Abandonment. Shame. Dishonor on my family.... annnd now we're moving on.

Thankfully I'm not talking about some abandoned horses, although we all know they exist. Shamefully, I do mean this blog. I abandoned you. I can't even lie and say I was busy- I have however been in a post graduation funk with no desire to write. For that you have my apologies.

Recently I went to a week long mindfulness retreat with the Buddhist master, Thich Nhat Hahn, it was called 'Healing yourself, healing the world'. It was truly awesome. This is where I got back my motivation. It is also why I'm determined to take this blog in a more positive direction, there's enough negativity in the world without my adding to it.  I cannot promise that I wont slip up some times.

Also I chopped all my hair off at the start of the summer. I also dyed it blonde, pink and maroon brown before going back to black. It's awesome for working horses- no pony tail to get in the way of my helmet and no hair going in my mouth when it's windy! Hooray!

So, a long overdue update!

I think the last real thing I blogged about was just after a got Evanna but just before we got River Song (I brought her home the following week.)

So, I'll fill you in about those two and where they ended up, and introduce you to my two current projects- Rhythm and Lace (Lacey) and :Loki (Lightning Cran Bar). They were both bought from Beebe.

So, Evanna- she finally got (kind of) better about lowering her head- this was an issue. But she was an absolutely fantastic trail horse who would go through or over anything you pointed her at.  She went home with a nice woman in her mid twenties who had a overly spunky arabian. In truth, I was a little concerned about the sale as I felt she was not as experienced as she had said and because I thought Evanna might be too much horse for her. But they liked each other and they were close enough that I could help them out if they needed it. So far I've heard nothing so I'm assuming all is well.

Now on to River. River came to me without a name, so I named her River Song because I'm a Doctor Who fan. She's nothing like the character. In other news, I'm going as an androgynous 11th Doctor for Halloween. Because short hair is fun and lets me do awesome stuff I couldn't do before.

Meet River when I got her.

Sweat strains and some serious dehydration. 

Someone left a halter on her and it had grown into her face in parts. 

River was covered in wood ticks- hundreds of them. 

Those aren't all scabs- no, most of those are wood ticks too. 

Tiny, evil little seed ticks. I spent all morning picking them off. They were EVERYWHERE. Thankfully River was a champ about it and never even offered to kick.

My morning- aren't you jealous? 

So you understand just how bad this was: River was so swollen from all the tick bites on her vulva and under her tail that she was completely unable to urinate. After I got them off and cleaned her all up (Not the most fun thing I've ever done- yet somehow also not the worst) she immediately urinated and looked much happier. 

I feel the need to restate, this horse who did not know me at all, that was in a completely strange environment, let me spend 5 hours painfully picking half embedded wood ticks out of her most private areas, clean her vulva, and then bathed her. All without out pinning an ear back, offering to kick or even move.  If that's not a horse with a temperament that doesn't deserve to go to slaughter, I don't know what is. 

The person next to me (a trader/KB) told me she was lame when I was bidding on her. Her owner heard and said that she was absolutely not and he'd put it in writing. Which he did. Also he was right and she wasn't lame at all. 

Such a trusting horse

She just looks unbalanced and uncomfortable doesn't she? 

 The only thing she had a problem with was loading in the trailer. So after a few hours of clicker training and slow steps, River got to where she'd go in when I pointed. 

Her face healed up completely (much to my surprise- I assumed she'd have some scarring), she put on some healthy muscle and after lots of testing, River was ready to find a new home. Actually she never even got listed. She was rehomed before we even tried to put her up.

She went to go live with my friend Christy, the lovely woman who bought Honey. 

River liked people. And giving kisses. 

Look ma, no hands- River was very concerned as you can see

So here are some pictures of River at her new home! (where she's doing great by the way)

River and Honey 

Much prettier movement 

I showed my chiropractor this picture (I was recently in a car accident) and she commented that she really liked the horse on the right. Her jaw dropped when I told her it was the same horse. Amazing what a difference proper care makes....


Oh, and just for fun, Kota's owners sent me some nice new pictures a little while back:

Apparently her grandma just loves him and brings him carrots and they bring him to see her. He looks pretty proud of himself. I think this is about the cutest picture ever. 

A better update on my new babies to come! For now just the pictures

Lacey (Rhythm and Lace)- 8 year old TWH mare. Possibly used to be shown in big lick- previous owner was rehabbing her feet. She moves more like a BL horse than the other walkers I've ridden. Apparently she was registered at one point but they were lost in a fire. 

Loki (Lightning Cran Bar)- 8 year old registered QH gelding- previous ranch horse for most of his life. Big motor...  aka, loki likes to go fast. Loki is good at going fast. Loki likes to make sharp turns without slowing down and would make an excellent barrel horse. He's roped cattle and even had a gun shot off him.  Loki is a pest and a half. 

Seriously, he won't leave you alone. 

Lacey was impossible to catch when I got her. After some clicker sessions she's now easy to catch every time and will even come up to you. She no longer runs away when we approach and doesn't try to freak out and escape if someone makes a sudden movement. She's also one ground covering speed gaiting trail horse.