I am back - and this entry is not pretty

Sorry, I have been away for a while. I am back to blogging.

It has been very hot here in the Pacific NW. Too hot, just over 100 degree weather. I have been bloating like a fat --- well anyway,, it has been very uncomfortable.

Surprisingly enough, the horses are doing well. Where I board there is not much shade. So they get part of the day outside and part of the day indoors just to keep them from suffering in this heat.

So I was surfing the net last night and ran across an article about some guy who was caught having sex with a horse. Ok, the horse was not his. It belonged to a woman that lived "down the road". This was not his first offense with this particular horse. He was caught in the act about a year before this.

This man was deamed mentally unstable. He got 3 yrs probation. Well the woman noticed her horse was having infections again and was "upset" in the morning when the woman went to feed.
So the woman started sleeping in the barn for about 3 days and nothing happened. So she set up cameras in her barn and caught the guy on tape.

She told the police what was going on. The cops could not believe it was the same guy with the same horse until they were shown the video. Well before the cops could get there, She caught the guy in her barn and held him at gun point with a shot gun. (Nice, and who said gun control does not work??? Seems to work here)

They hauled the guy away. It turns out that this guy needs his medication. They are "assuming" he was not taking it.

At any point, I feel sorry for the poor horse. She was "molested" and had mulitple infections.

So I am posting the link to this article so you can read it for yourself.

http://news.aol.com/article/woman-catches-horse-molester/594603

Just in from HORSE.COM

New Charges Against Nebraska Mustang Ranch Operator by: Pat Raia May 21 2009, Article # 14207
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The operator of a Nebraska training ranch and sanctuary for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustangs and burros now faces more than 140 counts of felony animal cruelty in connection with the alleged maltreatment of animals seized from his property in April.
Jason C. Meduna, operator of 3-Strikes Ranch, appeared in Morrill County Court on Wednesday. County Attorney Jean Rhodes entered an amended complaint containing 149 counts of class 4 felony Cruel Neglect of Animal.
Each charge carries penalties of up to 5 years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines.
A preliminary hearing has been set for June 17.
Meduna was originally charged with one count of animal cruelty after Morrill County law enforcement authorities discovered 211 allegedly emaciated mustangs, burros, and mules at the ranch, along with the carcasses of another 74. The additional charges are the result of an ongoing investigation.
Meduna was unavailable for comment.
Habitat for Horses, a Texas-based rescue, and the Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue of California received custody of seized animals. All have been placed in adoptive homes.
"Everybody's doing fine," said Habitat for Horses President Jerry Finch.

Week of little firsts

Wow, what a week. It is been a week of little firsts.

I am to be a grandmother again. In October, I will have another granddaughter. This will be the first girl, for my oldest daughter. She is so excited. She has called me several times to make sure she is not dreaming. Daddy is excited as well. Little brother is not, he wanted a boy to play with.

The other first is, I finally got my horse to understand that it is okay to walk in the arena. Every time she was in there she felt like she had to trot or jog. I could not get her to just walk. I think having her on the trail Sunday for the first time, really helped.

When we started out she wanted to take off right away. I had to hold her back and we did circles at first. Of course she was trying to trot the circles but it was too difficult to do. So I slowly worked her, let her trot a little but eventually she figured out that all I wanted to do was walk. When she felt it was a good thing, and not something she was going to be punished for, she started to relax.

She started taking things slow. So we just walked for a while in the arena. I am not sure she enjoyed it but she did relax and was not so jumpy. It was nice.

My husband was watching me ride, he told me that I looked much more relaxed in the saddle. That I looked like I was very much in control, and knew what I was doing. He had not seen me that relaxed, on her back ever.

So it turned out to be a nice ride. She still spooked at different little things but quickly relaxed when she realized what it was that spooked her.

So we will continue for a while just walking around the arena till she is relaxed enough to take it up a notch. I just don't want her to feel the need to go fast when we are in the arena.

My goal is to eventually get to where I can get her into a nice lope. We have yet to do that. But right now I want to build on the confidence that she is gaining. I need to have her understand, that what she is doing the right thing and that she will not be punished for what she does wrong. That I will correct her, but not take it out on her. I truly believe that is her problem.

In the meantime, she is coming along nicely. I am proud of her. She is becoming my partner.

Trail rides

You know there is something spiritual about trail rides. Being out on a trail, even if your with someone else. Just having time to look at the wonders of the nature around you.

It seems like nature has a way of making you reflect, not only on yourself but your life, your friends, and your family, as well as your animals.

Now on my trail ride, I was on an old guy named Chance. He was given that name when he came to the rescue. He is an old palamino. Chance has cushings.
www.horsechannel.com/horse-health/equine-cushings-disease-24321.aspx

Cushing is where you have problems with the pituitary gland. There is no cure.
It can cause tumors. I have inserted a link that tells more about it.

But Chance is a lively old guy. He like any other horse loves attention. When he is tired he will give you that extra mile. He is a trooper on the trail.

So I sit on this guys back, he is enjoying the outing. So am I. I listen to the birds, look at the trees, and the wild flowers were blooming.

I can't help but wonder what kind of life, Chance has had. Then I look at my life.
I don't have cushings. I am healthly. Would I go that extra mile if I was tired? I guess I would have to say, it depends. It depends on what is asked of me. Then I think about Chance. He would do it no matter how he felt.

Then I look over at my horse. This is the first time that I know of that she has been on the trail. Look how brave she is. Am I that brave? Think back at all the "firsts" I have had. My first time away from my parents, the first time in school, the first time in junior high school, then on to high school, then some to college or marriage.

Some of use turn out to shine in this world, others just get by and some find a niche and want to just live their life. That would be me. I just want to live my life. I love my life. I don't shine, and I don't fail. I am just someone who is there for her family and her animals. I am just there for the job I do every day. But I am happy.

Now look at your horse. We all know you want what is best for the horse. But this animal is your partner. Have patience, and a firm hand. That does not mean to beat it, just let it know they can't get away with stuff, like eating grass on the trail, or bucking when you get on or what ever.

Love your horse. Not physically, but with emotion, with medical care, with good food, shoes, shelter, water. Let the horse know that they can trust you. Most of all spend time with your horse. Horses are smart. They will get to know you and understand you, and then when that moment arrives that you need a shoulder to cry on, your horse will be there for you. And then, you will learn to trust the horse.

Weekend barn people

Wow,, what a wonderful weekend. It was hot and sunny. I spent the weekend at the barn. It was great. I was there with a bunch of wonderful people. I had already met them but didn't really spend a lot of time with them. They are a great bunch. They had me laughing and carrying on with them.

I met a couple of the 4-h kids, Shelby and Tanya. Shelby is a riot. She tends to be a rambler and jumps from one topic to the other with out taking a breath in between. She is a character.

Tanya is more reserved. She does not own a horse but uses the rescue horses for her 4-h projects. She was told she could not get a horse till she graduates from high school and has a job. So instead, she works at the barn and uses one of St. Krissy's horses.

We got a new rescue in Friday afternoon. An 18yr old lost her job and could not keep her 3rd level dressage horse. He really is not a rescue, but because she could not sell him fast enough so she had to bring him to us.

Shelby was all excited. You see, not only does Shelby do 4-h with horses, she also does goats. She was there when the horse came in. Shelby rides western but has been taking dressage lessons as well. St. Krissy told her that she could show the horse in the fair this year. Shelby is so excited.

In talking about St. Krissy, I found out that not only does Krissy do the 4-h for horses, and goats. She also makes time as a Big Sister. So she as a girl that she spends time with once a week. Now Krissy's barn is big. There are a number of horses there at any given time. Krissy retrains the rescues, and give riding lessons as well. Not to mention cleaning stalls, helping the kids and adults like me who might need a little assistance. I want to know where Krissy's energy comes from.

Krissy also has rabbits, 2 dogs and a brand new adorable puppy. She also has 2 llama's that keep the blackberrys down. You know what?? I envy her. I would love to have that kind of life. At least until it came to people who are boarding that are hard to deal with.

Krissy has the patience of a Saint. But, She will let you known when you over step your bounds. She does it in a nice way but yet in a way that you know she means business. I respect that.

I honestly don't know how she can deal with people coming at her from all side. She constantly gets phone calls, interruptions from kids, adults, horses and dogs.

I am not saying she does everything on her own. She does have help. She has Aimee. Aimee helps feed and clean stalls. Aimee also helps train the horses as well. My hat is off to Aimee as well. Aimee has helped me out many a time.

So this last Sunday, I got to go trail riding for the first time with my rescue Melina. Because I would call myself a beginner with my foot in the door to intermediate, Krissy had me ride one of the older kid safe horses. Krissy rode her mare, and Aimee rode Melina. I was impressed with my horse. She did quite well. She didn't spook, she did shy away from a mud puddle but she saw the other horses go through it and then it was okay. I was proud of her.

Now in the arena??? That is a different story. Melina seems to think she need to trot the entire time we are in there. She has not decided that it is okay to just walk. She is very nervous. We are not sure what her history is but we seem to think that she was worked very hard in the arena when she was there. She becomes jumpy and everything seems to scare her.

So for her to go out on the trail and do so well,, we were all pleased. So Melina and I will spend more time on the trails and less in the arena. And that is okay by me,, and Melina. I am looking forward to spending the weekends trail riding with people from the barn.

Egos

You know sometime in this world, we do things or say things, that well, not everyone agrees with. Now I know I might step on toes here, but I have a few things to say. Don't get me wrong, I am not racist or sexist, in any way. But today my blog is going to sound that way. So, if today's blog offends you, I am sorry. But here goes.

I feel this overwhelming need to talk about the "ego". Most women don't really have one that shows its ugly head. So this brings me to the male gender. I am sorry to say but men have huge egos. Sometimes it gets in the way of really wonderful things.

Take horses for instant, I have been around horses for a long time. I have always found, that each and every horse is different and they teach me different things about themselves. When someone offers me advise, I gladly take it. I mull it around in my brain for a while and digest it. Then I try to use that advise and see if it works with my horse. Some times it does and other times it does not.

Now I do know a few men, and I find they all seem to have a little problem taking advise. I usually hear something like this. " I have a plan for my horse and I can train him this way" Or sometime I hear, " I have been around horses all my life. This is method works on every horse."

Then you get the ones who know very little and yet think they know all about horses just because they have one or have been around a few horses in their lifetime. They are the worst offenders. They trust too much, yet know it all. You can't tell them anything, and they have an opinion about everything.

Now I am not just saying it is all men, there are a few women who are like this as well. But there seems to be this problem with call "testosterone". It seems to flare up when the men are around women and they are wanting to "show off" their abilities to the people around them. It seems that when testosterone flares up and shows its ugly head, the brain stops working. Common sense goes out the door.

Here again, this does not only happen with the male gender,, well at the testosterone does but there are times, when a women looses her mind as well and does stupid things.

But this testosterone thing is well, to say it nicely, disturbing. What was once thought to make a man desirable, has now in turn, made women take a second look at men. It is not pretty to see a man working a horse and when a woman walks up to see what is going on, they suddenly "turn manly".

What makes a woman truly take notice in a man is, the way he treats his horse. If He is open to suggestion, uses common sense when handling his horse, and most of all, he doesn't try to impress anyone with his abilities.

THAT RIGHT THERE, makes a man a true horse man. It is also nice when he actually asks questions even though he may already have an answer, just to see if the answer is going to be something new he might learn.

Now there are ladies or women, that you might know who fit the profile I have just talked about. So women take note here, If you or someone you know fits into any situation I have talked about. Then you, yes you, need to look at yourself and ask, Do I really know all I need to know about horses. Chances are you will say NO.

So to all the people reading this blog. Listen to other horse people you don't know what you might learn. You do not know it all because the only true teacher is your horse. You will learn a lot by listening to your horse, and to others who have possibly tried different methods of training. Take a clinic, I guarantee you will learn SOMETHING. You can't take a clinic and not learn at least one thing.

Do listen to others around you, it could save you from getting hurt.
Take to heart and mind that maybe, just maybe they might know something you don't

Ruby

Well I promised to post pictures as soon as I could on Ruby.

She is growing like a weed. She has been taught to pick up her feet already. She leads, oh and her head was so small they had to get a mini halter for her.

Mom is doing well with all the attention. If fact, she is a lot easier to handle and has no problem with people touching and handling Ruby.

It is nice that Lilly is coming around as well as Ruby.

It seems like St. Krissy can work miracles. I, for one am thankful to have Krissy around.

Her knowledge about horses is incredible. She is one of those people who make a huge impact on this world of ours.

Well this coming weekend is supposed to be nice. I, for one, am planning on spending a lot of time at the barn. I want to ride and bathe my horse. She needs to be worked desperately. She looks like a sausage.

My husband has decided that the horse he has is too tall. So we will keep her because she is such a love, but we will be looking for another horse. He wants something that is 14.2 hands to 15 hands. He didn't say color mattered which is good but he wants something well trained. I want him to get a husband safe horse. I really think he wants that as well.

Of course we will be looking at rescues first, but it is hard buy a horse from a rescue because if they have not had the horse long enough, they might not REALLY know the temperment of the horse. So when we look at the rescues, one of the many questions that will be asked is "how long have you had this horse?"

They say you can tell a lot by the horses eyes. I believe that, but I also know that some people will actually give the horse something to calm them down if they know that there is someone coming to see the horse. Yes, people do this. It happens all the time. Anyway, a horse may in fact appear to be calm, and yet when the "drug" wears off they can be a,,, well a little hard to handle.

So We will take our time to search for just the right horse. Who knows, it may be the very first horse we see,,, or it may be the 10,000th horse.