All Well that Ends Well

On Saturday morning J and I loaded Gal into the horse trailer and hauled him up to the barn where I periodically board and ride.

We hadn't loaded Gal since we brought him home and that load had been a bit rough.  Although Gal was nervous, it was incredible how he settled down as soon as I led him into the barn and down the aisle of horses nickering to him as we passed.

He sighed in glee as I led him into his large stall, immediately made friends with his neighbors, pawed a few times and had some good rolls in the clean shavings.

My Cowgirl Pal had told me that Gal would be attending a de-sensitization clinic with his new owner the following day.  She'd keep me posted on how it went.  Last night I got a text message and pictures regarding Gal's first day with his new owner.

Here's Gal with his new owner.

Good Boy, Gal!

And my very favorite picture - a happy horse...and look at the smile on that happy owner!  We couldn't be more pleased for both of them!

Our journey with Gal is complete.  All is well that ends well.

A Win-Win For All of Us

Gal came from one of my Cowgirl Pals.  She had taken him into her home when a friend of hers had a baby and decided Gal no longer fit into her life. My CG Pal has known Gal since he was a baby.

We didn't know much about Gal and were hesitant in making a commitment.  But with an agreement that if we changed our minds he would return to my CG Pal, our concerns were alleviated.

The plan was that he'd be a horse for family and friends to use, joining Elvis and I on rides.  But as time went by it became apparent that Gal is more horse than I am comfortable placing a novice rider on.  Not his fault, he's a good boy but best for an intermediate/advanced rider.

So the phone call was made to my CG Pal.  Within two days she was able to find another good home for Gal...a friend who knows and has ridden Gal in the past and who is thrilled to have him in her life.

Gal will remain here for another week before he heads to his new home.  And now that our new neighbors next door have two horses, Elvis has buddies over the fence and won't be lonely.

Down the road we'll keep our eyes out for that babysitter horse, but we are in no hurry.  We are happy to have known Gal and thrilled that he's going to someone who will love and care for him as we have.

A win-win for all of us.

The Good News. The Bad News.

It's February 14th.  Happy Valentine's Day!

This is what our cabin usually looks like this time of the year.  We're driving up for the day tomorrow and we can take any vehicle we'd like (not just 4-wheel drive)...because there is no snow (at all).

As the East Coast digs out of another snow storm, we on the West Coast are enjoying mild temps (60+ out there right now).  It's been so mild that last night (February 13th), we were walking around in shorts and t-shirts until later in the evening when the temps cooled down.

The grass is growing green and tall right in front of our eyes, prompting the first mowing of the season.

Color is starting to show on the trees and bushes.

The good news is that spring has arrived early.

The bad news is that there's no snow pack in the mountains and I expect summer will bring a long fire season.

That being said, I'm betting next year will be totally different and I'll be writing about how cold it is. :)

A Dilemma - My Box of Chocolates

Have you ever received a box of wonderful chocolates and found you didn't know which one to eat first, (second, third, fourth)?

Elvis is my box of chocolates and I'm struggling with which one to eat first.  Some of those bites of candy are richer than others and I must watch my budget (ahhh, such is the life of a 50+)!

Should it be Dressage?  Elvis has an extensive background in Dressage.  If so it would be Western Dressage (and I also find myself interested in Cowboy Dressage).

Should it be sorting cattle?  Not sure I want to pursue this any further.  Every horse I've sorted with became aggressive at home in the pasture towards poor Hank (the dog) and this includes Elvis.  Too many close calls.

Should it be Western Pleasure?  (Bad example above - hard to take pictures of yourself when you are on the horse).

My box of chocolates lived for years in a WP training barn before his former owner decided to turn to Dressage.  Showmanship is an add-on of that experience.  My candy knows much about this world.

Should it be trail riding?  My boy is pretty green at this so I would benefit from a half-bite of that chocolate in finding a partner with a steady horse to go out with.  But my sweet boy is a registered Appaloosa so we could participate in the Chief Joseph Trail Ride.

Maybe it's "just riding".  I miss boarding my candy boy at the barn and hanging with my Cowgirl Pals.  My rides at home are minimal as I don't ride here when I'm alone.  I know I'd ride much more at the barn where there are people around plus I would join the group activities such as Ladies Nights, etc.

But right now my box of chocolates is out in his pasture.  He is covered in mud instead of chocolate. I haven't done much with him for a few months as the days became short, wet, etc.

But days are getting longer and spring is just around the corner.  It's time to figure out which piece of chocolate I should pick first.

As I Was Cleaning Stalls Today...

...I laughed at how having horses stalled at night is not the end of the world!  Here's some bright spots:

     *How therapeutic I find the job.  It seems all my senses open up when I'm working out or around the barn.  The sounds of the breeze, birds, horses, etc., are like a chorus of joy to my soul.  I always walk back into the house feeling good.  I find I enjoy doing this task first thing in the morning, before coffee or breakfast.  It's a great way to start a day.

     *We've had an unusual number of wind storms and heavy rains.  It's a good feeling to know "The Boys" are tucked into the barn at night when the rain is going sideways and/or the wind is howling. Knowing they are safe and sound (and quiet) gives us a sense of peace (and makes sleeping easier).

     *Turning them out in the AM and bringing them in at PM gives J (the AM Guy) and me (the PM Gal) more opportunity to interact with them as opposed to when they were turned out full time in the large summer pasture.  They are now "automated" to walking (quietly) out or into their stalls.  No drama, lead ropes or halters.  This has also given us an opportunity to get to know more about Gal whom we haven't done much with (yet).  It's apparent that someone loved this horse and spent time with him.  He's an easy going guy and comes with a great set of ground manners.  I'm thinking those attributes will be handy when we start to ride him.

     *J tells of his arrival to the barn in the AM.  He opens the door and calls out "Good Morning"! Initially he would arrive to find what appeared to be empty stalls.  But when he peered inside he found both horses down on their sides, sound to sleep (and snoring).  These days as he calls out he's met with bumps and thumps as two sleepy-eyed horses covered from head to toe in shavings pop up from their beds.

     *We are in deep winter and darkness comes around 4 PM.  I'm currently not riding like I did last year and although I take one or two walks each day; I find my upper body muscles have been losing their tone.  My new morning routine has firmed me back up.  I not only clean the stalls but prep them for the evening return, leaving grain as the only task left to be done at night.  This makes evenings, when dinner is cooking and time is more limited, quick and simple.

     *Speaking of bringing them in.  As the days have passed with their new routine of being stalled at night, they now bring themselves in.  Last night I got out a little late to find Elvis already standing inside his stall with a look of "where's my grain"?  Gal was standing in the loafing shed outside his entrance to the barn; he knocked on the door to be let in.

So let the shavings fall where they may, because work is part of having horses.  Speaking of that, it's about time to head out to the barn for the evening shift.  Looking forward to seeing and handling My Boys!

 

Complicated Keepers

Galileo's (Gal's) arrival in October proved he was the Leader of the herd.  That wasn't surprising since Elvis, who has always lived in a stall, doesn't know much about socializing.  He's an easy going/"follow the leader" kind of guy.

Whereas Bob was also the leader; he served as a gentle mentor and teacher for Elvis.  Elvis didn't know to seek shelter during a storm but Bob showed him how to sense when rain (or thunder/lightning) were coming and get out of the elements.  Soon Elvis began to pick up some of the tricks of being a pasture horse vs a stall horse.  Good life lessons.

As fall arrived I felt confident in Elvis wintering here.  There was more for Elvis to learn and I knew I could depend on Bob to teach him how to break ice in the stock tank for a drink when it was frozen, negotiate on frozen ground, etc.

Sigh - my plans came crashing down when we suddenly lost Bob from a kidney stone.

I had hoped Gal's leader qualities would carry on the training Elvis needs.

But Gal is the type of leader which I've only encountered once before in my years of owning horses. He's not only aggressive towards Elvis but he's also a jealous leader.  In the picture above he's about to nip Elvis and then run (stampede) him away.  And Elvis is about to crash into the gate in his haste to escape.

As the weather deteriorated so did their relationship.  I couldn't get my hands on Elvis because Gal would run him away from me.  Gal also proved to not be an "old campaigner".

He obviously doesn't know much more than Elvis about living outside in the elements.  When it rains he stays out in the middle of the pasture, soaked to the skin.  He doesn't appear to care for the large, insulated loafing sheds, in fact I don't think he likes them one bit.

Elvis, being the monkey see/monkey do horse he is, also now avoided the loafing sheds, can't blame him because if he did go into them Gal would chase him back out onto the pasture.  I worried about Elvis picking up some of the aggressive habits Gal presented to him.

As the ground became muddy and slick, I had to make the hard decision to put them in separate pastures for Elvis's protection.  Gone in a flash were my seasonal rotated pastures that have served us so well.

Initially I left them both outside full time in their prospective pastures.  Gal in the middle pasture near the bedroom side of our house with a loafing shed available (which he still rarely went into).

And Elvis in the back pasture with access to the paddock and large foaling stall to get out of the elements (which bless his heart, he still went into to get out of the elements and eat).

But that didn't work either.  Although Elvis was content with this arrangement, Gal hated losing sight of Elvis when he went inside to eat.  The result was Gal's charging around and calling out for his "friend"...as in calling out all night long...as in calling out all night long right outside our bedroom window.

After three sleepless nights of this I had to go to the next level of care, one I hated to do.

Stalls.

A stall for Gal.

With Elvis still using the foaling stall.

Each morning I now start my day by cleaning two stalls.  The stalls are empty as "The Boys" are already outside in their own personal pastures compliments of J who goes out earlier in the AM and turns them out.

Each evening as dusk arrives, I now bring them back in - Gal to his stall and Elvis to the foaling stall and paddock area (closing the gate that leads out to his pasture).

We've had to invest in heated water buckets so the water doesn't freeze in the stalls at night as well as shavings...shavings...and more shavings.

I've had to break out blankets to keep the darlings warm when our temps have dropped into the teens, whereas I rarely blanketed our easy keepers who sided up next to each other in an insulated loafing shed and remained cozy.

As much as I love our Complicated Keepers, I sure miss the days of our Easy Keepers!

Bring On The Storms!

The first big wind storm of the season arrived this last weekend.  I was outside when the winds hit.  It was odd.  We went from no breeze to instant heavy gusts.

My husband and I tried to ignore our flickering lights as we watched TV.  We could hear the wind roaring outside as it rushed into the poplars along the fence line.  We each had a flashlight next to us - expecting to lose power at any moment.

But we didn't lose power even though the gusts reached over 60 mph, ripping leaves off the trees.

My hanging basket, which I got in early April. continues to try to bloom.  What a brave little basket it's been!

Can't say the same about my potted geraniums.  They are finished.

J and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary this weekend by completing the installation of our new generator panel on Sunday.  It's finished, tested and ready for the next storm.

This is a BIG DEAL for us.  No more having to scramble in the dark with opened windows and power cords running through the house for one or two lights when we lose power.  We are now able to roll the generator out, start it up, plug it in and instantly have lights, TV, internet (and even our microwave) in minutes.

But best of all we will now have WATER!  That means no longer having to worry about filling the stock tanks and green buckets for the toilets before a storm.  We can now even run the washer if needed (even if we can't use the dryer).

We feel so liberated.  Bring on the storms!