Cascade Horse Fair

Do you recognize him? How about the horse?

This would be Ken McNabb and his horse, Stormy. Ken is a friend of Curt...and Stormy was purchased from Curt. Ken will be here at the Cascade Horse Fair in October. So will Curt. I'm not so sure about Stormy.

It's count down time, to be sure. October 29-30 at the Northwest WA Fairgrounds in Lynden, WA is where the event is being hosted, same as last year. Vendors, demonstrations, clinicians. And, of course...the famous HydraBull cutting competition!

This is the second year we'll be doing our Rail to Trail event, where horses compete in Ranch Horse Pleasure, Trail and Reining. Top ten advance to the free style where anything (well...nearly) goes!

It's gonna be a lot of fun. But I need your help in spreading the word! We'll be having drawings for free bags of grain all weekend along with many other goodies and treats for both spectators and competitors. Help me out! Share this post either in your blog or on facebook, and I'll put you in the drawing for an 8x10 photo of 'The Old Man'! Drawing to be held on Thursday...so post and let me know so I can get your name in the drawing!

Goober's New Bit

^^ This is a Goober. ^^

It's been over a month since my less than graceful, acrobatic dismount to club dirt. Last week I began riding Kitty, just a couple of days, nice easy rides. This week, we picked up the slack a bit and worked the bull a few times. The back was certainly tired, but the real pain is in lifting and turning. You know...the motion you go through when cleaning a stall? So when a friend offers to help, I certainly do not turn them down, and send them straight to work, lifting and turning, while I do the more tedious job of saddling and riding...

It is too more tedious!

Anyway, prior to the fair I'd purchased a new Myler bit for Steve Holt!. I don't like the way he's been pulling through the snaffle and really ought to have changed it out some time back. Finally, yesterday, with the back feeling more capable of climbing on and riding, I got that new bit onto a headstall and climbed on the goober boy.

It was against my better judgment to ride while I was alone. But since when has better judgment come to visit when it ought to? Lucky for me, nothing bad happened, but I bet you started to wonder if I visited Club Dirt again, eh?

At first, Steve Holt! thought the bit felt funny. Actually, he wasn't too impressed for the entire ten minutes I was on him. But hey, I was! He didn't like the added pressure on his tongue, and that head that's always struggled to stay down where it needs to be? Dropped down. And it stayed down, loose rein. Well, sorta loose. Goober pony loose. No fighting or arguing, just put it down while jogging around the pen in an as close as he's ever gotten pleasure horse frame.

Impressive!

And that's the story of Goober Boy's (aka Steve Holt!'s) new bit.

Sorry. All I got. Nothin' more!

First Day of School

Darling is off to school today. My baby drives a car, and is a senior. How did this happen? Seems like only yesterday she still wanted to play dress up and wild ponies with me...

the Diva of all things Wild

I'm not sure what got into her, but Tika was romping with wild abandon, and the camera simply cannot deny her!

Hoping the doc can get me some additional pain pills for the ribs today. I'd been doing just fine until a big, enthusiastic hug came my way last week. I felt something pop...and it's been slow going ever since. But if I can get a little relief, I'm going to start on the Diva's mane. The fairies have simply gone too far with their knotting!

The Senior

The ribs kept me from taking too many, and the light was strong in the middle of the day. But the few we got turned out well, I think. Will do some more later today...and maybe even get her with a horse!

The Diva

Painting by Linda Martin

Among those attending the fair earlier this month was Tika. Never has my diva been subjected to such stress, and she made it known early on that this was simply too much for her, despite having a 24x24' paddock located alongside the others outdoors.

So by the end of her second day (and the first day of the fair), I was thinking we'd be making a midnight run home with her. I led her to the horse barn that evening and put her inside a stall, fully expecting her ears to be pinned in anger and for her to begin an attempt to tear down the walls.

Tika, however, is full of surprises, and she spent the following two days completely content, all snuggled up in a cozy little cave, happy with the fact that there was not a horse on either side of her.

The peace, however, did not last long. Within a couple of days, Tika was beginning to get anxious, and the banging on the wall began.

Fairgoers. Some are more intelligent than others. Children can read signs that say "I bite", where as adults take it as a challenge. One woman in particular stood and ran her hands up and down Tika's stall front. When asked to please stand back, she replied that she was an animal behaviorist and that she studied animal behavior. All I can say is she must have failed her class if she could not tell my lovely girl was stressed, cranky, and wanted her dead.

Despite her stress, Tika remained the easiest horse for me to handle with my broken ribs. I took her for walks in the morning before the general public showed up, and she'd follow me willingly through the isles, out along the back of the barn without worrying much about the tractors and other farm equipment, past 4-Hers and their wheelbarrows as they mucked stalls. Her ears were up and she took in all the sights and sounds, reaching out to touch me now and then for reassurance that all was good. Never did she push or pull, and always was she polite.

Wadatika was more than happy to return home. A full week was simply too much for this girl to handle. When I walk out among the horses, Tika follows closely behind me. Stressful situations do tend to increase bonding, but it simply wasn't worth it for this red headed diva.