Finally some sun!

Once I was able to tear my sleepy self from under a warm, cozy blankie and chair, I got up, got dressed and went outside. I knew the sun was out but earlier when I did hay for the boys it was chilly and I didn't want to go back out there. Hubby finally convinced me it was nice out, so, out, I went. Did some stuff in the yard then filled the water tank and then just went out into the pasture to hang with my boys. Those two follow me all over the pasture all the time just to get rubs, tickles and hugs. I stood up on a stump and there was a horse on either side of me. Klaus went to get the camera but by then Meins decided that sleepy time was over and annoying time begins so that was my que to head back to the gate and go sit in my chair and just watch. Watching then graze is so relaxing for me. And with a warm sun it was nice after all the rainy days we have had lately.

Kids, don't try this anywhere!

Not a good look for me, but hey, it's early, everything is frost covered (Oct 9th) and I was being goofy. I know many of us crawl out of bed and just slip into whatever to go feed the horses THEN come in to get coffee and a bite to eat before getting to the chores. Yes, I do wear a flannel nighty!

Caution, if you don't want to scare the hell out of your neighbors, or embarrass your spouse or partner, better get dressed first.

And don't forget about "wardrobe malfunctions"! Hoohoo baby, not going there!!!!!

Have a great day everyone!

Getting started

With the holidays nearly upon us I decided to use this dreary rainy day to make cookies for Christmas. Out of 8 and a half dozen cookies I only ate 2 broken ones! That's a first for me. Half the dough would have been gone on earlier occasions.

I am really working on losing weight and firming up. I noticed my pants are getting too big and I attribute that to the fact I walk a lot more now when I throw hay in the morning and evening along the fence line instead of one spot. This winter may be a bit tricky but as long as it isn't bitterly cold, I'll continue to spread it out. In the meantime, my plastic sled and snowshoes are ready.

The other reason I am getting some baking and cooking out of the way now is because I want to put in as much saddle time as I can. Been really itching to get back on Meins and I believe he is ready for me too. When I have saddled him lately he is not a goofy colt but has been all business. Now Paha, on the other hand, has been a little snot as of late. Terrible Two's? Where did my little boy go? haha! He has been trying to see who is boss and has mostly been doing it to Meins. But tries with anyone who handles him. He made the mistake of doing that to my trainer when he went to get his teeth done. TSK, TSK, TSK! Bad idea Pa. I cut back on the Equine Junior, just a half pound, since I can see his belly when he is walking away and his ribs are barely noticable. He settled down a bit too. I'll keep my eyes and hands on him all winter and adjust his feed as needed. I would rather there was a bit of "chunky" over the winter anyway.

Well, now that the cookies have cooled I need to clean up the kitchen and either sew, take a shower and get dressed (still in my jammies) or read my book.........................aahhhh the house smells soooo goood, mmmmm.................................

Paha goes to the Dentist

Paha and Doc Johnson get to meet today for the first time. My trainer picked him up this morning then will drop him off tomorrow. Poor baby, he is getting his first float and his wolf teeth pulled. I went up to let the Doc know that he needs to watch when he sedates Paha because he will go completely out. If you recall, earlier this Spring he was sedated to get his tear ducts cleaned and it took 5 of us to walk him 10' to his stall. So he'll be one of the last to be done.

He got to model another quilt for me. These guys are so cool! I threw the blankie up on him and he just does not care. what a sweetheart!

Good ideas get better!

Quite frosty this morning and enjoyed seeing the "hair raising" effects it has on the horses. Standing in early morning sunshine with white puffs being exhaled from the nostrils of my dragon like equines. Yikes! Did I write that? That's bad!

I went to a presentation at Equine Gatherings this past Thursday given by my farrier, Darrin, and his wife, Kerry Koob. Natural Hoof Care was the topic. In the year and a half since he has been doing my boys I cannot tell you how much I have really learned. It's not just about feet, it's the total horse. 2 hours was just not enough to listen, question and absorb all the info given. But I did come away with some new ideas to keep my boys happy and healthy.

Paddock Paradise. You can Google it, Jaime Jackson, wrote a book about keeping with the natural roaming instinct of horses. In other words, getting them moving in as natural an environment as possible. I always had the right idea, feeding them in different areas, but they were designated areas and becoming a mess and a waste of hay. So first thing yesterday morning, in my jammies, I loaded up a bale of hay and walked the perimeter fence throwing out a few flakes at intervals along the way.

You would have thought those two horses had been shot up with some happy juice! Running, bucking, snorting and squealing. In a few minutes they settled down and were happily munching away and moving from pile to pile. Now in the past they would eat out of a designated hay spot, recent rains made the areas a mess and there was lots of wasted hay. At 2:30p yesterday afternoon, there was still hay on the ground. I did not need to pull another full bale to get them through the night and this morning ALL, every scrap of hay was gone!!!! Nothing was wasted.

THAT made me very happy and I am sure they are glad not to be standing pastern deep in muck. So now I know I can feed them their hay and that it's not wasted, they are moving, and seem quite content with the change. Winter will be a bit tricky for me so I am now planning how to deal with it. Now that I have a guideline on how to go about this I can implement more of the natural environment my boys deserve.

Nice sunny day

Well we won't have too many of these beautiful days much longer. Took the boys on a walk up and down our road, mostly for Paha since some scarey things popped up neither of us has seen before but he done did good!

Went out and picked up some corn stalks, pumpkins, corn-on-cob (to eat), apples and cabbage andas my daughter and I went to get in the truck to leave, DUH!, locked my keys in the truck. I had left the windows down a bit so my daughter, Robyne, was able to snake her arm in through the window and unlock the door. Good thing too because, why?, I had both sets of keys in my purse. But all was good and we had a really nice afternoon pumpkin hunting, stopping at the tack store and going to lunch.

Friday we awoke to cold, bone chillin' rain. My poor boys were soaking wet, yes, they do have a run-in, but we only see them in there when the weather is really severe. It is so hard for us humans to not get all weepy when they are all wet and looking cold, and doggone it, there must be some way for me to get them in the basement!