, it is really showing where the frog and hoof wall are compensating for the missing portion of hoof!

Rusty really amazed me today when he was trimming Glory, Sabrina asked what was that little crack on this front hoof, his answer was just a little stress crack probably caused by a change in feed oh, about 7 months ago... well I started counting in my head - and yup I got her EXACTLY 7 months ago, and she was fed nothing but alfalfa "before", which of course I changed asap! Now she gets grass hay for breakfast, blend pellets for dinner (the only alfalfa she gets now) along with beet pulp, rice bran and Amplify... can you spot the change?

And no Rusty didn't do mine, but look who else got a pedi today :)

Working Hard...

2011-04-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Remember this?

Well now it looks like this:

That is because I have filled 38 of these over the last week or so:

MY BACK HURTS! But I am getting there!!!!!

Babies in Blankets

2011-04-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

What with the rain and wind it was damp and chilly so the babies got blankets last night... I caught Victor a bit later, enjoying the warm sun... I did not get to ride today but I spent hours tractoring the pasture and managed to motivate Randy to lend me a hand with a smallish trailer project, so now I have my removable divider so that when I am hauling just 1-2 I can put the divider in and use the front several feet of the horse space for feed etc. without the horses getting into it YAY!

So That's Why They Call It Rainbow Valley

2011-04-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

OK so I'm just kidding but there was one heck of a storm tonight, I was so glad I got to go ride with my friends today...

We watched the weather on the way back as it was supposed to storm in the 5:00 hour... we had almost given up and thought it went around but at 5:56 it started raining! In fact I got wet taking pictures of the rainbow...

Happy Birthday Luna

2011-04-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

An extra post today but I think she deserves her very own happy birthday posting :) My baby girl is SIX today!!! Here are the first pictures of her taken on and shortly after April 9, 2005...

Yes I pick up my big foals too... both Luna and her big brother Justice weighed 99 pounds the day they were born

You've come a long way baby!

Update on Foundered Rescue Donkey...

2011-04-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

To save you from having to go back and look, these are the pictures I took before and after the first trim I did on Marissa Kay, the rescue jennet that came from Utah in January:

If you will remember (or if you are a new reader) she and her companions were FREE FED alfalfa and she was terribly overweight and foundered. Well she has been on the correct diet here, she is still overweight but getting better all the time, and when I trimmed her hooves today I noticed something... so I want you to tell me, WHAT DO YOU SEE???????

Donkey Foals on Video

2011-04-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

It was awful windy when I got home so there was no way to do the poop scooping I had planned... so turn your sound down but click here and enjoy!

Good news on Victor!

2011-04-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well good news on Victor, this morning the swelling is almost gone...

As for the new baby, yeah he was nursing again lol.... And no he doesn't have a name yet, my friend Melanie is next on the list for a spotted jack foal and she wants to come meet him and help name him, so she asked me not to... I'm trying!!!

Surprise!

2011-04-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

First thing when I got home was go out and check on Victor, and this is what I see... And I thought "oh crap Susie's baby got out of the pen!" So I rushed in and what do I find peeking out from behind Nikki... a WHITE face! That is NOT Victor!!!!
Protective mama...
So I scooped up the lil guy and mama followed me to the pen she has been spending nights in, fat lot of good THAT did... however I could see that IS actually where she gave birth! Got the two of them locked up away from the others so they could bond uninterrupted...
After two bottle babies last year, this sight is very welcome!

If that's not a long-suffering look I don't know what is... and I don't blame her, every time I turn around that boy is nursing again!

I love this hip swirl, can't figure out if it is a dragon or a question mark lol

Such a tiny boy...

For a first time mama, Nikki Renee has it down already!

My friend Laurie stopped by to see Victor and got two for one, and I talked her into taking pictures for me since Randy wouldn't be home until after dark.

That't AJ checking out the newbie... and a great picture of the foal, nice shot Laurie!

Laurie's reward for playing photographer, she got to be next :)

And poor little Victor, after all the hullaballoo with finding a new baby, I finally checked on him and found his little jaw and cheeks all swollen up!!! Immediately checked inside his mouth, tongue not swollen and he was nursing ok, so I got him half a Benadryl, and another half before I went to bed... no way to tell if it is a bee or scorpion sting, or a spider bite, but SOMETHING got him!

Meet Victor!!

2011-04-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

I was driving home from a ride in Rainbow Valley today when I got a text from Randy, "boy" with a picture of a baby donkey... so right away I called him back, "Are you freaking kidding me?" I can't believe I missed another one darn it... they really spoiled me letting me see 4 out of 5 births last foaling season... Meet Victor:

Good baby!!! Mama Susie Q wanting all the attention
Love that profile...
Portrait shot :)
This is the view from Randy-ville...

Two more to go, I am figuring Nikki Renee in about 2-3 weeks as she just started her udder last week... and Ellie Mae should go between April 11 and April 24 although she hasn't really started an udder yet...

Estrella Mountain Park

2011-04-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well no foal this morning so I loaded Glory and met some friends at Estrella, it was HOT but a beautiful day...

After only 4.5 hours of sleep last night, though, I was toast, so I came home and crawled in bed... the wind was blowing so hard, whistling around the house, I thought "I'll never get to sleep" and the next thing I knew it was FIVE O'CLOCK! Guess I needed a nap!

Mathilda Goes Home

2011-04-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

She wasn't happy about being in the trailer all alone, she and Emily Ann have bonded pretty well so it's hard to separate them... but she has a new friend her age at her new home, as well as a couple of other donkeys, and a bunch of sheep and zebu... even deer!

Yup she went to David, where I got my zebu from :) I am trading him for a baby girl, she isn't born yet but when she is, once she gets her wobbly legs under her (they aren't as quick as the donks I guess) then I get to bring her mama over here so I can raise her myself WOOT!

Here are some pictures we took today - unfortunately all these babies are BOYS or I could have had one tonight!

On this same trip to the east valley, we also visited Charles and Benjamin and got their microchips taken care of so I can catch up on registration papers, picked up Randy's Jeep after being repaired, picked up a fence panel I bought 6 weeks ago, picked up my cart and harness, AND had dinner...

And STILL Waiting...

2011-03-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

This does not look like a happy face to me!
But if someone were taking pictures of YOUR big belly...

Almost as wide as she is tall...
This part is definitely ready!
Maybe tonight...

Meet Dixie

2011-03-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Randy called me and said, "We MIGHT be getting a new dog". (Notice the MIGHT, it's important.)

Now I have been offered SEVERAL chihuahuas lately and I have been a very good girl, NO THANK YOU MY HUSBAND SAYS WE HAVE ENOUGH...

So of course I want to hear about this "might" dog... well, says Randy, remember Christmas time, that puppy my sister got her kids? You mean, the Jack Russell Terrier, that you asked her did she research the breed, since they have cats... and she said but it's such a CUTE puppy, and you told her, when the dog gets older and you can't handle her, let me know...

Yeah, guess what, sister can't handle the dog, she is way too wild and won't leave the cats along... and called Randy to ask if he was serious when he said that...

And foolish woman that I am, I can't say no, because he STILL talks about Haley, the JRT we got him for Father's Day several years ago, that got out of the yard and got hit in front of the house in October that same year :'( (Side note - it was the roommates' fault, and in almost 9 years of living right on a 55-mph road, the only dog we have lost - we DO try REALLY HARD to teach them all, YOU DO NOT GO OUT THAT GATE!!! In fact a few years ago when Hilary tried to take Tank for a walk, on a leash, she gave up and took a smaller dog she could carry for a little ways, because she could NOT get Tank to walk out that gate!!)

So, back to the present, where is the MIGHT in all this? Not really any, other than he agreed with me that before he took the dog from his sister, she was to understand that a) if our pack wouldn't accept her or b) if she was too rough on our tinies, she would go right back to the sister, it would not become our responsibility to find a new home for this dog if we couldn't BE the new home... see we have "several" dogs {tongue in cheek here} and we have found in the past that while the pack will accept a puppy and raise it, and it becomes part of the pack, it is virtually impossible to bring in an adult dog... this one is about 6 months old so not an adult but not really a puppy any more either, so I have no clue how it will go... AND, because JRTs are notorious for hunting smaller critters, I was also concerned about our Chihuahuas and Yorkie... and rightfully so since she was already after the sister's cats...

So the very next day, Randy brings the dog home. She is a wire-haired JRT, looks a lot like a fox terrier... and thankfully, she puppies down to EVERYONE right away, even the 3-pound Yorkie... so no one sees her as an adult or a threat, one hurdle passed...

We watched her carefully with the tinies but since they are all older than her, and she is immediately puppying down at the slightest growl, it appears this is two hurdles passed, and she will likely stay. It took me a while to find time to take pictures though, but without further delay, here she is:

Well, OK, so she was there a second ago... seriously, this dog is NEVER still unless she is asleep... let's try again:

Maybe a butt shot? Nope, still blurry...

Called her name to get her to look at me, instead she comes running...

Finally, a piece of trash blowing in the neighbor's yard caught her attention and I got one that isn't blurry!

I'll have to try again when she is sleeping!!!

Keeping Busy...

2011-03-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel... well, ok, that's a bit dramatic, but there have been rumors of moving our office for almost a year now... the latest lease extension is up May 31 and the story is we are NOT extending again... WOOT!

I say WOOT! because the plan is to move west on Bell Road at least 4 miles, if you know the area, they want to be west of Grand, which means a shorter commute for me AND will get me basically OFF Bell Road which is a b*tch - er, a BEAR! It is 24 miles from my driveway to my parking space at the current office, which takes somewhere between 30-40 minutes, and ALMOST HALF OF THAT TIME is the 4 miles on Bell Road!!!

However this means I have GOT to get the old files out of here BEFORE we move... this is the file room:

Each of those shelving units is 3 feet wide and 9 shelves tall, and there are actually FOUR of them FULL of files to be boxed for storage. And they can't simply be boxed, they have to be boxed BY YEAR OF DESTRUCTION and on top of that, there is an alphabetical list by client name which needs to include the box number for each file...

The good news is, this is STEP TWO of the file room project. I started out with 2 full shelving units plus 4 shelves, so a total of 22 3-foot shelves, that I had to go through file by file and determine their disposition... some required phone calls or letters but quite a few I could either move to the closed shelves or destroy... anyway after several months of working on this in my "spare" time (between current drafting projects) I am down to 2 shelves of files on which I am awaiting answers to letters or phone messages... My plan is, once I get the other 4 shelving units boxed up, any of those files that have not gotten a response, will just be added to those to be boxed.

The bad news is, there are boxes in storage with destroy dates through 2022 {YIKES}

Well I guess I could call it "job security" lol...

A Story of Sue...

2011-03-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

You might remember me posting about Sue a while back, who has been following my blog and spent part of the winter here, and came to help at the Resolution Ride over New Years, and also came and rode with me a couple of times... Well, she had told me that she was also doing her first 25-mile endurance ride on the 26th - the same day I was doing Lucky Pup.

When I got home yesteday I found a couple of e-mails:

I’m glad I went and experienced it. It was challenging! Quaker was full of energy and tested my bravery and confidence level the whole way! I did get off and walk him several times. The ride, being wide open country with rolling hills, let him see riders and horse on every hill, ahead of him and coming up behind him. This “really” gave him a shot of adrenalin!! I think I need to practice on riding in groups but I don’t know if that would help. I think it is just the energy level of the ride. Anyway, I’m glad I did it because it pushed me way beyond my comfort level. I didn’t fall off which I thought was a plus!! He did buck a couple times, spin and bolt, and feel “bunchy” a lot. However, he is very controllable if you catch these behaviors right as they start. I just need to get braver and more confident!! Susan, I hope your ride went well.

And:
The girl I bought Quaker from took these pictures. The first one looks like he has a bloody leg but it is just the ribbons marking the trail. These are at the start of the race. He actually got more revved up the further he went!

And as the day progressed we traded back and forth a couple more...

Top 10!! Good for you! It’s so fun to do well. I can’t say that I did well but it was a good experience and I’m glad I did it and survived! I will be anxious to see pictures. Our ride had 11-75 milers, 60-50 milers, 60-25 milers and I can’t remember how many trail riders. I thought that seemed like a pretty good number. It sure seemed like it out on the trail because about 5 miles was a common trail. There were horses either in front of you or coming up behind you all the time!!

To which I wrote back along the lines of WOW what a big ride... our ride had 8-50 milers, 15-25 milers and just a few fun riders!

And:

I have no clue if that is a big ride for this area or not. Seemed big to me! Thank goodness parking was in a BIG open area. Otherwise I might have had trouble maneuvering. I bought some light weight panels to use for a pen and they are wonderful. 6’ long and only weight 9 pounds each. Well worth the investment. I am going on a week long ride this summer and they will be great for that too. I like the size of your ride better!!

So won't you all join me in congratulating Sue on a successful first 25-miler!!! After all, TO FINISH IS TO WIN!!!!!

Lucky Pup

2011-03-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a 1-day ride, 25 miles on Saturday. So we headed south on Friday... I forgot where I put the camera when I brought it home from the office so I didn't take it with me. Halfway to Benson I remembered where it was, but I wasn't going back for it at that point... On a side note, the itty bitty truck did a lot better with the new rear end in it - averaged 7 miles per hour faster, with less audible strain on the engine - AND I EVEN PASSED SOMEONE!!!!!!! And, when Sabrina passed me, I saw that she was in the passenger seat... such a nice surprise to see that her husband Joe had come along! Lucky Pup Ranch, our base camp

Team Hag relaxing after vetting in Friday afternoon - Brenda, me and Sabrina

Obviously somebody said something funny...

It was early to bed and early to rise to get ready for our 25 miles! So nice to have Joe along to take pictures!!! Checked in and ready to go... Brenda on Patch, Sabrina on Jersey and me on Glory

Waiting to start...

Love love love this picture of Team Hag heading out... look at our horses, they are all walking the same - front left foot up! This is a controlled start, led by Brenda Riddle on the Arab (blue shirt on the right) - she is the ER nurse who saved the life of the fallen rider two weeks ago... always a comfort to have her along on the ride!

Brenda took this while we were riding...

Once again I was pleasantly surprised to find that Glory was already pulsed down to the criteria when we arrived at the interim vet check... we had a 45 minute hold so the horses and riders all had time for a nice snack.

Heading out for Loop 2

Glory kept looking back as if she thought Joe should be coming with us...

Joe had taken Brenda's pickup to run some errands, and he caught up to us on the road back to base camp

Happy to be almost back...

Do we look like we've done 25 miles???

Walking in from the final loop - I think this helps Glory a lot, to remove her bridle and bit and walk in lets her know she is all done, and...

Checking P&R to make sure we are down to the criteria (60) which she was!!! YAHOO this is the first time she has been down first try at BOTH vet checks... she is finally getting the hang of this endurance thing lol. We came in together at 6th place out of 15 riders, but they don't "do" ties so since I got to be first of our group two weeks ago, I took 8th this time. Team Hag Top Tens Again WOOT!!!

Waiting on Susie Q...

2011-03-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

Took this last night. Checked her every half an hour from 8pm to midnight... no change. Then the moon came up so I went to bed... and, no baby this morning. I can't believe she hasn't popped yet! Of course she isn't officially due until at least the 27th but wow, could she get ANY bigger?

And yeah, I am scheduled to be out of town this weekend for the Lucky Pup AERC ride, so just watch her foal while I am gone {sigh}.

BLECH!

2011-03-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to feed and felt AWFUL... seriously nauseous! Still not sure how I got everyone fed... Called off work sick and went back to bed... UNTIL 10:30!!! A little computer time to see if my stomach would settle upright... Randy fixed me some scrambled eggs and they stayed down... read my book for a while, then went back to bed... UNTIL 4:30!!!!! Really odd for me, I am not one to get sick and not one to lay around in bed... AND, it surprised me that I actually SLEPT all that time!!! Guess I needed it! Anyway when I woke up at 4:30, I felt a LOT better, just weak from not eating much all day... It had rained off and on all day, and since the rain had stopped, I got myself on the tractor and got the pasture done, it needed it so bad... got everyone fed and that was it for me, relaxed on the computer until Randy got home with my favorite rainy day dinner, grilled cheese and tomato soup! Just as I walked out to let the horses out for the night, it started to sprinkle, and just kept getting heavier and heavier...hoping it rains good again so the pasture soaks it up!

Busy Busy Weekend...

2011-03-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the tractor-mounted post-hold digger, over the past few weeks we planted four palo verde...
and 6 mesquite, all in a row between our house and the neighbor, hopefully as they grow they will block his mess and his bright porch lights that wreak havoc on my night vision when I am feeding in the dark... finally finished the last today!

Also thanks to the tractor we got this post removed...
from this section, so now I can finally finish this corner of the small pasture!

Of course I have plenty of places to put the dirt left over from the tree planting...

Fresh dirt spread in the low spots...

And I have been spending a LOT of time pulling fiddleneck, which is poisonous to the horses...

Fiddleneck is the darker yellow flower, with the fuzzy curly leaves, in the middle...

Plus yesterday we got rid of the old bed by delivering it to a friend in Goodyear, then picked up 56 bales of hay in Buckeye, which I then unloaded and stacked - ALL BY MYSELF! I was one tired girl last night, but still managed to finish the trees this morning AND go for a really nice ride at Estrella Park today :)

Katie's 2nd Barefoot Trim

2011-03-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

I am still learning a lot so it's harder for me to tell, but both Rusty and Sabrina were amazed at how much progress Katie's hooves have made in just two trims... (although I must admit to shock when Rusty told me this journey could easily take A YEAR!)

Just a few shots of interest, mostly the left rear which if you will remember is the injured hoof.
The left rear from underneath, before the 2nd trim:

After the trim, Rusty pointing out where the hoof wall is compensating for the injury site:

Side view of left rear after trimming, you can see the missing chunk real well in this shot:

Front left from below, before...

and after!

And since this is the hoof we used the first time, a shot of the front right showing where the heel should be. Unfortunately using the rasp, it hides some of what we want to see, I'll make sure Rusty uses his finger next time like he did the first time...

Front feet all done, aren't they pretty...

Old Pueblo, Day 3

2011-03-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

What a day... we didn't start until 8:30 again today so we did a little packing up this morning before we left...

Same trail as Friday so once again we were flying - no still pictures but I did get a video {grin} ENJOY!

It wasn't quite as warm after the vet check today but all three horses were still pokey afterward... and Glory for some reason decided that although she didn't want to drink out of the nice clean water troughs the ride manager arranged, she WOULD drink out of the nasty cow tanks...

This little guy was like "WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE CREATURES?!?"

Jersey and Patch, on the other hand, appreciated the fresh water!

Moseying along that same lovely trail...

A Glory earcam of Jersey's yin-yang butt

Brenda and Patch, on his 3rd day in a row!

Almost done... it's hard to see in the picture, but camp and all the horse trailers are there in the distance, on both sides of the very top of Sabrina's brain bucket...

A triumphant return to base camp for all three of us, and we took care of the horses then packed up the rest of camp and grabbed one last delicious meal from Rocky's Feed Lot... I got a call from another friend, who was on a different trip but also near Tucson, needing rescue from not one, not two, but THREE bad tires... so we headed north and of course Sabrina and Brenda were soon out of sight, my itty bitty truck is slow uphill... however they had to fuel up and I did not, so once I got on the Interstate I passed them at the truck stop. They finally caught back up with me just a couple of miles before Picacho Peak, where I had to pull off and rescue my friend and her horse. I felt bad for her vehicle issues but it was sure nice to have company on the long drive home!

All in all a great weekend :)

Old Pueblo, Day 2

2011-03-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

And off we go for Day 2, Loop 1...

Sabrina on Jersey...

Brenda on Patch...

Katie wasn't humming with energy like Glory usually is at the start, and like Katie was last year... so within the first 5 miles, Sabrina and Brenda were out of sight on the trail ahead of us. No matter, I had Lori to ride with, a nice gal... so we just kept on keepin'on.
Walking Katie through the tunnel under the highway, about 7 miles...

The view to the west as we come over the mountain.

Tree tunnel coming down the mountain...

By this time I figured that even without issues, by the time we made the vet check, there wouldn't be time for us to complete, so we might as well pull... AND WE HAD ISSUES! Lori's horse had a loose shoe on the rear, we kept expecting him to lose it but he lost a front shoe instead! And Katie started limping, I checked her and found rocks lodged between the frog and hoof wall in BOTH hind feet... I was disappointed but not surprised that we had to pull on her first barefoot endurance ride. If I had boots that fit her in the back I'd have booted all four, but since Glory does so well bare in the back, I was hoping Katie would be ok - after all, she did Rainbow Valley AND Morristown without boots! Her hooves are still so deep, the grooves catch and hold rocks... so this is a temporary problem, hopefully to be resolved with time as her barefoot journey progresses...

Anyway we pulled at the vet check, Lori's horse was metabolic as well as having lost a shoe (he came in at 80 and did not pulse down in the required time) although, since I got off and walked Katie into the vet check, she was already down to 42 when we arrived! (60 is the requirement for passing the vet check.) We got a trailer ride back to camp and arrived just as Sabrina and Brenda were untacking - Patch's first time doing 2 25s in a row, he did great!
Patch, my hero... Lynn would be SO proud of you!

Lovely ending to, despite problems, a lovely day!

Tomorrow will be a BUSY day, riding 25 miles then packing up camp and driving all the way home...

Old Pueblo, Day 1

2011-03-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

Sabrina on Patch, and me on Glory, took on the 25-miler, starting out at 8:30...
Saying goodbye to Brenda, who is taking Katie on the fun ride today...

The first loop was nothing short of fantastic, in fact we were going so fast I never got the camera out! What a lovely, glorious ride...
Until, at one point, we met up with the 50-milers, moving along for a few minutes and suddenly everyone comes to a halt, at first I thought it was another gate, then we saw 2 gals off their horses looking at something in the grass, thought someone had dropped something... then heard the dreaded words, RIDER DOWN! Thank God one of the gals was an ER nurse, the rider was face down in the dirt and not breathing... we held one of the horses while another rider assisted her in turning the gal over and getting her breathing again, yet another was on the phone with 9-1-1... turns out her horse did nothing wrong at all, no buck, no fuss, just tripped and somersaulted right over her! Once they knew help was on the way they had most of us move on, we felt bad leaving them but really we were just in the way and unable to help, so we moved on. We passed a Border Patrol, then Marilyn the ride manager with a paramedic truck and ambulance, then saw the helicopter arrive... quite sobering!!!! Just goes to show you that one never knows...

Toward the end of the first loop we were passed by this 50-miler... take a look at how he rides his horse! When we asked how he came to ride with just the string around her neck, he said she is really itchy, the bridle and bit bothered her, he changed to a hackamore, still bothered her, tried a rope halter and it was some better, eventually ended up with just this string and she is a very happy mare! He also said that if he could figure out a way to do 50 miles bareback, he'd leave his saddle in camp too, but he claims his old legs can't handle it... I don't know, I for one am amazed at this guy!

We arrived at the vet check to find that Glory was totally pulsed down with no waiting, could it be that she is actually getting the hang of this? (She hates the vet check, "WHY are these people TOUCHING me?????"

After a short break, we took off on the second loop... well, kinda. Neither Patch nor Glory seemed to have any more go in them, Sabrina said it is always hard to leave the vet check so we hoped they would get with it after a couple of miles, but no, it was quite warm, neither of them were drinking enough, and they just fizzled...

One benefit to walking is, PICTURES! It's gorgeous country and lovely footing...

Glory was just dragging, look how far ahead Patch is!

When we got passed by a 50-miler, both the horses picked up their pace a bit... at least until the 50 got too far ahead to be considered "competition" any more...

Slow as that second loop seemed, we finished in time and later at the ride meeting, found out that we were 2nd and 3rd out of 12!!! And, the gal who was taken to the hospital was released and returned to camp that night, although she did not ride again... the doctors said that ER nurse on the trail SAVED HER LIFE! I am so thankful that she "happened" to be right there where she was needed... God was truly watching over us!!!

Early to bed tonight as tomorrow's ride is starting earlier... 7:15 to be exact!

Minis and a Trip South...

2011-03-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

I took the camera with me but left it in the Jeep {sigh} however we had a super visit with Foxy, Mary Ellen, Sarah Beth, Emily Ann, Mathilda, and Becky Lynn and her jennet foal Jessica DeAnn... thanks to my friends who came to help!

Randy showed up shortly after we finished, we traded rigs and I was headed south... seemed like a short trip but then again I had an hour plus head start thanks to Randy. Arrived in camp at Empire Ranch not too long after Sabrina and Brenda, and got the dog pen and horse pen set up. Feels weird to be here without Shirley but she is dealing with health issues, both her own and the horses, so we will carry on as best we can...

Tomorrow is 25 miles with Glory!

Ready, Set, Go!

2011-03-09T23:56:00.000-08:00

Well I am amazed at myself, I am all ready to go for the weekend! It's off to Empire Ranch north of Sonoita for the Old Pueblo AERC ride - another 3-day and Katie's first barefoot endurance ride... so yeah, I'm a little nervous and distracted. So much so that without double-checking the calendar, I scheduled a mini visit for Thursday morning - the day I am supposed to head south! Randy is saving my bacon though, he is going to bring the big girls and the big rig and meet me when my visit is finished, so I can get rolling south and he will take the minis home and put them away. I'm so lucky that his jury duty didn't materialize!!!!!!

Riding Beautiful Sedona

2011-03-06T23:40:00.000-08:00

In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words... I could never describe the beauty of Sedona!

Madeline's parents, David and Linda, with big brother mules Earl and Gus - I was sorry NOT to see Madeline on this trip, but the trailer was still being modified to accomodate the new addition to their family.

Laurie our trail boss, and K...

Two of my favorite cowboys ever, K and David - taking pictures!

We rode past a wedding... better location than any man-made church, wouldn't you say?

My attempt at being artistic... look carefully at the windows of the houses...

And we're back, fun to see my itty bitty truck from so far away!

Better Late Than Never, Happy Birthday Hilary!

2011-03-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

We weren't able to get together for her birthday until now, but today we went for a lovely ride out in Morristown, I took her on the trail to the old stone house...

We'd barely gotten started when Destiny spooked at something... can you see what she saw?

Good eye Destiny! A small herd of mule deer...

Hilary and Destiny in the river bottom

This is a lovely ride up a side wash that pours into the Hassayampa

The old stone house.
Checking out how the house was made.

We got another look at the deer on the way back.

Then we met up with Andria for dinner!!! It was a quick trip, she is just here for the weekend for a wedding, so this was our only chance to get together.

Unfortunately Lindsey had to work so it wasn't ALL the girls, but she will have a quick chance to see Andria on Sunday before she goes home.

My Baby Turns Twenty!

2011-02-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

Yup my youngest is turning twenty today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY HILARY!!!

Ah, That's Much Better...

2011-02-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Yes it did rain, but it was GOOD and rained at night... all done by this morning, so I slept in which was niiiiiice... fed the critters and myself, then did some chores until it was time to get Luna and go ride. I figured she would play catch-me-if-you-can like she usually does so I went out half an hour early to get her so I wouldn't be late meeting my friends. Of course then she let me catch her right up so being so early, I decided to go ahead and give her a little trim BEFORE the ride instead of after. She was good for that and I took off a quarter inch from her heels like Rusty told me, and evened up one hoof that was growing more on the outside than the inside, and I think I did a pretty darn good job! So I was proud of myself. Of course it took longer than I thought it would so I was just a little late getting to Lisa's house but they weren't quite ready yet anyway and I tack up fast so it was all good. Then Luna was a total brat throughout the whole ride {sigh} so when I came home, I went ahead and e-mailed the guy Randy met who was possibly interested in leasing her. My back is killing me and I just don't need this!!! However I am quite happy that I had a "normal" weekend of riding all three days!!!!! YAY ME!!!!!!

It could be, I suppose, that my back hurts because of all the dirt I shoveled today... I moved 3 loads this morning to low spots in the mini pens, and after I got home from riding Randy and I managed to get 3 trees planted. The tractor punches a good hole but I still have to dig the dirt out by hand because of course Randy can't... poor guy he hates it when I have to work so hard and he can't help. He was upset that he had to quit before we got all 5 trees in the ground, but the other two holes are prepped and ready so we will just finish tomorrow. And while the critters' dinner was soaking, I moved one more wheelbarrow load of dirt... so now I just want to go sit and relax!

Oh and you'll never guess where Randy found my camera {eyes rolling here}. It was on the computer desk, just back further than where I usually set it and under a piece of paper... SIGH!!!!! Oh well at least it's found! I will try to get some pictures of Luna's feet tomorrow before it gets dark and maybe the trees we planted... it's been too long since there were pictures on this blog! I might also be able to copy some of the pictures other people took on Saturday and add them to that post, I will try...

Fun In Rainbow Valley

2011-02-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

Today I took Katie down to Rainbow Valley to ride with friends. Checking Accuweather.com all week it has been back and forth on whether it was going to rain today, this morning it said cloudy all day and rain at night so I took the chance, and boy am I glad I did! It was nice ALL DAY!!!!! We were in the sand wash quite a bit and I didn't want Katie's boots filling up with sand so I left them off to start with, at first the road we took had some rocks and she would flinch sometimes, but once in the wash she was fine. We took the wash down to the Gila River and in the river bottom there were more rocks so more flinching but again, once off the rocks, no more limping or flinching, so she was only reacting to actually stepping on them and not hurting herself. When we left the sand to head up the mountain to the mica mine, I did put her boots on the front, and even so if she stepped directly on a rock she would still flinch... but she did great and at the end of the day, even her rears (that were never booted) were in great shape! Rusty is going to be so proud...

The group was invited to stay for dinner and a movie but I had to get home to feed, shower and change as I had a wedding reception to go to in Wickenburg, for Matt at Serenity Farms and his bride Patti. We had a nice time there, I've never been to Wickenburg Country Club, it was a nice place. While we were there it started to rain... and it didn't stop. But hey it was dark, I was done riding... and after 2 full days of riding, I was feeling MUCH better - no more cranky woman!!!

Bulldog Wash

2011-02-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

Well I cannot find my camera... the case and the memory card are on the computer desk where the camera should be but it's not there... and I've checked everywhere else I can think of - no camera. BUMMER! I am sure it is here somewhere, I just hope it's not too long till I come across it. Otherwise I would have some awesome pictures to share from our ride today.

We went out to Usery Pass and rode Bulldog Wash all the way to the Salt River. What beautiful country!!! On the way back we went over the mountain trail which was quite technical, and high enough we could see the Fountain Hills fountain when it went off... Glory did awesome even though we didn't really gait much, it was a good workout plowing through the sand wash and then the up-and-down trail over the mountain which was quite technical so another type of good workout. And once again I brought her boots but never had to put them on, gotta love that mare's feet!

Well I'll have to go ride out there again when I find my camera! Shucks darn...

Well Doesn't That Just Figure :(

2011-02-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it was gorgeous all day. Today it was gorgeous all day. Tomorrow it is supposed to be gorgeous all day, and Thursday too... And they are calling for rain this coming weekend again. GGRRRRRRR!!!!

Darn Rain!

2011-02-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the rain, and being in Arizona I know we need it badly. But I am stuck in an office Monday through Thursday so that is plenty of opportunity for rain... or, heck I wouldn't care if it rained 7 NIGHTS a week... what I don't understand is WHY it has to rain on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday - THOSE ARE MY RIDING DAYS!!!!!!!!! So since it rained ALL DAY Saturday and ALL DAY Sunday I was stuck in the house cleaning up and putting things away. Well yes that needs done too but it's quite annoying to work for two whole days and then look around and it doesn't really look that much different. Of course since we were halfway done installing new flooring when Hilary moved out and we started rearranging the whole darned house... the whole process has made quite a mess!

Suffice it to say, I am quite the cranky woman!!!

Pederson Loop at Estrella

2011-02-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today Laurie and DeAnn took off work to go ride and we met Sheila and Lynne down at Estrella Park. Lynn has a horse that likes to bolt after anyone who gets ahead of him and Sheila agreed to help her school him... it was OUR job to be the "testers" by taking off out ahead of him time after time. Which actually worked out great because we like to, and need to, move out with our horses so this ride was a great endurance practice. And because we didn't know the trails, when we got too far ahead we had to go back or stop and wait for Sheila to tell us which way to go... there are many intersecting trails out there and she lives close so knows them well. When we got to the Pederson Loop it started out pretty rocky and a lot of cholla but no weenies on this ride so we were fine. As we dropped over the mountain range to the back (south) side, the trail hooked up with a service road which went straight west as far as we could see... it was wide and sandy and PERFECT FOR LOPING... I think we did an extra two miles at least running back and forth waiting for Lynne and Sheila... what a fantastic trail, we were so happy!!!! And we are definitely planning to do THAT ONE again REAL SOON!

By the way I took Glory and although I brought them along just in case, I never even had to put her boots on, her feet are rock solid!!! WAAAHOOOOOOOOOOO I sure love that mare!!!!!

Antifreeze Ride

2011-02-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

Our 3rd annual "antifreeze" ride got postponed from January because the rains over New Years had rendered the trail unsafe... we went today but the "antifreeze" wasn't really necessary, it was a gorgeous day! We rode at Granite Mountain north of Prescott. Our leader JoAnn and blue, blue skies... We found a couple little patches of snow, DeAnn's Arab gelding Onyx had never seen snow before! He thought it was going to eat him at first. When we found a second patch after our lunch stop, it was old hat to him... and Glory was thinking, hey, at least it's not falling from the sky... and it's NOT COLD!!!! I think she was remembering the Resolution Ride lol. A shot of the lake that we can see from the trail but aren't allowed to take the horses to... On the way back, towards the end, we got to REALLY have some fun {grin}
And once we were untacked we let the horses scratch the sweaty spots in the sandy wash...

Taking Katie Bare...

2011-02-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

Join me on Katie's journey from shod to barefoot... Step 1! We met up with Rusty, the barefoot trimmer and endurance rider that my endurance group uses. He has been doing Glory since October and she's already come a long way! The pictures will be out of order but easier to compare if I put them close together...

First, here are the removed shoes, front and rear. People have been telling me lately that Katie's hooves are so narrow BECAUSE of the shoes but I know that'snot true - when we got her she had just turned four, had not been shod long, and her feet were narrow and oval then... her heels are somewhat contracted which IS the shoes, but her narrow feet are just Katie's feet... and this causes me concern because most boots are round so fitting her will be hard.

On to the hooves themselves: First picture is before we even start, front feet

A comparison shot taken mid-trim - the left front is done, the right front is not. And that's HER left and right, so opposite when you are looking at the photo...

A closer look at the right front BEFORE

and AFTER

Since Sherman didn't get a birthday ride yesterday I brought him along, and of course all attention was on Rusty...

This will be the most interesting hoof to watch - the left rear. Katie got herself caught in the fence years ago, although several of the other horses had done it before hers was really bad. She must have done it early in the day, and we were gone all day at work, the kids at school and unfortunately visitation day so they didn't come home... anyway I walked out back and she was down, ALL FOUR legs caught in the fence, and she had been there struggling to get up long enough that she had worn a depression into the dirt, AND worn the hair and skin off her hip and shoulder and cheekbone! In fact to this day she still has a small scar on her hip where the hair won't grow back... thank God it was late October and NOT AUGUST or we'd have lost her, being without water all day long! As it was, when I got the neighbors to come help (had called Randy and he was still way too far away to wait for him) and we got her out of the fence and up on her feet, she was staggering like a drunk. Scared the living daylights out of me several times that night, Katie did - first seeing her down, then how badly she was caught, and the staggering... but we carefully got her drinking a little at a time, gave her some bran mash, and later her dinner, and except for her wounds she was fine. The worst of the wounds was that she had almost sliced off the outside heel bulb on her left rear, and it took a good four months of treatment to heal. It still looks nasty but she has been fine ever since. However it caused Rusty to NOT trim the frog on this hoof, because the hoof wall had broken off on that side - with the shoes she had an even sole, but with them removed, IF he had trimmed the frog she would have been lop-sided. It's hard to see in the pictures and I don't know how to edit them to draw on them and then print those - I'll try to learn soon though. Anyway you if you know where to look you CAN see the injury site on the outside heel of her left rear...

...and the missing chunk of hoof wall.

Just as I suspected, I have 6 pairs of boots now and not one of them fits Katie! Sabrina was kind enough to dig in her "bucket of boots" {and yes I am well on my way to having the same} once again... 2 of my 6 pairs are hand-me-downs from Sabrina already! Anyway Rusty had given her an Easyboot Glove size 0 at the Resolution Ride, and it's too small for any of her horses - and too big for Feathers the wonder pony. Although she could use it to trade for another size, she contributed to the cause... AND she loaned me an old-style "regular" Easyboot, also size 0, until I can get a matching Glove... so we were safely booted for our trial trail ride even though my fashion-conscious mother would cringe - THEY DON'T MATCH!!! And although I would have if I'd had enough boots in the right size, we did NOT boot her back...

And Katie did AWESOME, she never hesitated, took right off wanting to go, and was several horse lengths ahead of Savannah and Patch {grin}

There were a couple of little flinches when she stepped right ON a rock but not nearly as many as I expected... especially considering how Glory tiptoes on rocks after a trim! I also noticed that it seemed easier and smoother for Katie to gait already, which gives me hope that her pacing will abate once her tootsies get in REALLY good shape...

All in all, YAY I am excited, things are looking great so far!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERMAN!!!

2011-02-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

Sherman with his mama Hannah right after he was born - if you look close you can see he is still wet!

One of the other dogs got curious - Hannah says, BACK OFF!

We watched him grow...

Meeting his daddy Zacchaeus

Grandma kisses :*

Learning to walk

Playing with Darci

No more pictures Grandma!!

First time outside...
Happy, happy, happy 3rd birthday Sherman!

Well That Wasn't So Bad...

2011-02-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

At least, not for me - all I had to do was listen to the complaining and make sympathetic noises {grin}. The new spring is on the trailer and a test drive to Randy's dad's place also ended up with the light problem finally being fixed YAY!

Sorry honey, I know how hard this all is for you... and I really do appreciate you taking care of it!!! Lord knows I couldn't begin to do it myself...

Getting There...

2011-02-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Randy got the broken spring off the trailer and got a replacement... poor guy, it's quite the chore with only one good arm! I told him not to worry, he has until Thursday ;)

Just My Luck...

2011-02-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

Today was supposed to be a LOVELY ride out at Courthouse Rock... Well, I got up at 5, picked Laurie and her Katie up at 6:30, picked DeAnn and Ginger up just after 7... We were on the 303 just past Northern when suddenly there was grey smoke pouring out from the right side of the trailer - THAT'S NOT RIGHT!!!!! Pulled over right quick and jumped out to find this:

Well CRAP. Called our ride host K and told him something was wrong and not to wait for us. Called Randy and got him on the way. Took some doing but DeAnn and I talked Laurie into getting hold of Melwood, who was still behind us, she stopped and we transferred Laurie and Katie and all their stuff into Melwood's rig so she wouldn't miss the ride. DeAnn said she wouldn't leave me and we thought Mary had already passed us while we were picking DeAnn up, BUT just as we loaded Katie, Mary pulled in behind Melwood... so it REALLY took some doing but I convinced DeAnn to ask and Mary said sure, so we loaded Ginger and DeAnn and all their stuff into Mary's rig and WHEW I feel better that neither of the girls had to miss the ride because of my breakdown...

Shortly after that Randy pulled up, thankfully it's a broken SPRING not the axle, so he set to work fixing it so we could get the trailer home - got the rear tire up on the trailer buddy jack, removed the front tire, got some wood blocks set and got the axle strapped:

...and with him in the Jeep behind me with flashers on, we got off the 303, took Glendale over to Cotton, limped north to Bell, then headed west so we could take the back way home - bumpy dirt road for part of 219th but at least we weren't on the 303 and the 60... we made it safely home on 3 trailer tires just after 10:00 a.m. So I texted the 4 girls hoping someone's phone would get it so they wouldn't worry. They promised to take lots of pictures and have extra fun for me!!

If I could have just xeroxed myself, there was room in Mary's trailer for my horse darn it... but I figured I better not even ask Randy if I could go ride and leave him to deal with the rig {eyes rolling here} and I was right, he said that would have been pushing it past the limit {sigh}. At least I don't have to worry about fixing it, that will be his problem!

But doesn't if just figure, I finally get a truck that can haul the trailer without breaking down... and the darn trailer breaks!!!

So I guess I will go out back and try to get caught up on my poop-scooping :(

When Grammy Comes To Visit...

2011-02-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

...she always brings treats! Therefore, she always gets MOBBED!

This is why the sound of plastic bag makes the hearts around Painted Promise Ranch go pitter patter...

Even the dogs know...

Bbbbrrrrrrr!!!

2011-02-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

As my dad said to me on the phone... "If this weather keeps up, I'm going to have to move to Arizona!!"

it is unbelievably cold... my arm is tired from busting inch-thick ice off of 14 water buckets... EVERY MORNING...

I've been checking the critters and although their fur is cold, their bodies underneath are not, so I haven't blanketed... except for...

Yup the tiny girl gets a blanket every night even though she does feel warm. She's not too sure about this "modeling" during the day though... we had a little talk, went something like this: "Excuse me, Grandma, but I don't think I need this on during the afternoon!!!" (Notice the "teenage" look in her eyes!)

My response was... "When it's cold enough that you NEED the blanket, it's too DARK to take pictures, so you will just have to be patient for a few minutes and indulge Grandma!!!"

At which point she gave in and went to get a snack... yup another nursing picture - sorry but after 4 months of a bottle baby, this sight thrills me to no end {grin}

My Best Baby Yet!

2011-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

What a busy weekend... Friday I cleaned ALL the pens except one, plus did other chores... never got to ride though.

Saturday I spent the day riding Katie in Black Canyon City with friends, had a lovely time, and a pot luck afterwards, with guitar playing and singing and a fire... stayed WAY too late, got home after dark and fed and THEN had to go into town to fuel up the itty bitty truck since there was no fuel on the way home from BCC or on the way to where I was going Sunday... locked Becky Lynn up for the second night, because her udder was suddenly twice the size of a couple of days ago... got to bed late and set the alarm for 4:30 to feed the big girls so they could finish eating before we left for our Sunday ride. Woke up at 4 a.m. so went ahead and got up to feed rather than try to catch another half an hour, since I was planning on going back to bed anyway. Had a funny feeling so cruised by Becky Lynn's pen and sure enough, there is a big donkey AND a little donkey... she just HAD to do it on a day I can't stay home because people are counting on me... checked real quick, baby was wet and wobbly, mama still dragging the you-know-what so I knew it had only been a few minutes since birth... lifted that tail though, and YAHOO it's a girl! And of course Randy has my camera at his Civil War reenactment event in Yuma, and my cell phone doesn't flash so no pictures in the dark :(

Went ahead and fed the big girls and went back to bed for a couple of hours. Laying there trying to fall back asleep, thought I wouldn't be able to because of the new baby, not since Moses have I gotten a name so strong... Yup she is definitely Jessica! Trying to think of a middle name and next thing I know the alarm is going off! Back out at 6:30 to feed all the minis, checked on baby and she is nursing, she has pooped, and mama has dropped the "stuff" so I cleaned that up and put betadine on the baby's umbilical cord. Got everyone fed and got ready to go, just poured my cereal when DeAnn arrived, so she was the first person besides me to know of Jessica's existence and to see her... she claimed "godmother" rights and that solved my problem of a middle name, so meet Jessica DeAnn:

Doesn't she have the BEST spot pattern??? And I love this accidental artistic shot with the shadows...

Proud Grandma...

After 4 months of Emily Ann and her igloo mama, THIS SIGHT thrilled me to no end...

The pictures are from tonight, since Randy didn't get home with the camera until after dark yesterday... so now I'm a bit ahead of myself. DeAnn and I loaded Glory, Katie and her Onyx and picked up Laurie down the street and her Topper, then headed for Camp Creek northeast of Carefree. Lindsey met us there, as well as Sabrina and Brenda with Jersey and Patch, and the 6 of us had a FABULOUS endurance training ride. Thanks Linz for exercising my Katie for me :) second week in a row I got 2 horses ridden at the same time {grin}. We had lunch ar Harald's afterwards and then headed home. Laurie brought her camera over and took some pictures of the baby for me, then DeAnn headed home and I saddled up Luna to go for a quick ride with Laurie and HER Katie... got home just about dusk and fed everybody and came inside to mess with the links to Laurie's pictures while I waited for Randy to get home. For whatever reason, I could open her photobucket album and copy the pictures to my computer, but a) they came out really small and b) i couldn't get them to load from my computer onto MY photobucket... SIGH.

Anyway I've got pictures now and I really do think this is my best baby yet! At least, spot-wise!!

Good Grief!

2011-01-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

In an odd coincidence, both Sue (remember, my new friend from blogger?) and a former fellow employee have asked me, this week, for pictures of Turbo and Hemi, and I went looking for blog links... and realized that I had NEVER blogged their arrival!!! I guess I thought I did because I posted the story on AzBCR...

Well, I have corrected that oversight! But you will have to click here to read it... please do! Randy deserves some congrats AND some sympathy, even this long after the fact!!!

Can I Just Say...

2011-01-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

I LOVE my new boss!!!!! She is friendly, cheerful, wholesome, nice, happy, hard-working, and fun to be around. Katy turned 29 today, we went to lunch for her birthday, had a nice chat, shared a piece of birthday cake I surprised her with this afternoon, and she hugged me before she left at the end of the day. Although she is closer to Andria's age, she reminds me so much of my Lindsey... I think they would be friends if they met! I am really happy that our paths have brought us to the same workplace!!!!!

Now You Can ALL Meet Sue!

2011-01-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

I was taking my friend Laurie for her first "endurance practice" on her gelding Topper, along with my daughter Hilary and another friend DeAnn, so I invited Sue to come along and ride Katie and she did! I was impressed to hear that she actually drove to Estrella and HIKED the trail a few days before, so that she would know where to park and what to expect...

Laurie and Topper with downtown in the background

Deann and her Arab gelding Onyx

Me and Glory of course...

Hilary and Destiny - wish I was that limber!!!

Along the trail...

This is the smart-@$$ response I get when asking my daughter to move out of the way so I could get a good picture of Sue...

Finally, a great picture of Sue and Katie!
Sue has family coming in this next week so she will be busy, but I hope to talk her into another ride soon!

Wickenburg Massacre Site

2011-01-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

Today found me and Luna and a bunch of friends out west of Wickenburg...
Mama's itty bitty truck :)

It was a bit larger group than I usuallY take Luna with, and a longer ride, but it was the best option for taking her out this weekend, so I did it anyway. In the beginning I was wondering what I had done to myself, she was rather squirrely... so I had to pay attention and didn't get many pictures while actually riding. I did however get some when we stopped, and from some friends :)

Lovely footing though!

One of Luna's better moments ;)

Came across an old ranch house

The horses were confused by the EMPTY water tank... Playboy, to Luna's right, even licked the bottom of the metal tank!

The old barn...

The old corral

We rode along the railroad tracks - some of us hoping for a train, and some hoping for NO train (and yes, today on Luna, that would include me) - and eventually had to cross under this trestle, which said "1926" on one side...

All but one of us had to dismount to get through - one young gal on a short horse just leaned over and came right through! No way I could do that on Luna, she is at least as tall as her mama!

We had been told there was a crested saguaro out here, but that it was inaccessible so you had to use your zoom to get a good picture... could that be it? Hard to tell in the picture but this is actually a side view and the top looked just a lil funny to us...

Here we go, up the hill...

That wasn't so hard!

Yup we found it... one other gal went with me up (and of course, back down!) the hill, and she took my picture. Not sure why the claim you can't get to it - the hill was rocky but we had no trouble at all, up or down - yeah, not a good idea to tell me I can't go somewhere with my horse{grin}.

This is the view that the crested saguaro sees... that 3-tipped mountain on the left is Vulture Peak in Wickenburg

Finally, a tired girl! Perhaps my ride home will be more relaxing...

Although our fearless leader feared he had missed it somehow, one of the other second-timers on this ride kept insisting it was just ahead... and SHE was right! We DID find the massacre site...

The marker explaining the history of the site:

For more information on this historical event, click here and click here

Luna sees the trailers, we are back!!! What a great ride...

Thanks Ms. Martyr!

2011-01-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

For my award:

OK so the rules are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

So this may take me a while but here we go...

Already covered the first part of #1 in the title so for the second part...

So, seven things, hmm.

Thing #1: I have blue, blue, blue eyes. They don't SEE very well unfortunately, but they LOOK great :) - at least, that's what I am constantly told... {grin}. In case you didn't know, I LIKE having blue eyes!

Thing #2: I would give ANYTHING to have naturally curly hair!!!

Thing #3: In the beginning, I was a donkey admirer. Then I got my own and I was a donkey lover. Then I got more and more, and I was a donkey addict. Now I breed them, AND rescue them, and in selling my babies and adopting out my rescues, I have become a donkey PUSHER!

Thing #4: I started endurance riding last January - next week it will be a year ago. I started it thinking that riding 25 miles in 5 hours was a small price to pay for NOT missing out on camping with my friends... I sure didn't expect to enjoy it! After my first ride, I was like a fish on a line, and now I'm hooked and I can't get enough...

Thing #5: I have been to Europe once, Mexico twice, and Maui three times. I have not been to Australia but that is on my bucket list! I have never been on a cruise either, also definitely on my bucket list!

Thing #6: My girls have things a little backwards. I have all 3 in college, 2 aiming for nursing and 1 to be a veterinarian. Which is nice because my own kids can take care of me AND my animals. But since there is only one of me and I have so many animals, I think the girls have things turned around, don't you?

Thing #7: Quite honestly it was probably bad JUDGMENT but I prefer to claim that I had bad LUCK with men for 20 years, before I found a good one (yes Randy). So... I have been married three times. Randy and I are coming up on our 11th anniversary, which is longer than both of the others put together. THANK GOD!!!!! I will probably never have a 75th Anniversary, heck probably not even a 50th Anniversary, but I will take whatever I can get with this one!!!

Ok that wasn't so bad...

Now for 15 bloggers... notice I did NOT say "recently discovered" because I am limited on time to discover new blogs so I am going to ignore that part and just pick some of my favorites ;) - oh, if I hadn't gotten this award FROM Ms. Martyr, she would be on the list, but... NO REPEATS! And except for #1 because without her I wouldn't be blogging, they are in no particular order...

1. This One nagged me until I started my own blog

2. #1 also nagged This One until she started her own blog

3. This One is a member on my favorite horse forum, AzBCR

4. And so is This One

5. This One touched my heart

6. This One makes me laugh so hard I almost pee my pants

7. This One is a neighbor

8. And so is This One

9. This One is a fellow donkey lover

10. This One takes the most AWESOME pictures

11. This One does amazing things with donkeys

12. This One is THE donkey man

13. This One has some amazing stories

14. Then there is This One

15. And last but not least, This One

So I'm gonna go ahead and post this - I haven't done #4 YET but I will, I swear I will!!!

Remember Argus?

2011-01-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

His blog slowed way down and I haven't even been checking it for a long time but something today made me click on it... and I found...

THIS

Katie has done an AMAZING job with this horse... AND I was shocked to read that in December it was his 3-year anniversary of being rescued! Wow... I know I've been follownig his story for a while but hadn't realized it was that long...

Tough Subject

2011-01-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

When is it "time"? It's different in every situation, but in every situation there comes a "time"...

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself!

If You Haven't Seen...

2011-01-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

THIS, you need to!

Yeah, I finally got some time to catch up on some other blogs... and WOW! You'll get another tomorrow ;)

Another Blogger Meeting!!!

2011-01-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well, kinda... Sue is not technically a blogger as, unless she is hiding it from me, she doesn't have her own blog... guess we'd better get busy bugging her to start one! AND, I did actually MEET her at the Resolution Ride, she had been e-mailing me and I hooked her up with Rusty and she came to volunteer and looked me up... anyway we agreed to keep in touch and try to get together and...

TODAY WAS THE DAY!

Sue is wintering here from the northwest and did not bring her horse, and methinks she is kicking herself... although quite understandably, she worried about the traveling and then maybe not finding anyone to ride with. So I have already told her to get started on arrangements for next year, I can introduce her to lots of people {grin} and yes, some of them even have weekdays off!!! AND if she doesn't find a place closer to where she stays, she can park her trailer and her horse at Painted Promise Ranch...

Anyway, she came out this morning and we did the tour, sorry I never even THOUGHT to get the camera... I was up late last night and it took a while for the coffee to kick in this morning! In fact I slept in so late that I was only half done feeding when she got here so she had to watch me finish that first... but she got to meet all the minis, and the big horses, and the cows and the goats and chickens and the dogs...

By the time we finished that, the big girls were about finished with breakfast, so we grabbed Luna and Katie and saddled them up. We just did the little loop across the street that my neighbor and I usually do on our night rides, but it was a perfect introduction for Sue and Katie, and Luna was a good girl for me. Sue will have to check with hubby about possible other plans BUT I am hoping to introduce her to a sample endurance ride next Sunday - some friends and I are planning to do the Estrella Competitive Track (9+ miles) in "practice" mode, which would give Sue a taste of what she is headed for...

See, she told me today she was so excited, she had found someone to start riding her own horse for her, getting it started conditioning, and she is hiking etc. while here to get herself started, and...

SHE IS HOPING TO DO HER FIRST ENDURANCE RIDE about a month after she gets home...

And yeah... she is blaming it on me...

;)

Sayer Spring

2011-01-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

Today saw us exploring the Wickenburg area, I've never been here but I'll definitely be back, with LOTS of extra batteries... sorry I don't have more pictures, my camera batteries had the audacity to die!

The foundation of the old general store...

The first hole in the cliff that had water...

Wonder what this was?

The second hole in the cliff that had water... Someone chalked on the wall - "H+V+J 1/4/10, damn cold water" and on the left, "10 feet back"

It does go back around a corner, farther than I could see, so I'll take the word of the person who wrote on the wall... and yes I stuck my hand in there and they were right about the cold!!!

My friend Evelyn who planned this ride also shared this link about the area... and yes we saw "Rick"'s grave!

San Tans

2011-01-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

I've never ridden here before, but convinced a gal I met through AzBCR to lead a ride if I planned it... and of course, if I am riding on the east side, I do my best to convince Lindsey to let me pick her up...

Just a few shots from the ride...

Leave it to my daughter to find a great place to tie her horse for lunch...

Too funny, without even meaning to, I caught Lindsey's "Italian" description of the subject under discussion, which was using your abs while you ride... (*you know, Italian, as in talk-with-your-hands)

Love the saguaro

The San Tans are beautiful and even though it's one heck of a drive from where I live, I will definitely be back!

My Boys...

2011-01-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

I've been chuckling for days at my lil Ty, snuggling in the doggie bed in my bathroom while I get ready for work in the mornings... usually the other dogs are still outside but since he has virtually no hair, when it's this chilly in the mornings I let him come inside with me while I get ready... I should have been taking pictures, but I forget to take the camera with me, and if I try to go get it, he pops right out of that bed and follows me...

So yesterday morning, for whatever reason, Sherman and Rocket were at the back door as I came in, asking to come in, and I couldn't resist so I let them. With all 3 boys trying to squish into the doggie bed, I just HAD to run for the camera...

And Ty even stayed, because of course following me would have meant giving up the lil corner he had carved out for himself...

However Sherman decided it was just too crowded and he found himself another soft spot...

Leaving Rocket with more room to sprawl... poor Ty, still crunched into the corner...

In the process of getting ready, all the dogs followed me out of the bathroom at one point... and Sherman was the first one back in, so guess what happened...

I noticed the 3 littlest pups all snuggled together in one bed in the laundry room, so I went back for the camera... but when I returned, I found that Angel and AJ were no longer sharing, and Esmerelda apparently went out through the doggie door... for a "prissy" little Yorkie, she is a real tomboy, she LOVES to be outside...

These are the moments that make me smile... much better therapy than ANY shrink ;)

An Amazing Bank Account

2011-01-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

I got this e-mail today... and as I finished it I just sat there thinking, WOW. So I just had to share it with you.

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:

Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your private account for your use.

However, this prize has rules, just as any game has certain rules.

The first set of rules would be: Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you. You may not simply transfer money into some other account. You may only spend it. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.

The second set of rules:The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, It’s over, the game is over! It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do? You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right? Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right? Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right? You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?

ACTUALLY, this GAME is REALITY!

Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank. We just can't seem to see it.

The MAGICAL BANK is TIME!

Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us. What we haven't lived up that day is forever lost. Yesterday is forever gone.

Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time....WITHOUT WARNING.

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?

Aren't they worth so much more than the same amount in dollars?

Think about that, and always think of this: Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.

So take care of yourself, be Happy, Love Deeply and enjoy life!

Here's wishing you a wonderfully beautiful day!!

Tough Time of Year

2011-01-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

I am reminded of my daughter, who moved to Salt Lake City a few years ago... she says that months go where they don't even see the sun... just a bright-ish blur through the haze... and how depressing it is - especially for someone who grew up under the bright blue skies of Arizona.

This time of year is tough for me that way too. At least, Monday through Thursday, since I leave home before the sun rises and arrive home just as it is setting... I don't see my critters in the daylight for 4 days in a row...

The up side of this time of year is my 3-day weekends... Friday through Sunday I don't have to work and the weather is cool enough to be outside ALL THE TIME...

I do try to get out and walk on my lunch hour from work but it's a "city" walk and I don't care much for it. Better than nothing I suppose, but I'd rather be home...

However, even though it's a tough time of year, at least it's never more than 4 days in a row, and I am thankful for my 3-day weekends!!!

The Rescue Donks...

2011-01-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

I didn't take any pictures Friday at the pick-up site for several reasons... time being one, and also because, through no fault of their own, the folks' place looked pretty nasty what with half-melted snow making a muddy mucky mess of things... I know I wouldn't want anyone taking pictures here after a big rain either! So now that the donks are in a dry pen in the daylight without blankets on... here are some pictures from yesterday :)

I think they were tired after their long drive home...

The yearling jack is actually in fine shape, just needs a trim...

Mama is pretty chunky...

Look at this neck!!!

and Gus too!!!

Baby boy stays pretty close to his mama...

Mama's nasty front feet... I think, and a friend who saw the pictures also said, that it looks like she foundered recently - probably because they were being free-fed alfalfa! In fact I am surprised that Gus and the baby boy don't look worse... I will be interested to hear what Mikey has to say when she sees these pictures...
I did give mama a conservative trim yesterday afternoon, I could have taken off a lot more but (1) my hands can only take so much and (2) I thought it might be better for her to do it in a couple of stages...
Left front BEFORE

Left front AFTER

Right front BEFORE

Right front AFTER

Right rear side view BEFORE - way too much toe!

Right rear BEFORE

Right rear side view AFTER

Right rear AFTER

Right rear on the ground... some better anyway huh?

Left rear side view BEFORE

Left rear BEFORE

Left rear AFTER

Left rear side view AFTER

Both front feet on the ground, AFTER
Well Mikey?

Cassie Goes Home!

2011-01-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

When Cassie first arrived I had an idea for a great home for her, but with the holidays and the Resolution Ride coming up, I had to put my idea on hold... well once I got home I e-mailed Kara, who lives down the street, and sent her some pictures, and she excitedly agreed they should look at Cassie, so a plan was made for Saturday... TODAY!

Having been told that Cassie had ponied and packed a few times, I was hopeful that pony rides would be an easy transition... and I was right!

Adding a saddle was no big deal either.

Cassie with her new "sister" Annie the Haflinger...

Jason holds an apple for Cassie... upon seeing this picture, the gal who brought her here was SO happy... since Cassie's first owner was a man, she was glad to see that there will still be a man in her life...

I don't know, I think that Cassie hit the jackpot - what do you think?

The Utah Rescue Trip

2011-01-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas I got an e-mail from Vernette, the gal who sent me Nikki Renee last year... her neighbors have 3 mini donks they can't keep, they have tried to re-home them locally but ended up taking them back as they weren't being treated kindly... she told them about me and they asked her to contact me. Vernette was kind enough to bring the donkeys to her place for a short time until my schedule allowed the trip... and I asked Randy if he wanted to do a road trip just like "old times", and he was amenable! This made me happy because without his assistance, it would have taken me TWO days to make the trip, I just can't stay awake driving that long... And in fact he had a great idea, he borrowed back the truck we are selling to his son and we were then able to use our "transport camper" rather than pull a trailer, which also helped with the cost of fuel for the trip.

We pulled out the gate right on time at 6:00 a.m. and headed north. I took over 100 pictures but I'll try to restrain myself...

The sunrise on the butte across from Copper Canyon just before Camp Verde

Once we got north of Flagstaff on the Reservation, it was like we had driven into an issue of Arizona Highways magazine...

We stopped at McDonald's for a snack and since it was daylight I got a shot of the transport camper for folks who might be curious.

Lake Powell!

When we arrived we parked out front and walked into the back to see where we would need to park... and met the donkeys. All 3 came to the fence to greet me, and allowed me to come into their pens and put halters and blankets on with no problem. They all led nicely to the truck... and the baby boy and the dad, Gus, loaded up pretty well. Mama was not so sure about getting in there however, and that took a little effort. But they were all loaded and we were back on the road within 40 minutes.

Baby boy
Father and son
Anf finally mama pokes her dark nose through the boys to get in a picture.

A neat old barn...

My attempt at artistic photography!

Amazing colors

And then Randy decided he was tired and we should switch drivers... so he pulled off the road in what he thought was a good spot. Apparently he was mistaken...

Trying to put chains on...
And it's just not working... Gus thinks he has a better idea lol

I flagged down some folks in a pickup and they pulled us out... looking at the mess we left, I doubt we'd have ever gotten out on our own!

Bck to Lake Powell... I love this picture, the lake is so blue, and if you look closely at the shadow, you can see a donkey's ears :)

One more attempt at artistic photography...

The evening light sure changes the color of the mountains!

Shortly after this is was too dark for pictures. We stopped at Cracker Barrel (YUM) in Flagstaff for dinner and to give the donks a chance to rest. We were able to get a table by a window where we could see the truck, and it was quite entertaining to watch the reactions of people walking through the parking lot! And of course we had visitors with questions both getting out of the truck upon arrival, and when we were leaving...

Made it home safely by 10:00 p.m. - looooooong day and tiring, but successful! The donks unloaded quickly and were happy to be released from their blankets and turned out in a pen where they could pee and roll!

Turning Over a New Leaf...

2011-01-05T08:50:00.001-08:00

I've gotten really, really bad at keeping up with my blog... and I got called on the carpet for it {thanks Sue!}

So although I don't make New Year's Resolutions, I do make goals... and one of my goals for this year is to KEEP UP with the blog...

Of course I have some catching up to do and I will be working on that as well... So do check back as far as 12/11, the Carefree Parade, and I will catch up as quickly as I can while KEEPING UP from now on...

The Resolution Ride is Done...

2011-01-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

This morning we packed up and, after meeting Joe for breakfast at The Good Egg, headed home. Glory and Katie were happy to be turned out in the arena again and both had a good roll. Sherman and Rocket were greeted with enthusiasm by the rest of the pack, as was I :) yup the puppies missed mama!

Apparently Randy did too... although I must admit to some frustration with what he did NOT accomplish while I was gone... however I managed to get his butt in gear and get my bathroom and closet emptied of the rest of his stuff, so that I could start putting my stuff away... AFTER cleaning that is...

Progress. Not always as much as I would like on any given day, but it's coming along...

Also wanted to say that I was able to meet up with a gal who follows my blog... I don't believe she has one of her own, at least she hasn't said... but Sue who lives in, if I recall correctly, Washington state, is spending the winter here, and had e-mailed me recently... anyway she ended up volunteering for Rusty at the Resolution Ride so I told her to look me up - and she did! We are going to try and ride together soon too :)

Resolution Ride - Day 3

2011-01-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Finally the blue skies they have been promising us...

Not much in the way of pictures got taken today as we were moving out... but here are a few:
Saguaros and snowy mountains

Shirley and Champ out front - live riding behind this boy, he has the most gorgeous tail...

Brenda and Patch

Sabrina and Savannah

A self-portrait :)

This is my favorite video from the day...

We got a bit of a late start this morning due to the cold but we all finished in time and with the horses in good shape! I think Glory and I were 17th out of 20 today...

I can't wait to get home and update my facebook status... I'm gonna say:

75 miles... 3 days... 2 horses... 1 butt! SUCCESS!!!!

YAY ME!!!!

Resolution Ride - Day 2

2010-12-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

BBBRRRRR was it ever cold last night... even with the heater on hi (vs. lo from last night) and as tired as I was, it was almost too cold to sleep... if it weren't for my 2 lil heaters (Sherman and Rocket) I'd have never made it through the night!

Today was Katie's day... and by a quirk of fate, not one person we knew was doing the 25-miler today! They were either taking a break or doing the 50-miler... so we were on our own! Since Katie needs a butt to follow for inspiration, I made sure I was up early and ready at the start to go out right off with the group... started out with a couple of gals on Arabs who seemed real nice, but early on there was a steep hill that Rusty, the ride manager, had suggested we might want to get off and walk down, and with my knees, I fell behind. Got to the bottom to find they had already mounted and moved on... but there were a few people right behind me so headed back out with them.

My companions for most of the day - Linda from Colorado, her sister Carol and husband Bob from California

In exchange for pictures of them, as none of them had a camera with, I did get the folks to take a couple of Katie and me in front of a bush of red flowers...

Thanks to Linda for playing photographer for me :)

Awesome canyon walls

Lovely footing here too!

Supposed to be sunny and clear today but it wasn't...

And cold enough this is how my boys spent the day!

Anyway Katie doesn't gait well without a good example and riding with 3 Arabs most of the day meant a lot of pacing (lateral trot) and boy can I feel it tonight! Katie is much sweeter but Glory is definiately a smoother ride... We did top-10 again and this time we were 10th out of 12... go Katie!

Of course the AERC motto, which we have adopted, is... To Finish Is To Win! and we really do feel that way... but it is kinda fun to be able to say we Top Tenned!

Brenda was just arriving as we got back so it should be a lot warmer sleeping tonight now that I will have a "roommate"!

Just had to share this too... meet Rosie, who LOVES her butt scratched!

Sabrina's husband Joe brought pizza and drinks out for our dinner and I had brought along a package of sparklers for our New Year's Eve celebration... which we had at about 7:30! With another early morning tomorrow, we were in bed shortly after 8!!

I'll leave you with the sunset on Four Peaks

Resolution Ride - Day 1

2010-12-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

Didn't get near enough sleep - huddled in the trailer in my nice warm bed with my nice warm puppies, I felt so guilty listening to it rain and rain and rain on my poor cold wet girls outside - but since there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it, I just kept trying to sleep. Up early and FINALLY it had stopped raining... dressed in multiple layers and got my horse tacked up and off we went to ride - Shirley on Gypsy, Sabrina on Patch, and me on Glory.

It was overcast and breezy and very, very cold but the forecast said no rain so we tried to be optimistic... AND THE WEATHER HELD!

Just a few pics...

Shirley and Gypsy

Sabrina and Patch

A cold and blustery day but a REALLY nice trail...

We were having an awesome ride... over halfway through the second loop I got a funny feeling and started looking at the sky... I called out to the girls that I thought the forecast might be wrong, it was sure looking like it was going to rain again... AND IT STARTED SNOWING! Yes, SNOWING! In Rio Verde, Arizona!!! So ok technically the forecast was correct... it didn't RAIN. We were loving it, laughing and riding with our mouths open to catch snowflakes on our tongues... sounds crazy to those of you who live in snow but this NEVER happens to us so we enjoyed the heck out of it!

Not too many pictures as this showed it better:

Click here

We finished in the snow, vetted in and headed to camp to get the horses taken care of... and it just kept snowing!

More Cup-O-Noodles and Rummikub and it had quit by the time of the ride meeting and almost melted away already... we found out that we all placed in the top 10!!! Well ok there were a total of 10 riders but we got 2nd (Sabrina), 3rd (Shirley) and 6th (me) so we done good!!!

*Glory actually came into camp first of our group of 3, but she is still pretty excitable and getting used to this endurance thing, so she takes longer to pulse down... hence the 6th, 2 other riders came in after our group but pulsed down to get their finish times before she did...

So far so good... Day 1, SUCCESS! 1 down, 2 to go...

Resolution Ride 2010 - Setting Up

2010-12-29T06:45:00.000-08:00

No pictures for this post as it started raining right after we got there...

I headed out the gate right on time to meet up with Shirley and Sabrina... all was well rolling down Patton Road. I slowed to turn left at Crozier and as I tried to accelerate north (yes tried!) - well, the itty bitty truck was acting funny. Sluggish and not wanting to go, the gas pedal felt weird, I had to push awful hard... could barely get the RPMs to 2000. I peered down into the darkness at my feet but couldn't see anything... But all gauges looked ok and in the rearview mirror I could see that nothing was leaking out of the truck onto the road, so I pushed with all my might and kept on trucking... I was afraid if I called Randy he would say come home and then I'd be late! I kept a very close watch on the gauges and the rearview and boy was my leg getting tired from trying to keep going, but if I pushed with all my might I could eventually get it up to speed and I had left myself extra time so even though I was a few minutes later than I thought, I still had time to stop at the Albertson's on Carefree Highway and pick up the apples and carrots I had forgotten to get for the horses. Also picked up some Cup-O-Noodles which turned out to be a REALLY good thing...

But I am getting ahead of myself. I got out of the truck in the Albertson's parking lot and, standing in the door, could see the floor much better - lo and behold, UNDER MY GAS PEDAL WAS AN ORANGE! Last weekend my friend Melanie insisted I go home with 2 bags of citrus from her trees, they rolled all over going home so I had a devil of a time getting them all back in the bags to take in the house. Apparently I missed one (eyes rolling).

The rest of the trip all was normal with the truck. I'm SO GLAD that I didn't call Randy {sigh}.

Arrived at base camp just a few minutes behind Shirley and Sabrina and as we began to set up camp it began to sprinkle... and it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. We got the horses all set up and blanketed and into Sabrina's camper we went, wet and cold. Rummikub and Cup-O-Noodles got us through the afternoon, we did manage to get checked in, vetted in and attend the ride meeting and just kept drying off and getting warmed up in between. Shirley's minestrone soup was an awesome dinner... and we went to bed fairly early.

Luna Loped!

2010-12-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

You might remember back in July of 2009 when Luna bucked me off and stepped on my hand... it was my fault, I'd never asked her to lope except when she was tired after a long trail ride, and this time she was fresh out of the trailer after a 3-hour drive PLUS hadn't been ridden in over a week. So she went WAHOO and I went flying...

Anyway... I didn't ride her for quite a while after that, and then when I did ride her I just walked... took me a while to even ask for a trot again. She spent the summer with Lindsey and when she came home I was determined to work with her at least weekly and rebuild my confidence in her. She really IS a good girl, just young and silly...

We've been doing great, I've been riding her pretty much every Friday with small groups and I have made a lot of progress. Oh and it's good for her too lol... however the one time I asked her for a lope on a Friday ride, she proceeded to crowhop and I ended up on the saddle horn and her neck... thought I was going to hit the ground again but I got her stopped and managed not to... scared me pretty good again though. So I told her, NO LOPING if she can't behave herself...

Well today I rode her out with Hilary and Destiny, she was a toad in the pasture and I had to chase her down to catch her, so she got some lunging work before being saddled and I let her know in no uncertain terms that I wasn't putting up with that! She settled down pretty good and once we were out on the trail for a little while, I decided I was going to ask for a lope and see what happened... I know, stupid in light of my 3-day endurance ride in just 3 days... I couldn't afford to get hurt! But I was ready for crowhopping and ready to shut her down quick... AND SHE LOPED! She loped NICE and EASY and SHE BEHAVED HERSELF!!!

Yay me :)