I headed to Lexington, KY for work - will be gone for 3 weeks. What is the worlds most favorite travel food? Sunflower seeds! And what can ruin a good run down the highway while munching yummy sunflower seeds? A rotten one! Ptooey! Blecht! I wonder why that rotten sunflower seed flavor lasts for miles....
When I got here I realized I crossed into the Eastern time zone. This is my issue with the Eastern time zone. My 7:00 p.m. hour is over and done with before your 7:00 p.m. hour! By 'your' I mean the Central and Pacific time zones. It makes me feel like I am missing out on something! I loved visiting my sister and brother-in-law in California! It was the Pacific time zone and when it was 5:00 p.m. out there, I knew it was 2 hrs later at home, and even later on the East coast! It made me feel like I was getting something extra!
I do realize that we all have 24 hrs in our day...and it is all in my head. I AM MENTAL! ACK! :-)
The past couple of nights in the hotel were not bad. I did not sleep the first night any more than a couple of hours, but I made up for it last night. Well, it is 10:36 here right now and there are kids running up and down the hall on the floor above me! Nice! I have to get up early again, and if they don't go to bed where they belong, I might have to take a short walk. What part of that is acceptable to parents? Am I missing something here?
The hotel is right next to the Red Mile, and my view is a small race track for trotters pulling the little carts, but they are not called carts. They are sulky's. One of the guys who just left said the past couple of weekends they had some kind of horse sales going on at the barns next door. I was so excited to get to hang out with a different kind of horse people - okay, mostly the horses. :-) Guess what is going on this weekend - so far NOTHING! I am here a couple of more weekends...maybe one of those will have something.
In the meantime I will be working a lot so won't get a whole lot of time to venture out.
That is all I know for now...
Until later...Karen and Tripp who is wondering where the heck I am! Who is going to spoil him like I do? Brian will try, but it won't be the same. :-)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Security Blanket...we all have them...
A couple of nights ago I was going to play with Vegas without the halter. I grabbed the pad they play with and it started out okay...he sniffed it then turned into a basket case! It was like it grew claws that only he could see, and that was it! He was not going to give me an inch as long as I was close to that pad.
So I get the halter and have no problem putting it on him. We walk around a bit, then I grab the pad. He snorted at it, but did not try to escape. Even tho he was not 100% comfortable, he was tolerating me throwing it all over the place, placing it on his neck, then walk a bit, back, then walk a bit, and the tricky one was the butt. He was not happy, so we did a lot of put it on and take it off. After a several minutes of that, we put it on his butt and walked around. He kept his eyes on it, but he didn't panic.
He never ran me over, but he would look at me and move closer when he got scared to the point of losing it. I would try to take the pressure off him before he got to that point.
Anyways, it got me to thinking...the combination of the halter and myself are his security blanket. Sometimes they are no different than we are. :-)
TRIPP SAYS "WHAT'S UP???" (He wanted his picture to be first in the blog - he is tired of feeling like a 2nd fiddle!)
I trimmed Tripp's hooves last night since I am going to be out of town for 3 weeks for work - I am heading to Lexington, KY. As you all know, he is pigeon toed, so I am just not confident in my trimming abilities (which is why I am taking a 6 day hoof care clinic in April). I got him trimmed and was watching him walk. His whole leg is twisted all the way down to the hoof, and it is just weird to me because I have never had one like this before. It is the way he grew up, no big deal, but it still weirds me out. I just don't want him to be uncomfortable as time goes on. I am hoping to be able to take him to the clinic I signed up for and have them look at him. That would be neat!
VEGAS SAYS: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE???"
Vegas is looking down at me wondering what the heck I am doing. The good thing is he did not freak out! Probably because he was hungry and knew I would be bringing dinner soon. :-)
Vegas is very quick to drop his head when I ask .... from this side. It is a little slower on the other side, but he is getting it. I am just amazed at how quick he can go from being tight as a taught rubber band to majorly relaxed, and back to tight again. That head drop thing works great tho! I love when he softens...it is like he melts.
WYOMING SAYS: "I AM GOING TO ACCOMPLISH THE HARD STUFF FIRST, THEN I WILL LET HER TOUCH ME. YEAH, THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. I WILL START BY PUTTING MY FRONT FEET UP ON THE BRIDGE."
"NOW I WILL LEAVE MY BACK FEET ON THE BRIDGE."
I have thought this more than once. The colors in this donk's mane are awesome, and there are some girls who pay good money to get the multiple colors! Wish I was gutsy enough to do it...I LOVE IT! But the problem with me and hair is it has to be low maintenance, no maintenance! I am all about wash and run, maybe a quick hit with the blow dryer. If I would color it real cool like this, I would have to go back to get it done again. I am not good at that...don't like to make time for that kind of stuff. :-)
As I said, I will be heading out of town for 3 weeks. I leave in the morning...and still need to pack! I don't know if/when I will be able to update the blog from down there...if I see something cool, I will try. We are working 7 days/wk and long days, so not much time to explore.
This is kind of funny...my brother is in Louisville, KY working, so I let him know I was headed to Lexington, KY. We are going to try to catch up one night for dinner. My brother lives 1 1/2 hrs from me...and we have to meet in Kentucky for dinner! Go figure. :-)
Until later....Karen and Tripp
So I get the halter and have no problem putting it on him. We walk around a bit, then I grab the pad. He snorted at it, but did not try to escape. Even tho he was not 100% comfortable, he was tolerating me throwing it all over the place, placing it on his neck, then walk a bit, back, then walk a bit, and the tricky one was the butt. He was not happy, so we did a lot of put it on and take it off. After a several minutes of that, we put it on his butt and walked around. He kept his eyes on it, but he didn't panic.
He never ran me over, but he would look at me and move closer when he got scared to the point of losing it. I would try to take the pressure off him before he got to that point.
Anyways, it got me to thinking...the combination of the halter and myself are his security blanket. Sometimes they are no different than we are. :-)
TRIPP SAYS "WHAT'S UP???" (He wanted his picture to be first in the blog - he is tired of feeling like a 2nd fiddle!)
I trimmed Tripp's hooves last night since I am going to be out of town for 3 weeks for work - I am heading to Lexington, KY. As you all know, he is pigeon toed, so I am just not confident in my trimming abilities (which is why I am taking a 6 day hoof care clinic in April). I got him trimmed and was watching him walk. His whole leg is twisted all the way down to the hoof, and it is just weird to me because I have never had one like this before. It is the way he grew up, no big deal, but it still weirds me out. I just don't want him to be uncomfortable as time goes on. I am hoping to be able to take him to the clinic I signed up for and have them look at him. That would be neat!
VEGAS SAYS: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE???"
Vegas is looking down at me wondering what the heck I am doing. The good thing is he did not freak out! Probably because he was hungry and knew I would be bringing dinner soon. :-)
Vegas is very quick to drop his head when I ask .... from this side. It is a little slower on the other side, but he is getting it. I am just amazed at how quick he can go from being tight as a taught rubber band to majorly relaxed, and back to tight again. That head drop thing works great tho! I love when he softens...it is like he melts.
WYOMING SAYS: "I AM GOING TO ACCOMPLISH THE HARD STUFF FIRST, THEN I WILL LET HER TOUCH ME. YEAH, THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. I WILL START BY PUTTING MY FRONT FEET UP ON THE BRIDGE."
"NOW I WILL LEAVE MY BACK FEET ON THE BRIDGE."
I have thought this more than once. The colors in this donk's mane are awesome, and there are some girls who pay good money to get the multiple colors! Wish I was gutsy enough to do it...I LOVE IT! But the problem with me and hair is it has to be low maintenance, no maintenance! I am all about wash and run, maybe a quick hit with the blow dryer. If I would color it real cool like this, I would have to go back to get it done again. I am not good at that...don't like to make time for that kind of stuff. :-)
As I said, I will be heading out of town for 3 weeks. I leave in the morning...and still need to pack! I don't know if/when I will be able to update the blog from down there...if I see something cool, I will try. We are working 7 days/wk and long days, so not much time to explore.
This is kind of funny...my brother is in Louisville, KY working, so I let him know I was headed to Lexington, KY. We are going to try to catch up one night for dinner. My brother lives 1 1/2 hrs from me...and we have to meet in Kentucky for dinner! Go figure. :-)
Until later....Karen and Tripp
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Flash goes to his new home...
Flash is a large pinto pony we got a few years ago, and Brian and I found the nicest family to give him a home. It will be perfect...they will give Flash a job, Flash will have his own little girl, and if/when they don't want him any more, he will come back here to retire.
I met Roberta at our local Horse Celebration, and she mentioned her daughter and that they were looking for a reliable small horse/large pony for her. I told her about Flash, sent her some pictures, and they fell in love with him. Roberta and her husband John came out to meet Flash, and Roberta rode him around the barn lot. They thought he would be perfect for Erica! :-)
Today we delivered Flash to Erica's birthday party. Erica did not know me, and I got to be an actress...I was lost...looking for the girl who was having a party, and who wanted a pony. She was already grinning great big and said it was her, and I said "Am I in Mexico?" (a neighboring town) and she looked at me funny and slowly said "Nooooo..." and I instantly felt bad! So I smiled and said "Is this Centralia?" Yep, sure was! She was so darned excited, and that is the way it should be!!! Flash is the type of pony that I wish I could clone into bigger horses. He will do anything, go anywhere, and not much gets him excited. He is in his early 20's and full of life. Been there, done that.
Here is Erica riding Flash with their posse in tow....
Here is Flash and Erica...
Flash and the kids riding double...
There was a lot of family there, and the kids all loved Flash! This is what makes me think that Flash has a new retirement home. :-) They also have 3 other beautiful horses to keep him company. This little boy was a hoot! His laugh was very contagious!
Look at his grin! Erica too...she was so cute! She was already protective of Flash - when someone was trying to do something to him she said "Don't hurt him." I LOVE IT!!!! Flash has the perfect girl!
When we got home this afternoon, we saw a huge flock of geese flying overhead...probably won't be able to tell anything is in this picture unless you click on it to make it bigger. :-)
I did not have time to mess with the boys tonite other than my normal moving around them while I am feeding and watering. When I used to feed Tripp, I would hand carry the flakes of hay in, so he would have to tolerate me being close. These guys are jumpy when I throw stuff around, especially Vegas, so I throw the hay over the top of the fence. Tonite a flake landed on Vegas's butt. He did a little butt hop jump and it stayed on there. Then he commenced to eating. (The funky looking marks in the pictures are mud)
Several minutes later he moved and it shifted...we think he forgot it was there because he freaked out! He took several steps one direction, it fell off, and he SNORTED at it! It was quite funny!
Today was a very busy long emotional day. Anybody who knows me knows that letting Flash go was very hard on me. There is usually a one way door around here. Sometimes doing what is right is the hardest thing. I am 1000% sure that we did right by Flash, and after meeting the whole family and seeing Flash around all those kids, I knew it even more. I sure will miss his Barry White nicker...for a pony, he had this deep nicker that was very distinct. He is only a couple of small towns over so we can visit him. :-) I can't wait to hear their progress!
That is all for tonite...
Until later...Karen and Tripp
I met Roberta at our local Horse Celebration, and she mentioned her daughter and that they were looking for a reliable small horse/large pony for her. I told her about Flash, sent her some pictures, and they fell in love with him. Roberta and her husband John came out to meet Flash, and Roberta rode him around the barn lot. They thought he would be perfect for Erica! :-)
Today we delivered Flash to Erica's birthday party. Erica did not know me, and I got to be an actress...I was lost...looking for the girl who was having a party, and who wanted a pony. She was already grinning great big and said it was her, and I said "Am I in Mexico?" (a neighboring town) and she looked at me funny and slowly said "Nooooo..." and I instantly felt bad! So I smiled and said "Is this Centralia?" Yep, sure was! She was so darned excited, and that is the way it should be!!! Flash is the type of pony that I wish I could clone into bigger horses. He will do anything, go anywhere, and not much gets him excited. He is in his early 20's and full of life. Been there, done that.
Here is Erica riding Flash with their posse in tow....
Here is Flash and Erica...
Flash and the kids riding double...
There was a lot of family there, and the kids all loved Flash! This is what makes me think that Flash has a new retirement home. :-) They also have 3 other beautiful horses to keep him company. This little boy was a hoot! His laugh was very contagious!
Look at his grin! Erica too...she was so cute! She was already protective of Flash - when someone was trying to do something to him she said "Don't hurt him." I LOVE IT!!!! Flash has the perfect girl!
When we got home this afternoon, we saw a huge flock of geese flying overhead...probably won't be able to tell anything is in this picture unless you click on it to make it bigger. :-)
I did not have time to mess with the boys tonite other than my normal moving around them while I am feeding and watering. When I used to feed Tripp, I would hand carry the flakes of hay in, so he would have to tolerate me being close. These guys are jumpy when I throw stuff around, especially Vegas, so I throw the hay over the top of the fence. Tonite a flake landed on Vegas's butt. He did a little butt hop jump and it stayed on there. Then he commenced to eating. (The funky looking marks in the pictures are mud)
Several minutes later he moved and it shifted...we think he forgot it was there because he freaked out! He took several steps one direction, it fell off, and he SNORTED at it! It was quite funny!
Today was a very busy long emotional day. Anybody who knows me knows that letting Flash go was very hard on me. There is usually a one way door around here. Sometimes doing what is right is the hardest thing. I am 1000% sure that we did right by Flash, and after meeting the whole family and seeing Flash around all those kids, I knew it even more. I sure will miss his Barry White nicker...for a pony, he had this deep nicker that was very distinct. He is only a couple of small towns over so we can visit him. :-) I can't wait to hear their progress!
That is all for tonite...
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Video of Wyoming Playing with the Rope
Okay, this was fun! I am so glad that Brian taught me how to do this video thing...it is a blast, and time sure flies when messing with these things!
Enjoy!
Just so you know, my camera does not zoom while recording, so when the shot gets close, it is because I had to move towards him.
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Enjoy!
Just so you know, my camera does not zoom while recording, so when the shot gets close, it is because I had to move towards him.
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Muddy but a great night!
What a night! I had to get some stuff done at work this afternoon, so skipped lunch and took it at the end of the day instead, so I got to leave 1 hr early. That gave me extra daylight to play with, and it was such a beautiful day in spite of the mud pit of a pen! Ya know, if we had pigs they would be happy campers!
Here are 3 of the donks. From left to right: Jester, mini in front is Summer, and Zjax in the back. Ajax was hiding behind the corral panels - he gets tired of the paparazzi! :-) Jester is a character. I have a donkey hee-haw for my cell phone ring, and when I am out at the barn and Brian calls me, Jester will answer back, then the dogs start howling, and then the turkeys start gobbling and the guineas start going off. Quite the musical entourage.
Spring is in the air...the Tom's are feeling their stuff. They each have two hens, and I thought that would be enough to keep them happy. Apparently it isn't! They have been fighting and the other night I was trying to break up the fight and get them into the chicken house (keeps them safe from coons), and one of them grabbed the front of my jeans and held on, and the other one grabbed a back pocket and held on, then they hit me! I am surprised Pimp Daddy has his snood because Vanilla Ice is always grabbing a hold of it. I didn't realize how much he was bleeding until Brian mentioned the blood on my jeans. It was all over the place! If they keep fighting, we might have to make a choice of who stays and who goes. :-( In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy having them around. I think.
I spent this evening playing with Wyoming. Here is a very nice portrait of him. He sure is a purdy boy, isn't he? Remember, when you adopt him, you get to name him whatever you want! I am calling him Wyoming because that is where he is from. :-D
I took out my cotton lunge line and my goal was to get it looped around his neck and I would have both ends to hold on to. Before I tackled that task, I just hung out by him and he started playing with the rope, and nosing around on my shirt. He is very nosey and quite a character! He is going to make someone a heck of a horse!
Tripp used to love to sniff my hair in the mornings when it was still wet from getting out of the shower. Wyoming was sniffing my hair today - several times. He gets closer and hangs around longer every day. I LOVE IT!
I had my pink stick out there - I usually use the longer buggy whip as my stick, but the string is longer on my pink one. I did touch him with it but he doesn't like it. We went round and round and he finally decided it was not going to hurt him. When he stopped, I tossed it down on the bridge and started working on the rope pressure again. He walked up on the bridge and stood on my stick! Maybe he doesn't like pink? Pink is for girls? Ha ha! This is also a good shot of his hoof - lots of heel.
Okay folks, by now you know I am all about self portraits! Here is a very poor attempt, oh wait, it was actually a GREAT attempt at getting one, it just did not turn out so well. But it will do in a pinch. Wyoming still hasn't got the hang of self portraits yet, but he will.
"HA HA HA! DID YOU SEE ME STAND ON HER PINK STICK?"
I was very pleased with tonite. He follows me around, but still doesn't want to be touched. But get this! The mud is real deep in the pen, but I need to take advantage of the warm weather while we have it so I had to do something with them. There were a couple of times he took off trotting in that stuff - okay, fine, he can do that if he wants, then do it because I want, just as long as he doesn't start sliding. No problem. Then not once, but TWICE he cantered around the whole pen! In the mud, and did not slip once! His landing was as solid as it comes with each step. If you could see Tripp in that stuff, you will understand why I am so impressed! Tripp is kind of clumsy, and he slides A LOT! There is more than once his legs went right out from under him, he gets back up, looks at me with that cute smiley face of his, and takes off again. :-)
We are supposed to get more rain Friday night, but not over the weekend, altho it is supposed to cool off again. My goal is to get my hands on Wyoming. I know once he lets me do it once, he will be great after that. Okay, I don't know it to be fact, but I can feel it in my bones! :-)
While I was watering and cleaning mud out from under the canopy, Wyoming kept coming in and sniffing my back...I like that too. He is a neat dude!
Vegas had it easy tonite. I did rub on him quite a bit, and we worked on dropping his head. Oh yeah, last night I found an itchy spot that he loves to be scratched. His forehead! He had that head bobbing up and down. Of course I wish it was a wither or something that he liked scratched instead of his head right now, but I will take what I can get. As long as I am aware that it CAN be a problem, hopefully I am smart enough to make sure it does NOT become a problem.
I was going to trim the hooves of Flash, our large pony. I will have a story about him this weekend. I can't say anything right now because you never know who is reading these things. Trust me, it will be a great story! Anyways, I never made it to Flash. Wendigo, one of the first mustang mares we adopted came to visit me, and she was by herself. After a little coaxing, I got her haltered and loved on her a bit, then I trimmed her front hooves. I am ashamed to say they were horrible! They are much better now, and she did so good! A while back I had the lead rope looped around the fence, and she pulled back and it made a horrible "ZING" noise and she has been freaked out about weird noises and ropes ever since, and working with her feet has been a challenge. Tonite I draped it over her back and worked on her that way. Her backs are still a challenge to deal with, so I just rubbed on them for now...I just need to be consistent with her. She also has a funky shoulder injury that was there when we got her. The last time the vet looked at it he thought she might have been kicked and it broke something in there. The next time he is out I will have him check it again - I have been on her, but want to make sure it isn't going to be a problem trail riding. Then again, we might not know until we do it. I just don't want her in pain.
After Wendigo, I got a hold of Nevada, a mustang gelding we acquired a couple years ago. That boy is BIG! I need to officially measure him, but I would guess 16 hands with a very short back. He is gorgeous! He also has hooves the size of Texas! Dang! So I got his fronts trimmed too, and now my hands are so sore! They won't hardly grip anything. I need to be more consistent with my trims, and I am going to start trimming from the top. Here is a You Tube video on how it is done - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLc-C03mfuM. The gals that I try to follow are at this site: http://www.ironfreehoof.com/. There is another site with more of the TFTT videos...if you are interested let me know and I will hunt them down. Several people on one of he barefoot groups I belong to have been doing it with great success. Not only does it makes sense, everyone says that it is much easier on the back. I am all about that!
Tripp is due for a maintenance trim too, and he has some thrushy issues in a couple of his feet...will have to fix that pretty quick!
That is the extent of my evening.
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Here are 3 of the donks. From left to right: Jester, mini in front is Summer, and Zjax in the back. Ajax was hiding behind the corral panels - he gets tired of the paparazzi! :-) Jester is a character. I have a donkey hee-haw for my cell phone ring, and when I am out at the barn and Brian calls me, Jester will answer back, then the dogs start howling, and then the turkeys start gobbling and the guineas start going off. Quite the musical entourage.
Spring is in the air...the Tom's are feeling their stuff. They each have two hens, and I thought that would be enough to keep them happy. Apparently it isn't! They have been fighting and the other night I was trying to break up the fight and get them into the chicken house (keeps them safe from coons), and one of them grabbed the front of my jeans and held on, and the other one grabbed a back pocket and held on, then they hit me! I am surprised Pimp Daddy has his snood because Vanilla Ice is always grabbing a hold of it. I didn't realize how much he was bleeding until Brian mentioned the blood on my jeans. It was all over the place! If they keep fighting, we might have to make a choice of who stays and who goes. :-( In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy having them around. I think.
I spent this evening playing with Wyoming. Here is a very nice portrait of him. He sure is a purdy boy, isn't he? Remember, when you adopt him, you get to name him whatever you want! I am calling him Wyoming because that is where he is from. :-D
I took out my cotton lunge line and my goal was to get it looped around his neck and I would have both ends to hold on to. Before I tackled that task, I just hung out by him and he started playing with the rope, and nosing around on my shirt. He is very nosey and quite a character! He is going to make someone a heck of a horse!
Tripp used to love to sniff my hair in the mornings when it was still wet from getting out of the shower. Wyoming was sniffing my hair today - several times. He gets closer and hangs around longer every day. I LOVE IT!
I had my pink stick out there - I usually use the longer buggy whip as my stick, but the string is longer on my pink one. I did touch him with it but he doesn't like it. We went round and round and he finally decided it was not going to hurt him. When he stopped, I tossed it down on the bridge and started working on the rope pressure again. He walked up on the bridge and stood on my stick! Maybe he doesn't like pink? Pink is for girls? Ha ha! This is also a good shot of his hoof - lots of heel.
Okay folks, by now you know I am all about self portraits! Here is a very poor attempt, oh wait, it was actually a GREAT attempt at getting one, it just did not turn out so well. But it will do in a pinch. Wyoming still hasn't got the hang of self portraits yet, but he will.
"HA HA HA! DID YOU SEE ME STAND ON HER PINK STICK?"
I was very pleased with tonite. He follows me around, but still doesn't want to be touched. But get this! The mud is real deep in the pen, but I need to take advantage of the warm weather while we have it so I had to do something with them. There were a couple of times he took off trotting in that stuff - okay, fine, he can do that if he wants, then do it because I want, just as long as he doesn't start sliding. No problem. Then not once, but TWICE he cantered around the whole pen! In the mud, and did not slip once! His landing was as solid as it comes with each step. If you could see Tripp in that stuff, you will understand why I am so impressed! Tripp is kind of clumsy, and he slides A LOT! There is more than once his legs went right out from under him, he gets back up, looks at me with that cute smiley face of his, and takes off again. :-)
We are supposed to get more rain Friday night, but not over the weekend, altho it is supposed to cool off again. My goal is to get my hands on Wyoming. I know once he lets me do it once, he will be great after that. Okay, I don't know it to be fact, but I can feel it in my bones! :-)
While I was watering and cleaning mud out from under the canopy, Wyoming kept coming in and sniffing my back...I like that too. He is a neat dude!
Vegas had it easy tonite. I did rub on him quite a bit, and we worked on dropping his head. Oh yeah, last night I found an itchy spot that he loves to be scratched. His forehead! He had that head bobbing up and down. Of course I wish it was a wither or something that he liked scratched instead of his head right now, but I will take what I can get. As long as I am aware that it CAN be a problem, hopefully I am smart enough to make sure it does NOT become a problem.
I was going to trim the hooves of Flash, our large pony. I will have a story about him this weekend. I can't say anything right now because you never know who is reading these things. Trust me, it will be a great story! Anyways, I never made it to Flash. Wendigo, one of the first mustang mares we adopted came to visit me, and she was by herself. After a little coaxing, I got her haltered and loved on her a bit, then I trimmed her front hooves. I am ashamed to say they were horrible! They are much better now, and she did so good! A while back I had the lead rope looped around the fence, and she pulled back and it made a horrible "ZING" noise and she has been freaked out about weird noises and ropes ever since, and working with her feet has been a challenge. Tonite I draped it over her back and worked on her that way. Her backs are still a challenge to deal with, so I just rubbed on them for now...I just need to be consistent with her. She also has a funky shoulder injury that was there when we got her. The last time the vet looked at it he thought she might have been kicked and it broke something in there. The next time he is out I will have him check it again - I have been on her, but want to make sure it isn't going to be a problem trail riding. Then again, we might not know until we do it. I just don't want her in pain.
After Wendigo, I got a hold of Nevada, a mustang gelding we acquired a couple years ago. That boy is BIG! I need to officially measure him, but I would guess 16 hands with a very short back. He is gorgeous! He also has hooves the size of Texas! Dang! So I got his fronts trimmed too, and now my hands are so sore! They won't hardly grip anything. I need to be more consistent with my trims, and I am going to start trimming from the top. Here is a You Tube video on how it is done - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLc-C03mfuM. The gals that I try to follow are at this site: http://www.ironfreehoof.com/. There is another site with more of the TFTT videos...if you are interested let me know and I will hunt them down. Several people on one of he barefoot groups I belong to have been doing it with great success. Not only does it makes sense, everyone says that it is much easier on the back. I am all about that!
Tripp is due for a maintenance trim too, and he has some thrushy issues in a couple of his feet...will have to fix that pretty quick!
That is the extent of my evening.
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Worked with the boys tonite...
We have had absolutely fabulous weather here the past few days! That is supposed to change tonite...bad storms coming in tonite and tomorrow. Oklahoma already got whammied and we are in the path of it. I hope the tornadoes stay away!
Tonite I got home at a decent hour and worked with both boys. I spent most of the daylight hour with Vegas. He really looks to me to keep him safe, but he is going to have to learn how to deal with the stressors in his life. He is such a reactor! We have a ball that is now deflated that the other horses played with. I will throw it in the air with the jolly ball and let them land around the boys. Wyoming will move, but he is not all crazy about it. He will jump, look at it, then go check it out. Vegas will jump, then run, snorting the whole time, then he will turn around and he can care less what it is - he is not going there!
So tonite I put the halter on him, and I walked him around behind me while I threw the ball in the air and caught it several times. I do that with all scary stuff in the beginning...I hold it myself and walk away, that way they are chasing the scary thing and it isn't chasing them. No pictures of that...I was flying solo tonite. I could feel him hesitate every time that thing went in the air, and I just kept walking and tossing, walking and tossing, changed directions and walked and tossed some more. When I felt him quit reacting, I did it a couple more times to make sure it was not a fluke, then I decided to touch him with it. SNORT!!!!!! I finally did get to rub him all the way to his rump with it on both sides, and I put it on top of his head and over his neck. He doesn't like it, but he tolerated it. As jumpy as he is, I was proud of him! Once he learns how to handle stress, he will be GREAT!
Tonite was a huge test for him! I introduced several things to him, and in addition to that, we had the turkeys flying up to the top of the corral panels, then flying back to the ground, and the wind blowing the big tarp that is over the chicken pen so that was making horrible noises! He had a lot to think about.
Oh yeah, forgive the cut off noses in the pictures...I tried to get further back but he kept following me. :-)
Then I decided that the pad that he and Wyoming have been playing with will be another good thing to mess with. Not too noisy, but still scary enough to make him think about things. I grabbed it off the fence and SNORT!!!!!! I walked away leading him behind me. I flapped it around in front of me - no big deal. Then I let him sniff it...hmmmm, smells like horse. Now this could have gone a couple different ways. 1. Hmmm, smells like horse...not so bad.... or 2. Hmmm, smells like horse...WHAT ATE THE HORSE???? Thankfully it was #1.
When I went to touch him with it, he leaned way back, but let me in his space. I rubbed him, pulled it away, rubbed him more, and pulled it away, walked a bit, then turned and touched him and pulled it away. I changed it up a little bit and eventually just threw it on his back and pulled it back off. Did that several times until he did not even flinch! Yay!
I ran out of daylight so I put him in the 'holding pen' and brought Wyoming out.
I knew I didn't have much time, but I had to do something with him. He is getting more curious every day, and he has it figured out...stay 2 ft away from me and he doesn't have to do anything except move. I took my light cotton lunge line out there and threw it over his back and let him move around with it. All in all, I am pleased with his response! He went around the pen a few times and we changed directions, but he did not totally freak out. When I would back away, he would reach around and try to pull it off, then I would step forward and it got his attention enough to forget about that rope. This is really a crappy picture, but you get the idea.
Once I get my hands on this guy, I think he is going to be great to work with. He is nosey as heck and not near as reactive as Vegas.
Once Vegas is more confident with himself, I think he will be great to work with too. Just waiting for that break thru...and it will come when he is ready. When he got stressed too much tonite, I concentrated on him dropping his head, and he did so good. He would let out the biggest sigh...and when he did that, I did it too. :-)
I have decided I need to set up lights out there, but I don't want glaring ones. Something to give me enough light to see...kind of like the moon last night. It was a huge moon and lit up everything!
That is it for now.....
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Tonite I got home at a decent hour and worked with both boys. I spent most of the daylight hour with Vegas. He really looks to me to keep him safe, but he is going to have to learn how to deal with the stressors in his life. He is such a reactor! We have a ball that is now deflated that the other horses played with. I will throw it in the air with the jolly ball and let them land around the boys. Wyoming will move, but he is not all crazy about it. He will jump, look at it, then go check it out. Vegas will jump, then run, snorting the whole time, then he will turn around and he can care less what it is - he is not going there!
So tonite I put the halter on him, and I walked him around behind me while I threw the ball in the air and caught it several times. I do that with all scary stuff in the beginning...I hold it myself and walk away, that way they are chasing the scary thing and it isn't chasing them. No pictures of that...I was flying solo tonite. I could feel him hesitate every time that thing went in the air, and I just kept walking and tossing, walking and tossing, changed directions and walked and tossed some more. When I felt him quit reacting, I did it a couple more times to make sure it was not a fluke, then I decided to touch him with it. SNORT!!!!!! I finally did get to rub him all the way to his rump with it on both sides, and I put it on top of his head and over his neck. He doesn't like it, but he tolerated it. As jumpy as he is, I was proud of him! Once he learns how to handle stress, he will be GREAT!
Tonite was a huge test for him! I introduced several things to him, and in addition to that, we had the turkeys flying up to the top of the corral panels, then flying back to the ground, and the wind blowing the big tarp that is over the chicken pen so that was making horrible noises! He had a lot to think about.
Oh yeah, forgive the cut off noses in the pictures...I tried to get further back but he kept following me. :-)
Then I decided that the pad that he and Wyoming have been playing with will be another good thing to mess with. Not too noisy, but still scary enough to make him think about things. I grabbed it off the fence and SNORT!!!!!! I walked away leading him behind me. I flapped it around in front of me - no big deal. Then I let him sniff it...hmmmm, smells like horse. Now this could have gone a couple different ways. 1. Hmmm, smells like horse...not so bad.... or 2. Hmmm, smells like horse...WHAT ATE THE HORSE???? Thankfully it was #1.
When I went to touch him with it, he leaned way back, but let me in his space. I rubbed him, pulled it away, rubbed him more, and pulled it away, walked a bit, then turned and touched him and pulled it away. I changed it up a little bit and eventually just threw it on his back and pulled it back off. Did that several times until he did not even flinch! Yay!
I ran out of daylight so I put him in the 'holding pen' and brought Wyoming out.
I knew I didn't have much time, but I had to do something with him. He is getting more curious every day, and he has it figured out...stay 2 ft away from me and he doesn't have to do anything except move. I took my light cotton lunge line out there and threw it over his back and let him move around with it. All in all, I am pleased with his response! He went around the pen a few times and we changed directions, but he did not totally freak out. When I would back away, he would reach around and try to pull it off, then I would step forward and it got his attention enough to forget about that rope. This is really a crappy picture, but you get the idea.
Once I get my hands on this guy, I think he is going to be great to work with. He is nosey as heck and not near as reactive as Vegas.
Once Vegas is more confident with himself, I think he will be great to work with too. Just waiting for that break thru...and it will come when he is ready. When he got stressed too much tonite, I concentrated on him dropping his head, and he did so good. He would let out the biggest sigh...and when he did that, I did it too. :-)
I have decided I need to set up lights out there, but I don't want glaring ones. Something to give me enough light to see...kind of like the moon last night. It was a huge moon and lit up everything!
That is it for now.....
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tripp and I went for a walk...
Okay, the reason there are no pictures is not because I didn't take the camera out with me. I did take it out, and I hung it up on a fence panel, haltered Tripp, and left for our walk. Maybe if I started wearing a belt when I went out there I could just hang the camera case on my belt...
In spite of no camera, we had the best walk! We went up and down hills, over washed out creek beds, into rocky creek beds and back up steep hills. Every time we hit a half way flat spot, we would do some ground work. A few full circles, several half circles and changing of directions (we are working on our speed of the change) and whatever else I can think of. It was so much fun, and we both needed the exercise. It felt good to be out, and spending time with Tripp is what I really needed. The only way he will get better is if we work work work on things, and hopefully he is having a little bit of fun too. On our way back up to the house I thought about going into the round pen and ride him bareback a little bit, but the other day Brian told me that maybe I should just take him for walks and not ride him every time, that way he doesn't think that every single time I take him out, we are riding in the pen. I liked that thought process, so we came back and I brushed on him a while, gave him an apple wafer, and called it a night.
Then I headed to the new guys. I did not put a halter on Vegas tonite. I did not have a lot of time to work with them. I worked on rubbing Vegas on more of his body, and a little bit on the front legs, and we worked on him dropping his head when I ask. He is better on one side than the other, but I am not worried...he will get it. I also rubbed his belly and he was much better with it than the other day. I don't stay long, just long enough for me to be the winner, and him to know that he isn't being captured by anything bad. During all of this Wyoming was his normal nosey self, and he came up behind me and sniffed on my jacket. He even took it in his lips and was playing with it. I did not even turn around - I just kept moving around Vegas and petting on him. I then took one hand and put it behind me and I heard him take a step back, so I kept my fingers moving and he came back and started playing with my fingers. It was a pretty successful night in my book.
Back to work tomorrow....
Until later...Karen and Tripp
In spite of no camera, we had the best walk! We went up and down hills, over washed out creek beds, into rocky creek beds and back up steep hills. Every time we hit a half way flat spot, we would do some ground work. A few full circles, several half circles and changing of directions (we are working on our speed of the change) and whatever else I can think of. It was so much fun, and we both needed the exercise. It felt good to be out, and spending time with Tripp is what I really needed. The only way he will get better is if we work work work on things, and hopefully he is having a little bit of fun too. On our way back up to the house I thought about going into the round pen and ride him bareback a little bit, but the other day Brian told me that maybe I should just take him for walks and not ride him every time, that way he doesn't think that every single time I take him out, we are riding in the pen. I liked that thought process, so we came back and I brushed on him a while, gave him an apple wafer, and called it a night.
Then I headed to the new guys. I did not put a halter on Vegas tonite. I did not have a lot of time to work with them. I worked on rubbing Vegas on more of his body, and a little bit on the front legs, and we worked on him dropping his head when I ask. He is better on one side than the other, but I am not worried...he will get it. I also rubbed his belly and he was much better with it than the other day. I don't stay long, just long enough for me to be the winner, and him to know that he isn't being captured by anything bad. During all of this Wyoming was his normal nosey self, and he came up behind me and sniffed on my jacket. He even took it in his lips and was playing with it. I did not even turn around - I just kept moving around Vegas and petting on him. I then took one hand and put it behind me and I heard him take a step back, so I kept my fingers moving and he came back and started playing with my fingers. It was a pretty successful night in my book.
Back to work tomorrow....
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Girls Night Out and Mustang Club Meeting
Friday night was girls night out! There were 5 of us, and us party girls met up at one of the other gal's home and we spent the evening looking at horse hooves! :-) Yep, we are a wild and crazy bunch! I sure wish I would have gotten a picture of us to post. We had me, who is going to take a 6 day hoof care class in April because I want to be confident what I am doing with my barefoot trims, Denise who is also a barefoot person, and has been taking care of her 5 horses as close to the Pete Ramey way of trimming as possible and has been doing a fantastic job, Diane who started riding Endurance a few years ago and she brought some hoof boots for us to try on and look at, Lynda who is also interested in barefoot and trail rides her Foxtrotter, and Sharon, who has The Horse Farm and is one of those great instructors who can work with kids AND adults! Denise started by bringing out the youngest horse first and we worked up to the oldest - ages 7 to 22. We looked at the different hoof shapes and critiqued and asked a lot of questions. We are all learning and have something to contribute. We then went to the house and ate some munchy food, and watched a couple DVD's, visited, then headed home about midnight! It really was a great time! The four of them have known eachother for quite a while - I am the newcomer. I have a feeling I will have some new trail riding friends every once in a while.
Then I got up early Saturday morning to head to Topeka, KS to the Midwest Mustang and Burro Riding Club meeting. This is my first year to be part of this group and I had met a few of the group at the Women and Horse Expo in Sedalia, MO a while back. Angela and Jessi could not go (Jessi was sick...poor girl! We missed her!) so I headed out and picked up April on my way. It was a fun day! The meeting was fun, the people are great and the personalities of everyone are so different. This is a group that is very proud of their mustangs and burros, they do so much to help promote how great mustangs are and help out at the adoptions, and they also like to have fun. Everyone supports eachother too. If you have a group riding the parades, there is the 'ground crew' doing running back and forth for the riders, or carrying the banner, etc. I really hope to be able to do a few things with them this year. They also put on despooking clinics, and I really can't wait to take Tripp to a couple of these. It will be fun, and we need to be exposed to stuff other than trails. Plus, it will be in a safe area with experienced people.
Patti, I missed you! I hope all is well and we will get to meet soon!
The day did not end there! I got home and it was still daylight! Woo hoo! I knew I didn't have much daylight to work with, but I wanted to play with the new guys a little bit.
Vegas is learning to drop his head. That was a challenge at first - he did not want me touching the top of his head at all!
Since I did not have much daylight, I left both boys together and Wyoming is very curious what I could be doing to Vegas...
Wyoming can't stand it, so he noses my hand. He was okay until I moved closer, then he moved away. I did not mind because without much work, he is getting better.
Since the weather is so great - PRISCILLA AND KIRSTIN, NOTICE THE T-SHIRT IN THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY IN MID MISSOURI :-) - the ground is starting to thaw and mud is showing its ugly head. Oh well, it is all part of the circle of mother nature. We have had a few days of great weather and some of us are a little worried. We have a feeling that Mother Nature is going to whammy us soon.
That is all for now....
Karen and Tripp
Then I got up early Saturday morning to head to Topeka, KS to the Midwest Mustang and Burro Riding Club meeting. This is my first year to be part of this group and I had met a few of the group at the Women and Horse Expo in Sedalia, MO a while back. Angela and Jessi could not go (Jessi was sick...poor girl! We missed her!) so I headed out and picked up April on my way. It was a fun day! The meeting was fun, the people are great and the personalities of everyone are so different. This is a group that is very proud of their mustangs and burros, they do so much to help promote how great mustangs are and help out at the adoptions, and they also like to have fun. Everyone supports eachother too. If you have a group riding the parades, there is the 'ground crew' doing running back and forth for the riders, or carrying the banner, etc. I really hope to be able to do a few things with them this year. They also put on despooking clinics, and I really can't wait to take Tripp to a couple of these. It will be fun, and we need to be exposed to stuff other than trails. Plus, it will be in a safe area with experienced people.
Patti, I missed you! I hope all is well and we will get to meet soon!
The day did not end there! I got home and it was still daylight! Woo hoo! I knew I didn't have much daylight to work with, but I wanted to play with the new guys a little bit.
Vegas is learning to drop his head. That was a challenge at first - he did not want me touching the top of his head at all!
Since I did not have much daylight, I left both boys together and Wyoming is very curious what I could be doing to Vegas...
Wyoming can't stand it, so he noses my hand. He was okay until I moved closer, then he moved away. I did not mind because without much work, he is getting better.
Since the weather is so great - PRISCILLA AND KIRSTIN, NOTICE THE T-SHIRT IN THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY IN MID MISSOURI :-) - the ground is starting to thaw and mud is showing its ugly head. Oh well, it is all part of the circle of mother nature. We have had a few days of great weather and some of us are a little worried. We have a feeling that Mother Nature is going to whammy us soon.
That is all for now....
Karen and Tripp
Jewels Almighty!!!! And a Walk with Tripp...
I don't have any pictures to follow this one...just a story.
First of all, Wyoming is a stallion. :-) The Missing Jewels have been found...it was a very warm evening and he was showing me what he had. Vegas has a very fuzzy winter coat so I still could not see anything on him - but I have a feeling he is in tact too. So Jill, you were right about the weather being a factor whether they are going to show or not. I really was hoping that they had already been gelded and the paperwork was not updated. :-)
I decided to spend the evening with Tripp, so I saddled him up and we went to the round pen. We did a lot of ground work, then rode for a while working on changing directions, etc. He was not as soft as he was last year - probably because we are not working every day. Okay, there is no 'probably' about it...after we were done in the round pen, we took a walk around the big pond and thru the woods, and we listened to the coyotes sing. It was one of those peaceful walks with one of my best friends. :-)
That is all for now.
Until later...Karen and Tripp
First of all, Wyoming is a stallion. :-) The Missing Jewels have been found...it was a very warm evening and he was showing me what he had. Vegas has a very fuzzy winter coat so I still could not see anything on him - but I have a feeling he is in tact too. So Jill, you were right about the weather being a factor whether they are going to show or not. I really was hoping that they had already been gelded and the paperwork was not updated. :-)
I decided to spend the evening with Tripp, so I saddled him up and we went to the round pen. We did a lot of ground work, then rode for a while working on changing directions, etc. He was not as soft as he was last year - probably because we are not working every day. Okay, there is no 'probably' about it...after we were done in the round pen, we took a walk around the big pond and thru the woods, and we listened to the coyotes sing. It was one of those peaceful walks with one of my best friends. :-)
That is all for now.
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Relaxing Evening with the horses...
Daylight Savings is not too far away....and the days are getting longer. Yay! Working all day and trying to get home with enough daylight to get things done is a challenge. Monday night I helped unload lumber, so no time to play with the horses.
Tuesday evening I worked both of them separately.
Wyoming (4 socks) still would not let me touch him, and his attention was everywhere except on me. He was very dull when I would try to get him moving those feet, so I would have to throw more energy at him. My goal was for him to realize that I meant business, and when I stepped back I expected him to turn around and look at me with a "What the heck was that?" look on his face. IT WORKED! He is still distracted, but he comes back to me. I did that a couple of times and was happy. I think he was getting it so we stopped there.
Vegas is a power-house! Even tho I can walk up to him and put the halter on, he is still as tense as they come. He is also nervous when I move around too quickly - so what do I do? Move around too quickly! :-) When he trots around that pen, it looks like he gets closer to the ground, lifts those feet up and you can almost feel the earth move! Dang he looks good! I did put the halter and lead on him, and we worked on directions. He is much more sensitive than Wyoming is so far, and he really did good. I was very pleased! I also started rubbing him all over because I wanted to hunt for jewels. I rubbed his belly and he was not happy. He kicked forward to get the annoying creature off his belly. He missed me - I was watching and feeling just in case. I went back to the belly slowly until he settled down. Legs are still off limits.
After Tuesday evening this is what I learned about me - I have to learn to be patient again. I learned patience with Tripp, and I know I can do it again! :-) I am not impatient as in pushing them for results, it is more me thinking "I should be able to touch Wyoming by now....why can't I touch him?" I need to fall back into the 'go slow and steady' mode. I am not the only teacher around this place, right?
Tonite was great! We played - no separating them to work, I kept them together and moved them around the pen, I threw the Jolly Ball and the deflated balls to them, and of course I missed a photo op! Wyoming picked up the deflated ball and was flipping it around! They play alot during the day too. I have 3 different length whips leaning against the pen, and an old saddle pad that I leave hanging on the panels, and I find all of them thrown around. They really do work that pad over! It was a fun night!
Vegas was great about me petting him, and I worked on touching his poll. He does alright but I am very careful with him. There is this little thing in the back of my head that is telling me to really take my time with him, and don't assume that just because he let's me touch him that all is grand in that complex brain of his. Do you all ever picture things in your head? For some reason, I see a young boy riding this horse. I don't know why...I just do. Maybe because he is so stocky and tough...don't know. Because anybody would look good up on him.
Wyoming sniffed my hand a couple of times tonite! This is the best picture I could get without him wondering what I am doing and moving back a step or two.
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Wyoming was curious about the turkey. Wyoming is like a little kid...curious about everything, and he even chases them and the chickens!
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I did get him sniffing the deflated ball. Really wish I could have gotten the picture of him hauling it around!
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After I was done with them I headed out to visit with all of our others.
Life is good!
By the way, my old Arab mare was flirting tonite...and Wyoming was talking back and doing some lip curling. I am going to have to do some rearranging...I don't want any attitude from the boys, and I don't want any accidents with her. She is healthy and bounces around like a young horse, but I worry about her, even tho it would be quite a mix! Can't go wrong with an Arab and a mustang! :-) But there are no babies in my future unless it is a rescue situation. I am concentrating on finding homes for the ones that are already here.
Hope everyone had a great day, and has a great night!
Until later....Karen and Tripp
Tuesday evening I worked both of them separately.
Wyoming (4 socks) still would not let me touch him, and his attention was everywhere except on me. He was very dull when I would try to get him moving those feet, so I would have to throw more energy at him. My goal was for him to realize that I meant business, and when I stepped back I expected him to turn around and look at me with a "What the heck was that?" look on his face. IT WORKED! He is still distracted, but he comes back to me. I did that a couple of times and was happy. I think he was getting it so we stopped there.
Vegas is a power-house! Even tho I can walk up to him and put the halter on, he is still as tense as they come. He is also nervous when I move around too quickly - so what do I do? Move around too quickly! :-) When he trots around that pen, it looks like he gets closer to the ground, lifts those feet up and you can almost feel the earth move! Dang he looks good! I did put the halter and lead on him, and we worked on directions. He is much more sensitive than Wyoming is so far, and he really did good. I was very pleased! I also started rubbing him all over because I wanted to hunt for jewels. I rubbed his belly and he was not happy. He kicked forward to get the annoying creature off his belly. He missed me - I was watching and feeling just in case. I went back to the belly slowly until he settled down. Legs are still off limits.
After Tuesday evening this is what I learned about me - I have to learn to be patient again. I learned patience with Tripp, and I know I can do it again! :-) I am not impatient as in pushing them for results, it is more me thinking "I should be able to touch Wyoming by now....why can't I touch him?" I need to fall back into the 'go slow and steady' mode. I am not the only teacher around this place, right?
Tonite was great! We played - no separating them to work, I kept them together and moved them around the pen, I threw the Jolly Ball and the deflated balls to them, and of course I missed a photo op! Wyoming picked up the deflated ball and was flipping it around! They play alot during the day too. I have 3 different length whips leaning against the pen, and an old saddle pad that I leave hanging on the panels, and I find all of them thrown around. They really do work that pad over! It was a fun night!
Vegas was great about me petting him, and I worked on touching his poll. He does alright but I am very careful with him. There is this little thing in the back of my head that is telling me to really take my time with him, and don't assume that just because he let's me touch him that all is grand in that complex brain of his. Do you all ever picture things in your head? For some reason, I see a young boy riding this horse. I don't know why...I just do. Maybe because he is so stocky and tough...don't know. Because anybody would look good up on him.
Wyoming sniffed my hand a couple of times tonite! This is the best picture I could get without him wondering what I am doing and moving back a step or two.
.jpg)
Wyoming was curious about the turkey. Wyoming is like a little kid...curious about everything, and he even chases them and the chickens!
.jpg)
I did get him sniffing the deflated ball. Really wish I could have gotten the picture of him hauling it around!
.jpg)
After I was done with them I headed out to visit with all of our others.
Life is good!
By the way, my old Arab mare was flirting tonite...and Wyoming was talking back and doing some lip curling. I am going to have to do some rearranging...I don't want any attitude from the boys, and I don't want any accidents with her. She is healthy and bounces around like a young horse, but I worry about her, even tho it would be quite a mix! Can't go wrong with an Arab and a mustang! :-) But there are no babies in my future unless it is a rescue situation. I am concentrating on finding homes for the ones that are already here.
Hope everyone had a great day, and has a great night!
Until later....Karen and Tripp
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Could the Family Jewels possibly be Cubic Zirconia?
First of all, I was trying to see if I could see the Family Jewels on the boys, and all I saw was skin...skin that looks just like my other geldings. Now I am not saying that they could not be stallions and are going to drop late, I am just saying that I could not see anything at all that resembled testicles. I can't wait to get them gentle enough to rub them all over - I will be checking up close and personal!
Now, I got up early this morning and woke Brian up. He wanted to come out to visit the new guys with me for a while, then go back to bed. :-) He has not been back to bed yet....ha ha!
I wanted to start out with this picture. We had no idea if Jester would let me get on him or not...but he did. I layed over his back a couple of times then had Brian hold him while I got on. We did not push our luck and after sitting there a couple of minutes, I got off. :-)
We also trimmed donkey feet this morning...dang that is work!
Now on to the new guys! They both slept well and seemed happy to see us. Okay, not exactly happy...they were very eager - for food! :-)
I got a couple of pictures trying to show the height comparison of the two. I still say that Vegas is older than Wyoming (white socks). I think Wyoming will fill out quite a bit over the next couple of years. They are about 14 hands, maybe a little over.
You know how some people measure their kids on the walls at home? I have a wall with measurements in Hands...so if I know where they are at on me, I have a close idea how tall they are.
I am trying to make myself call Vegas 'V', because he looks like a Vegas to me, and I don't want to personalize him too much. Okay, I do want to, but I am trying not to.
It took me less than a minute to get up to him and start petting his neck! It seems like someone has messed with him before.
Vegas chases a rooster - in fact both of them chased chickens that got too close. They were not mean about it - it was just something new and fun. :-)
He is very curious and comfortable with me rubbing his face. Ears - not so much fun. Legs - not so much fun. I did get to rub down his back and over his rump.
WYOMING IS A PINTO! I forgot to mention this yesterday. When they were in the viewing pen, Brian noticed a white splotch under his belly, and he has the 4 white feet and white around his lips too. His papers list him as a bay, so Walt said that he is a T.I.P. eligible horse. Yay! If you click on the picture it will blow up, and you can see the white patch. By the way, Wyoming doesn't look like a Wyoming to me, so I will keep calling him that. His new owner, whoever that may be, can name him. :-)
Wyoming is a little more cautious than Vegas, but he would take food from us.
What good would I be if I didn't add in a self portrait of Vegas and I?
I was able to lead Vegas around with his neck rope, so I thought to myself "Self, why not get the halter to see how he does?" So I did!
It only took a few minutes of coaxing before he let me touch him with it, then before I knew it, I had it on him and was leading him around. He doesn't like me on his right side, but no worries on the left.
I left the bridge and the landscape timbers in the pen to give them something else to pay attention to when I play with them. They are walking all over the bridge and don't have a problem with it. Now I just need to get some fake plants somewhere to put in there.
This shot is to get him standing level with me by him. I am 5'5" tall, and this is how big he is to me.
I have the round pen set up so all I have to do is close one of the panels, and I have the pen area, and the other horse will be penned under the canopy. Once you convince them it is okay to split up, it is a great set up for me.
I worked with Wyoming first, and he is not near as curious as Vegas. I did not get to touch him comfortably, but I am happy where we stopped. I did work him in circles and got him to stop and face me. The problem is he is a busy busy boy, and his attention does not stay on me - he gives me a few seconds then turns and heads the other direction. I also rubbed on him with the long lunge whip, and when he walked the pen, I walked beside him. I could get my hand within 4 - 5 inches of him and he was okay, but if I tried to get closer he would speed up. That is okay - we will take our time. He was a lot more insecure without Vegas beside him. I think he is going to be very athletic.
Vegas was next. He was full of himself and he had this great big long trot as he sailed around that pen. When he hopped over the landscape timbers (I have them up on the 1st rail of the panels) his legs went over them, and his back did not move! I don't know if it was nerves making him move like that, or if he is just going to be smooth. Time will tell. The only white on him is his star, and it is not a brilliant white star...it is more like a smudge. Brian gave him an Apple Wafer earlier in the day and he took it! He made faces, but he liked it. I gave him one later and it did not take long for him to get pushy. I love giving treats, but he has the potential to be overbearing and I don't want to start that. So treats will be few and far between.
That is the update on the new guys. Ohhhhh, while I was working with Vegas, Tripp was at the fence watching me like I was cheating on him. I had to go make it up to him....anyways, I am very excited about both of them. Each one of them is going to be a challenge in a different way and I am looking forward to it.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Until later...Karen and Tripp
Now, I got up early this morning and woke Brian up. He wanted to come out to visit the new guys with me for a while, then go back to bed. :-) He has not been back to bed yet....ha ha!
I wanted to start out with this picture. We had no idea if Jester would let me get on him or not...but he did. I layed over his back a couple of times then had Brian hold him while I got on. We did not push our luck and after sitting there a couple of minutes, I got off. :-)
We also trimmed donkey feet this morning...dang that is work!
Now on to the new guys! They both slept well and seemed happy to see us. Okay, not exactly happy...they were very eager - for food! :-)
I got a couple of pictures trying to show the height comparison of the two. I still say that Vegas is older than Wyoming (white socks). I think Wyoming will fill out quite a bit over the next couple of years. They are about 14 hands, maybe a little over.
You know how some people measure their kids on the walls at home? I have a wall with measurements in Hands...so if I know where they are at on me, I have a close idea how tall they are.
I am trying to make myself call Vegas 'V', because he looks like a Vegas to me, and I don't want to personalize him too much. Okay, I do want to, but I am trying not to.
It took me less than a minute to get up to him and start petting his neck! It seems like someone has messed with him before.
Vegas chases a rooster - in fact both of them chased chickens that got too close. They were not mean about it - it was just something new and fun. :-)
He is very curious and comfortable with me rubbing his face. Ears - not so much fun. Legs - not so much fun. I did get to rub down his back and over his rump.
WYOMING IS A PINTO! I forgot to mention this yesterday. When they were in the viewing pen, Brian noticed a white splotch under his belly, and he has the 4 white feet and white around his lips too. His papers list him as a bay, so Walt said that he is a T.I.P. eligible horse. Yay! If you click on the picture it will blow up, and you can see the white patch. By the way, Wyoming doesn't look like a Wyoming to me, so I will keep calling him that. His new owner, whoever that may be, can name him. :-)
Wyoming is a little more cautious than Vegas, but he would take food from us.
What good would I be if I didn't add in a self portrait of Vegas and I?
I was able to lead Vegas around with his neck rope, so I thought to myself "Self, why not get the halter to see how he does?" So I did!
It only took a few minutes of coaxing before he let me touch him with it, then before I knew it, I had it on him and was leading him around. He doesn't like me on his right side, but no worries on the left.
I left the bridge and the landscape timbers in the pen to give them something else to pay attention to when I play with them. They are walking all over the bridge and don't have a problem with it. Now I just need to get some fake plants somewhere to put in there.
This shot is to get him standing level with me by him. I am 5'5" tall, and this is how big he is to me.
I have the round pen set up so all I have to do is close one of the panels, and I have the pen area, and the other horse will be penned under the canopy. Once you convince them it is okay to split up, it is a great set up for me.
I worked with Wyoming first, and he is not near as curious as Vegas. I did not get to touch him comfortably, but I am happy where we stopped. I did work him in circles and got him to stop and face me. The problem is he is a busy busy boy, and his attention does not stay on me - he gives me a few seconds then turns and heads the other direction. I also rubbed on him with the long lunge whip, and when he walked the pen, I walked beside him. I could get my hand within 4 - 5 inches of him and he was okay, but if I tried to get closer he would speed up. That is okay - we will take our time. He was a lot more insecure without Vegas beside him. I think he is going to be very athletic.
Vegas was next. He was full of himself and he had this great big long trot as he sailed around that pen. When he hopped over the landscape timbers (I have them up on the 1st rail of the panels) his legs went over them, and his back did not move! I don't know if it was nerves making him move like that, or if he is just going to be smooth. Time will tell. The only white on him is his star, and it is not a brilliant white star...it is more like a smudge. Brian gave him an Apple Wafer earlier in the day and he took it! He made faces, but he liked it. I gave him one later and it did not take long for him to get pushy. I love giving treats, but he has the potential to be overbearing and I don't want to start that. So treats will be few and far between.
That is the update on the new guys. Ohhhhh, while I was working with Vegas, Tripp was at the fence watching me like I was cheating on him. I had to go make it up to him....anyways, I am very excited about both of them. Each one of them is going to be a challenge in a different way and I am looking forward to it.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Until later...Karen and Tripp
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