The things we do...

Or have to do as the case may be. Fixing fences, cleaning stalls, barn improvements, general maintenance, the list is never ending. I have new boarders and that brings with it a whole list of other stuff that I need to do to make the facility work better. We have all experienced it, we go to the barn with the best intentions to ride and spend time with our beloved horses only to find that list of stuff that needs to be done.

Today was like most others in early spring, cool, damp, and over-cast. The barn showing the normal signs of winters neglect, and the growing pains new horses bring. I had every intention to do "a couple of things" and then ride. Yeah, right! I did eventually get around to that ride but it was only after I had completed several items on my list. One of which brought the most fulfilling warmth to my heart.

Years ago I used to feed the four horses that we had in the field. There are still the four posts standing in the pasture and until today they had their bucket hooks still attached. Of course as I walked out to the field some of the horses noticed my arrival and came up to the gate to see what was going on. I had to return to the barn for a different tool and they all seemed to become bored with what I was doing. When I returned to the feeding posts with the tool needed, I began to remove the bucket hooks. Suddenly I felt the softest nudge at my elbow. I turned to see Sammy standing at my shoulder. She was the only horse around and was just standing there so close wanting attention. My heart just melted and she softly touched my arm with her face. Her touch was a soft and gentle as a hand laid on my shoulder. As I continued to work around the four poles, she followed along just watching me. When I finished and headed toward the gate she returned to the rest of the herd like nothing had drawn her away.

We get so caught up in the day to day necessities, obligations, and responsibilities that we sometimes forget why it is we do these things. Today Sammy reminded me why we do it. We work so hard for those tender moments when our horses tell us they love us back. For those moments when they just want to be where we are, to share the same space just because. Those moments are unforgettable, and often the most simple surprises. They remind us that sometimes we just have to stop and smell the flowers along the way.

As hard as we work to provide for them, to keep them safe, and insure their health. Don't forget to enjoy them, as they are truly special gifts. Every once in a while if your listening they will tell you how much they appreciate it.

The proof is in the photo...

Of my big butt in the saddle. Sammy did SO much better in the DIY saddle curiosity of the neighbors bearing press. She didn't put a hoof out of line. No bucking, no rearing, no pawing, and none of the other stuff I expected her to throw at me today.

We made one lap around the large pasture and came back up to the barn for our photo op and to work on our steering. She was amazing! She stood for me to mount, and waited until I ask for her to walk off. She walked away from the barn and her comfort zone without any drama at all. We used some of the downed limbs as obstacles and she obediently stepped over them like she had done it everyday with a rider on her back.

We returned to the barn area for out photo op and to work on steering around the cones and she is almost ready to start working with a bit.

So with out further ado here is the photos of Sammy doing her best at being an angel.

I fixed it!

Ok, I had this AP English saddle in the back of the tack room. This was one of those "lets see if she will actually ride in it" saddles. You know the ones you buy for your kids when the suddenly want to change disiplines. LOL I wouldn't sell it, mostly because I would feel guilty selling someone a raging POS that is this saddle. There really isn't anything wrong with the saddle other than it is the worst leather I have ever laid eyes on. Structurally it is safe, it just looks horrible.

It was a medium tree and like all the other saddles in the barn swallowed little Sammy. Some time ago I, being the geek that I am, watched a show on the discovery channel that showed how an english saddle is put together, and how they adjust the gullet plate for a specific width. Well, I split the channel between the padding and luckily this saddle was a wooden tree with steel plates. My friend has a hydraulic press, so since the saddle was collecting dust and I wouldn't be horribly upset if it didn't work out, we put the saddle in the press and attempted to bend the plate.

When we took the saddle out I wasn't sure it was narrow enough. But when I put it on her back it couldn't have been better. I can now use a regular pad and it will clear her withers and sit in the proper postion.

Sorry for the horrible picture but I took them with my cell phone. This is the saddle after the press teatment. I am sure you can see why I was having such a trouble fitting her as narrow as it is now.



Here is the plate that I bent. I cut away the "leather" covering to expose the tree of the saddle.
So the next warmish day we have I am so totally gonna ride her in a saddle that acutally fits. Yeah Me!!!

Well We’ve Done It Now!

Sammy has not one but two rides under her girth! We had one misfire, and two actual rides. The misfire happened when I saddled her up and then realized the round pen was way too muddy for her to work in. Yeah I should have looked first but didn’t think it would be a problem.

Ride number one came three days later after the high winds had dried out the ground somewhat. She was completely clueless, but still a good girl to a time. My daughter aided me on the ground after it was clear that smooching and gentle bumps weren’t getting forward motion. Once we got forward, we worked on balancing a rider. Sammy is much like her mother in the fact that is built on a fine frame. She has delicate features and a thin chest. Most people would think this is from her lack of nutrients but really it is not. Her mother is a very fine boned horse and only looks like a normal horse now because she is really fat. LOL So, learning to balance weight on her back was frustrating for her at first. Apparently so much so that she tried rearing to show her distaste and we fell over. Don’t worry no harm done. It was a gentle sit down and step off. She however was shocked. I repositioned the (not quite so well fitting) saddle and tried again. This time the mount was much easier and her balance had greatly improved. A few more laps around the round pen and we quit for the day.

I was so proud of her! You just can’t imagine what it felt like. This is the horse that I thought would never be mine, and when she came home I was afraid I would never be able to ride. This is my baby who I froze my butt off for three cold nights in November to save. I was ready to scream from the roof-tops that WE DID IT!!!

Now here is the problem. She is very narrow, and the built up pad I have is not built up in the right places. The Aussie saddle that I used for her mother is still too wide for her. It is much closer than my western saddle but still needs a lot of padding. I created a shim for it for ride two and it was much better but still not great.

Ride two happened with much less fanfare sort of. She was much easier to tighten and much less anxious, she stood well for the mount (from a step of course) and walked off nicely at the smooch. But she had a surprise up her hoof for me. She decided she was going to try bucking. Every time I would apply leg to reinforce a turn she would buck. I corrected her strongly and moved on. Twice she tried it, twice she failed to remove me from her back. She quitted down and was following leads nicely so I decided that I would take her out of the round pen and ride her somewhere much more solid.

We received a lot of rain between the first and second ride so the round pen was very soft. I didn’t want to keep making it worse so I dismounted and went out to the drive way. We walked through the barn and remounted out front. She really was concerned and wasn’t sure about walking away from her comfort zone but with encouragement and soft words she took her unsure steps.

My drive to the barn is easily 3/10th of a mile long so we have a good straight stretch to walk on solid ground. She made it past the trucks, the old jog cart, and limbs strewn on the yard. Past the old red well house, more cars parked at my husband’s office, and didn’t even jump when Justin came walking around the corner of the building. She even was curious enough to walk up to him. We stood for just a moment to talk and then proceeded on up the drive. Turned around and walked (at the same speed) back to the barn. We came to a stop in front of the barn door and I got off.

WE DID IT! We DID IT!!!

Now I just have to find a saddle that is narrow enough to fit her properly. At this point I don’t care if it is western or English; I just want it to fit her without a lot of extra padding that makes it feel like your hovering over her back.

If anyone has a really narrow saddle you would like to sell please contact me. I am 5’9” so I would need at least a 17 ½ English. I don’t care if it looks like the hind wheels of bad luck as long as it fits and is safe. Since I do leather work and repair I can fix some things as long as the tree is in good shape.

I considered one of those soft saddles but I think I weigh too much and it might hurt her back. So I would feel better with some kind of saddle. Any suggestions? Send them my way. Thanks in advance and stay tuned for more.

Set Backs and Frustrations...

With the go ahead from the vet Sammy's training was to begin last Monday, but apparently I neglected to run my plans past Mother Nature. Monday morning reveled 1 1/2 to 2 inches of ice soon to be followed by 2 inches of snow. Our area had been hit by the worst winter storm in YEARS. We lost power at the farm and our house somewhere around 10 am on Monday morning and power was finally restored Sunday morning about the same time.

Of course with so much ice my farm, trees, and fences look like they have been through a war zone.

Everyone in Western Kentucky has suffered these kinds of losses including having the electrical service ripped right out of their houses. So I really have nothing to whine about except these oak trees were estimated to be around 100 years old. They were the one feature of our farm at the time of purchase that I didn't want to change.



Ok enough whining...

Sammy as you know has had some issues with stalls, and being confined. Those of you who have followed from the beginning know she has gotten much much better. However, we have not had an instance to keep her in a stall for more than just a night. She was in her stall from Sunday night at feeding time until Thursday morning. The ice was so bad that I was afraid one of them would hurt themselves slipping around so we kept them up.

She was amazing. No nervous pawing, chewing, kicking, nothing that would indicate any of the trials that she had experienced in the past. I was really worried how she would handle being confined for so long. But she never fails to amaze me.

I had wondered if keeping her at my friends barn was going to be hard on her but now I see that she has really changed. She is so much more relaxed and calm. It is so amazing to watch her bloom and change. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that she would be just fine, but I was afraid to really believe.

The bottom line is Sammy is amazing, she is wonderful, smart and ready to start her new life.

Stay tuned, we are going to try again for this week. Wish me luck.

Good News and Bad News

Well, let’s get the bad out of the way because it leads to the good news. My Daughters horse Tanner had an accident on Monday/Tuesday that required a visit from the vet and 17 stitches. He is going to be just fine and it shouldn't even leave a scar. But here is the good news.

While MV was at the barn he wanted to see Sammy. While he was stitching up Tanner's shoulder we discussed her and the fact that she is not gaining weight as I feel she should. She looks 100% better than she did, but she still has some points as you would expect to see on a two or three yr old. Hips and chest, and she is just really narrow. So we talked about her feed, and supplements, worming, and such. He shook his head "Your doing everything you can, but she was starved for so long, she may never come completely out of it. She may always be a very hard keeper" We talked about her Dam (Misty) who had been hard to put weight on (not that you can tell it now) and wondered if that may be part of her genetics. We talked about her exercise routine, and turn out time. Nothing amiss there either. Then he made the suggestion that I go ahead and start breaking her.

We (my daughter and I) had begun that task if you remember back in the fall. I however decided that she hadn't put on enough weight yet and combined with the weather suspended her "training". He suggested that starting her out at 10 min under saddle or so at a time might cause her Metabolism to "kick in" help her to gain weight. It will definitely put muscle on her which she needs.

So there is a new plan. Since we are still in the deep freeze here, I am going to take her to a friend’s walking horse barn. It has a wide long hallway designed to ride in and there will always be someone there with me working other horses. Sammy is going to start working and we are going to start building muscle.

Wow, just thinking about it makes my heart pound from excitement and apprehension. I have never been nervous about breaking a horse, but this little girl. OH, it is like playing the lottery for years and suddenly you win. You have excitement, disbelief, and nervousness, all rolled into one. I suddenly realized that I had become so comfortable just having her home safe with me that, even though I had always planned to, had not really believed the images of me riding her. Now it is time to step up to the plate and take a swing at it. The only thing I can compare this feeling to is pre-wedding cold feet. LOL How silly is that?

So wish me luck. I will of course keep you posted.

Sunday Stills

Color is our challenge this week. With all the gray days of winter color is a refreshing bright spot.

So with all the gray days I found my bright spot of color.