The Dollar Store

I found some fun “objects” at the dollar store and couldn’t pass them up.



Cat is no dummy so it didn’t take her very long to drag me over to the scary objects and stand on the hot tub cover to get me to leave her alone.

“Thank god! I get to rest!”



“Where does she find this crap anyways?”



“Oh hello. I didn’t realize you were taking pictures. Let me pose.”



“God I wish she’d just leave me alone!”



“Really? How many more freaking pictures are you going to take?”



“Please tell me this is the last one.”



I bought an umbrella too but someone…………..*cough Chase*……………broke it before I could use it on Cat.

Hot tubs, Horses and Fun!

DH dragged home a hot tub cover to use as a backstop for his arrows. He only needed 1/2 of it and I got tired of seeing it sit in our yard so I had him drag it out to the farm.

I decided to use it as a "scary object" for Cat so after working her some I took her over by it & did the sending exercise. First pass past it and she shot through like a rocket slightly shouldering in towards me. Second pass through she shot through like a rocket again.

Third pass and I get "oh hey, I'll bet if I look at it she'll leave me alone". lol

Fourth pass "Maybe if I stand on it? Yep! I KNEW this would work!"



"Oh hey, if two hooves are good four must be better!"





"Oh shit! It turned white!" (yep, there are two sides to ever hot tub cover.)

"Maybe if I just step on it again she will leave me alone?"



"Damn, works every time! I'm such a good human trainer."

Look - I taught her to count.



After the workout I decided to hop on. I hadn’t ridden for a while and thought a nice, calm bareback ride w/no expectations would be nice.  She was very good and very light in the halter.

Is it spring yet?

Our winter has been fairly mild so far but I'm still craving the longer hours and warmer days.  I was all set to work Cat last night when a dark storm cloud decided to roll in.  I couldn't tell if it was going to hit us or go around us.  I don't think it would have mattered either way as the "dry" lot looked more like a mud volley ball court then it did an arena.  What's a gal to do?

I'll tell you what I did - I loaded Cat up and headed over to Mona's to use her indoor.  I started off with a little bit of groundwork and then decided to saddle Cat up.  Cat hasn't been saddled since Sept. of last year so I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to have any issues with the saddle.  I did a bit more gw and then decided to jump on.  She was good as gold.  Her flexing was nice and light and she felt relaxed.

After a nice workout I dismounted and unbridled her.  I was messing around with her and got a bit on film.  It is pretty obvious to see what areas I need to work on but hey, I was having fun.  I luv my pony!

Video Time

I finally managed to get some videos uploaded from my phone.

Lucy eating from the Cinch Net


Warmer days!  This was from our ride at Brushy.

Is this Iowa?

Is this Iowa?  The weather here has been very odd.  We have either had a 50* day or a 15* day.  This weekend was in the 40's & 50's so I took the opportunity to split the ponies.

I put Cat, Abby, and Nikki out on the back pasture w/the Cinch Net and Lu and Black on the front pasture w/just a bale ring.  It will be interesting to see who is out of hay first.  Having the horses split will make it easier for me to grain the two that need grained (Lu and Black) in the mornings w/o fighting the ones that don't (fatty Cat, Abby and Nikki).

I did do a bit of GW with Cat.  I debated saddling up but opted against it for the time being.

DUH Podcast

Not much going on with here so I thought I'd put a plug in for my friend John and his wife Ranae  Harrer.  They started a new podcast on iTunes called "DUH Podcast". DUH Podcast is a podcast for friends and fans of natural horsemanship the Downunder Horsemanship Method.

If you are a fellow DUH fan you may know John (JHarrer) from his blog Training Jessie or from his Youtube Channel.

Please subscribe to his podcast at: DUH Podcast

John and Ranae have been a great support to me. John is always willing to give me an outside view when I'm having problems. I can't wait to see how the podcast turns out for them.

John and Ranae We would like to add some interviews. If you would like to share your Downunder Horsemanship experiences, please contact them at jharrer@pacbell.net and put DUH Podcast in the header. They'll set up a convenient time, and give you a number to call so they can record the interview. Don't worry, they promised me they can edit out the bad parts.

It ain't easy being cheesy!

And Lucy is cheesy!



I went down yesterday to check the status of my big bale. I had a lot more left then I anticipated.



It doesn't look like much but there normally by this time the ground wouldn't have a drop of hay and they'd be pushing on my fences looking for food.



The bale ring took a toll on Lu's mane.

Who are you calling fat?



No weight was lost w/the use of this bale net. I did check Black since she is older and I couldn't feel her ribs so I think all is good there.

Slow Down!

Even though we’ve had an unseasonably warm winter the horses seem to be going through more hay then they’ve ever gone through before so I decided to take another look at the slow down feeders.

I had a few grids so a friend of mine built a feeder for me. I took it over to MIL’s to use on Sis and Belle since MIL typically waste a lot of hay.

Before - MIL was going through over a bale a day but most of it was being wasted.



And after - Now MIL is going through a bale a day (2 horses) but very little is being wasted.



A bunk style slow down feeder was not an option for me since I feed round bales during the winter. On the CA site I ran across the website for Cinch Chix Bale Nets. After reading about them I decided to order one.

I put the net on a round bale Saturday. It didn’t take long to put on before putting it out for the horses. We decided if we were going to try it out we were going to see just how well it works so we didn’t put the bale ring around it. So far it seems to be doing well but I will let you know for sure next week since a bale has only been lasting me a week with our current feeder.

Here are some pictures of the Cinch Net in action (not my horses).

Cleared for take off!

Well I just got back from seeing Dr. Imanhourlate and I got the go ahead to ride! Actually I got the go ahead to do anything I want to do. He wants me to find an activity that will set off my socket pain. Then they'll do an injection, have me do that activity and see if it helps the pain. If it does then we will do surgery. If not then ??? I have no idea.

I also learned I have impingements on both hips. Oh joy!

I did ride Lucy for about 15 minutes earlier this week.



She was her typical good girl self. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but it also didn't feel great. I'm not sure if I would have stayed on longer had it stayed light out.

I'm Grounded

After my "crash" I went to the Dr. to get some good pain meds. My hip was pretty sore but not where the bruises were. The Dr. ordered x-rays and didn’t find anything so he sent me in for an MRI and an Arthrogram. I apparently have a tear in my hip joint capsule and a torn labrum. Friday I went to see the surgeon. After waiting 2+ hours and taking more x-rays he informed me I have a hip impingement. If I understand him correctly it has been there for a while and is more then likely what cause the torn labrum. The crash had nothing to do with it except for helping them to find it.

So for now, I’m on 8 weeks of pt 3 x a week. Then I get to follow up to see if they plan to do surgery. I’m not quite sure why we are doing the 8 weeks of pt since my other Dr. said it doesn’t work but I guess I really don’t want to do the surgery so I’ll go ahead w/it for now. I did ask him if I could ride. He wasn’t very black and white w/his answer. ;)

Back in the saddle

Last night I thought I’d try to get “back in the saddle” to see if I could handle it. I headed straight to the barn after work, caught Cat, saddled her up and headed down the road (ride #33). She was full of P & V so we did lots of circles and w/t transitions. Her feet are tender since the injury so I’m trying to take things slowly getting them back to the rock crushing feet they were. The last thing I need is road founder.

I knew I only had an hour and a half to ride so I headed down rollercoaster hill. I did ask her to canter up the big hill but I could tell she wasn’t ready. At the top she took a nice, long break before we headed back.

The farm is located just off the top right hand corner of this picture.

After taking a break Cat and I headed back. She was very quiet and relaxed – even as we passed the calves in the field playing. That was until the big red tailed hawk flew up out of the ditch. This was the not so good part of the ride last night. Let’s just say I have some work to do on her spooking along w/a few other things I need to work on myself.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. It was near dark when we pulled in the drive. I did do a bit of LFR just so she doesn’t think home is a place to rest. So far she hasn’t “rushed” home but I’d just as soon keep it that way.

I had planned on hitting the trails with a few friends this weekend but I’m pretty sore. I don’t think a weekend trail ride is going to help either so I’m going to stay home. Depending on how I feel hopefully I can get a few short rides in.

First Big Bale

Saturday I reluctantly had my first big bale of hay delivered.  My front pasture is completely bare and the back isn’t looking much better.  I looked back and I’ve fed my first bales around the end of October so it is going to be a long winter for me.  Despite the sad eyes from the ponies I refuse to put this bale out free choice.  I'll be forking it over until I can build a slow feeder to use.

I love my pony!

I know, it is such a corny title but what can I say? I love my pony! It took 2 years to get 30 rides on Cat between my schedule, the weather and her abundance of injuries. I got the 30th ride in just a week before her fetlock injury. But you know what? I even after all of my inconsistencies, she still learned, she still retained and still has a good mind.

Tuesday was the first ride she’d had since the injury (ride #31). I stayed in the pasture and just walked and trotted around. I didn’t ask for anything special, I just wanted her to move with weight on her again. Last night I took her for a “real” ride (#32) down the road.

I’m not sure what happened up at ISU but her alignment was off a bit. She seemed to pull to the right so I had to make a few adjustments. She was a little close to the neighbors mailbox so I turned her into it hoping she’s bump her nose. She did but she also got her O-ring hooked on the thumb latch. Oops. After a few minor adjustments the rest of the ride was smooth sailing.

The best seat in the house

It is an awesome feeling to be able to get on a horse (any horse, let alone one w/only 30 rides) after 1 1/2 + months off and ride down the road on a loose rein. Once we crossed the highway I picked up the pace so I could do some ORS at the trot. It didn’t take long before she remembered to stop off of my seat.

I rode her down to the river. I haven’t taken her that way before. On the corner there is a herd of horses and they always spook the horse I’m riding because they come running up out of the trees. The horses can hear them but they can’t see them. Cat was spot on. She had a small jump when they blasted through the trees but then didn’t miss a beat as she continued on down the road.

Once we got to the river we crossed the railroad tracks and then headed out onto the bridge. She was nervous about the crack expansion joint on the bridge but after a few slow circles she decided to cross it. I took her partially out onto the bridge and then returned to the safety of the road. Then I took her out a bit further and then returned to the road. Each time I went just a bit further until we were approx. ¾ on the bridge. I wasn’t going any further then that because there are some real winners that drive up/down the road and the bridge is semi-hidden.

On the way home I loped her up the hill. She is definitely out of shape! I think we ended up going just a little over 2.5 miles. When we got back I trimmed up her feet. They’ve changed a lot since the injury and not for the better. I’m hoping it doesn’t take too long to toughen them back up.

Photo Shoot

Sunday I went down South to Danny's to take some pictures of his "herd" for his website.  The wind was blowing 100 miles an hour and the sun kept coming and going.  It seemed like the sun was "going" when Boon's ears were forward and his eyes were bright.  It had been a long morning cleaning him up and clipping him up so by now he was pretty done with us.

Here are a few of my favorites.  What do you think?











Sky -



A few of the foals -











And the homestead -

The great DO cook off!

LOL no, I’m not really entering a cook off. Come on people, you should know me better then that! lol My cooking skills are….well………….they need some work. I do have a DO though and in an attempt to try to not starve my children but continue to ride I’ve decided to start cooking at the farm. The obvious answer would be to just use mom’s oven but she’s not having any of that so I have to keep things outside.

Last night I cooked a whole chicken with onions and carrots and I got to ride! This is how it played out. Get to farm and start coals – go get horses up & feed them. Set coals under DO to pre-heat, add butter, onions and then chicken and seasoning. Groom horses and saddle – go turn DO and add carrots. Lunge horses (I made Chase work Abby for 15 min.) – turn DO.

Ty taking Cat back to the trailer for me after I lunged her.

Ride for 20 min. – EAT! While I didn’t get to ride for a long time I still got to ride longer then normal (for a week day). Supper was great too and easy to clean up.



As an added bonus the horses got to stand tied to the “patience pole” while we ate.

On the menue for tonight - Smoked Applewood Pork Loin and DO Blackberry Cobbler!

Elk Grove

I’d never been to Elk Grove before so when Terry asked me to go, I of course said…………..no. I was telling myself if I stayed home I could work 3 horses but if I went trail riding I could only work one. After going back and forth I finally decided to join and take Carmella along.

Lori, Beau, and Chuck were joining us on the ride. We picked Lori up along the way and arrived at Elk Grove before Beau and Chuck so we saddled up and headed out for a short ride.

Terry & Lori



Terry & I



Terry’s awesome photo skills



Front to back (Lori, Chuck, Beau)





Waiting on Terry



Terry and her “Stick of Knowledge”



Out in the open



Lori with her pink crop and her fabric softener sheet in-between her horse’s ears.



In the brush



Carmella looking at me like WTH as the riders out front yell “THORNS!”



Back out in the open



More of Terry’s fabulous photography



The water crossing





Heading home



I’m glad I decided to go because I had a great time. Carmella was great after the first few minutes and I got to ride someplace I’ve never ridden before (even though it was a bit overgrown).

Happy trails!

Where is the time going?

Last night I offered to let my niece come out to ride. She hadn't been out to the farm in a while and she's a pretty die hard horse girl. I waited until after she was out of school before texting her (yes, she's 10 & has a phone) because I knew she'd get distracted if she knew she was going to get to ride. Next time I think I'll wait until I'm ready to pick her up before asking her if she wants to go. I think she texted me every 5 min. from 3:30 - 5:30 she was so excited.

I put Carmella in the RP while I saddled up the horses. She was having a bit of a fit about something. I don't know if it was the corn moving or what but she was full of it. It is times like this I wish the kids could saddle for themselves as I missed a perfect opportunity to work her.

Saddled and ready to go the kids headed out to the pasture while I headed up to the house to start supper. It didn't take long before we heard the giggles and saw heads flying across the pasture. My dad asked me "are they supposed to be going that fast?" "Nope but you aren't going to stop them."

While they rode I took Abby to the RP to get some video of her movement for some friends.







I wish she moved like this all of the time but unfortunately she doesn't.

The sun is going down by 8:00 so it feels like I'm just getting started and then have to quit. I'm ready for the fall temperatures but I'm not ready for the fall hours.