Catching up

Thankful Thursday 5 Responses »
Oct 072009

Amy Jo & Cornelius on Saturday

Amy Jo & Cornelius on Saturday


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Romina & Sky on Sunday


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Megan & Diamond on Saturday


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Me & Paisano on Sunday


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Me & Paisano on Saturday, just before finding a nest of ground bees!


Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

It’s been a busy time for me lately. I started this post a couple of weeks ago and now two Thursdays have passed, so time to finish it and get it posted!


I am thrilled to have found a wonderful group of women to ride with. A weekend get together had been in the works for quite some time and it finally happened last month. Amy Jo arranged for us to meet up with Megan and Romina for a weekend of riding and visiting. We all stayed at Romina’s and rode two days in really wonderful settings.


Saturday, we rode out from Romina’s around dormant cropland, through huge open fields and around acres of Christmas trees. The views were incredible and expansive. I felt like I could see the curve of the earth fall away around me.


Paisano did well, riding with the two mares and one gelding. We had ridden together before, but in the more familiar setting of Tired Dog Ranch. On our arrival, we tried Paisano in a pasture with Cornelius and Diamond. After maybe twenty minutes of sparring with no one really settling down, I moved Paisano to a small paddock out back. He was totally fine hanging out on his own, so there he stayed for the weekend. He enjoyed riding out with them, but sharing living space was not quite so cozy.


After a wonderful dinner Saturday evening, provided by Romina, and very nice, restful sleep, we trailered to Silver Falls State Park for our Sunday ride. Even at noon, it was jacket temperature under the trees. We unloaded, tacked up and headed out for a loop of about eight miles. The only disappointment to the day was finding out that none of the horse trails go by any of the falls so prominently displayed on the park website.


The scenery was beautiful none the less. There had been some rain, which made the trails slick in some areas. At one point, we all dismounted and led our horses. Paisano was wearing his Easyboot Bares. They don’t have the greatest traction, so he was practically skiing through the slick clay. He took it all pretty calmly. I was just glad that I was not astride! I will look forward to returning in the dry summer months.


It’s a real treat to ride in new and interesting locations. This sort of experience is why I have been wanting the freedom of having my own, well trained, easy going horses. The last few years of green horses, organizing and gathering gear, trailer, etc. have all been worth it, as we are here! Now that’s something to be thankful for!

Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • From the Horse’s Back
    • If you are on Twitter and you found value in this post, please retweet. Thanks!
    Posted by Simrat at 9:49 pm Tagged with: , ,

    Whew!

    AR Cirro, Thankful Thursday 4 Responses »
    Feb 262009

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

    Here is the silly goof fogging up my lense on a cold morning a couple of weeks ago.

    Here is the silly goof fogging up my lense on a cold morning a couple of weeks ago. No blur added in PhotoShop. That's what the camera saw.

  • I am now the happy owner of a cute, healthy little gelding. Vin’s surgery went well and he’s staying over tonight for observation. I was told that he was a very good patient. I stopped in on my lunch break, while he was still a bit groggy and visited for a few minutes. He was very mellow, of course, and enjoyed some scratches and cuddles. I look forward to a long future with this little family horse.
  • I am further grateful to my friends for their support, Amy Jo, Susan and Pam. I was a bit of a nervous wreck! I figured that by the end of the day, I would either have a gelding or a dead horse. That is just where my mind goes in these situations. I end up starting to mentally prepare for the worst before it even happens. Thankfully, I had no need of any of that preparation today.
  • Third I am thankful for the quiet moments in the day when I realize that I have this life to live. That I am here today, now, in this place and time. I breathe in and out and I Am.
  • And, oddly, I love the pouring rain that we’ve been having. There is such energy in it. It comes pounding on the roofs, slanting across the sky at 45 degrees through the windows. Ah, yes, you’ve picked up that I enjoy it when I’m inside. Well, it does make horsekeeping challenging. Turnout has been severely limited at the barn. Sunday, I turned out and ended up bringing them back in after less than two hours. I don’t think any of them have been outside the barn and arena since then. Aside from that, the rain is cleansing and fresh. And it won’t last forever, so I am grateful for when it pounds down like this

    • Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog.
  • Then link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
  • If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments of my latest Thankful Thursday. post instead..
    • Posted by Simrat at 12:02 am Tagged with: , , ,

    The Start of a New Phase

    AR Cirro, Choctaw Lily, Family 2 Responses »
    Jan 312009
    The Crew! They did a great job! I couldn't have done the move without them. Thanks!

    The Crew! They did a great job! I couldn't have done the move without them. Thanks!

    That’s right, it’s a new era for me and the horses. They are both now only ten minutes from my house. I’ll let the photos do most of the talking today. I got my thumbnails to work, so you can click on the images to get a larger view.


    But first, the part that I didn’t get any photos of… my morning ride on Lily. After my turn at feeding everyone, I let her eat a bit, then groomed and tacked up. We rode the mile down the road. The first half mile was done at a walk to warm up. Then a trot over a small bridge. First challenge was a farmer up in a tree in his orchard with a chain saw. It was the biggest spook Lily has done in a while, but she did settle down after we exchanged “Good Morning!” Ah, just a person with a noisy thing, not a horse eating monster set to jump down on her.

    The stack at the beginning.

    The stack at the beginning.

    After the little bridge, there are a few long stretches beside the road of nice soft, grassy areas, perfect for a nice moving out trot or easy canter. Most vehicles are good about slowing down and giving a wide berth. I always smile pulling onto this road, as there are signs up that say, “Share the Road” with horses on them.


    When we go down to the big bridge over the Willamette, Lily wasn’t too keen on crossing, so I got down and led her. Years ago, we crossed this same bridge, when it was being widened from one to two lanes. That time, she didn’t blink an eye! Despite the compressor running in the middle of the bridge and he HUGE backhoe working down below, complete with extremely sqeaky tank type treads. We will get there again! I have to remember that it’s been a long time since we have done this sort of thing together.

    Vinnie made some new friends today!

    Vinnie made some new friends today!

    Once across that bridge, I mounted up again and we were off on trails. All along Lily was happily crunching on gravel. I haven’t found my tiny allen wrench to adjust my Renegades, so she was bare. Even so, she did great. We didn’t ride up very far today. I had to get back to turn out the other horses and also had to get on with my day to collect Vin!
    And filling the trailer at the end!

    And filling the trailer at the end!



    On the way back to the barn, we had a nice short canter, some long trot and a good walk to cool out. It was nice to get Lily into a sweat once again! When I pulled her saddle, it was cool enough that steam rose from her back. I threw a cooler on and let her finish her breakfast, while I turned out the other horses. I think that I might baby her too much sometimes. She is tougher than I think. After I dismounted, I realized that I need to get tougher. I haven’t ridden that long in a while and my legs felt like rubber. But it was so worth it!!

    Puggle distrations! :-D

    Puggle distrations! :-D

    After many phone conversations organizing the crew and logistics, I was off on the freeway to the old barn. Once there, I pulled mats and puttered around waiting for the crew to arrive. My husband has the excellent idea of using the flatbed to bring a full load of hay, while I had the help. If it had been drier, it would have worked out great, but I ended getting my truck stuck and needed a push to get it out. No flatbed today. Back to hitch up the horse trailer. I had planned to fill the truck with hay, load Vin and be done for the day. Instead, we hauled stall mats, my stock tank and filled the rest of the trailer with hay. About two tons in all.

    Vin getting hugs good bye, since he wasn't coming on the first run.

    Vin getting hugs good bye, since he wasn't coming on the first run.


    Definitely enjoying the attention.

    Definitely enjoying the attention.

    I couldn't choose between this one....

    I couldn't choose between this one....


    ... and this one!

    ... and this one!

    Every bale had to be tossed or hauled up to the loft. we used ropes.

    Every bale had to be tossed or hauled up to the loft. we used ropes.

    Hard work, but fun too.

    Hard work, but fun too.

    Vin has never lived in a stall before, so this will be a new experience for him. It will be interesting to see how quickly he becomes a stall baby. Paisano certainly took to it easily. It used to be hard to get him to step out when it was wet outside.

    Barn? Not so sure about this...

    Barn? Not so sure about this...

    The end of a long and productive day! Tomorrow morning, I’ll head out to feed again and see how he is settling in. If all goes well, he will be turned out with the 8 month old colt who already lives there. Now off to bed for me!
    Posted by Simrat at 10:41 pm Tagged with: , ,
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