Marching On

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Guess what this is?

It has been awhile since I wrote about all the goings on at the farm and in the family. We have had a frantic month of selling our farm while dealing with the sellers of our new place that have been less than benevolent in working with us. From oil and gas leases from the past to multiple surveys to adequately depict the property, we have been flying around. This has all been coupled with trying to pack everything we own, a busy work schedule, and problems with the animals.

At this point, today, we are scheduled to close on Six Meadow Farm tomorrow and our new place on Friday. Then a new set of fun begins when we start the construction of the barn and fences. Lauren has wished for her father numerous times, as she says, “he would make sure this place looked great”. He was/is a great craftsman and she is right our barn would look infinitely better if he were the contractor. But, alas, I don’t see him coming to town to take over the job.

The sand and gravel being set down for our new driveway.

It has been a rough and tumble month for the horses, dogs and cats. Roland was here six weeks ago. Bruno tore the shoe from his bad foot five weeks and six days ago. He has gone all this time with no shoe on the foot that must be shod at all times. The rain and wet conditions have made it difficult to get anyone out to help us. Snowboy, in a classic Snowboy move, decided to load himself up the couple of steps to the tack room where the feed had been set out for all the horse’s dinner. He ate at least 18 pounds of feed; high carb, high sugar feed. Dr. Criner was appalled. Is he alive?, she asked. He should have colicked and died. I don’t believe he even got a belly ache. He was angrily asking where his dinner was when we did not feed him that night. Now, his feet are looking horrible and I am hoping it is due to the horrible wet weather and not a result of his binge eating.

Speaking of dying, my brand new cat, the Burmese, that I had waited to get for so long, was attacked and killed by BrownDog. Lauren ran out the front door to catch Muffy who had escaped the fence and BrownDog took that opportunity to storm the cat room and kill Hula. I buried him in the back pasture and silently asked for forgiveness from his breeder that I did not protect him better.

If you go to the first, early blogs, you will see my description of BrownDog and that I trusted her the least of all the dogs. She has become increasing aggressive. She has attacked both the Corgi and Muffy, injuring them badly. She has also snapped at my grandchildren. I thought about and tried out different alternatives but in the end, I stood with my beautiful BrownDog at the vet as I had her put to sleep. I could not live with myself if she hurt a child. She was the sweetest dog ever to Lauren and I. It was a difficult decision. But I am happy for my remaining dog family that they are not constantly scared.

So, a difficult time emotionally for us. Lauren still has not been back in the saddle to jump, but physical therapy is going well and we hope to get her back to work this week. The pain has diminished a lot for which I am grateful.

Jordyn was out this weekend. She walked Snow around on his sore feet and then had a great time taking wildflowers to Bruno so he could eat them. Bruno is so gentle and sweet to her.

Jordyn feeding Bruno wild flowers.

My mom has had some health issues. She is better now although her knees are bothering her again. It might be time for Dr. Chau to inject them again. It was like a miracle last time. She has been happy and bright. I think her memories diminish a little more each day. I am grateful to the staff and especially her sitter, Janet, who give her so much love. She is safe and loved. Not a bad place to be.

Thanks for riding along with all our adventures. Hopefully, I will turning the lock on my home shortly.

_______________________________

Top picture is my water trough which sits under the dusk to dawn light attracting a hoard of June bugs. We moved the trough. Yuck!

Top picture and this one are my water trough which sits under the dusk to dawn light attracting a hoard of June bugs. We moved the trough. Yuck!

Frozen

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Exechorseluver

A photo courtesy of Mike King of Sealy, Texas on a frozen morning.

I think I share with the rest of the US, that this has been our worst winter in years. Certainly at my little homestead in south Texas, usually known this time of year for flowering gardenia and the beckoning beaches of Galveston for Spring Break, ice is not a norm. I do not think we have ridden any horse for weeks now. Not the way to keep them in show condition for Pin Oak. Oh, we are not going to Pin Oak. More on that in a minute.

Green grass and ice on the wire. Photo couresty of Mike King.

Green grass and ice on the wire. Photo courtesy of Mike King.

I have not been writing (or riding) as much as I would like. Work has turned up the volume about five notches and I have been traveling, teaching courses. The weather, clearly, has shut down my little farm, saturating the arena, leaving the horses standing remorsely in their stalls blessedly out of the wind and leaving my dogs to romp from one end of my tiny house to other for exercise because except for the Corgi, none of them want to go out!

I have talked several times of wanting to move closer to work, closer to the Equestrian Center, closer to our trainer, closer to the world. We found a place that is in Richmond, the same town Ally lives in. It has a great new house on acreage. The barn, fences and out buildings need work but it is our dream home in many ways. We put a contract on it and then listed our home.

In the weird ways of the world, when the stars are aligned and things are meant to be, the very first person to visit Six Meadow Farm, immediately wanted to buy it. We are under contract and should close very shortly. Fortunately, this buyer has agreed to lease the property back to Lauren and I for one month as we get the new place closed and built out. Fast times at Six Meadow Farm. New Six Meadow Farm is underway!

I drove straight from work yesterday to meet the contractor who will be doing our barn build out. It took me 30 minutes and was 27 (27!!!!) miles from my office instead of the 72 I am driving now. I will still be getting down to Wharton several times a week to see my mother but the every day marathon drive will be over.

Lauren will have the upstairs of the house to herself. Her current bedroom is barely 8×10 and now she will have a whole floor. It will take some pinching ourselves in disbelief! We are very excited. Plus, yesterday even after literally months of rain, the new pastures were damp but did not have standing water anywhere.

Lauren is working with the physical therapist for her back and knees. She is not riding right now. This was to be the year we would take Feather to Pin Oak for the first time. But we must try to dodge the surgery bullet by doing everything we can to get Lauren healed and well. There will be more shows when Lauren is ready to ride again.

Spring Break has new meaning to my band of horses. Once it dries up I will be soliciting some of you to come down and help out with the riding chores! Hopefully we will soon be in our new place and much closer to everyone as well.

Hopefully, Dev is still thinking about taking Mickey for a while for his students. I have had some offers for help with Bruno as well. When we finally move past frozen once and for all, and I can put the blankets away for the year, I know we will be well on our way to better times.

Thanks for riding along. Please keep Lauren in your prayers.

p.s. Thanks Mike and Jennifer King for the use of your great photos!

Updates!

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Exechorseluver

It has been some busy times for us. I am taking on some new challenges at work including training on the Generational Characteristics and how this affects the workplace. It is very interesting subject matter and I am enjoying the thought-provoking classes I am teaching. I am off today for three days in Oklahoma, some will be spent teaching and some spent as the student in Finance Excellence classes. I am traveling without a coat from 70 degree Houston. I have already been warned about the weather in Bartlesville. Oh well!

Lauren took a pretty bad fall from Feather a few weeks ago at Dev’s. Her back pain, in particular, has not resolved. She saw the orthopedic surgeon who has pretty much been on speed dial with this family handling my broken pelvis, my mom’s knees, Ally’s broken arm and Lauren’s myriad of horse related accidents. Dr. Chau never forgets to remind us that he was the attending physician on the grounds when Christopher Reeve (Superman) had his horrible accident. He is not a huge horse enthusiast.

Lauren has seen him multiple times following falls from Mickey for her knees. We have failed to follow up with his suggestions for MRIs of both legs. Denial! Moments into her visit last week, Dr. Chau had already focused on her knees again. Apparently, they are not getting better. Additionally, he was concerned about some tearing and/or rupturing in her lower spine.

Lauren had three MRIs last week. I regret that I am out of town as I know Dr. Chau has given her a lot of information and it might be confusing and overwhelming. Essentially she has torn cartilage in both knees and a ruptured disc in her back. He has always been conservative and is recommending physical therapy. He is concerned about rheumatoid arthritis so she will have some lab work done as well.

I am just hoping she gets more comfortable and stays out of surgery.

It is Mickey’s birthday today. He is 16. While he has been personally responsible for a lot of the wear and tear on Lauren’s body, he has been her partner in her equestrian career for much of her life. Happy Birthday, Mickey, I am very grateful to you!

Hula Cat

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Headed home.

In the category of something you probably knew was true but never thought about much, is breeds of cat. How many different breeds do you know? Probably three or four, the ones which are not registered but represent most of the cats in America, are the long-haired and short-haired domestic cat. But you may know the Siamese, the Persian and maybe another.

I did not have cats growing up. I was dreadfully allergic but not any more. I got my first cat as a gift after my horse unexpectedly colicked and died. Never did that make up for losing my horse but my cat become a good companion to me. In college then, this cat rode with me in the car everywhere I went. It was the beginning of a love and appreciation of the breed. I have had a cat since then always, except for when we first moved to Texas. We got a rescue Doberman, Abbie, who promptly killed my two registered cats, one a Burmese and one a Balinese.

We moved to this little ranch without a cat, but one hooked up with us giving us a litter of kittens our first spring. Since then the cats have lived and died here. I am finally to a point where all the cats but one elusive female are neutered. We have the former little cat that we rescued a few months ago who now lives inside the house. Levi is now a big boy. He gets along with the dogs. But I do not want Levi to be outside and decide to wander into the backyard to see his friendly dogs. I am pretty convinced the dogs would go into a lynch mob persona, attack and kill Levi cat.

So, anyway, back to the cat breeds. Lauren and I ended up at a cat show in San Antonio this weekend (bet that was on the must visit for a lot of you). We needed to return her cowboy boots at a store near there. Why not just stop at the cat show? It would be good for Levi to have a young brother to share his inside home. Most people think of cats as one type. You wouldn’t think all dogs are the same. A Doberman has different traits than a Lab. A Lab is different from a Yorkie. But a cat is a cat. No. They are not. I have owned Burmese cats before. They are noted to be the breed of cat most like dogs. My Burmese cats played fetch, retrieved things, would sit on command and stay when asked.

Two beautiful Burmese cats at the show.

Burmese cats from the island of Burma, are similar in size and sleek body style to their cousins the Siamese. The Burmese is the only brown cat in existence. They are a rich chocolate brown with lovely golden eyes. They love children, other pets, affection and being part of a busy household. This is probably more about cats than you ever wanted to know.

Bottom line, just like last February when I decided to get the standard poodle I had always wanted, this year, it was a Burmese cat I desired. I found a breeder with an older male whom they planned to use as a show cat, but like Kona, he just wasn’t quite perfect enough for that. He needed a home and he was certainly perfect enough for me!

Levi is loving his new brother. I am already loving this little man. On the scary ride home, Hula didn’t know me at all. I took him out of his carrier and he cheerfully, confidently, laid against my chest, purring contentedly. Most cats would have scratched, run to hide and demanded loudly to get out of the car.

Welcome home Hula kitty. I am so happy to have you!

Car ride home.

Sighted

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Beam me up, Scotty! Where did they go?

I have plans for my blog, an idea well thought out and ready to explode and be published. Then something catches my eye and engages my brain. This can be a dangerous situation for those riding in the car with me or alongside me on the highway. I see amazing scenes. Maybe everyone does. My slightly eclectic and visual brain spots things, analyzes them, and marvels over them. I want to photograph each thing that surprises me or startles me in my day. I keep my camera with me most of the time and thanks to cell phones and iPads, I usually have some way to record the moment.

Today was an unusual day. Although the threat of ice and snow have been more common than ever this winter in coastal, bordering on sub-tropical south Texas, I have not seen many flakes. I have seen many, many days this winter with freezing, nasty weather but no real snow. Shortly after 6:00 am this morning, as I pulled through the guard gates of my office, suddenly my headlights picked up huge flakes falling rapidly covering my wind shield and the palm trees. It was as if a giant snow globe had broken open and poured on my little car.

Sorry, no photos of that but it was pretty magical and short-lived. No sooner had I done my public service by posting warnings of snow and sleet falling in Houston on my Facebook, did it quit as soon as it started. But I swear it happened. I have names of witnesses that work with me that can verify my story.

My next sighting may have been the most bizarre but I have no way to get anyone to verify it. All I can tell you for sure is that someone is missing a pig, either pot-bellied or a young one. For those of you not familiar with Houston we have a beltway around our city, like many, that connects into the major interstates. If I could have gotten a picture without creating a traffic back up that would tie things up for hours, I would have gotten a picture of this. I was on the beltway southbound just about to hit the merge to 59 south. This is ALL an elevated section of highway with no way for an animal to wander out on the highway. In Wharton, cows, deers, horses, and various other mammals routinely get hit on the highway. Lauren has hit two deer. I have taken out one giant cow and almost totaled my car. Country issues.

But here I am doing my elevated city commute and the cars ahead of me are dramatically veering around a brown object in the road. As it was my turn to pass, I could clearly see a young brown pig with his little snout and cloven feet visible lying dead on the highway. How does this happen? Did this little poor thing drop from the back of a truck? Was he a pet that jumped to his death from the family car? Did pigs finally fly and then crash to earth? I have no reasonable explanation for what I saw. I have not been drinking, at least nothing but a Diet Coke. Arguably the weirdest thing I have ever seen.

Then to keep the trend of my crazy commute going, I pulled into the nursing home to see the scene above blanketing the front entrance. My first thought was God has come to take them all home and they won’t need walkers or wheelchairs in Heaven. Then I wondered if they had all been abducted by aliens. It was like an old folk ghost town. I got into the lobby to discover the folks were out “joy riding” in the center’s bus. They didn’t need their walking appliances so they had been left behind in the drive. Trustworthy people in my little town, for sure. I had really been hoping for a good alien abduction.

Ally and her girls met me at my mom’s room. Mom had no clue who any of them were but laughed with delight over the antics between big sister Jordyn and baby Kendyll. Ally tried to explain who we all were but momma didn’t get it.

Momma had just had her hair done and was happy to pose with Jo.

I swear Jordyn will be bigger than her great grandma soon. It was a pretty great sighting to see momma smile with delight over the girls.

Home now, we trying to keep temps over freezing and my water on tonight. It’s going be a five dog night for me! Horses are blanketed heavily against the cold. Stay safe and warm.

Five dog night in full effect here.

A Little Jumping Around

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Kona in front of the jump at this weekend’s show.

It has been almost a year since I got my poodle Kona. Lauren yelled at me as I made my way home with him that night, but I have certainly won her over. Kona has won me over as well. I have other dogs but because I take him to the shows, the nursing home and even to Dairy Queen I spend more time with him. I think he has won over a few non-Poodle lovers he has encountered as well. Let me know if you have met Kona and enjoyed his poodly oodly self.

Point of this (although this post is called “Jumping Around” and I am going to do so a lot) is that even when I nicely asked Lauren to stand in front of the jump as the course was open for the riders to walk, she refused. She said it was embarrassing to stand in the giant arena and have your mother take your picture by a jump. Okay, I sat Kona down and told him to stay. He not only stayed, sitting pretty at the jump, but I swear he smiled as well. He was not embarrassed either.

Kona does have a little issue with other dogs although I am not clear why that is true. He has been around dogs (although I do not believe he thinks he is one) since birth. I have six other various shapes and sizes of dogs. But when we get out, if a dog is loose and comes toward him, friendly or not, Kona bears a quick retreat backwards, dragging me with him. At the show this week, we rounded a corner and big Corgi (who should have looked a little like Sneaky) came barreling up with two other canine friends in tow. Kona dragged me backwards. I came to two realizations at once. One, I was now standing in the men’s restroom with my poodle and two, the Corgi was Nordic owned by Bruno’s former owner and former husband of Sneaky. I mean it was like running from family, which sometimes is a good idea but not in this case.

The dog phobia thing got a little better as the weekend wore on and I was proud that I didn’t spend any more time in the Men’s room. Other things got better as well. Lauren had a good ride in the 1.05 meter class. Feather was quiet, accommodating and on her best behavior. Over the years, (I looked it up) Mickey placed in the 1.05m twice. So, it was a big day to have Feather make her debut in the event and place sixth out of 23 horses. I was hoping for a chance to see her go in the 1.05 Classic but Dev decided to end the show on a positive note and we all packed up and headed home.

In the totally schizophrenic world of south Texas weather we went from the 70s to the 30s again on Sunday. I have lost count of how many times I have covered and uncovered the plants. I thought it was funny when the weatherman said, “well, if you haven’t brought those plants in yet, they are probably dead so don’t worry about it tonight”. But then I am easily amused.

We had left for the horse show early Sunday morning and left all the horses out in pasture without blankets. I knew it was getting colder but thought we would get home first. We returned to Wharton with Feather to rain and cold temperatures. For once all the horses had been smart enough to come in out of the wet.

We called to set an appointment for rescue kitty Levi and Kona to be neutered tomorrow (told you I would be jumping around). The vet office, verifying they had the right cat, asked if this was the tiny grey male we rescued in October. I answered yes and asked how much he had weighed when he was last in their office. They replied he weighed 15 ounces. That was less than four months ago, and I guess you can say his stomach problems are a thing of the past. He now weighs over 11 pounds. Seriously. The vet reminded me that this was a cat not an Irish Wolfhound puppy. Oh, boy, I guess we will have to watch his weight.

Kona going to be neutered is causing me a lot of angst. I want to ask my supervisor if I can take the day off for a family member having surgery. I feel it would be appropriate. Don’t think she would. GEEZ!

Here is a collage from Lauren and the show. Thanks for riding along on this crazy train. May God bless you and keep you!

Lauren and Flagmount’s Irish Freedom at the Winter Series.

Work Friends

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Exechorseluver

I have made many long-lasting friendships at work over the years. Work gives you many opportunities to be together over the course of the many hours spent in the office. I have also found that on the surface, some friendships are quite odd. As in, not the two people you would necessarily pair together.

At my last job, I had hired a friend to work in my department. We actually stayed friends and our friendship deepened as we shared our long commute each day.

Also, from my last job, I have tried hard to stay abreast of the activities of another one of my friends. We don’t speak often, as we did each day walking to breakfast and eating lunch often, but we talk on Facebook, a lot. We continue to support each other in issues with our mom’s and our kids.

When I started my latest job, almost three years ago I knew one person in the huge organization I had joined. The person I knew was my friend, had been for years, so it was great to drop by her office and be able to talk about horses, kids or anything else that came to mind. Due to political work issues, we did not often get out to lunch or anywhere else.

My other great friendship, rose from the two of us working together on a project, and then on more projects. This friend is the age of my daughter, has two young children, has never been interested in horses, and is several inches taller than I. We make a strange couple, one of us older, greyer, rounder and stouter and one being the opposite .

Over the last couple years, we have become fast friends. We go to breakfast each morning (clearly to be my friend, you must want/need to eat frequently), walk the long corridors for exercise and head out to lunch (food, again!) a couple of times a week. We share stories of our kids or grand kids. I feel my strong pro-breast feeding stance ( driven by my own experiences, that of my Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant daughter and the long-term positive experiences that my other daughter had ) pushed and motivated my friend to breast feed her second baby. I have cheered on her baby feeding success as strongly as she has supported my tiring, but rewarding lifestyle with work and maintaining my little ranch.

We have offset each other in work situations as well. I may have over 30 years work experience, but I came into a brand new industry. My friend has helped me understand the culture, the processes and any new computer thing. I feel I have helped her in successfully working through employee counseling problems, suggested ways to navigate new business waters and been able to give some good management tips.

Now, my two best work friends will be moving on to new jobs, one at a building not too far away, but certainly too far for easy, casual drop-ins to each other’s offices. My young friend is moving up and out, to one of our locations out-of-state. I will be left behind to eat alone, walk alone and quietly look at horse pictures by myself.

It will be a big change and not a welcome one for me. I will make some new friends and continue to IM and email my old friends. I guess this gives me an opportunity reach out past my current comfort zone. I had no desire to work on new friendships. I had great friends. It will be time soon to make new ones.

_______________________________________

Signing off tonight from a very cold and icy south Texas. Lauren heads out for an “A” show with Feather tomorrow. I wish them great rides-especially the most important one-driving the trailer in nasty weather.

Thanks for riding along!

A visit from Amber’s family

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Weather looks miserable but actually warm breezes were blowing!

Amber, Ryan and kids, Riley and Lexi arrived on Thursday to rain and overcast skies, but as they had left a very cold Colorado and we had come up above freezing for the first time in days, we were all okay with the overcast skies. It didn’t take long to throw a halter on Snowboy and head out of the barn to the only semi-dry spots. Two year old Lexi, showed no hesitation about climbing on board and off she went trotting with Aunt Lauren across the water and around the trailer. It wasn’t long before her four year-old brother, Riley switched spots with her.

While we got a short video of them trotting we warned them not to show Jordyn. She would be mad they were on her horse and that they were TROTTING. Sometimes, you just have to let other’s accomplishments serve as a way to motivate you, but more about that in a minute!

Friday the kids helped out around the barn, filling water troughs, raking hay and mucking stalls. The rain had stopped, things were still wet but with 70 degrees showing on the thermometer, it was a pretty great day to be outside. I enjoyed getting to know my grandkids a little better and had a lot of fun watching Kona have so many people to throw his ball. Jordyn got out of school a little early so that she, Ally, Luke and baby Kendyll could join us for Texas barbecue. Luke got busy digging some ditches to let our water flow out to the ditch. It started to recede immediately, it was like we were in the Peace Corps or something!

I got Ally to go with me, later in the day, as we took all the great-grandkids to my mom’s. From the minute we got there, she was overjoyed to see the children. It is unclear that she realized they were any kin to her but she loved them, nonetheless. It was nearing dinner time for her and the kids helped her get on her make-up and do her hair. Jordyn always loves this part of the visit and I think momma loves the attention. Jordyn, in an overdrive teacher mode with her young cousins, explained how to put on blush, eye shadow and lipstick. I think little Lexi made sure she had all the same make-up her Granny-Nanny did!

Jordyn and Riley getting their great grandma all fixed up for dinner.

I think the sweetest thing was as we left momma’s room to head down to dinner, with no prompting, tiny Lexi walked up and took her great grandma’s hand in hers and walked down the hall with her.

From back left, clockwise-2 year old Lexi, Granny Nanny, me, 4-year-old Riley, 1 year Kendyll and 6-year-old Jordyn.

There were lots of hugs and kisses from all the kids. I wish they could visit her more often as it made her so happy!

Saturday, another warm day, was spent taking great professional photos with Ally’s friend Elvia. Ryan got roped into going with Lauren and I to get 12 bales of alfalfa hay. Amber couldn’t understand why it took us so long to go get hay across town, but there is a certain period devoted to visiting with the hay man that has to take place. It is not as simple as backing in and loading the hay. We appreciated Ryan’s help.

We got Snowboy out again, saddled up this time, and everyone had helmets on. Jordyn was determined not to be out done by her cousins. I took them toward the road, then I let Snowney’s bridle go and headed him to the barn. IMAGINE this-he trotted in a straight line right back to the gate and Jordyn was TROTTING BY HERSELF! She demanded to do it over and over. It was a pretty big milestone until Kona ran after Snow, nipped him in the ankle and Snow headed trotting off to the neighbors with Jordyn screaming. But she tried it again and successfully trotted alone to end the day.

Here is her trotting video-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZeIsCYDe8Q

I hated seeing the kids (all of them) leave on Sunday. I feel I miss so much with them being so far away. Hopefully, this time Lexi will remember a little about grandma’s and Riley will build on his memories.

Taking a Challenge

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Jordyn with all her Christmas gear on her Snowney.

Jordyn, who agreeably trotted all over as a toddler, has been unwilling to trot since I put her up on Feather and Feather bolted away. Jordyn went flying to the ground.

Understandably, Jordyn was not interested in trying to trot her pony again. And the more the family has pushed Jordyn to try again the more resistant she has become.

Jordyn was spending a couple of days with us over the holidays. We were visiting with our friend Kathy. She challenged Jordyn to try trotting. But this time she challenged her to count her trot steps. She told her, “just see how many you can do!”

We got home and immediately Jo was ready to ride. She started with some basic walking around the arena. At one point early in the ride, Snow pulled his head and reins out of Jo’s hands. Frustrated she said, “I hate this pony!” I got her organized with her reins and feet in the stirrups. She looked at me and said, “I want to trot!”

I was surprised. Somehow when Jo and Kathy were discussing this, I thought it was going to be on the lunge line. I started to walk with her towards the lunge line. “No, Granny, you need to trot alongside me!”

Oh, what a great idea! I can’t think of many things I can do better than run through deep sand in cowboy boots with two bad hips. But by God, if Jo wanted to try to trot, I would give it a shot. I grabbed hold of Snow’s bridle and started shuffling down the long wall of the arena. Jo was second guessing her decision but I was moving forward.

It was a pretty great scene. Fat, white pony being virtually dragged down the arena while a little girl fearfully hung on for dear life. Oh, and granny’s limping and stumbling along like a Friday night drunk.

But miracles do happen. Snow started a little jog. Jo’s eyes lit up. And she started counting. We made 32 steps at a trot before granny and Snow slowed to a walk ( I blame Snow). Lauren and I both applauded her brave progress. Then she wanted to do it again. We made 64 trotting steps this time. It is really pretty awesome because Jo gets so focused on counting and beating her last number, she relaxes and just trots along.

Next day at the barn, she ran to tell Miss Kathy how many steps she had taken. Jo hugged her and said, “Thanks for the great advice!”

Jordyn’s parents and other grandparents came down yesterday to see her finally trot Snow. Thankfully, Jo glad agreed to allow Lauren to jog beside her instead of me. Probably, because they feared I would slip and fall and Snow would just trot right over me. I am also thankful because this time Jo and Snow trotted 108 steps.

Jo with Lauren as she prepares to meet another challenging day on Bruno.

Lauren has been facing her share of challenges as she has focused her vacation time on getting Bruno started as sport horse. He has been difficult and argumentative. But she has gotten some terrific tips on how to work with him instead fighting against him. She has learned what makes the big horse listen and do as she asks. Today they successfully navigated a short course of jumps. He cleared a three-foot jump with ease. A week ago he was barely going over a trot pole.

My girls are standing up to meeting new challenges. Kendyll got in on the fun riding along with Lauren and Jordyn. Holiday fun! Thanks for riding along. Enjoy your holiday.

Snow is being a trooper!

Thanks

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Momma hanging with Lauren

Been enjoying a couple days off work for the Thanksgiving holiday. Mostly, anyway. We had been at moms last weekend and I had thought it was a little cool in her room. A cold front was moving through and I kept upping the thermostat each time I came by. Tuesday, they called me to say the heater was out in my mom’s room and they were moving her to another vacant room. Jordyn and I helped move the bed, some chairs and some clothing to get her by, for a few days. It has all been confusing to her. I understand stuff happens, but her heat broke last year and she went without for several days.

Thanksgiving morning the nursing home called to say the housekeeper had found my mom on the floor. She was fine, no injuries, but I feel she was confused going between the new room and her old room. I am thankful she was okay.

I just hate anything that troubles my mother.

Lauren and Jo having breakfast

Part of our chores was to get the truck inspected. There is only one spot in town that does state inspections. So we anticipated a little wait on the last day of the month. We picked up some breakfast and headed to the gas station. The truck passed inspection and we had a great time. Building memories, one glamorous moment after another!

Thanksgiving was spent at Ally’s. Luke and she did a great job on dinner. All of us, had many things to be grateful for and Jordyn led us as we went around the table saying what they were. Family was high on all of our lists. Although Jordyn had Snowboy first on her list. Priorities!

The horses have been in their stalls pretty much non-stop for the last several cold, rainy days. Feather has completed her last show this year, so down time is fine, except for the 57 times a day we get to clean the stalls. We are trying to get Bruno started on his show career. However, while he used to load like a champ, I think he associates the trailer with going to the vet, and it is causing reluctance on his part to load now. Our trainer friend, Sarah, is coming tomorrow to work with us and Bruno to come to an understanding about loading in the trailer. If we get over that hurdle, Bruno will be headed to a lesson Sunday. Wow, I bet that will be something to see! Bruno, in a new place after being in his stall for two weeks. I vote that Dev rides him first!

Hope your holiday was warm and happy! Thanks! For riding along and being a part of our journey.

Snowboy getting out for a little break

Exechorseluver

The life and times of modern day horse woman

Category Archives: Family Life