horses... horses... horses...

Well, it's been another busy week! Esther has been here almost every day to help and we've been able to get some fencing done as well as other jobs that she could help me with. Of course we also rode almost every day too!!! The horses are pastured in pairs for now, Tapper & Dolly, Maggie & Autumn, Jazzy & Scotty, Scooby & Ziegy, and Deja & Cami. So far that is working out fine.

My cousin Steve and his family (wife - Anna and daughters - Kelsey and Juliana) visited this week. The girls had a great time with the horses. They both take riding lessons back home so they've been around horses. They also helped with chores, cleaning stalls, filling water buckets, etc. They did a nice job! They even groomed Scooby (pics above)! Kelsey is 13 and Juliana is 9. When they rode we started them out on Dolly for Kelsey and Jazzy for Juliana. That is what you'll see in the photos. Later we had them switch horses so they each had a chance to try both. The next day we put Kelsey on Jazz and Juliana on Dolly and took them on a mini trail ride here on the property. I rode Tapper and led the way while Esther brought up the rear on Ziegy. It was Juliana's first trail ride!!! She did very well! I am hoping that some of the photos Anna took of the ride will be good and I can post them later. Both girls have only ridden english, and Kelsey has been riding for a few years so Esther showed her a few things about western riding on Ziegy and then Kelsey got on him and rode him in the round pen. He was a good boy and Kelsey had fun with him (that pic is below). It was great to see them all and I'm hoping it won't be another 3 years before they can visit again!!!

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Chris (who owned Ceres) is now half-leasing Dolly from Carla! Chris had several days off last week and so we've been riding a lot. She and Esther and I rode on Friday, then Amy T., Chris and I did a short ride yesterday morning in the rain!!! We got soaked!!! Today Chris and I went on a long ride (3 hours). It was a gorgeous day - except for the deer flies. The horses did really well but Dolly's right front shoe started to come loose. When we got home Chris pulled one nail out and then together we got out the 2nd loose nail. It's a good thing Bruce comes this week! We were planning to ride tomorrow morning too (it's her last day of vacation) but she can't ride Dolly with a loose shoe so she will ride Jazz & I'll ride Tapper (if it's not raining).

What's New?

Lots! I'll let the pictures tell the stories.

Busy Summer Days

Things have been very busy here - as usual! Let's see..... Last Monday the vet (Heather) was here. Tapper, Cami, and Deja all got their teeth done. They did well, Deja had to have a little extra work done because she had 2 periodontal pockets in her gums that had to be taken care of. Tapper also finally got her marble!!! For those of you who don't know, Tapper has very strong heats, and she makes a mess of herself with the heavy discharge. So, Heather took a sterile marble and inserted it in Tapper's uterus. It makes her body think she's pregnant, and so she won't come into heat while it's in there (at least that is the theory!). I'll let you know if it works!

Wednesday was the 4th, and Carla, Gail, Amy T. and I rode. Amy rode Jazzy and had a great time with him! My hay guys brought 250 bales of hay on Tuesday, the first of many loads! The price has gone up of course!!!

I took Petrucchio out to hand graze for a while. He wasn't sure at first when I opened the gate, he was very cautious, but then he ate his fill of raspberry plants and other goodies!

The new farrier was here on Friday. Now don't panic... Bruce is still my farrier, but he is just going to do the drafts (Scooby, Dolly, and Jazzy). His friend Ken has taken over the riding horses. Ken is a really nice guy and an excellent farrier! He is kind and patient and does a wonderful job. The horses had no problem with having a new farrier. This is Ken with Maggie, and below is Tapper showing how happy she is with Ken!

Carla and I rode Saturday and Sunday mornings, just short rides both days. Susie and Kim came to visit Saturday and took me out to lunch, then Kim went on to her grandparents and Susie and I went shopping! We went to our usual haunt, the antique store in Chester and I was good, I didn't buy anything (Susie did)! She stayed here Saturday night and Kim picked her up Sunday morning. It was really nice to have a chance to visit, I don't see her very often. In case you don't know, Susie used to live down the road from me and she ran the stable where I boarded Sundance before I moved here. She taught me a lot!!!

Amy and Michael were here on Monday - yesterday - and the hay guys brought another 250 bales. They are having a hard time because we keep getting these little pop up showers and storms. Not enough to really soak the ground like we need, but just enough to keep the hay from drying!

Gail and I were going to ride today. Jazz's new saddle came last night and I was going to try it out! Unfortunately it is so hot and humid that riding was out of the question. I did try Jazz's saddle on and it fits great!!! Then I decided to give him a bath. I wish I had pics of that - it was hilarious! He loved it, kept trying to grab the hose nozzle in his mouth, and got me soaked!!! I washed his VERY dirty tail, then put lots of Cowboy Magic in it. Then I hand grazed him for a while so he would dry, brought him back to the barn and put in a little more Cowboy Magic, then combed out that beautiful CLEAN (for now) tail! Gail bathed Maggie. Maggie's hives seem to be getting better, gradually fading away. I hope they continue to disappear!

Frolicking Foxes in the Field...

Yesterday I was able to get some great photos of 2 playful young foxes, here they are...

Wet Horses and New Mares

We had some VERY hot weather this week, temps in the 90's and very humid. None of us - human or animal - liked that weather much so we helped the horses cool off when they would let us.....

Two new mares came as boarders on Wednesday. They are Autumn and Maggie, Missouri Fox-Trotters belonging to Gail. They are both sweet and easy to handle. Gail took Autumn out on a ride with Tapper and me yesterday afternoon. Autumn was rather full of herself, but it was her first time out here, hopefully she'll settle down.