Pike Road Girl

Just Cause

2011-07-31T12:38:00.001-07:00

Yup, me and Ralph from way back in 1980. I was eatin' my popcorn and she was eatin' her 9-Lives. Just chillin'. Just cause. :)

Thanks Dad for digging this golden oldie up to share with my kids. They got a great laugh out of it and especially liked the fact I had a "girl" cat named Ralph. That's just not right. She was a great cat.

Tonto's New Tack

2011-07-28T15:38:00.001-07:00

After mulling it over for several years, and finally getting tired of all of the different saddles slipping forward, I finally gave in and bought Tonto a crupper.

Tonto said, "I don't like the sound of that."

"It's gonna go where?"

Yup!

So we fitted it...

Then tried it out on the lunge...

"You said go?"

sigh... "Okay...."

"It isn't too bad."

There was no rodeo, and Tonto seemed to accept it just fine.

I don't think Casey Cat liked the idea of it though:

And Scout was VERY thankful he didn't need a crupper...

So, after I lunged Tonto with the crupper in both directions for a good bit, like a good Mom, I put my daughter on him (and led them around). Tonto was fine with it, so after dragging them around the pasture a few times, up and down the hills, I climbed on. It seemed to do the trick, at least at the walk...I was too chicken to try anything faster until we have a few more goes with it. Hopefully, it will solve our saddle slipping problems and we won't ride up Tonto's neck any longer.

Beware: Total Unbearable Cuteness to Follow:

2011-05-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Someone has taken over MY pony:

Because someone has taken over HIS pony:

And someone is thrilled to have this as HIS pony:

Yes, that is a hard hat he is wearing.

We don't have a real helmet yet, so something has to be a brain bucket....

D's legs are too long for this pony, too, but he sure enjoys old Scout pony, and Scout seems to enjoy him , too.

This was A's SECOND time ever, riding independently. :)

She and Tonto did great together! I put "daisy reins" on Tonto because he pulls her little hands.

I love these shots:

Happy Riding!!!

Riding Scout

2011-05-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Feel free to criticize - I am learning to ride again after a lot of years out of the saddle. I absloutely love this pony though!

A Few Photos from Saturday

2011-05-16T20:08:00.001-07:00

My dear husband was able to snap a few photos and videos from my ride on Saturday before the memory card filled up. Here are a few still shots of Scout and me:

Yes, my chin strap is way too loose as my best friend has already pointed out. :) (I just got 2 brand new Ovation hard hats and I haven't quite gotten the straps adjusted right...although I tightened the chinstrap correctly before I rode today. :)

The small area where we "work" is not very large...maybe a 20-meter circle or so, and sloped...it drains well after a rain, yet forces the pony and me to both use muscles we aren't used to using.

I tried to upload some of the videos here, but I guess they are too large. When I ride, I feel very sloppy and Scout feels very choppy, but when I watch the videos, I am pleasantly surprised. He is actually a fairly decent mover. I have tons of work in order to improve my position and my stiff upper body and elbows, but today we worked on some stretching exercises at the walk and trot - and Scout actually began stretching his neck down and rounding his back! We are starting over together. :)

I am thinking of selling my Passier and Stubben saddles - they are both too large for the ponies and me. They measure 17 inches each and I kind of think I need a 16-inch seat. I need an all purpose because I can't afford both a dressage saddle and a jumping saddle. Do any of you have any recommendations? I love both my Passier and Stubben saddles, but because I sit on the twist and not in the seat, they kill my seat bones. I would love to get something comfortable that actually fits me, so I can sit up and not bruise my bones...they need to fit my poor ponies, too. Scout is actually on the narrow side and little Tonto is a medium. The Wintec all purpose that my best friend gave D is the one the kids ride in and it is great. The problem is, it is the only one we have and the kids fight over who is riding in it, so it usually goes on Tonto.

Well, to say the least, I am absolutely smitten with Scout. He is more than I had ever hoped for in a new pony and I never thought I'd have another pony comparable to Buck or Hamlet. I believe Scout is going to rank right up there with both of those amazing guys. I am so very blessed and very, very thankful.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll try to load some of the shorter videos. :) Until next time, Happy Riding!

Life is Good

2011-04-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Here are some more images from our little farm.

This is the view from my bedroom and kitchen window:

"Did you say grain?"

Scout, happy to be out of his stall: The pony boys:

Tonto wanted to be first across the pasture...

Scout was left in the dust, whinnying:

Tonto decided to be nice and wait up for Scout:

It is so amazing having them in our backyard again. My middle child, B, and I rode together on Saturday. He rode Tonto and I rode Scout. B said he was just going to stay in the small area near me while I longed Scout...but before I knew it, he was riding all over the pasture by himself! B has ridden some independently, but not like this! He also did some slow trotting up the hills! I was totally amazed and so very proud of him!! Maybe he will like to ride and want to get on more often now. :) I rode Scout again on Sunday - and he was fantastic. He is truly turning out to be the pony of my dreams!!

I am so thankful to my husband, parents and friends for making it all happen.

Remember Sadie, the Christmas Eve drop-out?

Think she knows she is going to get fixed tomorrow? :)

Maybe not. She's still all smiles:

Sadie has grown a bunch since Christmas - she is below knee level, and has gotten rather long....not sure if she has some dachshund or corgi thrown in somewhere or what! I don't think she has any Rottweiler in her, but even if she did, she is staying. Sadie is a wonderful little dog and has won over all of our hearts.

Even though she is kind of small, she is kind of having a hard time fitting into my daughter's mini papasan chair! (This is a favorite place for the cats to sleep as well!) (Notice Sadie's dog bed to the right in the photo...) She prefers to be up high. :)

Until next time...Happy Riding!

Fun Photos

2011-04-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the last couple of months:

Scout and me in January, our 3rd ride...(I love, love, love this pony!)

Our 4th ride, a couple of weeks later:

My daughter on our friend's precious pony Lacey:

My boys working together - D was working with B on our friend's other horse, Simon:

The owner of this sweet horse and B:

My husband even rode on this day - I couldn't remember if I posted photos of him riding or not...I'll check and if I didn't, then I will post them. He is a natural and looks really hot on a horse! :) He said he had fun...I sure hope he did... :)

The Ponies Arrive

2011-04-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

I am very fortunate in the fact that my Dad loves to take photos. Pretty much my entire life has been documented through photos, and I am so, so grateful. My Dad was home when it was time for the ponies to move from his place to my place. Here is the event documented in photos:

The very happy pony owner:

Scout and Tonto, not too sure they wanted to leave their lush green acreage:

Scout saying, "Whoa there, Girlie, I'm not sure I want any part of this trailer..."

"Let me stop and think for a moment."

"Did you say grain?"

"Well, okay, maybe just one bite."

"Okay, I'll follow the grain bucket anywhere."

One on and one to go!

My wonderful help!!

I honestly thought Tonto would be the hard one to load.

He hopped right on!

Yay! They both loaded with very little fuss! Let the adventure begin!

Scout and E visiting over the stall door:

I love this photo:

Poor Tonto, he hadn't been at the house longer than 20 minutes before we had him saddled up for my daughter's 6th birthday party! He was wonderful carting all of the children around in a new place! I was so proud of him.

D visiting with Scout:

In our aisle way:

Untacking Tonto in his stall:

Checking out Scout in his stall:

So, yes, they are finally home!! I have wonderful neighbor girls who come over to ride on a regular basis, so the ponies are getting worked. They already have Tonto cantering under saddle - the first time he's cantered under saddle in 8 years!

More updates to come.

Happy Riding!

Dreams DO Come True!

2011-04-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

I have been dreaming of this moment from the time we moved into our current house 8 years ago. Dreaming of the day when the old pole barn was renovated into my dream barn. Well, my husband made it all happen. And now, this is one of my favorite views (as well as my screensaver on my work computer):

(Scout is on the left and Tonto on the right)

The stall guards and divider wall is temporary...we are so busy with soccer and baseball, we don't have time to breathe, so these things will be finished in due time. Yep, the stall guard is a little high for Tonto, but he has behaved so far and only gone under it once. :) The stalls are almost 14x14, so they really don't complain about being up at night. Being small ponies, they have plenty of room! My wonderful neighbor has 3 young daughters that come over a few days a week and work the ponies for me...I love watching them ride - and I sure wish I had their fearless attitudes! They have gotten Tonto to canter, so we now know he CAN canter under saddle! Will post more photos soon - I want to share the move-in and my daughter's 6th b-day party pics. Promise I will, Soon!!

Check out this Blog

2011-04-07T08:14:00.001-07:00

Okay, I just found a new favorite Blog. I love Cake Wrecks (http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/), but, OMG, this one has to be one of the best ever. I was laughing so hard, I was crying.... Check it out when you have time, but if you work in a cube, you may want to wait until you get home.... :) I'm just sayin'... http://yougottobekidding.wordpress.com/ I promise I will post updates and photos of the ponies - soon!!!!!! Rode Scout yesterday - he is a DREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my BABY!

2011-03-24T10:46:00.001-07:00

Our youngest turns 6 today. Where in the world does the time go?

She has recently decided ponies are pretty cool....who could resist little Tonto anyway?

Can you just imagine these 2 competing in leadline?

(once they are both cleaned up a little...) :)

Happy Birthday, my sweet darling. I sure wish I could pause time, or at least slow it down - there will never be enough time to get my fill of having you by my side.

Your Daddy and I love you more than words could ever describe.

Don't wake me if I'm dreaming!

2011-03-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it is finally happening! The ponies are coming to live with us tomorrow! It all started with a plan to bring Tonto to the house for our daughter's 6th birthday party - I asked her if she'd like to have a "pony party" - a very last minute idea, and she responded with a huge "YES!," so hubby, 3 kids, the wonderful neighbors and I got to work preparing for Tonto to just come stay the weekend. Well, one thing led to another, and now we have a fence, the stalls are almost complete, and everything is kind of just falling into place. I can't believe it. It has been a dream for so long, and now that it is just on the verge of coming true, I am terrified something is going to happen to prevent it from all working out. Don't you hate it when you have those feelings? Everything seems so perfect, then BOOM. The rug is yanked out from under you and you fall flat on your face, dreams and all. So, if I'm dreaming, please don't wake me up!

I promise I will post photos soon -

Happy Riding!

Sorry it's been so long!

2011-03-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Things couldn't be better - we are just so busy! I will post a longer update soon, but let me tell you, if I am dreaming, please DON'T wake me up!!

Scout is a dream pony - he is better than I ever imagined he could be. Tonto is doing awesome and is such a solid little fellow for my kids now. All 3 of my kids are beginning to ride independently and are even fighting over who is going to ride first! I love it!!

This weekend we are working on the barn and fence!! We have the screenings coming for the stall floor on Monday...things are coming along! I have photos and some video I will try to get up soon.

Sorry for being absent for so long - things never seem to slow down!!

Until next time, Happy Riding!

Rode the Ponies Today!

2011-01-03T01:20:00.000-08:00

It was chilly, wet and windy, but D and I decided to brave the weather and try out the new pony. D rode trusty old Tonto, while I lunged, then managed to muster up the courage to climb on the new pony, Scout.

Good old Tonto was an angel - he continues to cart D around, although it looks like D could use some roller skates while riding the little pony:

D demonstrates the "chair seat." He is begging for a western saddle...it may be time to comply. However, he may need a new pony to carry the western saddle around...or maybe we can teach Tonto to pull a cart! :)

Scout was full of himself today. The lady we bought him from warned me that he could be "spunky," and he was, but he wasn't bad. He just wanted to play!

I rode him in a standing martingale today because he flips his head up. It worked wonders. Poor pony, I am pulling his face off because he kept wanting to run through my hands, so we did some "extreme bending and circling." He seems to bore quickly. We may have to find some games to play once I get to know him better and I'm not so nervous. Not sure how far to push him and I don't want to get tossed at this point as my confidence is slowly growing! This lack of confidence thing is for the birds!

It was fun to have a pony to ride and to be able to ride with D again! Hopefully we can swap ponies in the near future so D's feet won't drag the ground (as bad).

In the photo below, Scout is way behind the bit. It's part of that head flipping thing he is doing and me locking my elbows. I worked him in a plain full-cheek snaffle today and he liked it much, much better than the kimberwicke we used the day I tried him out (they had been riding him in an Argentine snaffle...). Hoping to ride him without the standing martingale soon and may keep trying new bits to see what he goes best in. Any suggestions?

So far, so good - I am thrilled with the new pony. Tonto is thrilled to have a new buddy, too, and has quit running around screaming to the horses next door.

Can you tell I like color? :)

Until next time................Happy New Year and Happy Riding!

Wow, What a Christmas!

2010-12-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

First off, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was CRAZY this year, but a great one.

With the break for the holidays, I had some time to spend with Tonto. He is a fuzzy bear this winter!! He just gets better and better with all of the attention he has been receiving lately. My brother's son and daughter came for Thanksgiving and we led them around on Tonto. He was perfect. I need to post those photos! He really seemed to enjoy the children and they absolutely loved him, so I guess he is finally mellowing in his old age.

My dear Grandmother Fisher came down with pneumonia and went from the hospital into a nursing home. At 94, the pneumonia has really weakened her. We pray that she will be able to go back home (yes, she still lives alone), but the doctors are saying she will be in the nursing home for at least another 5 weeks. She is on oxygen and is not able to breathe without it. Hopefully as she recovers, she can be weaned off of it. My Mom and I drove to South Carolina on Monday to see her and I was able to spend 3 precious days with her. What a blessing it is for her to still have her mind - she is sharp as a tack and has a wonderful sense of humor. Please pray she will get her strength back and be able to return home.

Our family spent a fun Christmas Eve at our in-laws with my husband's family. We drove up and my nieces and nephew were playing with a puppy. I thought it was so awesome that their parents got them a puppy for Christmas because they had to put their very old dog down this year and were all heartbroken over her death. Well, they had actually found the puppy under my father-in-law's car when they arrived that evening!
At first my father-in-law wouldn't let us bring the pup in the house, so my sister-in-law and I went back to my house and picked up the cat crate. The puppy stayed in the crate and ended up coming home with us. We figured someone must have gotten her for a Christmas present and she wandered away somehow. My husband agreed we could keep her long enough to see if anyone put up lost puppy signs in the neighborhood and if not, we would find her a home. In the meantime, my Mom and I took the puppy with us to SC to see my Grandmother because my hubby had to keep our 3 kids, work, and his oldest brother (and family) was in town visiting...there was no way he could go with us and it would have been too much to ask him to care for a puppy, too.

So, my Mom named her "Sadie."

Sadie got to discover snow!

She was perfect the entire trip - She spent Monday and Wednesday at the nursing home visiting my Grandmother and the other patients. This was a real treat for everyone! On Tuesday she spent the entire day at my cousin's house playing with her kids. Boy, was Sadie tired after all that!

This is what you call "Dead Dog tired!"

Sadie is ours for now. I really hope no one puts up lost puppy signs because she is such a wonderful dog and I am just a wee bit attached!!!

____________________________________________

Then today, the newest addition to our family arrived! Meet "Scout!"

He's around 12.3 hands, ~7 to 8 years old and LOVES to jump.

I believe Scout is saying, "I think I'm gonna like it here..."

Meeting Tonto:

There was no squealing or anything, so I believe they will be able to go out together soon. Tonto was so happy to have a new buddy!

So, a lot has been going on here lately, but it has been good! I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year and I look forward to 2011!

Happy Riding!

Hello!

2010-11-12T18:51:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the long absence from blogging. I just haven't felt like writing in a while. Things have been busy with work, my husband starting his new business (http://www.relylocal.com), school starting back and all 3 kids playing soccer.

Plus, I miss Maggie more than I ever expected to. Poor little Tonto is the only one in the pasture now. Thank goodness our neighbors bring their 2 horses over a few days a week to let them graze in our pasture, so he does have a little time with other horses. Maybe one day we'll add another pony to our herd.

During the summer, I got on Tonto a couple of times. For being ridden once in a blue moon, he behaves well.

Too bad there aren't any little kids around that would ride him...none of my kiddos are very interested, or have the time to ride. He's such a cute pony!

D rode a couple of times during the summer. He is too big for Tonto now....it amazes me how fast my children have grown this year! D has passed me up and it won't be long before B does, too. (I guess it doesn't take much since I'm all of 4'11...)

I decided to buy a grazing muzzle for Tonto this year...he didn't think it was too funny. He ended up living in the fat pen all year, but did well - he looked so good all summer!

See the nice, trim pony?

Yep, unfortunately D has outgrown the 11.2 hand pony.

We hiked his stirrups up so his feet wouldn't hit Tonto in the knees...

And things didn't work out with the beautiful palomino mare. I just didn't have the time to commit to her that she deserved. She has been placed in a fabulous home and is even being shown.

Anyhoo - thought it was time for a new post. Sorry there isn't anything exciting to report! Hope all is well with you - Happy Riding!

Rest in Peace, Maggie. You will be forever in my heart.

2010-05-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Midnight Magnolia

May 8, 1978 - May 28, 2010

Thank you for all the wonderful memories, Maggie, and for the many times you saved my butt when you should have bucked me off and run away. You had tremendous patience with all of us young, dumb kids, and you never put a foot wrong. Your sweet, soft nickers of greeting, now quieted, will be greatly missed. Everyone who knew you loved you - the kind, gentle, bay mare Maggie. You can now rest in peace and no longer be in pain. God speed, Maggie. I love you.

With Dignity

2010-05-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

This is a very hard post to write. At this point, I am struggling with saying good-bye to a very dear friend. My beloved Maggie turned 32 years old on May 8th. These photos were taken on her birthday. She still has a spark in her eye, yet she is in immense pain.

Mags never had the best conformation, and you can see how it caught up with her in age. She had a very long back and sickle hocks...but what she lacked in conformation, she made up for in brains and kindness. Maggie always knew we were stupid kids doing stupid things, so she took care of me. I don't recall her ever spooking at anything, other than a frisbee that was thrown over her head during a crazy grand entry of the rodeo one year. She had the right to spook at that...

From the photos, you can see she is wispy looking - much thinner than this time last year. She has slowed down so much, laying down a lot, getting the weight off her front legs. And you can see why:

Maggie bowed a tendon many years ago and strained the other tendons and ligaments in her front legs. You can see the swelling in both legs and how her fetlocks are almost touching the ground. Sometimes they do when she walks. Her back end is getting incredibly weak, so much so that she will walk sideways to keep from falling. So, after having our very compassionate veterinarian out to look Maggie over, we agreed it was time to allow Maggie to cross the rainbow bridge with dignity, rather than waiting for her to get down and not be able to get back up. Maggie is in so much pain, even with the doses of bute and Corta-Flex RX, there is no reason to make her continue to exist. She has out lived her body. However, this is still no easy decision to make.

Maggie has been a part of my life for a long time.

But it is time to let her go on to a place of rest, free from pain. She has had a wonderful life of 32 years and I am so blessed that she has been my friend for what seems like a very short time.

We will be saying good-bye this week, so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Skippin Brandy

2010-04-20T11:22:00.001-07:00

After we sold Maggie, we purchased Skippin Brandy (Brandy), April 4, 1989. He was a 16.1 hh, 4 year old registered Quarter Horse, with tons of chrome. Brandy had originally been bred to run barrels and had been trained on barrels up to the point we got him. He belonged to a friend of my trainer's. My trainer adored Brandy and loved working with him.

Here are some photos on the day we bought him. Not sure why my Dad used black and white film, but they are pretty cool. I'm 14 years old.

I'm still kind of in shock, as you can see from my facial expression. I can't believe I have this big gorgeous guy to call my own!

Notice the scar on Brandy's side, just above my ankle? A microburst (mini tornado) hit the barn Brandy was stabled in as a youngster and tore the barn to pieces. A piece of sheet metal cut his side wide open and he had to be stitched up. You could feel the stitch marks, even years later. It almost felt like a zipper in his side.

Brandy was by far the tallest horse I had ever owned. Buck was all of 12.2 hands and Maggie was 14.3. I remember feeling like I was sitting on a mountain, even though he really wasn't all that big!

I believe these next photos were taken about a week after he had been at the house.

His long bridle path was growing out, so he had a nice mohawk.

This was our favorite thing to do: ride the trails with my best friends!

After a bath:

Posing with another one of my wonderful horse buddies and her pony Sassy before the Jimmy Woffard clinic ~ approximately 1990.

(Ha! Here's a photo of my obnoxious pink and green cross country colors! I wonder what Mr. Woffard thought of my colors? :) It might be good I didn't know.) I enjoyed riding with him though and rode in a second Woffard clinic the following year.

Brandy was a trooper at this clinic. He was never really the best jumper and kind of just hurled himself over the fences. I wasn't good enough to make him get better, either. My leg was a bit short on him, too. :)

The cross country portion of the clinic:

The coffin didn't seem to bother Brandy at all.

The above photos were taken at the original Felicidad Farms in Pike Road. I LOVED this place and worked there for several years before this farm was sold and we moved to an incredible new facility closer to my home in Pike Road (like right in our back yard!).

These photos were taken at the 4H Open Show in either 1990 or 1991.

In the line-up with my great friend and her pony Sassy. I think we ended up with 2 seconds and a third in the hunter under saddle and over fences classes.

Below are photos from the only Pony Club Combined Training Rally I competed Brandy in ~ 1991:

Warming up with my friend for cross country.

Brandy did great on the cross country course. I can't find any photos of it though. I know I had some! He didn't trot out sound before the stadium phase, so we didn't get to finish the Rally.

He ended up with an abscess in one of his feet.

The photo below was taken with my beloved team mates during the awards ceremony at the end of the Rally.

I can't remember where the below photo was taken.

It must have been at a Pony Club meeting or something like that.

This photo was taken during a Pony Club show jumping clinic ~ 1992.

Brandy was a really nice horse, just the two of us never really clicked. One of the worst memories I have of him is taking him to hill top with the Midland Foxhounds with our Pony Club and he got so excited, he jigged the entire hunt. He got so wound up towards the end of the hunt that he began running backwards and ran over my trainer's huge 16.3 hand QH. It scared the mess out of me. I got off and lead him for the rest of the hunt. Poor thing - he was just so excited and wanted to run!

I ended up selling him to a fellow Pony Clubber in 1992, not long after the above photo was taken. They clicked well and she Pony Clubbed him successfully for many years. As far as I know, he is still in the Pike Road area. If I remember, I'll ask my farrier the next time he is out so I can give you an update!

After Brandy, we bought a fabulous guy named Hamlet. I can't wait to tell you about him!

For S (Horse Crazy Girl #1)

2010-04-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

I know you are missing spring in the South, especially from the days of your roots,

so these are for you, Girl.

D and Sally with the azaleas

Photos of Dr. Thompson's old pasture:

The gravel road towards your old place:

The road to the big hay field:

I think they still store hay in this old building for the cows:

I was in Pike Road on Saturday and actually rode Tonto for a bit. As I was riding, it all felt so familiar; like when I used to ride Buck. The only thing missing from a perfect day were my horse friends, and I missed you greatly.

I noticed the field of buttercups and had to snap some photos for you.

Please come back and visit soon.

Love and Hugs.

Thank you Work in Progress

2010-04-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

A fellow blogger, http://www.fyyahchild.blogspot.com/, was kind enough to share this award with me a few weeks ago.

I am very honored!

Work in Progress was a featured blogger on mugwump chronicles (http://mugwumpchronicles.blogspot.com/) and that is how I was introduced to her blog. I love Work in Progress, as we are similar in that we both have children, work full time, and both have a strong desire to continue riding. However, she has lived through some really rough times in her childhood and young adult life; things I could not even imagine. She has survived them and become a stronger, even more beautiful person. Fyyahchild blogs about her horses, her dreams, and sometimes her past, in a way that makes for a great and very interesting read. I can't wait to see how she succeeds with her beautiful new paint mare she is sharing with her niece.

For the privilege of receiving the award, I am supposed to tell you 7 things about me that you don't already know and pass the award on to 15 other beautiful bloggers. (I don't read 15 other blogs, but I'll share it with the ones I do read!)

Hum, 7 things you don't already know about me....or maybe you do. :)

1) My favorite color is green, yet I despise the color neon green. I love various shades of green, and Hunter green is a fav. When I was Pony Clubbing, my event colors were Kelly green and pink. They were obnoxious, but I liked them! :)

2) I am a graduate B from Pinchona Pony Club.

3) My favorite food is fried chicken, rice and gravy. The way my Momma makes it.

4) I love fresh vegetables. I have been known to sit down and polish off a whole head of Romaine lettuce by myself. No salad dressing required.

5) I love ponies. Don't get me wrong, I love horses, too, but there is just something about ponies...that strong-willed, often stubborn personality, makes me smile. As a short person, their small size is a plus for me. There is nothing that compares to a bond with a pony that "gets" you. Buck "got" me and we had an incredible partnership.

I have always admired Emerson Burr's ponies and grew up reading "The Pony Book, The World of Emerson Burr." Please forgive the ripped cover. It is very loved. :)

6) If I could have two wishes granted, they would be to own a pony farm as Mr. Burr did and never sell the ponies, only lease them to kids. I would also open a pony rescue. I feel ponies are often misunderstood. I think they are just a whole lot smarter than we are. :)

7) My dream is to ride again, without fear, with confidence and as an effective rider. Dressage.

Now to share this Beautiful Blogger award. The following are the blogs I visit on a regular basis because I enjoy them:

1) A Southern Girl in Vegas: http://vegasgrits.wordpress.com/. I read this one daily because we grew up together and I want to know what she's up to. Plus she is living her dream of owning and successfully competing her gorgeous Arabian in Dressage. She is also known to post some rather thought-provoking posts. :)

2) Braymere Custom Saddlery: http://braymere.blogspot.com/. This is another one I read daily. Jennifer makes custom tack for model horses and her work is exquisite. Oh, to own one of her tiny English saddles (and a bridle...girth, a complete set!)!! You must check out her blog whether or not you are a model horse enthusiast. You will be amazed.

3) It's Sunny in SD: http://fssunnysd.blogspot.com/. Sunny has a new job and doesn't have as much time to post as she used to, but I love her book reviews and the way she talks about her daily life with horses in South Dakota. She has a precious Arabian named Sunny, and cares for a whole herd that is bound to get into something interesting, fairly often. They recently purchased a horse for her husband, too. I have to thank Sunny for introducing me to Braymere Custom Saddlery.

4) Growing up in the Farmhouse: http://www.growingupinthefarmhouse.blogspot.com/. A fellow Pony Clubber who still rides and has a precious daughter who just got her own pony. I love to see what my friend is up to...right now she's in the midst of building a new house!

5) Dressage Mom: http://dressagemom.blogspot.com/. I admire this Dressage Mom. She has her goals set and is able to balance her riding with her family and work. She shares how she has been able to maintain this balance, which I really appreciate. Her Arabians are beautiful, and she is such a lovely rider.

6) Notes from the Squirrel Nest: http://buttercupgurl.blogspot.com/. I love this blog because she blogs about her older palomino, Buttercup, along with her wonderful menagerie of animals. They are all loved and so well cared for.

So, there we are, the Beautiful Blogger award has been passed on, to some very deserving blogs. :) I hope you come to enjoy them as much as I have. You may learn a thing or two from them as well!

Thank you for stopping by - Happy Riding!

Happy Belated Easter!

2010-04-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been very busy with work (traveling some) and after school activities lately, so there has been no extra time to post.

Here is a photo from Easter taken in my parents' yard in Pike Road.

Notice the little white flowers? I believe they are called crocus. They are prolific in Pike Road, and they have become my favorite part of spring. I love how they form a flowing sea of white in the horse and cow pastures this time of year. They are so beautiful.

Work in Progress was kind enough to give me a blog award. I was so touched and honored! I will

post it soon so I can share it with you.

Hope some of you are able to ride while the weather is pretty!

My Youngest Baby is 5!!!

2010-03-24T20:58:00.001-07:00

I believe the phrase I use the most often is, "I just don't know where the time goes." I use this phrase way too much, but that is truly how I feel. I look at photos of my childhood and wonder where that time went. Those endless days just evaporated before my eyes. Now I feel the same way with my children. Our oldest child will be 14 this year. Our middle son will be 9. And our BABY just turned 5 today. Where does the time go??

I don't have any baby photos on this computer...they are sitting on the hard drive of that computer over there....on the floor...the computer that crashed last year and we haven't quite pulled everything off of it yet. So, here are some photos of A when she was about 12 months old to current. Enjoy!

Here's looking at you babe!

(These are the glasses my middle child made in kindergarten to celebrate 100 days of school. Not sure why he chose to strategically place that letter "k" in his line of vision...A looked cute in them though!

Oh yah? Can you do this?
I'd never seen a child do this before...and neither had our pediatrician. A would stick the nipple end of one passy through the ring of another and put the nipple in her mouth. She just liked them this way. She also created "passy chains" by hooking 3 and 4 together like this. Interesting...

Notice the little horses on her dress? She no longer wears dresses unless bribed with ice cream. Yes, she is my daughter...I don't like to wear dresses, either.

Fish lips!

Ah yes, and her favorite super hero is Batman. She even asked for a Batman cake this year....I'm not sure if Daddy is going to allow that though. He feels a Batman cake for a little girl is just too much. Let's see if he can convince her otherwise. :)

"A the Builder."

She is always ready to help out around the house. It seems as though she prefers power tools, too. This is the "I'm bored and ready to get to work" look.

One of my favorite views of A. I LOVE to see her on the pony! :)

Oops....just a little tired here. Must have had a full day at the barn!

A! Quit picking on that manikin! He can't defend himself!

(She thought this was hysterical - a manikin her size!)

Who can resist those freckles and curls? Her Daddy sure can't, for one! :)

(I find it hard to, myself.)

Cousins - there's no better friend than your own kin! :)

She even loves her middle brother sometimes - like when he agrees to carry her all over the sidelines of the soccer field on his back!

Spending some time with her namesake and Great-Grandmother....absolutely priceless.

Nothing like dancing on the beach!

Or holding a baby shark!

(The shark was not harmed in the making of this photo.

It was quickly released back into the ocean.)

Occasionally A will agree to be a little princess...this was for a friend's birthday party.

This is the serious soccer stance.

This is using funky arms and stealing the ball from all of her team mates to score a goal.

This is the sign that she thinks its okay to steal the ball from her team mates right after Dad fusses at her not to steal the ball from her team mates.

This is my sweet girl helping to fill holes in our hopefully-soon-to-be-horse-pasture.

No, she really didn't go to Marti Gras and get all those beads...her Grandma had them. :)

Notice the war paint on her face? A had the lovely idea of getting mud from the lake and painting it on her face....the hand prints were really cute, but a bit on the smelly side.

One happy girl after receiving her soccer trophy and a cupcake to celebrate the end of the soccer season!

Fun in the snow.

This is the second time in her life she has seen snow. We don't get much snow in the south.

All dressed up for the Father/Daughter Dance on Valentines' Day.

Yes, it took LOTS of ice cream to get her in this dress.

She was adorable. And a bit silly.

Looking cute for the camera at her oldest brother's soccer game on March 11

(where he scored his first goal EVER!)

Going down the courthouse stairs in Westville, Georgia this past weekend.

A and her walking stick in Providence Canyon from this past weekend as well.

I would have uploaded the photos from her small family birthday party tonight, but as I was cooking dinner, I placed a hot pan on the side of the sink. For some reason, A went over to it and put her lips on it! It burned her bottom lip very badly. I immediately administered ice, but it swelled and blistered very quickly. There were lots of tears tonight, through dinner, through blowing out her big "five" candle, and through opening her gift. I felt awful and didn't have the heart to look at those photos. A was very excited to get her "snuggie" though. That was one of several things she had on her list. We have her big birthday party on Sunday. Hopefully we won't have any mishaps and I can post some happy photos.

Once again, I just don't know where the time goes. It seems like only yesterday A was just a tiny little wiggly, adorable baby we were getting to know. Now she is already 5 and excited about starting kindergarten in August. She is an amazing blessing and I will do my best to cherish every moment with her, and our precious boys.

Happy Birthday, A.

I love you.

Fun with Tonto

2010-03-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had extraordinarily beautiful weather and extra time to play, so I pulled little Tonto out of the pasture. He wasn't sure what to think of that, it had been so long! He certainly enjoyed the long grooming session - hair was flying everywhere and there must have been at least a hundred hair packed wads from the curry comb surrounding him. It is definitely shedding season and this little guy has A LOT of hair to shed. I should have hosed his feet off - the mud sticks so badly. I look foward to warmer weather when I can wash his tail again, too.

Since we had a few hours to enjoy, I tacked Tonto up and the kids and I walked down the gravel road to the little creek that flows under the road to the front of the neighbor's property. I just led Tonto and let him get a good look at everything. He stood fairly patiently while the kids threw rocks into the water for about 30 minutes or so.

Once we were back home, I longed him for a while. He was very well mannered, remembering his walk, trot, and halt commands. He still doesn't know how to canter on the longe, something I hope I can teach him when we have more time to spend together...anyway, once he'd been worked and I felt he had all the bugs out, my daughter wanted to get on.

Tonto was very good and I was so proud of A! I led her around for at least 20 minutes or so, working on sitting up, soft hands and elbows, stopping, turning. This is the longest she has ever ridden and she truly showed an interest. She turns 5 tomorrow, so maybe she is finally maturing enough to focus longer than just a few minutes. I wanted to keep it fun and not bore her, so we stopped when she wanted to. Her little legs are so short, they don't reach below the saddle flaps!

It's time to get her some paddock boots and jodhpurs, it looks like! :)

I think it will be a few years before she outgrows Tonto...and that is a really good thing!

Tonto will be 14 this year, so as he ages, he continues to get better. He was quite green when we bought him over 7 years ago and rather skittish. He's had ample time to settle over the past several years.

I think they make a cute pair!

Tonto was enjoying a good neck scratch while Ashlee put her head on his neck. Mom snapped the photo as Ashlee was sitting up -

A is very proud of herself!

Then it was B's turn to ride. Yes, the shorts and dairy boots make a funny combo, but hey, he wanted to ride and I wasn't turning him down!

It's time for him to start riding Tonto regularly, too!

B had so much more confidence this time and wanted me to turn him loose. I still don't quite trust Tonto in the pasture and we don't have an arena, so I ended up putting him on the longe line so we could work on walk/halt transitions.

B is focusing on learning to turn:

(I wish I had been able to upload the videos. I believe the files were too large.)

It will be so nice to have the ponies in the back yard so we can play with them more than once every few months. I was thrilled that both A and B wanted to ride this time...and I was proud of them for listening to instructions. They tried so hard to catch on to what I was trying to explain. Maybe there is hope? :)

Happy Spring and Happy Riding!

March 22, 1986 (When Maggie came to live with us)

2010-03-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Today, 24 years ago, my parents bought my friend's horse, Midnight Magnolia aka "Maggie" for me. She was a registered QH mare, solid bay, 7 years old. Little did I know how much I would come to love this little mare.

Here are some photos of Maggie through the years.

1986

1987

(Later I learned how important a hard hat was)

The girl on the gray (in the saddle) is who I bought Maggie from (we just re-connected recently after many years!). The girl riding double in back is now a Nationally Ranked Arabian Sporthorse competitor (and still one of my VERY best friends of all time).

One of the few open shows I attended on Maggie. We did everything from English classes to ride-a-buck, to the arena race. She was game for anything!

Ha - I didn't have nice leather boots until the later years. These old rubber boots were great though! (and I still have that saddle and bridle...)

One of our many early morning rides:

I sold Maggie in 1989 to move to a bigger horse who I thought would take me through the ranks of Pony Club. He was wonderful, but proved to be a bit too much horse for me. I'll have to blog about him one day...

Thankfully, after I sold Maggie, she stayed in the area where I lived, so I was able to keep track of her. She changed hands several times and ended up at an eventing barn behind our house where I worked. She was a wonderful lesson pony and taught so many people how to ride. Once Maggie got older and it was time to retire her from teaching, the barn owner kindly gave her back to me so I could retire her.

1998

These photos were taken after Maggie came back home:

(I love, love, love her dapples every spring)

Here she is grazing with her best buddy, Buck. Buck and Maggie were the first 2 horses I ever owned. Buck was very sad when Maggie left in 1989. I still had Buck when Maggie came home in 1998. I led her into the pasture and just unclipped her leadrope. She and Buck ran up to each other, sniffed noses and Maggie sighed a huge sigh. They immediately dropped their noses and began grazing together. It was like Maggie had never left.

Here they are waiting on dinner:

Maggie being a trooper and graciously giving rides to my oldest:

(I know - no hard hat or shoes...He got a hard hat and paddock boots soon after he decided he wanted to start riding!)

2007

I believe this is about the last time anyone rode Maggie. Her eyesight and hearing are fading, so she is just a pasture pet now. This is her little buddy Tonto. Buck passed in 2001 and we went 2 years before buying Tonto. Maggie needed a buddy because she was getting lonely.

The photos below were taken on Maggie's 29th birthday:

2008

Maggie's 30th birthday:

2009

After her bath:

Winter 2009:

Maggie is one of those "special ones" that folks talk about. She has always been such a kind and gentle soul, never balking at anything I asked of her. She was never fancy, or had the best conformation, but the lessons she taught me growing up were priceless. She taught me patience, trust, kindness and gentleness.

Maggie is really beginning to show her age now. Amazingly, she will be 32 years old on May 8. She spends a lot of time sleeping, frequently laying flat out on her side. My poor Mom fears she is going to find Maggie dead any time now. But you know, that's the way I had rather her go. I'd rather not have to make the tough decision of putting her down, I had rather her pass peacefully in her sleep. Our wonderful vets check on her regularly and they always say the same thing, "You will know when it is time." I know I will, but again, I just really hope I don't have to make that decision.

Maggie was certainly one of the best decisions our family ever made.

Trip to Providence Canyon

2010-03-21T16:51:00.001-07:00

Our kids were out of school on spring break this past week, so we took a day trip to beautiful Providence Canyon in Georgia. It is hard to believe this gorge was caused by poor farming practices in the 1800s. The layers of soil in the canyon walls were gorgeous. There were all kinds of colors - red, white, orange, pink, purple, gray...it was so beautiful, but a grand reminder of what poor erosion control can cause.

The trails were basically paths of water that seep out of the canyon. It was was sandy and the water was shallow. It made for fun hiking. B began collecting white balls of clay that had washed out of the canyon walls. He made a large ball of clay, then formed it into a mug!

Taking a rest after climbing the hills!

Before heading to the canyon, we visited a little town called Westville. I didn't post any photos, but basically it is a small town that has been recreated to reflect life and buildings of the 1800's. The mules were used as the part of the tour around the outside of the town. A and I both had to pose with them. (The poor mules needed a good brushing!)

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, perfect for being outside. There were some tired kiddos on the ride home!

I saw this house on the way to Westville, so we took a photo when we were heading back home. I thought it was beautiful, but I sure wouldn't want the job of cleaning it!

We actually had some horse time on Saturday and I'll post some photos and maybe a video or two if I can get blogger to work for me.

Mystery Saddle

2010-03-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

This saddle was given to my Mother by my Grandfather many, many years ago. I believe he either bought it somewhere or it came with one of the horses he owned years ago. He always called it a WWII Japanese Calvary Saddle, but I have no idea what it is.

I am guessing the horn is either for a crouper or for a pack or something:

A photo of the underside of the "horn." Not sure what the square keeper is for.

Underside of the saddle. I wonder if it is stuffed with horsehair?

The billets have dry rotted. I am the one who broke them, unfortunately...I actually rode in this saddle a few times until we realized the tree was broken. My poor pony.

Below is one of the stirrups that was on the saddle when my Mom got it. I don't know if these were the original stirrups or ones added later. The detail is very simple, yet very beautiful.

Another photo of the back of the saddle:

This is one of those times I wish I had asked my Grandfather more about the saddle before he passed. I never asked where it came from or when he got it. He just always called it the "Japanese Calvary Saddle" and said it was used in WWII. There is no stamp or anything to even indicate what it is or when it was made.

If any of you know anything about this saddle or have seen one similar, would you please let me know? I've googled it, but haven't been able to come up with any info. yet.

Quick Update

2010-03-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well, things are okay here, sorry for the last post being so cryptic. I've gone back to work full-time and hubby is pursuing new job interests; therefore, we are putting the barn on hold and other things that we can live without right now. With one child playing soccer and our other two playing baseball, things are really hectic (but fun!) right now.

I spent some time with the ponies this past Sunday, just brushing them and loving on them. I longed Tonto for a little while and he was fantastic. Even though I haven't worked with him in months, he still remembered all the walk, trot, halt commands and was a little super star. I am dying to work with him, especially since spring is approaching. Maybe by next spring he will be home.

Hubby has put lime on the pasture and has done small things to help improve the pasture, so there is a little progress. The longer the new grass has to establish, the better the field will be.

I hope all of you are finding the time to ride and enjoy spring! I am so ready for some warmer temps!

Craziness...

2010-02-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

When I'm able to catch my breath, I'll post an update. Horse barn has been put on hold indefinitely, just in case you are wondering....more later.

Hope you are all well!

Checking In - What We've Been Up To

2010-01-27T06:34:00.001-08:00

This is our little "orphan Annie" look-alike, so my husband decided we needed to take her to see the play Annie at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Here she is holding the program...sorry, but I believe my Annie is a lot cuter than the one on the program. :)

The photo below was taken before entering the historic Fox Theatre. My Grandparents and parents watched many plays here and attended dances in the ball rooms, so it was neat to see a part of their past. The theatre is absolutely beautiful inside.

Our little Annie didn't quite make it to the grand ending of the play, but she was completely mesmerized up to the point where she fell asleep in my lap.

Annie was one of my very favorite movies when I was a child and I was thrilled to be able to share the experience with my children. Every aspect of the play was awesome. The child that played Annie had a beautiful, strong voice, so it was fun to hear her belt out those wonderful songs of Annie. My boys even enjoyed the performance.

On Sunday, we headed to Stone Mountain which is set up as "Snow Mountain" for the winter. Below is a shot of the snow tubing chutes from the top of Stone Mountain. We had a 2 hour block of time to do the snow tubing...in 2 hours, hubby and I sledded down 3 times and the kids each did it twice. I think I could have tubed all day, but it was so tiring for the kids having to drag their tube up the hill, then zig and zag through all the cattle lines to finally reach the top, only to have a 2 second run down the hill. So, after a little bit of fun, we headed to the Snow Zone to play in the man-made snow.

Below is a photo of Stone Mountain. The Snow activities were set up close to the base of it, so every time you looked up, you got a great view of the mountain. We also had a great view of the infamous carving of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis on the side of the mountain.

The kids had the most fun playing in the snow at the "Snow Zone." The snow was made by a snow-blower that would shoot snow (or ice from what it felt like) every few minutes.

Here is D getting pelted by the "snow."

He is wearing his Aunt S's favorite sweatshirt. :)

Here's a photo of B skiing down the hill without skis....this turned into sledding on their bellies.

A and her little snow buddy: (they kind of look alike!)

Hubby took a photo of us posing with a little snowman someone else built:

(I'm wearing a lovely pink poncho because it was drizzling rain...it was SO cold! The kids didn't seem to even notice the cold.)

Here we are on the top of Stone Mountain. We rode the tram up to the top, got out and went exploring. I only thought I was cold in the snow zone at the base of the mountain...up here the wind was whipping at a million miles an hour!

Notice our daughter in the yellow poncho about to run off the top of Stone Mountain...

These are just a few of the many photos I snapped on our trip. We had a great time getting away and trying something different for a change. The kids sure enjoyed it!

I haven't had any horse time in the last couple of weeks aside from brushing the ponies. My oldest son and I did make it to the Alabama Horse Fair this past weekend and enjoyed watching the stallion showcase and clinics by Tommie Turvey and his fabulous horses and dogs. It got me itching to ride again.

We had torrential rain last week, too, and my husband noticed the pipe on the upper terrace is getting washed out, thus water is blowing out of the bottom of the upper terrace. I'm not sure what it is going to take to get that problem fixed....we will definitely have to look into digging a ditch along our neighbor's property where the water is coming from. We've already talked to them about the problem and they are all for finding a solution. It washes their dirt driveway away as well, so maybe if we work together we can remedy the problem.

Hubby worked a little on the barn last weekend, but it was his birthday weekend, so I didn't force him to work. :) Hopefully he and his buddy can work on it some this weekend...spring is coming and I am getting antsy again! :)

Here is a video of the kids playing in the Snow Zone at Snow Mountain...you never know what you get when you video. For instance, check out the guy on the right side of the screen. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "snow blowing..."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY OLD FRIEND!!!

2010-01-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

Happy, Happy Birthday to one of my oldest and dearest friends!!!!!

This gal has been through it all with me - since December 1983. She turned 35 today and at least got to celebrate it with my brother and his wife yesterday! I am so jealous! :)

Hope you have a wonderful day, my dear - and many, many more. Sure wish I could have been there to share it with you in person. Maybe next year??

With much love....Red

Breyer Collection

2010-01-11T19:51:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know it is completely ridiculous. I say it is an addiction; my hubby says it is an illness.

From the photos, you can see that I don't only collect junk, but I collect Breyer Model Horses. I don't know a lot about them and I just purchase the ones that I like. My particular favs are pintos/paints; ponies and warmblood types. I think I have over 300 or so...

The horses pictured below reside in our basement:

(Cool side note: Some of these are signed by Peter Stone. I went to Pony Club Championships in 1989 in Lexington, KY. It just happened to be at the same time as the very first BreyerFest. My Mom heard that Peter Stone would be there to sign models, so I packed a bunch in a suitcase and took them with me. As he and I unwrapped each one, he told me what mold it was and the year. He patiently signed about 12 models for me! They are all dated 8-9-89. Then he let my Dad take a photo of us together! Once I locate it, I'll post it. )

I am in the process of compiling a list of all of my models and which ones are signed. I'll have to post that sometime, too, if I ever get it completed!

Since I dusted them today, I don't feel too bad about showing the photos:

Most of these photos are redundant; I'm trying to get a closer view of some of the horses.

See the POA on the far right, missing her leg?

The photo below shows the custom my husband had painted for me a few years ago:

(it is the second from the right)

The horses below are tucked away in the shelves in the living room among photos of my family:

I'm not sure if this one is the Western Horse or the Western Pony...

This new Stablemate mold is one of my favorites...

I have a couple of Schlech's too..

One of my favorites of the Sham mold (a JC Penney Special Run, I believe):

Some I haven't opened yet, bought many years ago...

My one and only Peter Stone model. My Mother gave it to me for Christmas in 2001, the year my beloved pony Buck had to be put down. It is signed by Peter Stone:

This is a terrible photo, but you get the gist:

So anyway, besides loving real horses, I love the Breyers, too. After finding links to really neat Breyer blogs lately, I am getting the itch to find out more about my models. I wonder if any are worth anything?

Barn Progress!

2010-01-11T19:32:00.001-08:00

Progress! YAY! I have to commend my hubby and his buddy, T...it is unusually COLD here in the south, but they got out in it and worked on the barn this weekend. Thank goodness my father-in-law brought over a great heater that they cranked up. It wasn't too bad inside with all of the doors closed and the heater going.

They finished the outside of the stall walls and finished the bars:

Looking kind of fancy!

Inside the stall area:
Still have to bring in the limestone screenings or something for the floor...we are still debating the stall mats.

Another view inside the future stalls:

The divider wall will be built where that telephone pole is.

Inside of the front doors:

Since they put X's on the back doors when they completed them, I am guessing they will put X's on the inside of these doors as well, so when they are open, you can see the cool X's. As you can see, the bottom doors have metal frames. We were going to do that on all of the doors for extra strength, but it was becoming too costly and too time-consuming, so we nixed that idea.

See, there are those cool X's on the newly built back doors:

Another view of the stall walls and bars.

Oh, I am loving it!

Here is a view of the doors they worked on this past weekend:

They will REALLY look good once they are all painted up!

One more inside view:

I tried to take some photos inside the tack room, but the dimensions of the

room make it difficult to photograph....this shows the window and door, and K.C., the kitty cat....

Another photo inside the tack/feed room (storage room for now!):

I really, really appreciated the guys working on the barn in the bone-chilling cold. Any progress is good! And we are finally making progress again! YAY!

Found Them!

2010-01-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

Ha ha! I found them! Here are the photos from December 1983 when the same little creek in Pike Road froze over and I was able to ice skate on a tiny patch of ice. The same little creek that my kids skated on yesterday!

Looking at the photos from yesterday, I believe their patch was bigger than mine!

Whew, that was a close one! :) But I'm okay!

It's COLD Here!

2010-01-09T18:23:00.001-08:00

The highs have been in the 20's and the lows in the teens, so we have ice. It was supposed to snow on Thursday, but it warmed up too much. We had a few flurries and some sleet, but nothing major. It was enough to make school start 2 hours later than normal on Friday though, and that was nice... :) But the kids were still dissapointed. See, snow in the south is a big deal!

So I took the kids to my parents' house today to play on the ice. The same thing I did when I was about 10 years old. It was so much fun watching them slide and skid on the ice. My Mom even dug the OLD ice skates out of the attic for the kids to try out!

Here is B with a piece of ice from the frozen creek:

B, A, and D on the bridge taking a break from all the fun:

A attempting to ice skate:

A taking a break on the bridge:

All three posing for a photo on the ice:

A and B on the ice:

D was skating pretty well on this small patch of ice:

You can see that it wasn't frozen solid, but it was thick enough to hold them up!

D posing again on the ice -

Now I need to go find the photos of me ice skating on this same creek

when I was about 10 years old!

How We Spent New Year's Day

2010-01-02T10:28:00.001-08:00

Happy 2010!!

It is so hard to believe we are embarking on 2010. As so many of my friends have said, it seems like we were just preparing for Y2K. That was yesterday, wasn't it?

Well, for New Year's Day, hubby and the kids built a neat tepee. They built a similar one back in 2008 and decided it was time to do it again.

The kids love their tepee!

Putting pine straw on it:

Checking out the inside:

Daisy checking out the kids inside the tepee:

K.C. the kitty checking out the tepee:

Daddy and the kids saying their tepee prayer:

The Pow-Wow begins:

Oops - an escapee!

Inside the tepee:

Posing in front of the tepee:

K.C. supervising from the picnic table:

(I wonder what she is thinking?)

This poor lizard was struggling to cross an old bale of straw. I think he was extremely cold...so I picked him up and put him in the sun. Poor fellow - I think the cat got his tail.

A had to check him out:

Sam was toting his toy around:

then decided to stop and tear it to pieces:

A decided it wasn't too cold to make mud pies. Daisy keeps her company:

A photo of the barn and grass:

Another view:

Happy New Year!

From our family to yours, we hope 2010 proves to be a wonderful, blessed year for everyone.

Hopefully I'll have a barn update soon...no progress since well before Christmas. Hubby's friend is supposed to come over tomorrow to work on the last set of doors. Keep your fingers crossed!

A Time to Remember

2009-12-31T11:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day proved to be a wonderful day in more ways than one.
Santa was awfully good to us this year, bringing the kids everything they thought they wanted and more.

And...

My beautiful Grandmother passed away at 1:00 AM on Christmas morning. She was 94 years young. Although very hard to lose her, this was such a blessing, as she has been suffering from Alzheimer's for the past 10 or so years and when we visited her in October, all she wanted was "to go home." She literally meant she wanted to go back to her house, to live in her home with her beloved husband who passed away a year ago in May, but instead of going to a physical house, she most definitely went to Heaven. Grandma was such a lovely lady and a wonderful Grandmother. I will miss her so very much, but I am relieved that she is no longer laying in a bed in a nursing home. What a day to depart from this earth!

Grandmother Harper

Papa Harper

A photo of Papa and Grandma with their 4 children - my Dad is the handsome guy on the left. He is the oldest child.

I think this photo was taken at a surprise birthday party for Grandma - I love the look on Papa's face! Priceless! This is how I remember both of them - they were so fun to be around!

My 3 children after the services. (A didn't want to have her photo taken...hence the droopy head). We are at Papa and Grandma's house. My cousin and her family own it now. I am so happy the house stayed in the family and that it is restored.

The Gerber daisy came from the arrangement on Grandma's casket. The boys were honorary casket bearers.

Before the funeral, we were able to spend some time with my other Grandmother.

This is my Mom's Mom. She will be 93 years young in February. This little lady still goes to Curves 3 days a week and has the best sense of humor!! Her mind is still sharp as a tack and because of that, she is able to stay in her own condo. It is a blessing that my children are able to know their great-grandparents. I believe they realize how lucky they are, too.

Metal Horses

2009-12-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

As promised, photos of the metal horses - Hubby hung the cool metal horses my parents gave me for my birthday under the window. I love them!! It adds a nice touch to the barn.

A close up of the horses:

It is so hard to believe we are in the final countdown for Christmas!!

I hope that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2010!

Happy Riding!

Progressing Along....Slowly

2009-12-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

Between the weather and hubby's friend taking on another building job, the progress has slowed considerably. Since my last post, the upper dutch doors have gone up, which is very exciting!

We made them 5 feet wide instead of the standard 4 feet wide. I think there will be more wear and tear on the hinges, but I believe it will be nice to have the wider doors...hoping to put crossties or something like that in the doorways to keep the shavings in. The barn will look really good once we get the painting done!

This will be the grooming area:

At first we were going to enclose it for feed or tack, but the tack room will be big enough for both. The aisle is not as wide as I'd like it, so this open area will be a great place to groom and for the farrier to work.

A view of the future stalls:

We still have a lot of work to do in this area. Once the outside is complete, the inside work will get finished up. Having the doors on one end has made a huge difference in cutting down on the wind. It was brutal to stand in the aisle way when the wind was blowing, but now when the doors are closed, it is right pleasant in there!

Looking through the barn:

Another view looking through the barn:

In this shot you can see the doors that are closed, blocking the wind. :)

My daughter checking out the stall area:

Another view of the stall area:

Inside the stall area:

Another view of the front side of the barn. My hubby hung the metal horses below the loft window and they look really neat! I will get a photo to post once the rain stops!

It is really hard being patient, but I am trying really hard.... Hubby and I are still not quite in agreement about the stall mats. I would like to invest in them, but I haven't yet convinced him of the benefits (even after having all of my FB friends post about the pros of stall mats!) He can find too many cons. We'll see....

Hoping all of you are gearing up for a wonderful Christmas! We have our tree and stockings up, but that is about it! Yikes!

Finally, Some Pony Time!

2009-12-06T15:54:00.001-08:00

Finally! I was able to steal some time to visit with the ponies this past weekend. They were in desperate need of brushing to get the prairie mud off. It's been 6 weeks since I saw Tonto and Maggie last! My poor Mom brushes them when she can, but she does good to feed, water, muck stalls, shuffle horses around, work full time and care for my Dad and the other animals all by herself. I believe she does a wonderful job and I am so, so very thankful for her.

Here's old Mags with her mud pack on. She's doing fairly well for being 31 years old.

After brushing; she is still filthy, but mostly dandruff. No rainrot, which is what I was afraid of. She wants to know where her supper is. Twice a day she gets 2 lbs Equine Senior, 2 lbs Omolene #100, soaked alfalfa cubes and soaked shredded beetpulp. Mom wants to feed her 3 meals a day, but because she works, she just isn't able to. Maggie is a little thin, but the vet says that isn't a bad thing because she has an old bowed tendon and leg problems that too much weight would aggravate. I still don't like her any thinner than this.

This photo was taken looking into the sun. I liked how the sunrays came down around Maggie's head. She's such an angel, it's appropriate! ;)

Another view of Maggie.

Tonto got cleaned up, too.

I think once I get him moved to our place, I'll start riding him bareback - he looks like a big soft couch!

I just love this pony - he is too cute for words and sooooo loving!

Oh, had to share - My Dad found some dog sweaters on sale at Target....

Below Boots models hers:

Then goes to hide in embarrassment under the window. :)

I thought they looked great - maybe the sweaters are just a bit too small? :)

And talk about "Cat Naps."

A just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and passed out on my bed....Annie followed suit. I thought this was too cute and had to snap a photo.

I now have an assistant while I work. Sometimes she thinks my work assignments are hilarious....that's her opinion though.

or very boring...

But she's great company and I am loving having her around. It does the heart good to know you saved at least one from the shelter.

Well, not too much to report on the barn. The upper dutch doors are on now and we are hoping hubby's friend will be able to come back on Sunday and build the last 4 doors. Then we need to finish the stalls. I'm still working to convince hubby that stall mats are a must - I've gotten a lot of great feedback from horse friends on FB and a horse board I'm on. I'll keep you posted!

Hope all is well with you and I'll post updated barn photos soon.

Updated Barn Photos!

2009-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

LOOK! We have bottom doors! SO excited! Another small step towards getting the barn ready for da ponies!

Looking more and more like a horse barn!

Once we are finished with the painting, the support board can be removed from the overhang. The ladder leans against it to keep from denting up the metal roof.

Oh, buddy; I can't WAIT to use it!!!

Hubby's favorite part is the deck. The kids like the easy access to the loft now; so do the cats. :)

Another view of the doors.

Eventually we will replace the metal siding on the loft with wood and

add more windows, but it is fine with me for now.

Hubby put the door latches on tonight. I'll have to get some photos tomorrow. No more propping the doors shut with 2x4's!

We have been so blessed with the warmer temperatures and rain - the grass is growing like crazy!

The barn is slowly coming together. There is still a lot of inside work to do, but now that the front doors are on, we can close them to keep the chilly wind out while we work on the inside. Hubby's friend that has been helping has taken on another side job, so he can only come on Sundays to work. At least he is still helping out; everything goes much faster with his help since he is an experienced builder. Keep your fingers crossed he can help more once his other job is complete! :)

On a sad note, Hubby accidentally ran over our beloved kitten Stripes while the kids and I were in Georgia visiting my Grandmother the week of Thanksgiving. When we got home, we buried her beside Snowflake. It was so hard! We all cried like babies. I can't believe we ran over two of our beloved animals this year!

On Saturday I took the kids and we went to the local animal shelter to adopt a homeless kitty. Oh man, was that ever hard! Never again will I take 3 emotional kids to the shelter to pick out a pet. We narrowed it down to 2 choices; a 6-week old kitten and a 4-month old kitten that was a spitting image of Stripes. A, my 4-yr old daughter, wanted the tiny kitten desperately because she could easily carry it around. It was very timid and was a feral kitten, so it had some nurturing needs. The other kitten was the absolute sweetest kitty I have ever been around. She kept hugging on B and curling up in his lap. B was completely smitten, plus he wanted another kitty that looked identical to Stripes. I was worried that our other kitty (the Mom to Stripes) wouldn't accept the older kitten, so I kept encouraging them to choose the baby over the older kitten. After 2 and a half hours, we reluctantly brought the timid 6-week old baby home. B was completely heartbroken and we all cried the whole way home from the shelter. I told B he had to name the new kitten. Finally on Sunday evening, he had warmed up to her enough to name her "Annie."

Well, guess who is asleep in my lap as I type this?

Annie, our new, not-so-timid-any-more-6-week old kitten...

Snuggling with D:

Hanging out with the bunny:

(please excuse the mess!)

So, it has been a busy and emotional week, but things are settling back down. We all miss Stripes so much. Annie is capturing our hearts though, and the kids are not talking so much about missing Stripes now. Even Hubby has enjoyed snuggling with her the last couple of nights.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you are getting ready for Christmas! (We haven't even started Christmas shopping yet!)

Visit with Filly

2009-12-01T20:07:00.001-08:00

While in Dothan for D's soccer tournament, we were able to stop by and visit Filly. Her new name is Paparazzi (Poppie for short). I think it is very fitting!

Here she is all braided up - she competed in her first horse show on Nov. 21! We didn't get to see her ridden, but T left her braided so I could see how fancy she was. She was lovely! T said Filly was very nervous, but behaved. It was a small open show, perfect for schooling. T even entered her in a halter class!

Pretty girl all fancied up! (Love the tongue sticking out!)

Back at Filly's stall with some of T's friends.

It ended up that one of T's friends and I rode together when we were younger! Small, small world!

Filly is enjoying the conversation and the tidbits of hay the girls feed her
as my husband and D look on...

Here Filly stretches for some more hay. She looks a little like a walking horse!

T and D undo all those pretty braids.

Nice perm Filly!

And hubby decides T and I need our photo taken with the ever so thrilled Filly:

She was never one to put her ears forward in photos!

Come on, smile Filly!

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen? We left before their class was finished, but I bet they won!! (That saddle looks so comfy!)

It was wonderful getting to visit Filly. She is so content and happy in her new home. T treats her like royalty and is taking her time with Filly's training. This little mare has issues that T will be able to work through because she is patient and kind with her, but knows when to discipline. As much as I miss her, I couldn't be more pleased, or relieved. There is no doubt she is where she needs to be and I really look forward to seeing her live up to her full potential. T hopes to bring Filly to some shows near where we live, so hopefully I can watch her in the future! Hopefully I can post some updates on their progress.

I've had no pony time since Filly was sold on Oct. 22. Between soccer, work, Thanksgiving and children, all my time has been taken up! Hopefully I can get out to brush and spend some much needed horse time with the ponies this weekend. Goodness, I miss them!

Oh, and I have updated photos of the barn! Progress has slowed, but it is creeping along and looking great! I'll post ASAP.

Soccer State Finals

2009-11-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

D's All Star Soccer Team won Districts, so we traveled to Dothan, AL to play in the State Finals. They had to win both games on Saturday to play in the final tournament on Sunday.

D's team played their hearts out and tied the first game 1 to 1.

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side and they lost the tie in a very

nerve-wracking shoot-out.

They played their second game at 5pm that same afternoon and won it 2 to 0.

These kids played awesome and we are so very proud of them!!!

Now D is going to try out for the high school soccer team on Dec. 7...wish us LUCK! :)

Another Beautiful Weekend

2009-11-16T09:02:00.001-08:00

After Ida blew through leaving our neighbor's steel cover in our yard, the weather cleared up and was absolutely beautiful. Thank goodness the cover wedged between the fence and the brick shed and didn't blow through our barn. Thankfully, the worst damage done was to the cover itself and the chain link fence. The neighbor's beautiful and very expensive boat sat under this cover. And amazingly after all the ruckus, didn't have a scratch on it!

We got a good bit of painting done this weekend. Got one coat of paint on the upper lever and started the second coat on the lower level. Sorry about the glare of the sun on the barn - it doesn't due the true color justice...

Hubby got creative and put up a sampling of the stall bars. Turned out pretty good, huh?

Another photo of the bars:

From inside the stall looking out:

From outside the barn looking in:

Now for the backside of the barn!! Instead of having a ladder sticking down into the aisle for access to the loft, hubby and his friend got creative:

The stairs and deck will provide a safe way to get kids up and down from the loft. We are talking about making this a really cool play area for the kids...eventually...

Another sunny, glaring view of the barn:

Check out the grass!

We have been so, so fortunate with the warmer weather and right amount of rain. The rye grass
is filling in beautifully. Hopefully this will help us get other grasses established this spring and keep the dirt on the hill. The terraces have made a world of difference.

So, it is progressing right along. Still no idea of when it will all be complete, but hopefully sooner than later. We still have to finish the stalls and the fence. It is so amazing seeing it all come together though. The dream is getting a little closer to fruition! :)

Thank you for checking in....happy riding!

Awesome Weekend!

2009-11-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

This was a busy weekend, but a great one! Saturday we traveled to Sylacauga for the U14 All Stars Soccer District Championships. The kids played their hearts out!

Ouch!

Half Time:

Ring around the pole:

This is where our team scored against Talladega to tie the game 1 to 1.

The tie had to be broken by a shoot-out. Each team took turns kicking the ball into the goal. First team to make the most goals wins, but each team has the same number of shots. This is tough, because it can go either way so easily.

We won the shoot out!

Some well deserved celebrating!

This meant our kids got a 15 minute break and had to play a second game against Opelika (who had been sitting on our sidelines watching our kids play for the last 80 minutes)!!

Here's a photo of B in the sun - it was a gorgeous day!

A in the shade:

A's friend sprouted a coyote tail:

A enjoyed filling our empty drink bottles with sand:

She said they were very "heaby."

Second game against Opelika...there were some great moves in this game!!

These great moves lead to a 2 to 2 tie with Opelika; which meant another shoot-out!!!

We WON!!!

We're #1!!!!!

Winning these 2 games put them in first place in their league. They are District Champions!!!

They will travel to Dothan to compete in the State Finals towards the end of November.

We are so proud of our team!!!!

Since we weren't the least bit worn out from Saturday, we hosted a barn painting party on Sunday!

Even as tired as D was after all that soccer, he still worked hard painting!

First coat....whew, and a long way to go!

We still have a lot left to paint, but hopefully we'll have another painting party again this weekend.

My parents brought me an early Christmas present from the Pike Road Arts and Crafts Fair:

I look forward to finding the perfect place to display the running horses on the barn!

Tomorrow Tropical Storm Ida is supposed to dump a couple of inches of rain....maybe I'll have some flood shots to share!

Until next time, Happy Riding!

Check it out!!!

2009-11-05T08:42:00.001-08:00

Dreams really do come true (if you beg and gripe enough!) Hubby and his friend will put the new siding on the loft this weekend.

Come on in for a little tour:
Tack/feedroom is on the right:

Future stalls on the left:

Another view of the tack/feedroom:
The guys will finish the walls when they can.

Inside the tack/feedroom:
Some type of paneling will be put on the walls; forgive the mess! I can't wait to hang my new saddle and bridle racks my best friend S sent me for my birthday! You are TOO wonderful!!

This will be the grooming area:
It won't house the lawn mower and 4-wheeler much longer! I will get to hang my beautiful new hunter green crossties in this area....thanks to S! And I will use the step stool/groom box S so generously bought me as well. She knows how us short people struggle to trim ears and bridlepaths!

Outside of the barn. Dutch doors will be built sometime in the future.

Another view of the aisle: (can't wait until it is cleaned out!)

The horseshoes in the concrete belonged to horses of my past and present (Buck, Hamlet, Ollie, Brandy, and even some of Maggie's.) They are at the other end of the aisle as well.

Another view of the future stalls:

The grass continues to grow beautifully on the cross country banks (just kidding...) it is tempting to think about though!

I just keep telling myself I think I am dreaming. I just can't believe the barn is actually being finished! It is soooooo hard to be patient...but it's been 10 years since I had ponies in my own back yard and only in my dreams have I had a barn this nice! (Thank you honey!!!!) I guess he'll have to finally get that 400 inch big screen TV, or boat or motorcycle he has been dreaming about....

Looking like a Barn!

2009-11-02T09:23:00.001-08:00

The barn is coming along!! My hubby, his Dad and our friend T worked all weekend to get as much done as they could. It was my birthday on Sunday, so my b-day gift was to work on the barn...and that was aaaaaallllll I wanted. :)

Standing back to admire their work: (T is sitting in the truck, hubby's Dad is standing on the right and that is Uncle R on the left.) Not sure where hubby was....maybe running an errand?

The trim pieces around the windows and aisle door are hard to see in the photos, but I am loving them!!!! The loft will serve as a big play area for the kids...or place for Pony Club meetings...or camp outs...or something fun we can think of!

Stall door openings awaiting their dutch doors:

Framing for the 2 stalls: (we haven't put the divider in yet...not sure when that is happening...)

Stall and big window:

We've got to get a load or two of clay for the floors. I would like to install rubber mats, but I'm beginning to overspend my budget, so they may have to wait for now...)

For now, I am having them leave this area open instead of making it into a feed room. I don't have a lot of tack, so I'll put feed and tack in one room and leave this as a grooming area. If we decide to close it in, it can be done later...(right now it is the storage area for the old mower and 4-wheeler...)

I had to share these next two photos from the Fall Festival we attended Saturday night:
My 3 wonderful kids....(left to right: A as "Super Girl," D as a mixed up New York Yankee sporting an Auburn hat...and B as "Darth Vader" (he refused to wear the mask, so he was kind of just the "Dude in Black"...) (I guess B could have gone as the "Headless Horseman" and let his red hair serve as the pumpkin...)

Then we have "Halloween Costumes Gone Wrong..." These two peas in a pod are well endowed for this age! And yes, one was a girl and one was a boy...you might be able to tell from the photo... :)

Thanks for checking in - I can't tell you how excited I am with the barn progress, but I guess you can kind of tell from my blog. :)
Happy Riding!!

Sweet Progress

2009-10-30T15:15:00.001-07:00

My hubby's friend is between jobs, so he's had a couple of days to work on the barn. Bad for him, but good for us....He will hopefully be back on the road next week with his new job as a tanker truck driver. Pray he stays safe. Those things scare me.

Because our barn is not square and is off-set so I could have larger stalls, TC has all kinds of tricks to make it look better. He is currently adding a little overhang to the front: 1) to help fool the eye so it looks a bit more balanced and 2) to protect the doors he is planning to build.

The left side is being framed up for the 2 stalls. There is a nice big window for one someone to hang their head out of...it may be a bit high for little Tonto, but I'm not complaining. The siding above the small overhang will eventually be replaced with the same siding currently on the right side of the barn. Not sure what color it will be painted when done...I am open for suggestions.

Looking through the aisle:

I can't wait to be able to use it! My dream has always been to have a barn with an aisle. It will be D's job to keep it swept. :)

Future stall area:

You can see the forms where the guys are pouring concrete as I type this...future walls and doors will hopefully be built fairly soon. :)

Another shot from inside the stall area:

(Notice all that grass!)

Below is one of the outside wall footers my hubby poured last weekend:

We have been blessed with plenty of rain and warm weather, so the rye and fescue mix is coming up like crazy. I just pray it continues to grow throughout the winter like it is supposed to. We will over seed with fescue and carpet grass next spring.

The walls are doing their job holding the soil in place. Even with all the rain, there has been almost no erosion. (Thank you Lord!)

Grass is growing on the lower part of the hill as well....this photo doesn't do it justice.

Glorious grass.....

I've been in touch with Filly's new owner and they are both very happy and doing well. I'll have to pull some photos off her website to share. I miss Filly like crazy, but she is right where she needs to be. Her new owner said Filly nickers to her every time she sees her, so I take that as a good sign. :)

Thanks for checking in and I'll post again soon. :)

Photos of Filly's New Owner

2009-10-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering - here are a couple of photos I pulled from photobucket. This is T and her big paint gelding she events and Pony Clubs on. I've seen even better dressage photos of these two, but this is quite nice, so you get the idea!

I believe this was her profile photo when I sent her a friend request. It was definitely a jumping photo and they looked so good!

Anyway, I am thrilled that Filly may have the opportunity to be trained to her full potential. I'd love to see photos of her like this! She is only 9, so she is certainly ready to be put into steady work. I have no doubt T will train her up right. :) The only problem is I'll never be able to afford her price tag if she goes up for sale looking like this!

Filly has a New Home

2009-10-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

It all began on October 17 with an innocent e-mail. I am a social networking addict....and I'll admit it. I spend WAY too much time checking my friend's profiles and their photos - especially if they are horse people. While checking out photos on a friend's page, a photo caught my eye. It was a photo of a girl jumping a flashy paint horse. I had no idea who she was, but I liked her horse, so I sent her a message and asked if she'd like to be "friends" since we had "horse" friends in common (3 in fact). She accepted my friend request and started perusing my ba-zillions of horse photos. And of course I was thumbing through all of hers, too, quite impressed with almost all of them! The one thing that really struck me was how healthy and shiny they were. The plus was the ones she was riding looked spectacular!

Then I receive an e-mail that she commented on one of my photos. I followed the link to a photo of Filly. My new friend asks what I do with the cute Filly pony...in which I respond, "Nothing"....and proceeded to tell her everything I knew about Fil...blah, blah, blah (dreams for the pony, how long I'd had her, everything we'd been through, directed her this blog, etc., and how I really needed to sell her, but didn't want to, etc, etc, etc. I really thought this new friend would run the other way screaming, "Okay, okay, enough! Too much info!!!" But she didn't. She continued to inquire about Filly, look at photos and comment on them, and I continued looking through her photos and answering her questions. The more I looked at the photos of her horses, the better I felt.

Finally, she sent an e-mail asking if she could come meet Fil in person. I was hesitant, but agreed. This was really hard. I hate selling horses. I just get too attached and worry about where they are going to go, how they are going to be treated, etc. Filly was my dream pony, but my dreams had started fading with the lack of time, sweet itch, training frustrations, and here lately, the fear of riding itself. Reality was biting really hard. I kept telling myself I could always back out if I didn't like the potential buyer.

T and her Mom came to visit on Thursday, October 22. I was feeling mixed emotions as I awaited their arrival. It would be disappointing if they didn't like Filly, but yet I was scared they WOULD like her and want to buy her.

I had Filly cleaned up and grazing in the yard when they drove up. T and her Mom jumped out and we began chatting about Filly as they looked over her. Their kindness and knowledge put me at ease - I was still nervous, but in a good way! (I believe I talked their ears off with my nervous chatter...)

We longed Filly first, then T gently settled into the saddle.

Filly is approximately 14.1 hands and she has NO muscle what-so-ever. T is around 5'7 I believe.

T was gentle and quiet. I really liked the way she rode Filly with confidence.

T took her time walking large circles and changing direction.

They tried some trotting:

Filly was really good for a few circles, then decided to pull her ugly trick of popping her shoulder and hopping to the side. T just sat deeper in the saddle and kept her left rein wide and right leg on so Filly couldn't turn right. After a few hops, Filly went back on the circle. That is the point I would have gotten off. Filly would have won that battle because she has unseated me too many times doing that. T took it all in stride and quietly worked Filly through it.

T got very nice results:

Filly got a little pat reward:

T has worked with problem ponies and young horses, so I have no doubt she'll have Filly going around nicely in no time at all. She is also an active member of Pony Club, so that gave her bonus points with me. :)

She decided she wanted to take Filly home with her.

She came prepared with a brand new purple halter! (It actually belonged to one of her other horses, but it fit nicely.)

One last photo of the three of us together:

T can't decide if she wants to train Filly for her Mom who is more my height, or keep her for herself! :) Her Mom just lost her beloved horse in September to a ruptured colon. They had a hard time even talking about it without choking up. So, so sad.

As hard as it was watching the trailer drive away with my Filly pony in it, I am very happy and relieved with the outcome. Yes, there were lots of tears, but I loved both T and her Mom and I have no doubt Filly is in the right home now. I believe I made it clear that if they ever needed to send Filly back, they could. I'm not sure what T's plans for college are, as she just graduated from high school in May, but if she decides she can't keep Fil, I hope she will let me know. :) T and I are also friends on the net, so I can check on Filly's progress and see photos any time I want.

I'm not really ready to be on the serious horse hunt yet...I am enjoying looking at ads, but I need to be patient and wait for the barn to be finished before purchasing another pony. In the meantime, I have lots of plans for working little Tonto!

Update

2009-10-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

I sold my beloved Filly pony to a wonderful young lady yesterday. Wow, it was hard as hell to say goodbye as we loaded Filly on the trailer and watched her head down the road, but there is no doubt in my mind it was the right thing to do. She can now live up to her full potential and get all of the attention she deserves. Story and photos to follow soon.

Wishing the Best of Luck to a Friend

2009-10-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

An internet buddy of mine is competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover this weekend in TN. Please wish her the best of luck, and most of all, please pray that she is able to purchase her beloved mustang, Trouper, at the conclusion of the competition.
For a link to her blog, go here: Whispering Rains Farms. She has a link to the Extreme Mustang Makeover there.

Bring it all home, A and Trouper!!!!!!!!

Barn Progress...YAY!

2009-10-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

My hubby's friend came over for a few hours today to work on the barn. This is no easy task, since nothing is square in this pole barn. It's sole function when it was built was to house the old owner's treasures....and he had LOTS of treasures.

Can you see the studs?

(That's my hubby kneeling on the left and T on the right :))

Standing inside the future stall:

Framing up the door:

Inside the barn.

From the aisle looking into the opening for the stall door:

Another view from inside the barn:

Future stalls:

A view from inside the stall through the door:

Future ~14 x 14 stalls (yippee!):

The grass is growing on the hill:

Grass is sprouting up everywhere, it is just hard to tell from the photos.

Dreams are slowly coming to fruition....it is a nice feeling. :)

Busy Weekend

2009-10-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the past two weekends have been very busy, so no horse time was available.

This past weekend I traveled with my parents and my three children to our annual family reunion. My dear husband had to leave on Sunday for a business trip to Vegas, so he missed the reunion this year...and we are all missing him this week. The weather was yucky on the way to South Carolina; lots of rain, but we saw several beautiful rainbows! Promises of better things to come, I believe.

The weekend was supposed to be a complete wash-out, but see, those rainbows were a promise of better things! The weather broke and we had glorious sunshine on Saturday and Sunday for the reunion. The kids had such fun motoring around in the fishing boat. They didn't catch too many fish, but who needs fish when you have cousins to hang around with?

We also went hiking in the woods. I almost stepped on this huge green fellow:

The kids were fascinated by this caterpillar, as was I! I've never seen one this big before! (Thank you to my brother for holding the stick while I snapped photos...)
Notice his yellow horns:

I had to share this photo of the cousins together:

Three of these kiddos are mine, two belong to my middle brother, one to my oldest brother, and the extra two belong to one of my cousins. Got all that?

And yes, my daughter has to face paint with the mud from the lake....

By the time she was finished, she had stripes across her forehead, too. Nice.

While walking in the woods, we came across these delicate flowers. Not sure what they were, but I thought they were neat.

We arrived back home on Monday and found grass on the new terraces.

I noticed today that all of the bare dirt spots now have grass growing on them. We've had tons of rain and very little erosion, thank goodness. Maybe it's the rainbows...

Hoping for some horse time this weekend. The weather is getting cooler, so I know they are beginning to get woolly. Can't wait to see them.

Oh, and no updates on the barn yet. My husband's friend is supposed to spend a weekend helping enclose it, but not sure when that is happening. Hopefully SOON! I'll keep you posted. :)

The Hill - October 5

2009-10-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Just after the walls were complete, the forecast called for rain. Almost 2 inches of rain. This made me want to curse. A little rain would be great, but come on, 2 inches????????

My brilliant hubby went to Lowe's and found these mats for erosion control.

We seeded with winter rye and fescue, then spread fertilizer before rolling out the mats.

I didn't get a photo of the finished product because the rain was moving in and we were in a hurry!

It rained a bunch; sometimes very hard....all night long and off and on the next two days. We were dreading what the hill would look like the following days.

To our surprise (and relief), there was very little erosion!!

Casey and Stripes checking out the erosion mats:

There is a little washing of dirt onto the mat, but no huge ruts as before.

These ruts were pretty deep, but minimal and easy to fix. We are having more dirt brought in to put around the walls before seeding and covering these areas with mats.

Minimal runoff from the wall:

Minor erosion that will be repaired:

It's actually a good thing that it rained hard so soon after the walls were completed. Now we have an idea of where our problem areas are going to be and the landscaper can help us fix those areas.

Some settling along the walls; to be expected. They will be filled and repaired.

More photos of minor erosion that will be fixed:

Photo looking out from the barn:

(no major washing, if any!)

Below shows one small area that washed. We will have to find a solution for this; probably will have to build a small retaining wall here.

Daisy standing in the washed area. A lot of water from our neighborhood flows through here, but notice there is no major erosion! Hubby placed the cross ties and 6x6's along here to slow the flow until this area can be worked on.

The photo below shows some of the settling along the wall. It is hard to pack dirt around the "deadmen," so this is to be expected.

The rest of these photos show the minor erosion. I know we can't stop all of it, but if we can minimize it, maybe we can keep some dirt on the hill....

Such a huge difference from the washing we experienced before. The landscapers are back today hard at work putting down more dirt. I'll go out shortly to spread seed and fertilizer. Hubby found some cheaper and longer erosion control mats that he will purchase this weekend to put on the lower portion of the hill since we are expected to get MORE rain this weekend!

Keep your fingers crossed that the rye will take and grass can start growing. Maybe by this time next year we'll have Filly and Tonto home!

Hill Photos from October 3

2009-10-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the new retaining walls are complete. They look great and I believe they will help reduce our erosion problem. There is still a slight slope which will help water drain away from the barn, but since it is more gradual, the water won't rush over it like before. Plus, the horses will have two almost level spots to walk around on....

The bottom part of the hill, below the retaining walls:

This area is getting more dirt and we are talking about removing a few more trees.

Just a bunch of photos to show different views:

I wish we could have made the lower wall area larger - it would have made a nice arena...

One of the drains in the wall:

Grate over drain in the lower wall. This was already in the hill when we purchased the house - the original home owner's attempt to control the erosion. We just extended the pipe up and added this nice grate.

That piece of metal sitting on the wall goes over the grate. The pointy things sticking up from the metal go into the ground so no hooves get poked.

Another view of the upper wall (and the top of Sam's tail...):

These photos really don't do the new areas justice. The slope looks pretty bad here, but I think it is the angle of the camera. This area is quite flat.

A couple of views from the pole barn looking out from where the stalls will be:

Sides of the walls:

More photos:

Before we bring the horses over, we'll string the electric fence tape along the tops of the walls.

Progress!

Hill Work Continues - October 2

2009-10-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

By October 2nd, the lower wall was complete. My daughter, A, had to test it out:

Yep, it looks pretty straight (and high!) It is just over 3 feet high.

Work on the upper wall begins:

(Sam and Daisy are checking it out:)

First row of cross ties for the upper wall:

Looking down the hill from the pole barn:

Placing the "deadmen" for the upper wall:

A is loving all of the fresh dirt...

Upper wall is coming along nicely:

Notice the french drain (white pipe) along the wall. The black pipe is covered with a silt sleeve, hence the white. Gravel is poured over the top of the pipe to help with drainage:

Too bad I don't jump any more. These walls would make awesome cross country jumps!

The upper wall finished out at 3 feet high. We will string the highly visible white electric fence tape along the top of the walls to keep the horses from going off of them.

The Hill - September 28

2009-10-08T06:23:00.001-07:00

Work begins on the lower wall:

Our landscaper bought the forks specifically for this job, since he knew he would be dealing with a lot of cross ties.

Row one:

The wall supervisor:

By the afternoon they had progressed pretty far along:

The "deadmen" used to secure the wall:

French drains and river rock will be placed along the inside of the wall:

Lots of hammering rebar and huge nails:

Looking at the wall from the bottom of the hill:

(It's looking a bit like a cross country course...)

Swamp Sunflowers:

I love these flowers this time of year.

And the Hill Rennovation Begins - September 27...

2009-10-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

September 27, 2009: The work on our monster hill begins.

The idea is to create two large retaining walls to slow the runoff, thus reducing the erosion damage to the hill.

Cross ties are delivered:

LOTS of cross ties:

"HE did it!"
"Nuh-uh, the CAT did it!"

Discussing exactly where the upper wall will go:

Lots of discussion on where the upper wall will go:

The placement of the walls was imperative, so the guys arranged and re-arranged the marker stakes until they found the right place.

Busy with Soccer

2009-10-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

This year, all three of our kids are playing soccer. We are at the fields 5 days a week, excluding Wednesdays and Sundays. On Saturday, we are normally there from 7:30 a.m. until at least noon. As tiring as it is, the kids love it and are really good!

Here are some photos of our oldest son. He's 13 and plays on the U13 team.

Here is D and his team-mate doing the funky dance:

These action shots always make me laugh - their facial expressions and body movements are so crazy as they work to score.

This is our middle child, B. He's the biggest kid on his U7 team as he missed the cut-off to move up to the U9 team by 5 days. It works to his advantage though, since he has one more year of experience than the other kids. :) He's been scoring goals this year - the first time ever.

I love how some of the players sit back and watch the action:

B snuck his foot in and kicked the ball as the goalie was trying to pick it up...

Score!

This is the most serious player of the three. A has been waiting to play since she could run and kick the ball at age 2. She was finally old enough this year at 4.

The first time in her life wearing pig-tails:

(they don't last long before she pulls them out....)

Corner Kick!

Stealing the ball from her team-mates and laughing the whole time:

And off she goes to the goal!

The grin after scoring:

As you can see, we've been wrapped up in soccer since the season began early September. Their last game is October 24.

I have tons of photos of our new and improved hill - coming soon!

Stayed Tuned!!

2009-10-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have some updating to do! Our hill work is being done...they hope to have it complete by tomorrow or Saturday. I have lots of photos to share.

AND - my husband's friend is heading out this week to look at the barn - he is a good framer and is going to help frame up the barn so we can get to work completing it! Things are coming along, so stay tuned for a better update and photos soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Elegant Approach aka "Filly"

2009-09-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

Meet Elegant Approach, affectionately known as "Filly." She came into my life in 2004 when I was fiercely determined to ride again, believing I would have time to work with and train a greeney since my kids were 8 and 3. I found her in the online horse classifieds while searching for ponies. There was no photo, only a description stating she was a 14 hand, dark bay tobiano mare, and the price was reasonable. Her owner and I talked for over an hour about Filly and other horses. She said she'd be around her farm that weekend if we wanted to come have a look. My Mom and I drove to see her that weekend, but the owner wasn't home. We ended up going to a nearby barn to look at another pony on our list so our trip wasn't completely wasted.

Later that week, my Mom and I were able to fit in the time to go meet Filly. She was a very pretty dark bay with minimal white and super cool leg markings complete with freckles! I was smitten. The owner allowed me to groom Filly and tack her up on my own, giving us some time to get familiar with each other. She stood quietly in the crossties while I fussed over her. When I was finally ready, I lead her to the arena and asked her owner to ride her. The owner took her time and slowly put Filly through her paces. Filly was a bit hard to push into the canter, but once she did, she cantered nicely in several circles. I was liking what I saw.

Filly was only 3 to 4 years old; the owner wasn't very sure. She didn't know much about Filly's background, just that she bought her about six months earlier from a girl who rescued Filly from a pretty bad situation. She had been told that Filly was a TB cross, but couldn't confirm it. She also felt like Filly had been abused pretty badly. I am guessing the current owner purchased Filly for next to nothing, put six months of training into her and listed her again. This was fine with me, as Filly was going very nicely and I felt confident I could continue her training.

When it was my turn to ride her, I settled into the saddle and rode her at the walk, trot and canter, both directions. I could hardly get her to canter, but she finally did. She was quiet, yet a little mouthy on the bit; this didn't bother me, knowing she was so young. Once I felt like I had ridden her enough in the arena, I walked her around the owner's pasture with another little girl who was there to take a riding lesson. Filly was well behaved and quiet. I was in love and a deal was made.

Filly arrived in Pike Road on May 7, 2004. I didn't realize how thin she looked until I saw this photo of her. Our wonderful vet came out to complete her vet-check. He aged her at approximately 3 years old and was worried about her hocks. She also had a heart murmur. The vet thought her hocks looked enlarged, so he ordered x-rays. Thank goodness, they came back clean.

The two photos below were taken a few days after we bought Filly. You can see from this photo that Filly was a bit thin and poorly muscled:

Our vet recommended only working her lightly for the next year to allow her to mature a bit.

I followed our vet's orders and only worked Filly lightly. We worked in large circles, mostly at the walk and trot, with a little cantering every now and then. We rode around the pasture and down the dirt road. She was going to be the perfect pony. My Dad snapped the series of photos below. These were taken in July 2004.

From the photos, you can see she is quite lovely (you'll have to forgive my clothes...)

I had no idea this was one of the last times I was going to ride Filly for a looooong time.... The next photos show how much she filled out (and bleached out) from May to July 2004:

We had an unusually wet summer and by the end of July she had abscesses in all four feet! One abscess in her right hind caused a large piece of her hoof to break off. It was about 3 inches wide and the farrier had to make a special shoe to support that hoof. It was a nightmare.

I sure wish I had taken photos of her hoof and the special shoe, but that all happened before my blogging days, so I didn't record any of it. It took a full year for her hoof to grow out.

The below photo was taken in March 2005. By this time I was pregnant and almost due with my third child, and Filly was still lame. The only thing I was able to do with her was brush her. Believe me, she got a lot of brushing.

Check out how much she changed from May 2004 to March 2005:

My daughter was born March 24, so there were a few weeks when I wasn't able to do anything at all with Filly. She continued to be a pasture pet, continued to mature, and continued to heal from the massive abscesses.

These photos were taken in September 2005:

I like this one better than the next one. (Again, compare this photo to the one in May 2004)

Now she was too fat!

By this time, I was longing her again and even put some short rides on her. I think this was around the time my son and I were riding in the front yard and a neighbor sped down the dirt road spooking Filly and Tonto. Tonto ran away with D and Filly bucked me off. None of us were hurt, just bruised and a bit ruffled. Looking back, I think this is where the first problems began with Filly. It seems like ever since that initial toss, I felt anxious on her. The other problem was not being able to ride on a regular basis. With a job, 3 kids, and living 35 minutes from where our horses are, it is hard to fit riding in during the week. We were mostly limited to the weekends. This was the time Filly really needed consistency and training.

This photo is from April 2006:

I had to have hernia surgery in June 2006, so again, I was limited in my ability to ride for quite a while. Filly was completely sound now and was waiting on me to do something with her. Once I was healed up from the surgery, work was busier than ever and free time seemed to elude me.

These photos were taken in April 2007:

One of the glorious times D and I were able to ride around the pasture together without incident.

We rode occasionally, weather and time permitting.

I spent a lot of time doing this:

Praising and longing -

because I still felt uneasy on Filly. She always felt like she had a hump in her back and was ready to explode at any minute. She had a right to, since she had not had much done with her the past 3 years.

Then, the summer came and with it came big problems. The photo below was taken May 20, 2007. Filly was so glossy and beautiful! She had come a long way from the photo taken upon her arrival to Pike Road.

Then by September 2007 she looked like this: http://pikeroadgirl.blogspot.com/2008/08/visit-with-filly.html. She began reacting to bug bites and began rubbing herself to the point of self mutilation. Filly became so agitated, she didn't want to be touched. She was completely and utterly miserable....and head-shy. I couldn't reach up for her ears without her running backwards.

Luckily, a dear, kind friend came to her rescue and allowed me to move Filly to her barn. The bugs were minimal there, so after a while, Filly stopped rubbing. She grew her mane, tail and body hair back. When she was healed up, my friend worked with Filly and me and tried to get us going again. We spent a lot of time on the longeline, but Filly had developed some very nasty habits. She'd be going around at the trot nicely, then with no warning would be flying backwards. She never reared, but she did this running backwards thing several times. I came off every time and lost more confidence with each fall.

So here we are in July 2009:

My son, D, wants to ride Filly so badly. I've longed him on her a few times at the walk and a little at the trot, but nothing demanding, or too long. I am so afraid for a blow up.

I've tried talked to a trainer in our area and she has agreed to put some rides on Filly for me when I am ready to begin working her consistently. She is only slightly head shy when you mess with her right ear and allows me to bridle her with no problems now. Every time I am around her, I play with her ears. That's an improvement.

She has truly not done anything THAT disastrous, I am just a weeny!

Photo from August after I longed her for a bit, then bathed her:

Photo from early September before working her. I actually got on her this day, but didn't have anyone to take photos. I rode her for about 5 minutes, then got off. Since this day, it has been raining off and on so much, I haven't been able to do anything with her other than brush her.

I hold out hope that once she is finally in our back yard, I can and will work with Filly consistently enough that we can at least hit the trails and enjoy being together. Until then, I guess I will have to keep telling myself to cowgirl up and work through my fears while Filly stuffs her face and enjoys just being a horse.

No News

2009-09-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well, nothing to report on the fence/barn progress at this time. Everything is at a standstill: 1)because of all the rain we'd have the last couple of weeks and 2) we are trying to refinance our home and it has been more difficult than we could have ever imagined. It looks like we are getting 2 new air conditioners for our home though...much needed and a long story.

Keeping our fingers crossed that we will continue with the progress soon. The rain has been great for the grass, but not for anything else!

I was hoping to get D on Tonto again this past weekend, but it was so wet, there was no place to ride. Same with lunging Filly - no safe, dry place to work, so we had another spa day. They are all shedding their summer coats getting ready to poof out into their winter fluff. I'm dreading the winter...too much mud and cold for me. Oh well, I'd better get ready for it anyway!