May 2012 !!!

woohoo ARK, going in style! don't forget your boots....when I did NATRC, ya had to wear boots!
You may want a bit heavier saddle pad than your blue one..jmho
Remember to smile! and relax and have fun with it, you learn as you go.

Sunny that is good news about the park working with ya's.

Well, yesterday I saw my endocrinologist, last week I saw my gastric bypass doc who thinks I have some scar tissue.wants me to see an internal med doc and have an endoscopy done and a cat scan...then today I got to see my arthritis doctor...I have to have a bone scan done, and today I had exrays done....wow...I feel like they could do a medical paper on me!

Hubby got the yard mowed and weed trimmed the front porch...it looks much better out there and now I can actually see if there are snakes crawling in the grass! LOL.well maybe I don't want to see them!

Missy Muleatude is growing fast! She llikes the hose sprayed on her...sily girl.
Puppies are growing and teeny tiny is getting really cute!
I have two red sables and one red and white piebald.

Hubby is on his way back to NV...long drive...I usually stay awake until he gets back..then I fall into bed!

Sweet Dreams Y'all.

where is everyone, I hope that you all are busy doing horsey stuff or two wheeled ponys, our weather pattern is spotty thundershowers comming from the west side of the coast the gulf of mexico, we are getting clost to hurricane season, no clue how it will be, but watching the patterns and will be prepared

Sunny, they all must have ives! LOL....I was wondering the same thing tho!

I would have called but didn't know if you are still up.

Today I was out watering the horses and when I came in,, Pinky the mama doxie was barking and growling at something in my bedroom where her pups are...I went back to see what was up and she is having a fit cuz two bull snakes crawled into her whelping box with the pups...she is jumping and snarling....I took the broom handle and tried to get them out....and I succeeded, but they both took off under my dressers with me chasing them with the round point shovel...I hate snakes and a good snake is a dead snake especially when they are in MY house! I am not sleeping in the bedroom tonight for sure! I don't want one curling up with me tonight! GS Therin is spose to come over this weekend and try to dig them out of my bedroom...he isn't afraid of them. Poor Pinky, she bout had a coronary trying to get them away from her babies! and I almost joined her that coronary! oh baby...

CB, don't kill the bull snakes, they are in the good posse...............they eat the mice outside...................just get them out and turn them loose.

We used to have several here and I liked having them as they also kept poisonous snakes away. In the old years here when we had coyotes and rattlers, I considered them security guards. I didn't have "bad" critters around...............no mice, coyotes, or rattlers.....................

Everyone have a great day!

Graymare, sorry, but they need to stay outside if they want to live, once they know they have a hidey hole to get in here, they will come back is my greatest fear if I just turn them loose! They have invaded my space they suffer the consequences....if Therin wants to take them home to his house, maybe...but I don't want them here at all. I'll take my chances...when you have one curl up in bed with you and bite you on the toe...it makes ya real dang leary of the things! Pinky even checks out her box before going into it to feed the pups...she stands outside of it and growls and stares looking for the snakes...she is as paranoid of them as I am. I still havn't found them....I moved everything but the bed yesterday, but I ran a garden rake under it, and nothing...hubby tried to tell me they went back outside...yeah, right!
It is windy city out there today...brrrrrrr...temps have dropped 20 degrees...got in the LOW 40's last night...not going to get anything done outside today...wind is steady about 35-40 mph...not to mention gusts! whew!!

I am here as well, but yesterday was a lost day, did not get on the computer much but went to the library this morning and getting caught yup.
It is a gorgeous day, must get back home after visit to bank, and grocery store and gas station. They are all "must do" errands, and I have company landing in with horse in tow this aft. The weekend is supposed to be a super duper one as far as the temps go. Yeah...that is great. I will ride around home this weekend, as the puplic places will be like New York City and I am not about to fight that scene.
So gotta go, may not be back till after the weekend. Have a good one gang

CB, mine were never inside the house................where is your opening that they came through? That's the problem.............I have never been bitten by one and never saw them even try.................I used to carry them with a rake to my old grain shed and drop them off..........ha, I never have had mice or other snakes............they would always find their way back to the asparagus bed.......

It's been about 20 yrs since they disappeared.......our area is now all built up and I know how people hate snakes. Some are good tho..............

Now, the Corgi's manage the barn area. Whew, they're great work dogs. The gophers moved next door. It doesn't get any better than that.

Everyone have a GREAT day.........pray for the firefighters here in AZ......it's windy as hell out there.

God bless. Prayers for ALL.

It is WINDY here too..and I'll Hum the firefighters and everyone stays safe.
I live in an older mobile home, and the door doesn't fit tight and there are lil holes here and there I'm sure a snake can get thru...I keep sealing the dang things and they make new ones...even with a dozen stray cats outside..we also have a mice problem...sigh...the snakes would probably eat the mice...but they can do that outside! PLEASE! Last year in May I had one get in my bed and bite me under the big toe...yes I did! Go figure...I had two dogs in bed with me and the snake still got up there! I am surrounded by irrigation ditch and farm fields and an interstate Hiway, don't have close neighbors to help drive them out of the area. Last year was the first I saw any snakes here at all... and I wish they would leave me alone...i'm not sleeping well...My daughter came over and we moved everything in the bedroom but the bed...where did they go ....I do not know....and I hope I don't see them to find out! this is me bouncin' off the walls....

I'm off to the mtns today for the summer. I will check in when the cybers are in line with the trees for service............. Everyone stay safe.

God bless. Continued prayers for ALL.

GRAYMARE, have a wonderful summer riding and enjoying the mountains. Be safe.

The wind has quit...yesssss....finally after 3 days of it.

A quiet weekend ahead....hope y'all have a great one and od something fun.

Hubby will be home on Monday and the farrier is coming to put shoes on our two bestest riding horses, and to trim Mama Charmin, her feet are growing faster than all the others, must be the extra protein she is getting. I sure don't want her to get down in her weight like she was when came to me. She is looking good is my opinion! I"ll have to send a pic of her and Missy Muleatude soon!

well, I'll have another, had another win! Now onto the Belmont Stakes...I will have to root for him to win...we need a good race season and that would be a feat!

My neighbor had another fire today...he set it to burn weeds...it got out of hand and burned along the hiway and burned one of his big trees in his yard, and almost took out his big work shop building....G, I almost wish it had, hit him where it hurts I think is the only thing that will wake this guy up to the fire dangers....man I don't think he has all his marbles...I was watching very closely from the hill and if it started to come up the hill I would have gotten all the dogs out and put the horses all in one pen away from the worse of it...I was packing stuff and my swamp cooler drew the smell of something burning into the house...so I ran outside and there was a dark cloud of smoke up high...someone else called him in and the fire dept came out and put it out....I hope he has to pay for them also. I'd like to slap the silly b*ast*rd silly! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Back to packing..hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Hi guys...it's been a couple busy weeks here in PA. Lots of company, cookouts and just plain great family time. My brother and sister-in-law just left for home, it was great to have them as house guests for a few days.

Joel put up ceiling fans and lights for us on the patio (which has turned into quite a nice room), we can spend most of our retirement time sitting out here enjoying the fresh air.

George & I got the garden tilled and everything planted on Friday. YIPPEEEEE Now if everything grows we will have tons of veggies to put up later this summer. I love home grown veggies.

My Post office is going to be cut down from 8 hours a day to 4 hours...who knows when that will happen. Maybe 2013. My boss Barb is retiring the last day of July. I may be retiring too, if the person that is brought in to take her place is a jerk. NO, I am not taking her job. Don't want to work any more than I do right now.

I got my NEW glasses last Thursday, now I CAN SEE. WOW I really needed new glasses.

CB: George found another snake in our basement. EEWWWWW Now I'm not going down there until he fills up the hole where they are coming in. Luckily it's by the steps to the outside and I never go over to that part of the basement very often. I'll be keep my eyes open when I go down to do the laundry.

ELLEN: I'm watching DWTS this season and am now rooting for William and Cheryl. I was shocked when Derrick and Maria wee sent packing.

SUNNY: Thank God your landlord is going to relax the rules and help your guys out. Maybe now Kent can get some financial help from somewhere also.

Have a great week everyone. Do something fun and relaxing.

Love & prayers to all.

TRUDY, glad you are having some good family time without any major medical stuff going on! What a relief! Sorry about your hours being cut down, hope the new person is likable!!
I can do without snakes in my house...I won't sleep in my bed...my recliner is just fine for now...and I havn't been sleeping well anyway...every time I shut my eyes I think I can see a "you know what".

It was a warm one here today! I came in dripping with sweat..whew....better than a workout at the gym!

Trudy, I wasn't happy about Derek and Maria going either. But the last 4 are all so good, it was going to be hard to see any of them leave. I'm rooting for Mark Ballas and Catherine Jenkins. There is something very appealing about her, in addition to the high level of her dancing.
Of course, William is certainly easy to look at.

OK, ARK...inquiring minds want to know how it went! Don't keep us up all night waiting now...

Ellen, I didnt' watch it this season...I did watch the Voice, and American Idol tho. I loved Skylar...but she got voted off I guess...I missed it one night and she was gone....drat. Now I don't much care which one wins...I've not liked the other 3 that much. Oh well....

Hubby coming home in the early morning hours, and farrier is coming, getting the two we'll ride this summer shod, and Charmin the mama trimmed...man her feet grow fast, but she is getting a lot of protein. Larry is spose to come see Harry's missy muleytude...he spent months not leaving the house very much while Lyn was so sick, so now he can get out a bit and will do him good.

OK ARK...still waiting....get with the program here...

and waiting....

CB
We made it thru the ride safely! Full story tonight, I only have my Kindle during the day.

Mizz Snake Lady

I am on the road. Probably drop by on way back, next Sunday, unless I stop by sometime tomorrow.

It is VACATION after all..

DA AP

\Appy, I have a cat scan scheculed for tomorrow morning in Boise....so if you are coming thru Boise, call me and let me know, we'll meet you for lunch tomorrow....
number is 208-591-1457 or 1458 if I don't answer try Harrys' cell.

ARK:you are making us wait! NOOOOOOO

CB:
Sorry to be so long at this! I am still tired after Saturday's ride and have been dragging along for the past couple of days trying to get things done. I is a slug....

We made it the entire 19.4 miles. The ride was very pretty, but some of it was through some pretty intensely rocky areas with trees and bushes closing in on the narrow trail. Most of it was more open, though. The first part of the ride was a hill that went up and up for over 2 miles. I didn't
think that hill would ever stop. Ivan would have been happy to at least trot up the hill, but our young mentor insisted we walk up it because there was a P & R at the top of the hill and she didn't want the horses to be tired. By the time we got to the top, Ivan was fairly upset about being held back so long and wouldn't stand still for the vet or to let me re-mount. Trotting up that hill would have taken the edge off of him, I think.

Ivan was pretty hyper the entire ride with the exception of about two miles in the middle when the other two horses we were with slowed down and walked behind us. Then he walked about 100 feet ahead of them in a more calm attitude. Poor Ivan never got over being nervous the entire time we were gone. He barely ate anything and finally drank about half way through the ride. He came back home looking like he had lost about 40 or 50 pounds, but I am sure he didn't lose
quite that much.

There were three obstacles and we only did one of them well. Ivan couldn't calm down enough to think. I am sure those folks think he is a total nutcase, but while it isn't true here, it did seem so there. He never tried to dump me or anything, but I had to hold him back from running full out all day. Ivan could be an incredible long distance horse if he'd only check into reality now and then. He outlasted the Morab mare, Amanda, who got tired about 2/3s of the way through the ride and she had to be encouraged to trot after that. I never had to encourage Ivan to trot, just let up on the reins a fraction and off he went. Ivan came back into camp still hyper and ready to run. We made it back to camp right on the dot of the time allowed.

I only had one major scare during the ride. We were rushing,
trotting, downhill on a rocky path with water and mud flowing down it and Ivan slipped and nearly fell on his knees. I barely caught myself from going over his head by grabbing onto his mane. I didn't want to go this fast on the bad footing. Ivan's boots are not good on wet, uneven surfaces and he slipped several times, but that was the
worst time. Getting back on time seemed to be more important than safety at this point, so we didn't slow down.

We passed a few folks on the trail during the day that weren't part of the Natrc group, just riders on the same trails. We also passed a few folks with dogs with them and their horses. A few minutes after we got back, there was a flurry of activity and it turned out that one of those riders we passed had had another person's dog run under her
horse, spook it and she fell off and was injured enough that they had called an ambulance. My riding partner, Jan, a doctor, volunteered to go help out and she went back with them to stabilize the hurt woman. It was probably lucky Jan
was there, the lady had a head injury (no helmet, of course), and possibly broken ribs. They sent a helicopter to take the woman out of the campground. The woman got hurt in the same rocky area that we had just gone through in the last mile of the ride. I hope the lady recovers.

The Natrc people were very welcoming and nice, especially trying to make us feel like one of them. They were very helpful in every way. Our mentor was nice, but very young and she rode a Tennessee walker whose gaits didn't match our horses. We ended up going ahead of her most of the time and she would catch up with us when she got too far behind. That worked out pretty well. Somehow the timing was screwed up a bit. We would be ahead of time and she'd have us waiting
now and then in the woods, then we would be behind time and have to rush the worst part of the trail. I didn't like that part of it much.

I cantered Ivan several times in wide, more level or uphill trails, which he enjoyed most of all. He is really a powerful runner and would have gone for miles if I had let him. He was pretty good about slowing down from a canter when I asked, but would have preferred to keep running. His pulse and respiration were actually lower at the second P & R than the first, despite having cantered fast just a few minutes earlier. His nerves were better at the second P & R, which
seemed to determine his scores more than his exercise.

Ivan was pretty much a pill all day, although not as bad as he was at the Foster Falls ride last week. He didn't tremble all day like he did there. I don't think he could believe he was going to be ridden at 6:30 a.m. I know I could barely believe it either!

Jan seemed to really enjoy the ride. Her only competition was me, we were in the same category as one day riders who were new. She beat me and won first place with a score of 98 while I got a 93. I didn't expect to get that much since Ivan was so hard to mount at the vet checks and didn't do the obstacles well. Jan wants to do more of these rides. I think I need to work on Ivan more before taking him to another long ride. He needs to get over his nerves. I am not sure
how to do that.


I am very sore. I did a lot of two point trotting and my
upper thighs are really tight and sore. I have a strange bruise, so may have pulled a muscle. I'll be fine in a couple of days. Ivan was subdued on Sunday, but didn't have any puffiness or soreness that I could detect. I think he was just tired. I let him have a lot more grass than usual to make up for him not eating much for over 24 hours. He was back to his sweet self , checking out his mares and
doing his usual things all day.

Anyway, I am glad I did the ride. It is the furthest I have ever gone, but would have preferred to spend an extra hour doing it rather than rushing it so much at the end. They gave me and Ivan certificates for second place (out of 2 competitors in our category, ), a cute t-shirt, a purple hoofpick, and a bottle of leather conditioner. Jan got first place certificates and somewhat nicer prizes. The potluck dinners were really great and camping in the borrowed Mini-Winnebago was fun. I had a good time.

Now I need to just rest up!

Some of you will disagree with me, but I'm gonna say it anyway...if you arn't up to it ARK, pay someone to get on Ivan and ride him until he is willing to slow down on his own....he has a lot of endurance and he needs to be aware of how to use it...but until he gets good and tired, he is just playing at everything and not settling down to work smoothly. I did this with my quarter horse..he went in deep sand for about 4 hours, it was warm and he was lathered at best...and I was also lathered...but he slowed down on his own and started working for me...and every ride we went on after that he even beat out Arabs in our weight division/novice. I had offers from folks who wanted to buy him. It made a difference. I"m not talking ride him until he drops, just darn good and worn out! I think its kind of being alfpha MOM...or boss...

I ride long distance up out of the saddle a bit and my legs straight in the stirrups where I place most of my weight...that way my butt doesn't get as sore, and I flow with the horse...

Ivan is still a kid...more and more experience and wet saddle blankets...
Do you ever raise your voice at him? Yell sharply...get his attention...and then tell him what you want. Sometimes a youngster needs to be reminded what they are spose to do.
I am glad you stayed with him I hope the other lady will be alright. Helmets are great! in my book anyway.

93 is a good score for your first ride too! so hang in thre....

Ark, he is being a bit of a pill, but you are getting to do what you set out to do - have a horse you could ride on trails. He's doing it. Congratulations! You still have some work to do, but you've come a long way.

I was sort of thinking along the same lines as CB. Get some young strong kid/girl to ride him long enough and far enough that he is more than ready to slow down. With that Arab blood, it could take quite a while, but it will make him considerably more agreeable. Graymare told me about doing that with her mare, Jane, who decided to run off one day. So, she let her. And then when Jane thought it would be a good idea to slow down, she got to run a lot more. She never tried that little trick again.

it sounds like you had a good time despite the glitches with Ivan, it also sounds like you have a great prospect for a long distance horse, he has a lot of indurance just needs to learn patience, which will come with practice and time he is still green, but is doing great, keep up the great work and have fun with it take 2 alieve and take a hot bath and get some rest, you have done great

Ark, glad you got to do the ride. And everyone is right. You need to wear him out a couple of times so he understands how to use all that power he has. Once he knows that if used it will fade he will be better for it.

Raining here again the past two days. The lawn tractor came home from the shop, cut the lawn for about 5mins then broke the drive belt so off to the shop again. I may never get this lawn cut. Pretty soon I may have to have it bailed.

Thanks for your input CB, ELLEN and KATHI! I will consider it. I don't think it would be quite as quick a job as with a QH type of horse, though. Arabs are built to outrun about any other type of horse and Ivan gets fitter with each outing.

A couple of years ago I watched my former farrier try to teach Ivan to load on a trailer and take 6 hours of running him in circles before Ivan decided to get on the trailer for him. That was a wasted lesson, I had to retrain Ivan myself after that. If Ivan doesn't trust someone, he just doesn't go along with the program....and I am the only person he almost trusts. I'll have to be the one to do whatever we do to correct his emotional problems.

Lori came today to give us a lesson and Ivan was good as gold. No problems, lots of slow trotting, easy mounting, and other niceties. We practiced a walk,trot type of class and plan to take Ivan to a little horse show next Saturday. Lori will be able to watch what Ivan does around strange horses in a strange setting and see if she can figure out a strategy to reduce his nervous problems.

Jane, my endurance riding friend, says her Arabs got more hyper this spring on the lush grass and she gave them electrolytes with magnesium to ease their nervousness. She seems to think it helped. Her research said that the extra clover in her pastures didn't have enough magnesium. My pastures are full of clover, too. I don't think it will hurt to give that a try.

Speaking of Lori, her video for America's Favorite Trail Horse is online and ready for the voting! Please go to:

http://www.actha.tv/afth/2

and vote for Lori and Tonto in the Professional division!! I hope she wins, she has been a great help to me this past year. Pass the word, she deserves to win. Voting is only open for this week for the next 48 hours......Thanks!

And thanks again for helping me with Ivan. He is a pill, but I love him anyway.

I voted in the professional devision for Lori and Tonto that film clip was moving and that is one well trained mustang and good looking too I hope she wins