Really?

Really? Snow? Sigh... Will it ever end? My round pen is half covered in water, and the other half is too soggy to work in. The paddocks are in pretty much the same shape. The rains from the past few weeks have simply been too much. I can not wait for spring...and sun...to finally arrive.

I went and watched a bit of the reined cowhorse competition up here this weekend. For those unfamiliar, the horse starts off with a reining pattern to show how well he responds to a rider. Circles, lead changes, sliding stops and spins...fun stuff. Then the calf is let in, and there's a bit of cutting, followed by driving the calf down the rail, turning him back, going down the rail again, turning the opposite direction, then out into the center of the arena where you turn your calf in a circle, first to the right, then to the left. Basically, showing off skills that a horse would need on a ranch. It can be pretty exciting, especially since the cows don't read the rule book.

I got off a couple of good shots, and took a bit of video, but it was simply too cold for me and since I was there alone, I left before long. Have I mentioned I'm ready for spring and warmer weather?

Winter, she is a coming!

Last year, Sandy began to shed his summer coat in July. That seemed early to me...and look at the winter we had! It seemed like a never ending snow fest. Darling, of course, took advantage of it and decided now was the time to practice bareback; after all, how much could it hurt to fall off into a pile of snow?

To me, snow meant not hauling Steve Holt! up to the arena to work. With temps dropping into the single digits at night and barely reaching above 10 during the day, it was certainly not conducive to horse training. The snow began falling within days of hauling him home from Burns and the roads were in no condition to pull a horse trailer.

And it just didn't seem to stop! All month long, all winter long...from December into February the snow just continued to pile up around here. And when it melted? Flooding. Flooding in places that normally do not flood, because the snow melted and ran down whatever hill was handy, into the streets and into yards and into barns. It was a mess.


So here we are, mid October, and Sandy began to shed his summer coat back in June...and frost was on the ground in September. I heard in Redmond, OR there was a decent amount of snowfall already. And while I'm looking at just a dusting up in the foothills here, all the signs are pointing towards a cold and chilly winter. Best break out the long johns. The ponies are already snuggled into their winter blankets...

How's your fall shaping up? Have you got signs of winter coming on?

Is it Summer yet?

Oh, how I long for lush mountain meadows, the warm sun shining down, butterflies floating seemingly with no purpose other than to simply be seen. You can almost smell the fresh air and scent of the blossoms, can't you? Do you remember it? The first of June when all was fresh and new.

June is also when Sandy began to shed his summer coat. Last year, it was July. This scares me. Last winter was full of snow and floods. I do not want that again. No, I do not. I want daisies growing year round, and a sky so blue Paul Newman's eyes would be jealous.

Yesterday the sky was cold, dreary, and full of wet rain clouds. I went outside to work the horses and got rained on. I came in side to dry out, wishing the rain would stop. It didn't. I went back outside and got wet again. I didn't like it. Not one little bit.

Two bright spots in the day were that my paddocks stayed dry, and I have someone interested in adopting Sky Bar. Very definite bright spots. Do you suppose if I focus on that, I won't feel the rain when I go outside today? Tell me, is it dry where you live?

Who Stole Spring?

Cricket grazes happily

I'm not a big fan of Junuary, I don't think. To drive home earlier this month in snow, and now to have it exit in a blaze of heat (we hit the mid 90's here yesterday), is not my idea of fun. And somewhere in there I think it was supposed to be spring, but I must have missed it.

It's been too hot to do much these past few days. Not just the heat, really, but the humidity that comes along with it. Even when the breeze blows, it's a wet, balmy air that hits you. It dawned on me yesterday that while I'd been training in the rain, wishing I'd applied for the Extreme Mustang Makeover rather than the Western States one, I am now happy to have been working in the mud, because in the heat I don't move. Not one little bit. The horses stand sweating in their pens, so I'm sure they're happy not to be working as well.

Despite not working, we had a busy weekend. Someone came to see Cricket and they've submitted an application, plus sent me photos of their facility. I'll be getting all of that in the mail for final approval and hopefully by the end of the week he'll have an owner! I liked the woman very much. Her husband was at work, but she and her two children were quite nice. She told me her husband had spotted Cricket in the Craigslist ad I ran, and he hollered at her "This is the one!" They're both very excited, and I'm quite pleased with the match.

On Friday I drove up the mountainside with the Animal Control Officer from the county south of me. She'd called to say there was a field (valley, really) with wild horses that had been breeding there and she was needing someone with wild horse experience to help gather them. Evidently, the first attempt hadn't gone so well.

Turns out my idea of wild is different than most peoples. These were very curious, social horses who hadn't been handled, but were accustomed to at least the presence of one or two people in their valley. All four adults approached me independently and sniffed my hand; the mares allowed me to rub their faces and necks. Originally there had been ten, but the first attempt had resulted in two of them being caught, leaving two stallions, two mares and their four remaining offspring.

Six year old stallion runs wild

Unfortunately, a couple of the key players bailed and we weren't able to do any gather, but in the long run I think that was best. I was able to go out and meet the horses and get a feel for their personalities and their habits. I know where I want the panels to be placed for the trap when we go up again. I think there was just too much commotion and activity for them this last time and they were spooked. We'll try to make things a bit smoother when we try again. If you'd like to read more about these horses, visit On The Shores of Carpenter Creek.

Lots of Progress

What do weathermen know?

MiKael commented yesterday on how I sure wasn't getting a break in the weather and that she'd heard it was supposed to continue in the 'showers with sun breaks', or whatever it is the weathermen like to say. Personally, I don't listen to the weather reports as they're so often wrong. Besides, what difference does it make? You go outside and work no matter what it's doing; hearing that it's going to rain only brings a person down.

But MiKael just had to come along and tell me that they were calling for more rain. Lovely. More mud. You made day, MiKael! Not.

The weathermen, I'm happy to say, were wrong. The sun came out and it was simply glorious! A light breeze kicked up and I swear the paddock began to dry out. Oh, sure, it's still wet, but that pond has shrunk down to a large puddle. The mud was a little less muddy. And the horses were more than happy to take naps in the afternoon sun.

A lot of progress was made yesterday, but not necessarily with Sandy. I did spend some time with him and he did learn something new. Grain tastes good! He hasn't been to sure about it up until now, but since the ram seemed to like it, Sandy decided to give it another try. And wouldn't you know that rather than dump it out, this time he gobbled it all up. And he wanted more! I think this is going to go a long way towards making a friend.

The real progress yesterday happened when City Boy and I got the round pen up! Well...City Boy got it up. I just directed from the sidelines. But it's up, and Jet went batty trying to figure out how to get inside. She paced around and around; it's the best mustang puzzle she's been presented with. As soon as she sees me open the gate, there'll be no stopping her lips from playing with the latch. I'll need to get a chain around it to keep her either in or out.

The sun is still shining this morning. I'm hoping to take Sandy for his first walk outside his paddock this afternoon and out to the round pen where he can stretch his legs a bit more than he's been able to the past week. And I'm really looking forward to being able to get some real work done on both Jet and Firecracker. That is, if the weather holds up!

Sponsor me in the Mustang Makeover!


Join the Hay Burner's Club and donate $15 towards Sandy's upkeep and I'll send you a 5x7 photo (once the horse is here, of course.) Or buy advertising space in the form of a button.

Of Rain and Rescues

Jet and the sheep dine together.

Rain. More of it. Again.

It's monsoon season...even though I don't know if technically that's what they'd call it here in the northwest. But it's wet and it's windy. And wet. The addition to the barn has flooded and the horses are standing under trees until the neighbor can get down here with his tractor to remedy the situation. He was supposed to be here earlier this month but ran into a few priorities that came first. I've kept the paddock free of horse hooves for the better part of the month, knowing they'd just churn it up to the point I'd not be able to do anything with it. Still, it's churned enough on it's own. The portions that aren't deep in clay and muck are too slick to walk on (hard, wet clay is like ice...)

Thankfully, despite the heavy bouts, it's not been 100% rain 24 hours a day. Jet is in with the sheep while Quiet Storm and Sunny share the other side of the pasture. They're all contentedly munching on their breakfast right now. By Wednesday night (cross your fingers) the neighbor will have come and gone, the paddock stripped down and the gravel added for drainage. Hopefully we won't have horrendous weather between now and then.

The two mustangs have disappeared from the CBER website. I'd called the feed lot to see if they were there last week and he said no, they weren't. I'd asked if they had their titles, and he said that there was no paperwork with them. Hopefully they'll get into good homes. I notified the BLM that they were out there, at least, so if there's any foul play at hand hopefully something can be done.

I've been giving the whole rescue thing a lot of thought. Dealing with Sunny has left me wondering just how many people give up their mustangs, and how many of them end up back at the BLM corrals? I saw a couple of them head back down to Burns in June that'd been previously adopted. It's sad to see horses go back into the system, both because they lose whatever training/socialization they've received and because they become the responsibility of the tax payer once again, not to mention a statistic that reflects negatively on the program and the horses themselves.

So let me ask you a question or two. Do you feel comfortable giving money to rescues? Do you think that a non-profit status is necessary before you'd give? What would it take to create a level of trust between the rescue and the donor?

I'd love to be able to take on one or two mustangs, spend the time getting them started, then place them in new homes. I can't, however, afford to feed that many horses out of my own pocket without some form of support. The best way to approach this is what I'm wondering. Last night I felted up this little version of Sunny (no falling on the floor with laughter, please!) and wondered about selling them with a little hang tag that gave a horse's name and a bit of it's story. Think anyone would buy?

Felted version of Sunny still needs her eyes and nostrils.

Desperate Horsewife
Wild Horse Calendars now available!
http://www.cafepress.com/mustangfever/3572746