Serene Sunday

Their debut album cover:

Daenery's and the Eunuchs

Hello Mister Snake

If it's not hurting me or my babies, poisonous or destroying my property I'm fine with it.  Plus I love snakes.  This guy is a black rat snake I think.  He was chilling on the driveway when a UPS guy came by.  He asked if I was okay with snakes.  I wonder what he thought of the silly women still lounging in her pajamas that came running out to look at the snake and take pictures.  

The guy left but the snake stayed for a while and didn't seem too bothered by me.  I thought he was very handsome!

I'll Take a Chance, Please!!

Dani  has been alone on our property since she arrived at the end of September.  Luckily the one pasture is near other horses but when I moved her to another pasture she got so upset and worked up a sweat pacing and neighing of the horses that were too far away.  We needed to do something to find her a buddy.  I contacted several people locally that had a horse for sale and even thought about a free lease on this older unrideable companion horse.  Nothing really appealed to me since I wanted a permanent friend and also a useful horse for Steve and I.  We have just under 4 acres so we'd be limited to how many horses we can keep here.

I went onto a local, well two hours west of us, horse rescue.  They had several horses in the rescue and then many others that individual owners listed to rehome.  One in particular stood out to me.  His name was Chance.  He was a handsome little Arabian, 17 years old and well trained.  He was ridden on trails a lot and sounded like a great minded horse.

His owner had a smaller property with a little donkey and a younger horse, she needed to rehome Chance since she was planning on doing more intense riding with her young horse and also the two horses didn't quite get along as well as she'd hoped so Chance was in a neighboring paddock.  I drove 2 hours to the Winston-Salem area to meet him.  The whole time I was nervous....what if he's too much, what if he's spooky....what if he's like Arabians I test rode before?  But then the thought kept coming back.  What if he turns out to be amazing like Willy?

When I met Chance there was something so soft in his eye, something soft but also intelligent.  His owner cared for him so much and told me all about rides she has done with him and how he's reacted to many new situations.  She studies Parelli and he was very responsive to her.  We trailered over to a friends home where there was a small arena.  She worked him on the ground and he was certainly feeling his beans but a good thing was there was not the redheaded mare attitude I'm often confronted with when my horse is fresh.

She rode him and then it was my turn.  I worked him on a ground for a few minutes and found him very willing and supple in his movements.  Not so much the ton of bricks I have to move when working Dani sometimes, LOL.  I was unsure and definitely nervous to mount up but I took it slow and rode him at the walk doing serpentines and many turns.  He seemed to sense the nervousness but he just hesitantly moved onward.  As we both grew more comfortable we got in sync and he moved off better with my cues.  I was pleased he wasn't going to react and run off with me, he was just calming awaiting leadership and not running off in terror.  That is a good thing in a horse for someone with fear issues.  I know being a leader is the most important thing but it's good to have a horse that is secure in themselves when their human has a little bit of nerves from time to time.

I slept on it and then emailed the lady that we would love to give Chance a home.  We agreed on the following Saturday as a good day for her to bring him over.  We worked out a contract and the day of signed and paid the rescue agency for his adoption.  All was very smooth.  Even the horses meeting was smooth.  I kept Chance in the small stable yard while Dani was in the pasture.  The two could meet over the fence at first.  Dani did her usual sniffing of nostrils and then her mare squeal.  Then, the two just chilled together.  We opened the gate about half an hour later and there was another couple squeals but then the two went on to grazing.  As they moved around the pasture Dani pinned her ears to move her little gelding around the fence line and then the two would settle into a new location for grazing.  

With only a couple days of having the two together they seem inseparable.  If I move one out of the field first and into a stall for feeding there is a little upset until they can see each other again, if Steve is hear we try to move them together.  I want to get into a routine where I can just open a gate at feeding time and the two will go into "their" stall for their grain/supplement.  Chance seemed unsure at first but he is now starting to understand it's okay to go into the stall since that is where his food will be and that he's not going to stay in there forever.  Chance has a senior feed he is on so he receives more at each feeding.  I want to keep them apart so he gets all his food and Dani doesn't try to steal it.  We'll see how this works and if we need to try another system for feeding we can do that.

I'm so happy though, Dani seems very content to have a pasture mate and now we can put the horses in the other pastures without any upset.  She doesn't need to see the horses across the way since she has her very own that she can boss around.  It will be awesome getting to know Chance and seeing his personality and learning how to work with him.  I'm also excited that Steve will have a pony of his own to ride!

Serene sunday

The Tumbleweed, Shadow and Bunny...

It was a slightly breezy day.  I wanted to do a little riding with Dani, not sure what I was going to work on with her.   When at the barn I noticed a new horse.  There was a female Arab named Bella in the pasture that had just arrived about a day ago.  Her owners are from the area but don't have their property horse ready just yet.  Apparently she'd climbed through the fence in the morning to be with Beyjo and cut herself up a little bit.  Her owner was arriving shortly.

Dani was certainly in a more excited mood, perhaps from the new horse.  I rode her on the property but by the fence line near the road.  Dani has been pretty good with traffic driving by.  We stopped near the fence and something caught her eye....was it another tumbleweed?  Was it her shadow?  She tried to wheel away in a shy but I didn't let her get away with it, we faced the area again and we kept walking  by the scariness.  I still have no idea what scared her and she didn't seem to calm down much but at least she didn't try to shy away or bolt.

We rode back to the arena after chatting with the new owners and seeing their horse.  In the arena the same old bunny that darts around was in there and he caused Dani to start again.  Wow.  What's up with this today?  We rode around and I made her do many changes of direction and yielding of the hindquarters.  We kept walking by where the bunny was and at least there weren't any issues with Dani being nervous.  She calmed down and we walked the arena for a bit.  Today was just exciting I guess.  New horse, exciting event of her climbing the fence into the pasture and then Beyjo neighing his head off while her new owners took care of her injuries.

After the ride I decided it would be best to do some groundwork next time I was out.  I also want to do some more desensitizing.  I wish I knew what things, aside from the darting bunny, were causing her concern.  We'll have scarier things that she gets exposed to in the future so I want to make sure that we are well prepared!

Snowpacalypse???

This weekend in Colorado there is supposed to be a large amount of snow.  The Emergency Operations Centers are on alert. Sadly I probably won't be able to see my pony this weekend.  I ran out after work on Friday to give her a hug and kiss.  I'm really missing her since last weekend with a pulled neck and snowy weather again reduced my pony time.

When I got out to the barn the skies were clearing from a flurry that had occurred that evening.  The sun was out and setting so it was actually pretty beautiful though cold.  Dani was looking good and cute in her blanket.  The barn owner was blanketing everyone in order to avoid having to chase horses around in the middle of blustery winds.

Beyjo is the arabian gelding that is now hanging out with Dani.  They like each other but the Arab tends to be bossy and mean about food.  Not sure if he is the boss horse but Dani steers clear of his heels at feeding time.  He's a cute little bay but very skittish.  His owners don't work with him that much.  I felt bad one day since he had a huge tornado knot in his silky black mane.  I got some of my Manely Long Hair product and worked it out for about 30 minutes.  Today I saw it's nice and silky.  This product is great!

Dani and Beyjo get fed last since the older mare, silky a cute palomino is 30 and needs enough time to get her food in her belly.  She is fed in the pen at the front of the pasture while Dani and Beyjo look sad and half starved.  She's just wasting away isn't she?

I gave her a few treats and just hung out with her while she watched N bring alfalfa to the chickens and no hay to her.  Eventually when Silky was pretty full Dani and Beyjo got their food.  

As the sun set and the wind picked up a little it was getting time to head home.  We should be getting the bulk of the storm between Saturday and Sunday.  Drat.  At least the time change is coming and I may be able to start getting riding in during the week after work.

As I left Dani was munching away at her hay and Silky was off by her hay tub near the run-in shed.  All ponies seemed content.  I'm glad Dani is here.  When I can't ride she still has lots of room to run and ponies to play with.  Still I await the day when she can be in my back yard. 

Here's hoping next weekend is more riding friendly! 

A Tale of Two Kitties

It came from above.  Dani didn't see it at first....but she knew it was there.  Stalking on the stall panels like a demon.  The mare was worried.  Should she fear for her life.....or her sanity?

The silver one appeared as if to say hello between the stall panel bars with it's cute little stripes and it's hazel eyes.  Awe yes, misdirection!!

The other one, with it's innocent looking copper eyes, attacked the human, clawing at her legs with the ferociousness of a butterfly.

Then the silver striped one approached the mare with a purr. "Oh, I guess you aren't so bad," said Dani in relief.  "Not at all beast of burden!  I shall free you from the ties that bind you," cried the mighty stripe one.

"Alas I only weigh 2 lbs, I cannot release you...I have failed in my mission..." the silver cat murmured in shame.

Their mission aborted the two kitties decided to rub on all of Dani's legs and play with her curtain of a tail.  This was all done while the human laughed out loud and took pictures; much to the chagrin of her red steed.

Serene Sunday

Serene Sunday

Sleepy Stubs on my lap. Nice evening inside. Snowy outside

Stubs' Year Anniversary

About one year ago I took in a feral cat from Dani's barn.  This was a barn that had lots of comings and goings and not the most safe location for a kitty to live since they could easily end up in the garage or in a random horse trailer headed who knows!  One year ago I took in a feral cat not knowing what would happen and was greatly rewarded!

When I first moved Dani to the KCRC riding club boarding facility I noticed a cute little bobbed cat running around.  N, a boarder at the time told me about her releasing three kittens to live there and be barn cats.

They never became human friendly since I think the release was too sudden and they didn't really have human interaction.  Still we both left out dry cat food and the cat food would disappear

I often found the one cat I saw between the barn wall and my hay bales.  I nicknamed her Stubs though at the time I was thinking "boy".  I have mostly male animals, or had I guess I should say.  I tend to think of critters in the male sex but now that I have a mare and a female cat or course that perspective has changed.

The summer of 2013 Stubs had a litter of kittens in the lean to nearest Black Forest Road.  Those kittens were eventually adopted since that boarder took care of them.  Stubs was very skittish at the time.  That November Stubs started hanging around Dani's stall when I would feed her, so I started talking to her and began feeding her yummy wet food.

It became apparent that she wanted to have a human friend or some type of company so I talked with a co-worker who had trapped a feral cat and borrowed his trap to get this little girl captured and spayed at least.  Little did I know how much she would warm up to me and my household.....mainly my current house cat Armani.

It took several weeks in the guest bedroom to bond and earn her trust and then introduce her to Armani and then my two dogs.  Eventually my little kitty became a full blown member of the household with no thought about returning to the barn.  I was pretty happy since outdoor cats do live shorter lives.  

We had some bumps along the road when I was given bad advice of "forced love" from a vet tech, hence I have a permanent scar on my arm but I look at it fondly now.  Stubs has become such a sweet cat who follows me around, hangs out with me and loves on Armani.  He is infatuated with her!  Things couldn't be better.

Now my little baby hangs out on my messy desk....lounging like the spoiled house cat she has become.

She watches me where ever I am.  I can't put my contacts in my eyes each morning without her under my arms purring and walking about my "vanity area".  I can't put on my pants without her winding in and out of my legs.  I can't sit at my desk to surf the net or work without having her try to cuddle with my hands on the keyboard.

She is full of fun and she's curious as.....a cat.  Steve and I brought out the nail guns and air compressor for my dad to use since he wants to finish his and my mom's basement.  We took the guns out of the bag and in popped the little kitty.  "What?  This bag isn't my new bed?!!!!"

She's my little bundle of complete love and joy.  Armani is a love bug too, don't get me wrong....but Stubs has bonded to me and claimed ME as her person.  Armani is more of a daddy's boy even though my lap gets chosen on occasion.

She looks grumpy here but is slow blinking and purring up a storm

Stubs is happy and healthy aside from what I think is an food allergy we are working to solve (notice some of the ouchies on her neck etc.).  Hopefully we can find out what food is causing that issue and get her healed up since I know she's itchy.

Anyways, my baby Stubs is such a lovey little girl and I'm so glad she decided to adopt me and have me be her care taker.  I feel lucky every day!!

Musings about a Serene Sunday

Can I just say that I love having my horse trailer at the barn with all my gear!  Dani has been tied a couple times to the trailer for grooming and tacking.  She's really curious about the tack room.  I guess if she loads in there the back will be a cinch right?

I came out Sunday to do some touch-ups on the trailer.  I still have diamond plate caulking to do to prevent water from getting behind the material, then I have the tack room door that needs final coats of paint before I can install my hanging grooming sorter.  The back still has caulking to be removed and rust to be treated.  I have the whole back horse area to paint and need to get that done in the next week or so as October will bring colder temperatures.

I was getting frustrated with the caulk gun so decided I needed to take a break and have some pony time.  In the saddle time was not a good idea with my frustration so instead I took pony on a walk across the street to the high school.  M rides here and so does Baruk's owner.  There is a path that goes around the whole property.

Near the track there is a big sandy area that M often likes to ride since it's nice and soft.  Dani liked it and I'm sure if she'd been able would have rolled around in the soft silkiness.  Behind the school is a beautiful cemetery.  Dani was blowing a lot as we walked by so I didn't stop to take a picture, unsure if she was nervous or just curious.  Ghosts you think?

We came back to the barn, and I applied some meds to her scratches on her hind legs.  This is something that developed in the past couple weeks.  At first I thought it was mud but it seems to be scratches.  There doesn't appear to be any skin irritation or inflammation so I'm applying MTG for now.

I came back after bringing her to her pasture and started back on the project, attitude adjusted.  I painted the interior of the tack room door, touched up some extra holes we created when attaching some door hold backs and added a layer of paint to the inside of the horse door.

Here are some pictures of the tack room in use.  I made little fleece pillows to stable to the wooden posts and nailed a horseshoe on the end of each saddle rack.  It's great for handing helmet bags or random tack.  Looks nifty too.  Don't mind the mess I am still getting my tack room organized!

All day this little black kitty was hanging around me supervising.  It was nice and relaxing out there, calm and beautiful day.  It was great to have his little meows keep me company as I plugged away.  I've so run out of gas to finish these last things for the trailer, I'm so tired and soooo done.  But I'm not done and have to keep going to get it all complete before it's too cold to paint.

Ride around the Property

I went out Thursday to the barn, I wanted to only staple gun a cushion to the saddle rack...will take a picture of the complete saddle rack asap.  My main purpose was to go for a ride on my pony.  I groomed Dani and got her all tacked up.  M wanted to ride too so we waited for her to grab Scotty her Morgan gelding.  I'd been wanting to ride with her for a while so it was nice.

Since it had been a while since I'd ridden Dani I didn't want to venture across the road to the loud and scary high school so I suggested we just ride around the perimeter of the property.  The area was almost wide enough for two horses but my mare wasn't liking being so close to Scotty.  I reprimanded her but had to work on rating her since she wanted to be up front.  Not a shocker for sure but she needs to ride at all positions for a trail ride.  It was really nice to chat with M.  She asked me all sorts of questions about what hobbies I had besides horses.  I tried to ask her a view things to, she's really nice and will be a great partner to ride with.  We plan on driving to Homestead Park nearby, I just need to get some trail loading session in on Dani first and also see how she is riding at the school.

So this was a semi trail ride, soon we'll have a real one I hope!  I'm starting to tie Dani up to the trailer to groom and tack up.  That should help a little with positive associations near the trailer.  I want so badly to have trailering become a much smaller issue.  Think positive thoughts!

Serene Sunday

It was going to be a horsie July 4th but with lightning and heavy rain we ended up just having the BBQ at KCRC, no pony fun games.  I was a bit bummed but was happy to catch up with members I haven't seen in a while.  I've been out of town for work for the past few meetings!!

For serene sunday I figured we'd visit little Stubs.  She's the cutest thing ever and constantly makes a little trilling meow sound when she wants you for something.  She also has racing stripes which makes sense since she often races around the house with toys or Armani.  Love my kitties!