Meet Isabella...

Not a mustang. Not even a BLM Burro. So what the heck is she doing here at the Mustang Diaries? Expressing a bit of Donkitude, that's what!

I made the drive to Sedro Woolley to visit Quiet Storm and Mist, convincing Debbie that we could help her get her hands on hay to get her through until spring. Steve met me there to sign off on Mist's BLM paperwork. While there, we were led into a barn full of minis. Mini horses and mini donkeys. I jokingly asked which one they were giving me to use as a livestock guardian. "Whichever one you want," was the answer.

No, I didn't want. I couldn't...could I? No...City Boy would flip his lid. I couldn't.

Somehow those crazy people had me backing my truck up to the barn and loading little Isabella into its bed. The horses were mystified at first. But they now think of her as a long eared sheep who's baaaa needs a bit of oil.

City Boy expressed that he was not entirely delighted with the prospect of a donkey and has made me promise to sell a couple sheep if we keep her. I think deep down he likes her, though...she's so cotton pickin' cute!!! And full of Donkitude...

Surely you'll grow to love her, City Boy!

Baling Twine...the Farm Diva's Friend

Have you ever wondered what to do with all that baling twine you've managed to collect over the years? Aside from rolling them into a large ball in an attempt to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records, that is? Well, this Farm Diva is here to help you out with that age old question.

The obvious thing to do with baling twine is mend fences. In the photo above you can see that I've used it to tie the round pen panel, which is doubling as a paddock divider, to the barn using a lovely blue twine. You can also tie toys to entertain your equine friends to panels or stalls with twine.

Darling likes to use twine as an emergency lead rope.

I've used it as a neck strap around Sandy's neck to help guide him while I'm goofing around bareback and bridleless.

When I was a kid, I braided several pieces of twine together and fashioned a harness for my horse and forced him to pull me through the snow on my plastic sled.

Baling twine makes a nice shoelace.

Take it apart and use it as dental floss...eh?

How about this...you can use it as streamers at your cousin's wedding! And absolutely you should use it as the string for the helium balloons and to tie those beer cans to the back of the newlywed's car. Okay...folks may consider you a bit of a redneck if you were decorating with baling twine, but who cares, right? You're recycling, and that's good. Not to mention you're getting rid of the baling twine, which is even better.

For a few more ideas on what you can do with baling twine, I've give you these links. And please feel free to share what you do with baling twine at your place!

http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/diyhowtomake_sfye.htm

http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/diyhowtomake_sfye.htm

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/farm_ranch/management/balingtwine030703/

http://horses.about.com/od/productandbookreviews/tp/balertwine.htm

Steve Holt! meets Dr. Plotts

Steve Holt! and his entourage made a drive up north to Kulshan Veterinary for a quick visit with Dr. Plotts. Nothing wrong...just a training session and an opportunity to meet a vet and get a lesson on the state of unwanted horses.

Steve Holt! had not seen a vet before, and as we all know, they smell funny! But Dr. Plotts is a great one for buddying up with a horse before asking it to do anything strange or out of the ordinary. Just as he did with Sandy, he began by petting, rubbing and scratching; finding his soft spots and concentrating on making him feel good before beginning to explore the rest of his body.

He checked his eyes, looked inside his mouth, and made an attempt to take his temperature. That last part wasn't on Steve Holt!'s to do list, however. The two of them had a bit of a converstaion, and a compromise was met...the thermometer slipped in beneath the tail for just a moment and the good Dr. called it good.

The interesting part of all this today was when the mouth was opened to reveal the new teeth coming in. Steve Holt!'s got a couple of caps which his adult teeth are pushing forward and out. Horses loose teeth at 2 1/2, 3 1/2 and 4/1/2. Based on the information from the BLM, Steve Holt! should be loosing his 3 year old teeth...but he isn't. It's his 2 year old teeth that are being pushed out! Dr. Plotts was pretty sure that this horse is not a coming 4 year old, but closer to 2 1/2 or three. Of course, he said that this is only if Steve Holt! follows the pattern.

Then the good Dr. began feeling his jaw, and once again said he was feeling the molars erupting that would take place in a 2 year old. Upon examining his knees, he said they are not closed up and are the knees of a 2 year old. Knees close up somewhere between 36 and 40 months.

I don't know if the BLM will change the paperwork or not. The only concern would be that if someone else adopts him, I'd like them to realize he's still pretty young and that they ought to wait another year before really doing anything stressful.

All in all, Steve Holt!'s visit went very smoothly. After we got home I gave him a bit of a break, then hauled him to the riding club where I set up a few trail obstacles. I've decided that I'm only going to work on obstacles for the next week to see what happens.

And might I say that we had the BEST. RIDE. EVER!!!

The last ride on Monday had been so stressful that I'd hoped it was one of those break through type rides, and after having yesterday off, it would appear that it was. I'd set up ground poles, some pole bending poles (to back between), and another trot over pole that was raised a few inches. I started out doing some in hand work, then saddled and went out and began walking over poles. As he loosened up he broke into a jog. JOG, mind you, not trot, and he kept his head at a reasonable level and stayed at a steady speed with little help from me. We did circles and went over the poles, and he easily broke into a lope...left lead...relaxed...slow... Unbelievable!

All I did was circle around the obstacles, occasionally breaking to back between poles, then back to some circles and trotting and eventually loping over the ground poles. How I wish I'd had the video camera there! His reins were pleasure horse, noodle loose at the lope, and while it surely wasn't a finished horse lope, it was actually quite nice.

I was very proud of my boy today!