Finally dry enough for riding in the pen...

Part of the pen has been dry, and the other party very soppy and wet. The other evening I thought I would hop on and venture around the barn lot area to see how the boys did, but when I walked out there I was slipping and sliding. That nice little dry crust on top was deceiving. So I practiced trailer loading instead. Both of them are great! They will both load without me getting in the trailer first, in fact last night Wyoming was already getting in the trailer and I did not even have the gate all the way open. That is good because he isn't too worried about it, but it is bad because I did not ask him. I think I will take his over achieving attitude right now. :-) Tiger waits, sniffs, then hops up.

Both of them were introduced to fly masks. Kind of strange how the flies swarm particular horses. Both of these guys qualify! Getting the masks on was not too eventful, they just were not sure about it at first. The velcro sound still makes them tense up, but no worries...they will get used to it.

"Don't we look cute?"



Here is what it looks like to ride Wy... (no camera man around lately)
Wy did pretty good, altho he is very tense and just won't bend at all. We will be working on our flexing - a lot! I need to learn how to do other things to teach him to bend his body. It was not hard to get him walking, and he walked thru the set sloppy stuff as well as the dry stuff. We also worked on "Whoa." That needs a lot of work too...baby steps. We are finally getting some dry days so I can actually get on them and do something.



Tiger made me work tonite! I know it is supposed to be the other way around, but he just did not want to go. He even stopped to paw and I thought maybe something was pinching him. I checked and could not find anything, so I got back up there and made popping sounds on the saddle with the end of the lead rope. It was work, but we finally got a few good rounds, and I even had him pick up the pace a bit. He did not like walking thru the sloppy stuff, and where the salt block had been moved made him snort. You know how it is....leave something in the same place forever, then move it and they freak out? Yep, that is how it was at first, but he kept sniffing at it. He would walk by it one direction without so much as a glance, but not the other direction. It was way more scary. :-) He flexes his body a lot more than Wy does, but man this dude made me work tonite! We finally got a couple very nice trips around the pen and we called it a night. It was hot!



Here is Misty. She is a rescue and is afraid of men. We have had her about 3 years now, and she is still afraid of them. When we brought her home, it took her several months to learn how to be a dog and just lay around under the shade tree, or play with the other dogs. She gets along great with my husky/chow cross, Snoop. She can't stand the black/white husky, Nakita. Nakita is one of those yippy type dogs who circles and torments and picks and pokes.....I don't blame Misty for disliking her. Nakita barks a lot for nothing, and I threaten to send her to China...you know what they do to dogs in China!



Tonite before I came inside I was checking to make sure the babies were okay. This little guinea was sleeping on top of the water container.



Last night I trimmed the hooves of my older mare, who is only 27...I thought she was 29. I found her papers while looking for the fly sprayer thingy's that I never found. Anyways, got her done and dang I did a good job! Her feet look great! I also got all four of Wyoming's hooves done, and let me tell you, I was sooooo proud of him! The majority of the time he just stood there with his head hanging low. He started moving a bit on the last rear foot so I hurried up. I double checked them today and saw a sharp edge I don't like, so I will touch him up tomorrow. That is the first time that all four have been done, and without anybody holding him. After trimming his hooves I took him out to trailer load and he was prancing...I am convinced it is because his feet felt so good. :-D

Gotta go find food now....
Until later...Karen and Tripp

Oh yeah, only 8 days until we pick up our EMM horse! Can't count today because it is already here, and can't count the 17th because it is the actual day we meet him/her. I am excited! I already had one good cry about letting him go to another home, but I keep reminding myself that one of my goals is to help mustangs find good homes before something worse happens to them. Wish I did not have to work full time...would spend more time gentling them and networking for adopters. Oh well, one at a time...right?

I was gone for 3 weeks...now I am back!

I was out of town three weeks for work. Right before I left we found a few chicks that had hatched in the hen house. They were in the upper box, and the hen had moved to another box. This little yellow chick looked like your typical Easter commercial chick.



This is what three weeks did to that little chick! This thing is almost twice as big as everyone else! Quite a while back we had a couple Jersey Giants, and I don't wonder if we have a crossed Jersey in the group, and this little chick has picked up the traits. It also has feathers on it's legs, so it has some Faverolle in it. I wish the picture turned out better...it is a stocky little thing!



Like I said, I was out of town for 3 weeks. My first destination was Dodge City, KS. They had a lot of big hail, etc. On my way there and back I was in awe of the windmill farms! I was driving along, and this is what I saw...



I spent 1 week there, and thought I was coming home. Then I was told to stop at our Kansas City, MO office (actually Lees Summit) and help out there because their territory got hit by one storm after another...so I spent 2 weeks there. That was the hardest time I have ever spent away from home. We live a little over 2 hrs away, and I was close enough to tell people I lived "just down the road a ways" but not close enough to come home. Brian did come visit me twice. We met at a 1/2 way point for dinner one night, and the last weekend he spent one night, then headed home to take care of critters when I headed to work. The visits were soooooo nice!

When I got back I was so happy! I knew rain was in the forecast, which meant mud, but I did not care!

Friday afternoon it had not started raining yet, so I decided to see how Tiger and Wy would do with the trailer...
Tiger was my first victim because he was the first to come say hello to me. :-) We walked around the trailer a couple times, I opened the gate, he sniffed it, we walked around a little more, I hopped in there, he sniffed again, and no joke, within 2 minutes he was up and in there. Even the banging around of his hooves in the tin can did not get him excited. We practiced that several times - I was so proud of him!

Here is Tiger looking out at the others.



Tiger hops down.



While I was gone, Tiger's adopter, who is also Brian's brother, came to visit. I am so glad that Brian got a few pictures! It had been raining so was a little muddy as you can see, but Justin took Tiger for a short walk, and they got to know each other. They are talking about his new home....



It was Wyoming's turn to visit the trailer. I was worried because the last time we hauled him was for the Humansville, MO adoption, and we had to get him in the trailer in the dark, and he spent the night in there. I felt horrible, but the weather was so bad, we had to take advantage of the yard being half frozen enough for us to get out there before it warmed up and rained again, and we really wanted to get him some exposure to find him an adopter.

It took a little longer to get Wyoming in the trailer. He took about 4 minutes after walking around it a few times! He was all excited because nobody else was close, and he called to them, but he still listened. He followed me up and out several times, and we even loaded 3 times with me sending him in with me outside the trailer. I really hope he remembers that one! :-) I was very proud of him too! As we were playing around, he seemed like a totally different horse. I have learned so much from him. This guy is happier when he is busy, which means I need to stay on my toes! He reminds me of Tripp in some ways. Tripp was happier when he was learning new stuff, and when we finally got out on the trails he loved looking around at the new things in his life (or maybe some of the old if he remembers them). I can't wait to get Wy out on the trails to see what he is like.

He stood here for a long time. I think he liked being high enough to see what was going on in the other pen.



Leaving the trailer...no big deal.



Brian was very busy while I was gone and he got so much done. This is a project he has been wanting to do for quite a while. These are tomato ladders. You take out two screws at the end of the season and they fold down for storage. Brian found them in an article, and the guy has had his for 20 years! They are cheap to build too! The baby chick cage is close to them, and when you look out at night the glow of the light makes it appear to be a bunch of tipi's.



And of course we can't forget Batman! I took this before I left. He has grown and is totally full of himself. He was playing with the big boys Friday evening and they tolerated him. He is only a few weeks old, and knows he is a little stud. YIKES! He was nickering that studly nicker and tried to perform for Wyoming. Of course he could only reach Wy's hock...I was somewhat shocked! Other than that, he is doing great. I forgot to measure him to see how much he grew. He sure is more stocky. I really need to put together another video...



Oh yeah, on a final note, I am a trainer for the 2009 Eastern Stampeded Mustang Makeover in Murfreesboro, TN. We pick up our mustang on Friday, July 17th, which is right around the corner! Woooo hooooo!!!!!! Last year Angela and her daughter Jessi rode with us, along with Judy of the Judy and Bob team. This year Angela will be out of town with a friend for Frontier Days, so Jessi is going to ride with us. We have already started teasing her Mom...yep, the heckling has begun! Ha!

Whew, I feel better to get a little bit of blogging done. I did not realize how much I enjoyed doing this until I couldn't!

Hope everyone is doing well. Hug your critters!

Until later...Karen and Tripp, who is bleaching out from the sun and is very very brown!

My Assistant Mustang Trainer...

This weekend we had a surprise visitor! Brian's niece, Tacy, blessed us with her presence, and the girl LOVES horses! I have dubbed her my official Assistant Mustang Trainer Extraordinaire...

Saturday the weather was fantastic! I started working with Wyoming and Tacy wanted in on the action. She kept asking to come in the pen - no, you have to wait - is it time yet? No, you have to wait. Well, I remember when I was a little girl around horses and I totally understand why she had a hard time waiting! :-)
I got done what I needed to, then it was her turn. Tiger and Wy were both wonderful so I trusted them to take care of Tacy, and I trusted Tacy to take care of them.
(NOTE: Not growing up wearing a helmet, I still forget...so yes, I am aware than neither of us is wearing one, and it is something that I will work on! Brian didn't notice either until we talked about it tonite)

Wyoming is checking out the Assistant Trainer Extraordinaire....



Tacy takes Wy for a spin...



More spinning....



Tacy pets Wy and tells him what a good boy he is...



Peek-A-Boo!



Tacy loves on Wy and thanks him for letting her ride...



Tacy and Tiger meet...



Tacy takes Tiger for a spin...



After her ride, Tacy wanted to work on Tiger's leading...



Then she wanted to lead him with me riding, just like I did with her...



Tacy pauses and lets Tiger know how good he is doing...



Time to brush Tiger...



Tacy brushes Tandee while waiting for me to finish with Tiger...



Sunday it was more slick than muddy due to the rain, but we decided to visit the horses for a while anyhow.
Tiger and Wy check out Tacy...



Tiger and Wy discuss Tacy...."Hmmmm, should we eat her now?"



Tacy meets Jester the donk...



After a hard day at work, it is time for the pool! Uncle Brian and Niece Tacy play in the pool after cleaning it out for the dogs.



It was a real neat weekend, and I got lots of video of Tacy too. We worked on her not TELLING and YELLING at the animals...we ASK them here. We also tell them how good they are doing, and we thank them when we are done because it is an honor for a horse to let us ride them. When her Dad picked her up today I thanked her for helping me train the mustangs and she said "I said thank you. I love horses."

What else is there to say? :-)

Until later...Karen and Tripp

Video of riding bareback, with Batman getting his two cents worth...

Here is a short video...



Until later...Karen and Tripp

It is not breaking the rules...it is changing goals...

Okay, here is the deal...you all know I am finally able to get on Wyoming, thanks to weather that is cooperating more, and today I wanted to get on him bareback. Tiger was not ready yet, blah blah blah. I am not graceful and what better way to get him used to movements all over him than for me to crawl up there? I do use the bucket as a step to hop on to guarantee me the success of actually getting up there!

He did great! We walked around while he got used to the feel of me up there, he stopped and gazed around at the others on the outside of his pen, and he even got tense a couple of times. Once when I laughed and the other when I coughed. I got to thinking it is because he is feeling me differently too! He can feel me better just like I can feel him better...neat!
Brian was moving hay bales around with the tractor and saw me up on him and ran over to take a couple of pictures. Thanks baby!

Here is Wyoming and I...



And here we are again...



This is where "it is not breaking the rules, it is changing goals" comes in to play...
After I was done playing with Wyoming, I let him out of the pen and was going to let everyone out into the yard to munch grass. When I came back out of the barn Tiger was standing in his pen next to the mounting bucket and just looked at me. Our eyes met, we communicated...he gave me the sign. I needed to hop on that bad boy! :-)

So I did!!!



He was relaxed enough to drop his head and scratch it on his foot...



And to let me swing my legs all over the place and lean over his neck...



It was fantastic! The last time I layed over him he started to walk and he got very concerned that I was still moving with him and he skaddled away from me while I slid off. He did not have a problem me laying over him again, he just wasn't sure about moving or seeing me on the other side too much.
This time he was 100% different! I layed across his back, got my leg up and over him in case he had issues, I slid off and hopped back on (thanks to the mounting bucket), I finally put my leg all the way over him and slid off the other side, hopped back on, and then JUST SAT THERE! Upright, while petting him. We stood there a long time before he started to walk...no problems at all! In fact, I was getting more movement out of him by the time I was done than I was with Wyoming.
WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!

Funny thing...Brian was still moving bales and we have both talked about it - I was not going to get on Tiger until he reacted less to scary stuff. Period! He was across the yard and had moved a few bales when he finally looked my direction. He looked - he looked again, then looked off to the side because he saw Wyoming and then you could see the recognition in Brian's eyes when he looked back and his eyes were like saucers! He just laughed and shook his head! He moved a couple more bales then came over to take pictures. He said once he realized what brown horse I was on, he should have known because of the big cheese eating grin I had on my face! Hee hee!

Batman is getting his top teeth and he is trying to show them off...if you look real close you can see them.



We have 4 panels set up in the yard on the grass for Batman and Robin. We have to carry Batman to the pen because he is a little too independent, and when he wanders the others chase him and he freaks out and takes off. I don't want him running into a fence or into something and hurting himself beyond repair. It really is a challenge to have a 'little' and so many 'bigs' that just want to run when he runs. :-)



No story here...I just thought it was neat to have such a great reflection...so I guess that really is a story, eh? ;-)



There is a big garden at the place I work, and it is a great place to hang out and eat lunch, or just go walking. Flowers are blooming all the time, so I took a few pictures. I was playing with the Macro (close up) settings again.







It was a fun day!

Until later...Karen and Tripp

I was hoping it was a dream.....

....it rained last night. They were calling for scattered showers, and it appears we were in the line of "scattered". The bad news is I did not get on Wyoming this morning, everything else is good news...well, so far. :-) It rained enough to make everything slick, but it is supposed to get very warm today which means it will be muggy, but if that wind blows like I am hoping, it should dry stuff out pretty quick. We shall see....

So, I have time to play with the blog! I am not even going to organize pictures - it is going to be random how they loaded...

The other night Brian spotted something moving along the fence line. It was this cute little snapping turtle! If he was on the other side of the fence, the neighbor would have shot him because "Karen, they eat all my fish in the pond!" Well, he is on our side of the fence, so he lives.



Mustang ears...



We let the group out on the hillside and I took a walk the other evening. There were several daisy's scattered across the hillside so I was experimenting with my new camera. I had great ideas in my head, now let's see if they transferred to the camera.

Daisy's with Nevada in the background...



More daisy's with a small group in the background...



Nevada wondering what I am doing...sometimes I wonder that myself!
Hmmm, it is a good way to keep 'wonder' in your world! ;-)



More daisy's, more mustangs...



I make time to spend with Batman just about every night! He either follows me around while I am filling water troughs, or we run and play.
Here he is on the dirt pile (that will be moved to the front yard for wild flower seeds very soon) looking over his herd...



Batman is big...he is at the salt block.



That is all I have for now. I have a lot of video to go thru, hopefully soon!

Until later...Karen and Tripp