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. 

Not dead- Again!

So I'm not dead, but my computer has been. Just got access to something other than my smart phone. Updates to come!

Auction report and Evanna: depressing with a dash of hope for humanity

So I had a post I was working on, but I didn't really care about it. Also I've been gardening like crazy, we're trying to make our yard a big organic fruit garden. Yum.

I went to the London auction on Saturday, I couldn't remember what time it started so I got there about 6:30 pm, horses didn't start until after 10:30. UGH. They'd already started tack by the time we got there too, there was just so much stuff and the auctioneer took forever.

Saddles were dirt cheap- no one was bidding. I'm mad I missed a very lightweight round skirt leather saddle, it went for $35 when I wasn't paying attention. I wanted that. But I did get a fluffy pretty purple and black saddle pad for pictures (I'm sticking with my good pad that's not pretty for riding) for $24 (I also bought it for a butt rest because the seats there are just wooden benches) and we picked up a pretty, older 14 inch Circle Y saddle for only $235. It's dark leather and tooled all over, heavy as hell which I don't love. But it'd be a good resale saddle or a keep for pictures, if the horses like it that is.

So, here's the auction report.

RT- ridden through
NRT- not ridden through
L- loose inring
KB- kill buyer
TD- trader (possibly kill buyer)
NS- no sale

1. 6 y/o 15 hh QH chestnut mare, broke, RT, said she was kid safe but she was very nervous in the ring so I suspect they were lying *gasp*! $250 KB
2. 6 y/o molly mule, bay, shown, RT, reining trained, extremely responsive, a really nice mule overall. They no saled, they wanted $750 (for good reason) 
3. Small gray appy mule, R, fugly $75
4. Nice kid broke bay gelding, 14 y/o 15.1hh, QH. responsive and quiet. They'd been riding him outside and he was giving kids rides double and wasn't spooky at all.  Good horse. $650 (a steal)
5. Big chestnut gelding, scared, RT, rode okay $300
6. 2 y/o dapple gray mare, very cute, would mature into a nice horse, RT, $140 KB
7. 2006 15+ hh  bay reg. QH mare, very stocky and well built, good looking mare, RT, rode nicely, $290 owner NS wanted $750
8. 7 y/o chestnut possibly dark palomino molly mule, RT, $160 TD
9. Big chestnut mare, RT, okay handle on her, said she had no ground manners. $210
10. 8 y/o bay paint pony gelding, flashy, dirty and grumpy looking, RT, $60 TD
11. over 16 hh 10 y/o dun gelding, very pretty and well built, NTR- not broke, said he hadn't been touched in 5 years. Very nervous in the ring and in the pen before. $525
12. Mousy buckskin 4 y/o gelding, nervous, small/runty, $125 TD
13. Cool looking chestnut leopard appy pony gelding, flashy, RT, $140  (Owner tried to tell me I should have bought him after the sale, I laughed and asked him what I'd do with a pony?!)
14. Big stocky bay mule, 10 y/o molly, RT- rode okayish, they did stupid stunts on her though like the sliding off the butt and standing in the saddle (because that's a good measure of how well they're trained, right?) $925
15. Terrified 2 y/o bay mare, QH, RT (kind of), $80  TD
16. Black pony mare, branded, RT, rode badly, $50
17. 2 y/o dark grey reg. paint filly, pretty, registered, had hernia as a yearling but the owner had it taken care of, NTR, $95
18. 2005 reg. buckskin QH mare, smallish, very laid back, rode nicely, pretty mare, (I rode her before the sale, she was lazy but calm) $900 owner NS wanted $3,000  (yeah right)
19. 8 y/o dun gelding, nervous, RT, hadn't been ridden in 2 years, pretty but small, $500 NS
20. Sickly looking bay mini gelding, not shed out at all, sad looking, NTR $40
21. 2006 reg paint Bay or black mare,  okayish build, NTR, had 2 month old bay colt at her side, $340
22. 5 y/o MFT gelding, green broke,  rode nicely but scared, light grey $140
23. 1999 reg. QH, well built chestnut mare, NRT, broodmare $235 KB
24.  5 y/o chestnut gelding, plain looking, RT, said he will buck. $200 TD/KB
25. 19 y/o Reg. Qh, beautiful buckskin mare, rode nicely, gorgeous condition, ears clipped and she was friendly (I liked her) she did not look 19 at all, had Doc Bar on her actual papers. $350 NS 
26. Team of 2 black racing ponies, NTR, $100 for both, TD/KB
27. Nicely built 10 y/o palomino mare, RT, rode pretty well, friendly in the pen, good condition, said she'd been owned by a 74 year old man and "anyone can ride her" $340. She came home with me.          She's very sweet, intelligent and calm. No problem catching or haltering her and she jumped right in the pitch black  trailer with a total stranger.Very polite and respectful without being fearful at all, stands tied nicely, needs her feet done and she doesn't like her ears touched. She does have a weird hard bump on her lower left hind leg, but it's not sensitive at all, she's not lame and it doesn't seem to bother her a bit. She's in heat right now and is still just as quiet and polite as can be. Overall just a nice little mare.  She was on my top picks list.
28. 
      I made her model two of the saddles I'm selling. It was funny, someone has already texted us asking how much for the pretty palomino mare. Ha!
29. Scrawny 7 y/o palomino gelding, fugly and eye necked but laid back, RT,  they did the stupid stunts on him. $435 
30. 7 y/o gaited pony mare with filly at side , branded, RT, rode nicely
31.  Skinny and nervous flea bitten gray QH gelding, kicked or bit all to hell, all cut up, said he was used in a petting zoo before, $45 KB
32.  VERY skinny paint 11 y/o gelding with a huge gaping cut bleeding all down his leg, sad eyes, NTR, bad build, I missed his price
33.  Bay 2006 reg. QH gelding, good bloodlines, rode very nicely, said they'd headed off him before. $475
34.  7 y/o sweet buckskin bald faced gelding, absolutely huge horse, well over 16 hands, RT,  He was going to be my pity buy because he was sweet but blind in one eye and sunburned,  $650 to TD/KB to flip. One of the auctioneer/barn owners tried to get me to keep bidding on him after I'd reached my cap so I asked him what was up with his eye. He said: "It's a glass eye" Amazingly, I have seen and worked with blue eyed horses before so that wasn't what I meant. I responded "I know, I meant what's wrong with his eye- he was blind in one eye in the pen." After this he promptly looked panicked and said: "Well if he is don't say it!"  Classy.
35. Bay paint mare, RT, half cute and half fugly at the same time, they rode her backwards for some reason, $200 
36. Dark shiny bay mare, nice build but kinda ewe necked, said she was smooth mouthed when I asked her age, RT, $240 TD/KB
37. Cute little grulla mini mare, 4 y/o, speedy with a good handle, RT, $210 
38. "Rocky MT" saddle horse (Ha- as if) , black mare, 8 y/o, bad confo, kinda scrawny with no mane ( he'd conveniently forgotten her papers at home. He'd tried to get me interested in her earlier. Said she was kid safe and he put his girl up on her. Unfortunately for him, I knew him and his wild child of a daughter. He previously tried to sell me a "kid safe horse" that someone else told me bucked like a bronc as soon as you got him home.) $150 KB
39. Gray pony/small horse, 8 y/o gelding  RT, rode okay, stocky, been heeled off of, $525
40. Big pretty buckskin mare, reg. QH, 2007, rode nice- said she had 90 days riding. $875
41. Absolutely gigantic (his leg's came to my stomach and I'm 5 foot seven and all legs) he had to be 16.3 at least and built like a tank, 5 y/o dapple gray gelding, rode okay, kinda grumpy in the pen though, Very pretty and well built. $1250 NS owner wanted $1400 (still a steal at that)
42.  Fugly 4 y/o chestnut mare, NTR, said the owner had "Rescued" her a while back (again, it's not rescuing if you dump them at a kill sale later. Asshat.) $35 TD/KB
43. 2 black pony geldings, RT and broke to work, $80 for the pair, NS wanted $100 each
44. Nervous and jumpy paint mare, gaited, fugly, another "Rocky MT" mare he'd "forgotten" the papers for. Said she was spooky when I was talking to him. I found it amusing because the registry only accepts solid colored horses.) NRT, filthy dirty, $165
45. Reg.  Palomino (possibly a light dun) QH mare, 2006, RT, 60's days riding, $285 TD
46. 11 y/o gelding, liver chestnut, Arabian, okay build, didn't ride very well, $285 TD/KB
47. 2006 reg. QH (Hancock lines) flea bitten gray, big and stocky, very pretty and well built, full udder. Missed her price but she went to a trader
48. 2 skinny and fugly cremellos, a mare and a gelding, NRT, loose but they drug halters and lead ropes,  x2 at $85 TD
49.  Black/white  paint gelding, 14, smaller but stocky, very scared and he froze in the ring, they said he rode great normally. $360 
50. Reg. QH, Bay mare, with a lopped off tail, said they just pulled a foal off her yesterday (assholes), RT, $300
51. Chestnut molly mule, 6 or 7 y/o, broke to work not to ride, $160
52. 6 y/o small sorrel pony, RT, rode well, shown in barrels and poles- NS wanted $400
53. Very skinny black gelding, eye infection, run through, scared and fugly $80 TD/KB
54. Appy mule, 10 y/o gelding, RT, need feed to catch, #310
55. White gelding, NRT, filthy dirty, scared, run through,  $50 TD/KB
56. Black 2 yo gelding, all cut up to hell, run through, eye infection, $35 KB
57. Runty pony or stunted horse, palomino gelding, skinny, bad build, "kid broke", RT $35
58. Filthy B/W mare, NRT, $225
59. Bay 6 or 7 y/o, RT, $360
60. B/W mini gelding, NRT, $35KB
61. Palomino stud colt, fugly, $55 KB
62. Fugly leopard reg. appy pony sized, NRT, $65 TD
63. Fugly and nervous4 y/o  B/W paint mare, run through, $235 TD/KB
64. Mammoth Donkey stud, 8 y/o, loose
65. 2004 registered chestnut gelding, gigantic, RT, awful confo and hunchback type shoulder, weird looking but sweet in the pen and laid back. Owners said they were selling because he was just too big. Rider had to jump to reach the stirrup. $350 NS wanted $400
66. 'Interesting' looking gray 3 y/o stud, loose, $100 KB
67. Fat bay paint mare, 12 y/o, loose but "broke" been a broodmare, $270 
68. Scared 6 y/o bay paint gelding, NTR, $135 TD/KB
69. Black TWH, registered 2006, RT "Hot" and "all go". $85 NS wanted $300 
70. Bay mare, loose but "broke", $175 TD/KB
71. Chestnut QH, registered, 3 y/o, atrocious neck and runty build, RT. $225 KB- Owner NS

 So the pretty palomino mare came home with me. Her name is Evanna, well Evans Gift to be precise, but I like Evanna. The name she came with was "Blondie" but I would have vetoed that even if I didn't have an ulterior motive for the new name.

So here's the hope for humanity portion of the post, my mother and I have been selling blackberries. Our patch got out of control when she broke her hip and it is literally quite impossible to walk down the rows. Because they're gone. So we've been digging them up and selling them. A guy came out to get some with his son (I was inside- I'm just the manual labor part) so I heard the story from my mother later.

The son, Evan, played with our dogs while my mom and his dad were talking berry care, then he asked if he could pet or groom the horses. He loved animals but they lived in town. My mom said sure, we only had my gelding (who's a grump to everyone except kids) and her mannerly mare. So he got a soft brush and was grooming them, they were loose, and they stuck around which is pretty impressive- Sam doesn't really like to be brushed that much.

My mother told his father about what I do with horses and all the wonderful horses we've met along the way. So he asked how much it usually costs to outbid the kill buyers, she told him it's usually around $350 or $400. Without another word he pulled out his wallet and gave her $400. He said it was to save on horse on behalf of his son, who loved them, and could we name the horse we saved after his son? My mother was overwhelmed of course, but the man said he felt that God had blessed them. They'd just purchased a boat for much less than they'd originally intended and felt blessed, so they wanted to pass it on to someone else.

His kindness for horses he's never met amazed me. It's so nice to be reminded there are still lots of wonderful, caring people out there. It's something I seem to forget when I'm surrounded with all the shady people in the horse world. I wrote him thanking him for his truly wonderful act and he asked if he could bring his son and daughters out to meet the horse when I'd found one. Obviously I agreed (assuming it wasn't dangerous.) I told my mom I hoped we'd get a gelding.... otherwise we might have to make her and Evanna.

Naturally we ended up getting a mare, so Evanna it is. It fits her as well. It's a soft name and she's just a soft tempered mare. She's a doll- the only thing she doesn't love is her ears being touched- but she was fine today when I was bridling her- I rubbed them all over and she didn't mind. She leads politely, catches easily, loads in the pitch black with a stranger, stands tied like she's cemented in, neck reins, listens for cues, isn't a dead head and stands on a draped rein. When I was going to mount, she moved *in* towards me so I could get on easier. While she didn't love her bath, she still stood still for it. She's even got a beautifully smooth trot. I think she really is an 'anyone can ride' horse. I'm amazed.

Someone cared for this horse, a lot. I'm sure the 74 year old guy who owned her before would be devastated to know where she'd gone. I'm guessing he got sick, or hurt and sold his horse to someone he thought was trustworthy. Unfortunately, that person lied. Her feet need to be trimmed- I'd guess they're about a month over- which is probably as long as the trader had her for. I really don't know why he took her to the sale barn- it just seems stupid, but I guess it's less effort than actually trying to do right by the horse....


Anyway, her's Evanna (pre bath)

 Weird lump- it's hard but doesn't seem to bother her at all. Horse people, any ideas what it is?

 After the bath her mane is now

 a beautiful bright white! 

 She's not really this butt high, my camera's just at a weird angle.

My dad offering her his cantaloupe (she said she'd rather have carrots, thanks) Also my new saddle pad.

Traditional picture of my gelding harassing the new kid- establishing the pecking order. (Yes, they'd met over the fence first and had time to meet well before this, no it doesn't make a difference to Sam)

 This is Evanna telling Sam in no uncertain terms to back the hell off buddy. By this afternoon they were already calmly eating  hay from feeders that were probably only about 10 feet apart. Sam's all bluff, if they call him on it he backs down.  His face here is priceless.

 After the bath- the first ride

Anyway, since it's summer and I have time to work with the horses, and because of one family's generous donation, I'll be going to the Beebe auction on friday to try and find another project horse to give a second chance to.

To train or not to train

So I don't have a training project at the moment which means I'm away from the horse world and all the interesting people in it. I haven't been browsing CL either. I don't quite know what to do with myself- although unpacking and doing my room have taken up a lot of my time.

I've gotten several training offers over the years; people wanting me to train their horse. I have turned most of them down because I've been in school or working another job full time and training my project and theirs..... well, I need to sleep sometimes. I also get offers for free horses a lot. But now I've graduated from college and I don't have a project so I don't have an excuse. Bollocks.

One training offer I actually want to take them up on- it's a 17 hand buckskin Friesian x Saddlebred gelding. *swoon* The trainer they took him to, another friend/ex-coworker, found that working with him made her nervous for some reason, also she's moving.  Owner said he's a big baby. I said: "You had me at friesian!" As you know, I'm a sucker for the big hairy beasties. After working with Morwen (my Friesian x TWH) I've been itching to work with them again.

The second person to ask me wanted me to work with her 6 year  old TWH x QH (I don't know why she crossed these two breeds.... But she is a very nice woman and has kept what she'd bred, so there's that.)

Anyway, her problem is that the horse is rather unpredictable- apparently she'll spook at random objects or actions when you're riding. Not all the time but out of the blue. This horse has never been abused and has had one owner all her life. When she spooks she'll buck or bolt. Yikes.

These are problems I could work with (time consuming and more difficult since it doesn't happen every single time) but I don't normally take on outside horses. She offered to bring her over for a few weeks so I could work with her. Now we don't have a very big pasture (that's the other reason I don't take other horses) so we have to feed hay and grain daily. She offered to pay me $100.

Now she's a very nice lady and I don't want to sound rude, but I don't work for that. For a day or two or even a week, sure. But I don't risk getting hurt for that little. If it's conditioning or quick problem solving with a horse I've already trained/sold I'll work with them at their location dirt cheap (first time is free), but actually training problem horses is another matter.  Heck, if any trainer worked for that I think they'd be swamped.

Unfortunately there's really no nice way to say that. So we went with the 'I really try to stick to horses who are in danger of going to slaughter' which is absolutely true. If I did take on outside horses, I'd continue to require owner involvement. Either way, I make my living in the horse business which requires.... making enough to live on.


Oh well. I did go on a mini rant to my mother about breeding. I couldn't help it. Although I really am not anti-breeding. One of my friends breeds Egyptian Arabians. One foal a year I believe. The colt she had last year sold for $10,000 as a weanling. Her filly this year was leading, picking up her feet and working on de-spooking exercises since shortly after she was born. This filly is apparently not afraid of anything and is very bright. She's already used to being handled and when it eventually comes time to train her to ride, I bet she'll be a cinch. I have no problem with this type of breeder.

She's not a big breeder but she's still doing it right and carefully. If you work with your foal from day one and can sell them for that much, you are not the problem. Please continue to do what you're doing. If you are planning to keep the horse its entire life.... okay, I'm a little more lax. Although what would happen if something happened to you or situations changed dramatically- would your horse be one that other people would really want?

My breeding standard: is your horse one that clearly screams 'quality' even if it ended up at a sale with no papers or history? Big name sires and grandsires don't add up to squat if the papers get lost and the horse isn't well built. I think a lot of people would benefit by running the horses they breed through an auction and seeing what they bring. (Not sell it of course- you can no sale after all)

Quick update- I'm not dead!

I'm not dead! Hooray! I survived finals and packing up everything I own- oh, and graduation.
Sorry for not updating, I also haven't had a computer because it's being evil.
You'll get things soon, I promise.

One of the following things is cute.....

And it's not this little guy (but it could be with some care!)

22 inch reg. stude - $250

i have a reg. stude hes 22 inches tall and full grown a little hard to ketch but after that hes all urs great horse no kick or bite great with dogs and sheep and cats and kids $250

Okay, I'm going to skip right past the  'why is this a stud... err stude' and go straight to- holy shit that poor things feet! And I'm not sure if it's just the winter fuzzies, but that halter sure looks like it's so tight on his face it's starting to grow into it. It looks like it's been there for a while. I'm REALLY hoping that he is just extra fuzzy... but the state of his feet doesn't exactly reassure me....  Neither does the 'hard to catch (ketch)" part.... Since people seem to leave the halters on around here to 'save time'. 

I also find it interesting that his back legs are so close together they're touching, and his front legs are so wide and wonky that his legs make a triangle between them. I bet if you averaged them you'd get kind of normal legs...  
Ugh. Sorry, I just felt so bad for the little bugger I had to share.
There would be more, or you know, a *real* post but I'm sick. 

Now since that was kinda depressing here's a super cute video of adorable animals trying not to fall asleep.


http://thumbpress.com/compilation-of-adorable-animals-trying-to-stay-awake/