Colt starting blatherings... I don't know if I make any sense and I'm afraid I'm not saying what I'm trying to say, but here you go:

I went and watched Bella's fourth ride with my sister today and it really got me thinking.

Bella had the notorious Third Ride yesterday and threw in a little buck that would have become a big bucking fit had my sister not shut her down. But they got through it and the ride ended very well.

My thoughts as I watched today's ride, which was very good but had a few bad moments, were that she needs to slow down, bond more, and make it easier on Bella.

Amy knows more about training than I do and has more experience with more horses. But as she cited all the things she's read, heard, and seen stating that all colts have a bad third ride, I got to wondering whether that needs to be the case. These trainers that make that statement, are they all in a hurry to turn out a finished product ASAP? Or do they have in mind the fact that they're building a lifelong bond of trust and willingness to work? I know that they end up with a good horse even if they go quickly. The horse figures it out and moves on, but would there be fewer battles and less confusion if they slowed down, made the confusing things more clear, or at least instilled a trust in the horse that would make them try despite their doubt as to the outcome? Would the horse need to get confused and get angry and defensive? Or if done the way I'm thinking makes sense to me, would they be spoiled and never learn to deal with stress and stimuli?

What I saw with Bella wasn't willfulness just to see what she could get away with. She was overloaded and decided she needed to do something about it. Why should the third ride be bad when the third leading lesson wasn't? The third trailer loading wasn't, even though she was scared. She knew me and trusted me and decided to do what I asked even though it didn't feel right. And then I wonder if there were some hard parts I'm forgetting about. Maybe there was a Third (Something) that I just forgot because it was over quickly and we moved on.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with pushing through a bad ride, getting to the other side and showing the horse that they can deal with a little stress. I just wonder if it doesn't have to be that way all the time, if you get creative and start looking at the horse's point of view, mix things up a bit and do something the horse is good at in between asking for new and confusing things. Maybe ride for a shorter amount of time, once they've got the basic gist of what you're telling them that day, while they're still trying and before they get overdone and start to get rebellious.

I'm not making much sense... I guess at the heart of my thoughts is this questioning whether all these training gurus do things in a businesslike way that works for them, when a horse owner might do them in a friendly way that makes more sense for the bond between the horse and rider... Does that make sense? I think I'm right about the situation with Bella. But I wonder if I'm generalizing too much and being too mushy thinking that it could work that way for a lot of other horses if they were trained in a different way. Because there is something to be said for teaching quickly and clearly. Why take hours to explain something when it can be taught in minutes by the right teacher with the right feel and timing? It's got to be easier and less boring to the horse a to learn it and move on, get out of the round pen and get to doing a job. But what if they're not being stubborn but just confused or over-stimulated? Is there such thing as a stubborn, willful horse? Or just a confused, scared, and maybe defensive horse? I think I may have known a couple stubborn horses, but now that I really get to thinking about it, were they stubborn or was there something else going on? A lack of leadership? Fear? Lack of trust? Confusion? Sensory overload?

Maybe I'm being too soft. Not sure as of now. But the more I think I've learned the more it makes me wonder if there are other things that are just as right, and maybe more right in the eyes of the horse and in terms of trust. We all know there's more than one way to do most things.

I'm not judging my sister's training, mind you. What she's doing is great. They'd be totally fine without my blathering about trust and nonsense. She was very interested in my feedback and wants to make sure she's doing the right thing by Bella. I think a little more bonding is in order, but she's doing a good job of that too. Maybe shorter sessions, and sometimes go for a walk or something else that Bella seems to enjoy doing but can also be considered bonding and training. Amy is doing a WONDERFUL job and Bella has come a long way in her saddle training in just 4 days. Really amazing, the difference in her comfort level. I thing they're doing just fine, but this got me thinking on a different level, wondering about a lot of things. Probably I just don't know what the heck I'm talking about... I'm not quite sure I really know what it is I'm trying to say... I guess what I do, I do from the heart. I do what feels right at the moment. I hope that doesn't mean I'm ruining my horses. I hope my intuition is correct. I think my horses are okay. I know I screw up sometimes. What a journey this is...

On Friday I rode out at Melissa's place. I had forgotten my camera so I had to wait for her to email me pictures. Her mare was flauntingly flirting with my Tonka.

He seemed happy for the chance to get his lips on her, but not in the way she wanted. :) He's more of a prankster than a romantic.

Melissa's mare is named Jewel, a name that doesn't roll off the tongue easily and that she's always forgetting. It's like it isn't the right name for her. But she hasn't come up with anything else, so I think she's going to keep the name.

My sister has two equines, a horse and a mule, that I'm not sure she's settled on names for. One she calls The Paint Mare and I think the mule's name is Strider but she usually refers to him as My Mule. The Paint Mare is looking for a new home, that is, as long as Amy decides to keep Bella. She has come up with a new name for Bella that I really don't like, but it was inevitable since she had the audacity to name her dog Bella last spring. Her new name is Camria, which means "moonlight" in Swahili. I guess there was a pretty red horse with that name in Hidalgo. I wouldn't be surprised if she changes her mind several times and ends up calling Bella "The Mustang."

I didn't name Bella, and was kind of happy to let John do the naming. I'm getting to the point where it's hard for me to come up with names. It took me a while to find just the right name for Khota Tonka, my Great Friend. I also had a little bit of a hard time naming Scout, but when the name came to me I knew it was right. He was scrappy like Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird.

If I'm lucky, I won't be naming any new critters for a long time. It's a big responsibility and it's hard work. For me, anyway. Names are very important to me.

This blog is inspired by Kara, who is looking for the right name for The Mare. Drop by her blog and check out her ideas or maybe leave a suggestion. That pretty mare needs a special name. I think I like Kachina a lot.

Are there special meanings behind any of your horse's names? Do you put a lot of agonizing thought into them or are you happy with something simple that describes them, like Blaze or Midnight? How many of you have to think up fancy registered names with bloodlines in them? I would have a tough time with that!

This guy is such a neat little horse.


He still doesn't like to be touched. I'm thinking these little walks where he looks to me for reassurance will help build his trust.

We had a great ride today, just me and John and the boys.

Saw some deer and a big ol' wild turkey. They all ran (or flew) away too fast for any pictures.

I only had a few minutes with Zaz today but he made me so happy! I went in and asked him to "c'mere" using the appropriate body language and after a little maneuvering he followed me real nicely around the round pen. He definitely retained what he learned yesterday. Now that his feet are unstuck and he's making the choice to be with me (instead of me making him with a lead rope) I'm hoping his mind will start to unstick and he'll become more accepting of people and their strange ways. We spent some time just standing together, him sniffing me and real relaxed about checking me out. That was all he had to do today, and it was a real positive experience for us both.

Well, I sure feel better now. I hauled Tonka and Bella over to my sister's and we left Bella in the round pen and went for a ride. It's funny, she tells me about the miles and miles she rides on the farm roads out there, but for some reason or other when I ride with her we always turn back at the same tree, which I would guess is two miles out at the very most. Today Levi's shoulder was bothering him. (Levi is her horse.) Usually it's Levi's health issues that turn us around. Which is why she needs a horse like Bella to take into the mountains.

Here's my fella parked by the road. It's nice to know just about anything can go by (and has, at her house where they farm) and he'll be sensible.

When we got back she tried to show me some Clinton Anderson thing on gentling a mustang, but I swear I have the attention span of a gnat. I have to be in just the right frame of mind to want to watch TV. And really, how many times does a person need to watch a trainer chase a horse around a round pen? I know, I know, there's always something to be learned...

When I went out to say goodbye to Bella Amy just couldn't keep her hands off her. Then she wanted to try her saddle on her and it's a good fit and looks wonderful on Bella.

And then of course she had to ride her.

And she'll probably ride her again tonight.

Bella wasn't 100% comfortable, but what can you expect when I've only been on her a couple times and she was in a new place with a new person. Can you tell my sister was ready to bail at any moment? She can hop off pretty fast. I sure wish she'd put on a helmet though. Bella wasn't being bad at all, just not relaxed with the whole process.

Bella's walking away, but not far, and she's in good hands.

I'm hauling Bella away tomorrow. My sister is going to work with her and see if she wants her. I don't think I've ever done anything this hard before. I love that horse. But I've been thinking of downsizing anyway because I'm just so dang tired all the time. Life is too busy and each horse takes so much time. This would be the perfect home for her. Because of her stifle issue she needs regular exercise and she's not getting it here. My sister rides every day. She's always felt a special connection with Bella. This will also give me more time to concentrate on Tonka. No matter how much I tell myself this is the right thing, it sure feels bad. :(

I rode Tonka today too, and it was mostly just frustrating. He wasn't with it today at all. He was handsome though. Ooh, I forgot I have pictures.

Apparently my photography skills were lacking today. But that's okay, he's still cute.

In better news, Zaz is making progress. The four days I was gone didn't help the little guy along at all, but he's coming along again now. I took him out of the round pen for a walk today, and then later he "hooked up" in the round pen. That was VERY hard for him to do, it was almost like his feet were glued to the ground.

It was a good day, but as usual I am completely wiped out and I didn't get most of the things on my to-do list done.

We just got home not long ago. What a long day. We were on the road for 11 hours! What the heck? It's never taken that long before. I guess we stopped a lot.

The critters seem happy to see us. I know I was happy to see them. I shared a little quiet time with Zaz. My poor horse probably thinks I've left him for another gelding. But Zaz needs that quiet time more, and my time with him is limited.

We made a big loop this weekend, about 550 miles total. Over to the Western Washington via White Pass (I love that drive), then down through the gorge to Walla Walla and up toward home. That's the fourth time I've been through the gorge in 2009. It's getting a little boring. BUT we did see a big group of male bighorn sheep right up close. That was very cool. Didn't stop for pictures. Still kicking myself for that. We saw some mountain goats later in the drive. That was cool, its' been a long time since I've seen any of those.

We were going through Waitsburg on the way home and I detoured through downtown to see the controversial building that Linda blogged about a while back.

It was interesting, but the rest of the town was neat. I want to go here for lunch one of these days:

Okay, I'm off to bed. Travelling sure wears me out!

I had 20 minutes. It wasn't a free 20 minutes since I'd pay for it later. I was putting off a to-do list a mile long but I grabbed a cup of coffee, a book, a chair, and of course my camera and headed for the round pen.

The little horse stood as far away as he could, watching me. Waiting to see what I would make him do. I sat. I read. I drank my coffee. Occasionally I looked at him. I hollered hello to the old man, who twitched an ear at me and went back to his nap. The little horse flicked flies. He shifted his weight slightly. But mostly he watched. Eventually he put down his head and let out a big breath, but still he stood and watched.

I finished my chapter and stood up. I wanted so bad to go pet him. I debated with myself. I thought I should sit back down, but I didn't want to sit back down. I compromised, deciding I could approach but not touch. I walked over, ignoring him, and I looked at the other horses. Then I walked over and stood next to him. He watched me with open curiosity, not backing away. Curiosity won, and I felt his whiskers tickle my arm. I turned away and sat down. He let out a huge sigh, licked and chewed.

A bird landed on the fence and brought my attention to the peaceful view. The sky with a few clouds, the green, the quiet. I looked, took it all in, enjoyed the moment.

Two steps. The little horse moved his feet for the first time! Several more steps and he was with me. Sniff-sniffle-sniff. Arm, hand, hair, hat. Big grin. A few quiet moments of investigation, and then my 20 minutes was up.

With a little bit of nothing... Sometimes all you have to do is show up - just you, open and empty - and let the world fill in the details.

I've been slacking in my blogging, and in my horse work. Don't worry though, I haven't been bored! Busy with life. VERY busy.

Anyway, Zaz had a couple days with very little people interaction. The weather was very cold and windy and he wasn't dealing well with it so I decided it would be best to leave him be, plus I had a lot of other things to concentrate on.

Yesterday my sister just couldn't handle it, she had to come over and meet him. She worked with him and came to the same conclusions I had come to. "There's nothing wrong with that horse." He is a horse that you don't want to try to work with through "round penning." He'd much rather run than be near a person. So you have to give him a little help, get him on a long line and work with him gently and consistently. Be clear, repeat yourself if necessary, but do not get too big.

We also agree that he's probably used to people "sneaking" around him. He can't handle it when I pause to pull up my pants, or move to put my hands in my pockets, or cough, much less do jumping jacks and silly dances. So there will be a lot of jumping jacks and silly dances in his future. It's really important not to be too quiet and sneak around a horse, or you end up with a spooky horse, not vice-versa.

He's very light, picks up on the slightest body movement. Just today he learned the difference between me marching and flapping my elbows around him and toward him. With around, he stood and watched (although he was uncomfortable), and with toward he backed up out of my space, which was what I wanted.

Today we worked more on lungeing. He can walk and trot, knows the cues for both and transitions nicely. His whoa is pretty dependable but not perfect, and he needs to learn that he doesn't need to try to come in to me when he stops. So I back him up a couple steps. I haven't asked him to stop perpendicular to me. He wants to face up, and I'm willing to take that right now rather than confuse him. He's learning to lunge in a figure 8 very nicely.

I'm really pleased with his progress, other than the fact that he still thinks my guts stink. He does NOT want to be touched. He'll allow it but he's totally not cool with it. Hasn't struck out or anything, but at times you can tell the thought is there.

He's smart. He's willing to learn when he has to. But given the choice, at this point, he'd rather run than try to figure people out. My plan today is to keep working on the stuff he's good at, and throw in some desensitizing with the stick and string, if I can find my string...

Starting tomorrow I'll be gone for 4 days. I'm really not happy with losing that much time with Zaz, not to mention missing out on some great riding weather. But there's nothing I can do about it. Maybe I can get John to read a book in the round pen or something.

For your amusement, my two playful boys:

I almost forgot to post pictures of Bella and Scout to show Kara how close they are in size. I think there's only a difference of 3 inches at the very most, and his rump is probably even with hers right now. I think he'll probably outgrow her, but he could surprise me. He's not even quite 14 months old yet, so I think he should have a good amount of growing left to do.

Not the most flattering pictures, but they show both of them together:

I didn't have time for any horse work yesterday. We had a surprise sheep work day. I got to take my friend Laura along, and she took pictures and enjoyed the company of some bottle babies while we worked.

The flood of sheep:


Happy Angus:


Cute little lambs:


Melissa bringing another bottle baby to keep Laura company.
He's getting to be too big for that kind of handling. :)

We got home just in time for the kids, then had to do a rushed early dinner before the softball game, which ran until almost nine. Those people need to realize that kids need their sleep! Especially the younger siblings who are there watching. The girls lost the game but improved as it went on. Liam was an angel the whole time.

This afternoon will be even worse for running around, since we have t-ball, softball, and a band concert. May is a rough month. But I can get some work done while they're in school, so that's good. Hopefully I'll have some horse updates for you later.

Today was an excellent horsey day. First I took Zaz a bucket of grass, changed his halter, and groomed him a bunch. Later I went out again and got him started on learning to lunge and leading a little better. I also wrapped the weight tape around him, he's about 750 lbs. He didn't mind the tape too much, once I'd introduced him to it. He got to meet Laura up close, and he was kind of nervous. He stuck his nose on me for reassurance like he would with a trusted horse friend. That was sweet and flattering.

Here's a picture of Bella and Scout that I just love. They were kinda grumpy with each other, I think Bella was trying to tell Scout she wanted her back scratched. But other than the ears it's a pretty pose.

I got Tonka out and took him for a short ride. The first since my concussion. He was his same self, pretty good but not perfect. :) He'd probably be perfect if not for me and my imperfections.

While I was saddling up Zaz kept sneaking up to say hi.

I didn't want them striking at each other through the fence so I kept shooing him off (although I must say they were being pretty good). This is what he did when I chased him off the first couple times:

He's got some nice animation there!

While I rode Liam waited patiently for his turn. He and Zaz made friends.

Then he got to ride his horse and he had a blast.


What a great day!


(Oh yeah, I also put fly spray on Zaz. He was curious and a little flinchy but never even moved his feet. What a good boy!)

I got to spend another short session with Zaz this evening, and I really think he is a good horse. Skeptical sometimes, and he does get fed up and get a hard eye sometimes, but it's usually when I push for something he's not ready to give. He hasn't offered to kick at all yet, other than when I threw a flake of hay right behind his feet while my dog was distracting him, and that was just a little scared spurt forward with a half-hearted kick (at the hay, not me). He's already leading better and starting to relax more often. I'm really impressed with how well he dealt with such a huge change. He acts almost like nothing happened. The drive to get him here was probably 2, maybe 2 1/2 hours. He loaded and hauled really nicely.

Kara asked where he's from. I've seen it spelled so many different ways, I'll list them all. Beatty Butte, Beaty's Butte, Beatty's Butte, Beattys Butte. In Oregon. Whichever way you spell it, all the horses I've seen from there were pretty. Linda, Lea, Kara and Arlene all have horses from that HMA. You can check out their blogs to see what they have to say about their horses. Linda's filly's name is Beautiful, Lea's is Rusty, Kara's gelding is Chico, and Arlenes boys are Wildairo and Echo. I hear they may be doing an emergency gathther of the HMA this fall since the horses don't have enough to eat. Same thing they did with Tonka's herd last year. Zaz was adopted by a member of the Mustang Club in Spokane, after lots of encouragement by me, I might add. I fell in love with him at both the Odessa and the Spokane adoption last year, and she adopted him in Pasco. Her daughter was in love with him as well (and was very good at handling him today, for such a young girl) and she named him Zaz.

So... On to information about adopting this sweet mustang gelding. If you adopt him before he's titled, which will be within the next month, his reassignment fee is only $25 and you will have to keep him and care for him for a year before receiving his title from the BLM. Quite a bargain! That's how I adopted my first mustang.

If you wait until he's titled, he will be for sale. I don't know what his sale amount will be. I think his adopter is more interested in finding him a good home than making money, as she has offered me money from his sale. I'm not interested in making money, I consider anything I put into him to be tuition for his teaching me. But if you'd like to make a donation I wouldn't turn it away. :) I'm not sure about offering him to the public for free, as that might attract all the wrong types of people. What do you all think about offering a horse for free? Not that it's my call, since he's not mine. Just thought I'd ask.

Meet Zaz.

Isn't he cute?

So far he seems like a pretty good boy

Just look at that noble mustang head:

Zaz was adopted almost a year ago and is looking for a new home. Partially because of his size. He's a little guy, I think around 13.3, which is the same height as Scout is right now. But Zaz is 3 or so years old so he's probably not going to grow to be a big horse.

The other reason he needs a new home is that his owner thinks he's a dominant horse, and that's not exactly what she was looking for. I think he might be a lot like Tonka, constantly testing boundaries, but from what I'm told he's a little less friendly about it. He swishes his tail when he wants to dismiss the human, and has kicked out at feeding time. He doesn't really lead but he doesn't seem too worried about much, which is a good thing. I'm not starting totally from scratch and I already got to visit with him quite a bit.

So anyway, I'm going to play with him for a month and then take him to Mustang Days in Spokane. If he finds a home, that will be great. If not he can go back to his current home, which is also great, because I won't have to be responsible for him long term!

He still makes my heart go pitter-patter.

Every single day. :)

I need some info that I can't seem to find online. What? Some kind of knowledge that isn't available on the web? Yep. I wouldn't have thought it possible. Maybe it's somewhere and I'm just not doing the right search. Seems like lots of farmers would know this one. Aha! Maybe that's the problem. Farmers don't have the time to be online as much as I am?

(Kara, I bet you know this one.)

If I want to get fertilized eggs and bring them home to put under my broody hen, how do I go about doing this? Will they die if they get cold? Do I have to somehow get them directly after they come out of the chicken? Or is it not as touchy as all that? My sister has an Americauna hen and I'd love to have some of her chicks, but... I don't know how to do this.

By the way, speaking of broody hens, mine that gets broody is a Buff Orpington. (Her name is Goldie, after my favorite hen when I was a teenager.) I recently read that the desire to hatch eggs is strong in the breed. So if you want a good layer that won't cause trouble by getting broody, don't get them. But if you want to hatch chicks (and have very pretty dual purpose birds) I highly recommend them. I love to watch Goldie's fat hen butt when she runs. Cracks me up! She's also the friendliest hen we have.

Another thing I've wondered, although I don't really need to know right now since I don't have (or want) a rooster, is this: How long after fertilization is the fertilized egg laid? Say if I brought a rooster home tomorrow, how long after the two "do their business" before I'd have fertile eggs? I might have this info in one of my books but I'm being lazy.

Sorry, not horse related. But fascinating stuff. Or maybe it's just me...

Something new coming! You'll want to check back Saturday evening. :)

Just so I don't leave you with a two sentence post, I'll talk about the weather a bit...

I haven't been able to do much of anything with the horses the last several days thanks to the weather. The winds are unbearable, and it rains and hails too. Blech. We're in for an absolutely stunning weekend though. I can't wait to get in some good horse time.

Here's a nice sunshiny picture from last weekend:

Wordless Wednesday...

Okay, it's time to confess. I haven't wanted to come out and be all wishy-washy in public. But since I'm continuing to be wishy-washy and some of you have been wanting some info, I better let the cat out of the bag.

I'm not sure I want to do the TIP horse thing. It's strange how things keep getting in the way. First I had my trip all planned and then the crew at the corrals had an unexpected meeting and the corrals were closed. Then my grandma got sick. Then I fell on my head. I finally felt better for one whole day, felt renewed and had the energy to tackle the project, decided I WAS going to do it. And today the chiropractor broke my head again. (Not literally, but it kinda feels like it.) Other little considerations have had me thinking this isn't the time, as well. Like the fact that Bella can be ridden, and shouldn't be put on the back burner, as I had planned to do before I had her lameness diagnosed. Other stuff.

I want so badly to learn from some more mustangs, but I'm starting to think that now is not the time. A friend of mine told me that I'm having trouble deciding for a reason, and eventually something will happen that will make the right thing obvious. I think I'm at that point. For now.

I will do this eventually if they keep the program going. I may do it eventually anyway, but on my own dime, if I have to. I might find another way to help horses and learn from them at the same time.

Certainly, if anyone wants a mustang gentled, I'd be happy to be the one to do it. I would happily drive down tomorrow and get their horse and bring it to them at whatever level of "gentle" they preferred. But I'm not going to go out and do it right now when I'm not sure the horses will even find homes.

So if you know anyone within a couple hundred miles of Potlatch, Idaho, that would like to adopt a mustang and take advantage of this Trainer's Incentive Program, send them my way.

Sorry to disappoint. I'm disappointed too, but I think this is the right decision. Just for now. I still hold high hopes that I'll be able to do this in the future.

(Looks like I went from wishy-washy at the beginning to decisive at the end. I guess I've made my decision. It feels bad but it feels kinda good. I can move on now...)

Oh Noble Steed:

Scout's mane, and no I didn't doctor this picture.
I like the way it came out. Light and darkness.


Bella trying out her pouty super model look:


Soxy has a very nice spotted butt.
That sky is real nice too.


Coming to get me!


Mystical ride


Tonka? Licking me? That was weird!


Those are his teeth. On my hat brim.
He's just a wee bit oral, eh?

Can you tell I had plenty of time on my hands yesterday? It was a wonderful, relaxed day. I wish the good weather would have stayed.

Doesn't Coda just look absolutely wonderful for a 30-year-old?

Don't mind his tufties, he always hangs on to some of his winter hair like that. Anyone else have a horse like that? Does it mean something? Maybe he's missing something in his diet? I'm guessing maybe they're old minor scars that just don't act right on such an old horse.

Oh gosh, I almost forgot to tell you Coda's bean story from today. Poor old guy! He had a big ol' bean that hung out about an inch. I told Liam to watch out because Coda wasn't going to like this, and I grabbed with my right hand and pulled it out with my left. It just came right out, no fuss. But oh it looked like it had been irritating the area. I showed it to Liam and explained what it was. Later John and I were grooming the other horses and Liam came out and asked where that nut was. "What nut?" "The one that came out of Coda's... pee wee."

So check out this picture of Scout. At first I was thinking, "Ooh, hey cool, that's a neat picture." I rarely get pictures of Scout from the side. He's too touchy-feely for that.

But then I looked some more and I think he looks kinda funny. Something about his neck. What is it? Is it too long? Too thick at the base? Set into his chest too low? His throatlatch is not "refined" - maybe that's what looks strange to me? Of course he's not standing in a natural postition, he's on alert looking at something. Maybe that's all it is? I'm not a conformation expert but something about this picture is bugging me. Click to enlarge it if you have a moment, and tell me what you think.

Yesterday Scout had his hooves trimmed. I had left it far longer than a person ever should on a baby. I had mentally scheduled myself to finally do it the day I hit my head. When my sister called and asked me if I wanted to ride I decided I'd trim him later. And then I couldn't... So anyway, he got his pedicure yesterday. He was such a good boy! I don't think he's ever cooperated as nicely as he did yesterday. Even though John was working with an impact wrench, drill, and saw just 10 feet away. Actually, during a break in the trimming, he went and stuck his nose within inches of the work, and was just fascinated by it all. I really wish I'd have had my camera, he had the cutest look on his face. He became quite a pest, nosing into things, and had to be chased off after his feet were done.

(You may assume by this that we are still working on the mustang shelter. You would be right.)

Go to Kevin's blog for an awesome set of pictures that show how they're trimmed at the BLM corrals. Fascinating stuff. I knew how they used the table, and had seen pictures of that, but never pictures of them trimming. Looks like they used nippers and then a grinder. Nice looking hooves on those gorgeous TIP horses. They will be available for adoption (nudge, nudge).

Could any of these horses be Scout's Daddy?

Bay stud, either Hardtrigger or Black Mountain HMA (Idaho)

I was speculating in the comments section the other day about who Scout's sire might be. I thought maybe the above stallion from the adoption, but then I realized he's a bay and Bella's sorrel (chestnut, whatever) and Scout's a dun, so that can't be. Unless Bella really is a dun, because she does have a faint dorsal stripe. But I've never seen a dun her color and I think her dorsal stripe is countershading, not dun factor. So I have to assume Scout's daddy was released back into the wild because of his color. Or just not brought to the adoption. My vet thinks it was some quarter horse stallion that somehow got loose with the wild horses. I don't think he believes mustangs can be nicely built. :)

Sorrel stud, Black Mountain HMA (Idaho)

Another Bay stud, Hardtrigger HMA (Idaho)
The white on his rump is scarring from fighting, not an appy coat pattern.

Hardtrigger and Black Mountain HMAs are near each other, in southwestern Idaho.

How do I remember which HMA these horses came from, after all this time? Because I can see their tags in some of my pictures, and I took pictures like this:

This is the one that shows Bella as unavailable after we adopted her. It's blurry, probably because I was so excited my hands were shaking.

A conversation over a cinnamon roll:

Me: "You need to figure out what you're going to do when you're done with that so you don't get bored and misbehave."

Son, after some thought: "Can I misbehave outside?"

This is the 4th day of the two of us home alone together, and he's not sick anymore, but there's no school today. He's driving me crazy! So contrary. Everything I say is open to question. Or so he thinks.

Actually right now he's being an angel. We played catch for a good hour, and he made a huge amount of progress in both throwing and catching. He's not ducking away from the ball every time it comes at him. And he caught it right out of the air 8 times! Woo hoo! Let me tell you, that was cause for celebration. I think all the positive reinforcement and pride in himself really turned his attitude around. He's being a "big boy" now, very helpful and affectionate.

I almost acquired another boy today. We were at the park and he tried to follow me home. He was sooooo cute! I would have taken him, if it weren't for the fact that I'd end up in jail and all that.

Which got me thinking about the dream I had the other night where I was pregnant and the baby was rolling around in my belly. Oh how I did love pregnancy. So today I was toying with the idea... I'm not getting any younger. Milky baby smell, baby curls, cuddly toddlerhood, and all the many many silly things they do. Then I came back to my senses. Health insurance, diapers, car seats, the eating of every object that comes within reach, the need for constant vigilance. No. I'm enjoying my freedom now that my son rarely drools, can strap his own self into his booster seat, go outside and play by himself, wipe his own butt (kind of), and catch the ball right out of the air eight times. My daughter can do all those things too, being 11 years old.

She used to want to be a princess. Now she's tough as heck. No blushing Cinderella here.

I'm enjoying my growing freedom as my kids are growing into real people. I guess I'll have to be patient and hope my kids have kids. Eventually. Very eventually.

So what does this have to do with horses? Nothing... I just can't help rambling sometimes.

Handsome on the Horizon:


See Scout's curly locks?

By some strange trick of the camera

Tonka looks like a beefcake.
Just look at that Fabio mane.
(Ignore the mud)

Today's pace is completely different from yesterday's. I've been sitting with a sick kid all day. We did word searches, we camped out on the bathroom floor, we took a nap with the puke-pot handy just in case. Poor kid, he's totally miserable. I hate stomach bugs because there's nothing I can do to help other than just be there.

The above was written 2 days ago and I haven't had time to write any more since then. The little man is still sick, but not near as bad. I think he might be able to go back to school tomorrow.

I was thinking just now about signing wee Scout up for a clinic. There's this "Kinder-foal" clinic that was supposed to be last weekend but I think it was postponed. So hopefully we can still do that. Would be good exposure for him, and some one-on-one structured time, which I rarely spend with him.

Tonka's getting a little big for his britches. He was trying to run Scout over the top of me out in the pasture. He got a dose of my pissy mare face and ran off. I think it might be a good time to stick him back in with Cisco for a while. Too bad the two of them have totally different dietary needs. I could kinda compromise somewhere in the middle though.

The last few days the weather has been nasty and uncomfortable for the horses since they have shed most of their winter coats. I've been blanketing Coda and stalling him at night with his lovely Soxy as company. They're so in love. He is very happy to have his mare back from that nasty mean Cisco. The other horses choose to stand out in the weather. Crazy animals.

Holy cow I almost forgot my son's birthday! I have a party this weekend that I need to get ready for. Wow, bad mom.

If you go to do some laundry, you might find that the previous load needs to be rinsed again. While the machine takes care of that, you notice that there's a pile of dog hair on the floor. You sweep the entire kitchen only to find that the garbage can is full. So you take it outside and find that the outside cans are also full. Then you take the two cans to the truck (2 cans because you had a concussion last week and forgot to take the garbage up). About now you decide to forget you feel sick and just work like you normally would and see how it goes. You might see a chicken and remember that you forgot to take care of the turkeys this morning. So you feed and water them and while you're at it you put down some fresh shavings and start to wonder if you ought to go sit down, but you don't. On the way back to the house you grab an empty garbage can (glad to have so many extras) and curse yourself for leaving an unattended bag of garbage where the cats can get to it. But they slink away and you find it only has a small hole in it. Once the garbage is contained you go in to continue sweeping and you track a big wet nasty gob of chicken poop and leaves into the kitchen. Once that is taken care of you go back to the laundry and get that moving again. You realize you need to boil more water to sterilize it for the turkeys, but both the big and medium sized pot are dirty, so you continue sweeping. You count the pairs of shoes under the edges of the bed as you move them to sweep there. Your husband has 7, you have 5 1/2. Wonder where that other slipper is. As you look at one pile of shoes you wish you could wash that nasty rug the dog sleeps on every night, but the dryer can't handle it and it's not warm enough to dry stuff outside, plus it's supposed to rain. So you continue sweeping, marveling at the amount of hay, dirt, and dog hair that can accumulate in just a couple of days. While you sweep you think of the strange chain of events that always seem to happen with housework, and you start reciting "If you give a mouse a cookie." Then you go take a break at the computer for a while, writing a draft of tonight's blog, but not uploading photos yet. And then you decide to get a drink of water and move on...

You head out the door to plant some flowers but then you remember that you are supposed to bring the fat horses in from the pasture about now. On the way out you say hello to the sweet and very handsome (yet tufty) old horse, Coda.Your very happy dog accompanies you. When you get their grain the horses start heading in from the pasture. "Grain for fat horses?" you may ask, but really it's not much, and they get their vitamins this way too.When you go in to get some alfalfa for the old man, Bella expresses a wish to come with you. But that's just not part of the routine. Once the old man is fed, you go look for some scissors you thought you left outside when you were planting trees. You decide to check on the trees, and they look pretty good. And then you make a very interesting discovery.
You never do find the scissors but then you remember you have some in your grooming kit, so you get those and you cut out the landscape cloth you need to line your planter. Then you plant.When you're done with that you go in for some food and the phone rings. With some irony, you discuss "being present" while doing the dishes. Then the kids come in the door and your mind scatters and you are not really present for anyone. But once you're off the phone you can take pictures of a silly boy, and then manage to catch him with his normal face.You send your daughter to take the compost out and she hurries back, totally unaware that you are taking her picture. Until she gets to the door and you scare her.Then you all gather around and laugh at the funny pictures. While you're uploading photos and blogging, you nag your son to do his homework and the phone rings 3 different times. During your last phone conversation you realize your plants are in need of water, so you take care of that. Then you sit down and finish your blog, during which time you hear the dryer stop. SO... You go to do some laundry.

I don't really have anything interesting to write about. Just thought you should be forewarned about that.

I'm still having trouble getting over this stupid head injury. It's not bad enough that I feel like I need to take it seriously, but then I overdo it and I HAVE to take it seriously and end up laying down and sleeping a lot. I never thought I'd say this, because I love to sleep, but I'm TIRED of sleeping. I have nothing better to do though, if I can't work. What a boring week it's been. Any good reading suggestions? Articles I can check out online? Anyone know how to make one of these? I think that's what I want to do with my sweet Roseanne's fleece. But I can't figure out how you'd do it double-sided. If I can't make one of my own, I may just have to buy one someday. They look like very good pads and I've heard good things about them.

I've been spending most of my outside time just standing with the horses, pulling hair off them. Discovered a big roan spot on Cisco, the size of my hand. Saddle damage, up by his wither, but only on one side. Weird. I doubt it's from his time with us, but I'm going to be checking his saddle closely next time John rides him.

Today my goal is to get the big hill fenced with temporary fencing for Scout and Tonka. I don't know if I'll get it done. It's a lot of walking, and it's a very steep hill. I got started earlier but had to come in and sit for a while.

I also need to get caught up on my skirtwork. (Stealing the term from http://prairierunner.wordpress.com.) My son went to school in sweats this morning. Gasp! In my defense, I just didn't know he was out of clothes. Seems like I just washed several pairs of his pants.

I just walked to the calendar and back - a total of about 8 feet - and it made me woozy. I am so sick of this! I know I shouldn't complain, I could be so much worse off. But I want to be doing things!

I think I'll go now. But to entertain myself I might just force you to endure a photo documentary of my day later.

I had a lot of fun not riding my horses yesterday. I just hung out with them instead. Brushed them and scratched them and warmed my hands on their sun-drenched hides. We had a good time. I even remembered my camera one of the times I went out.

Scout has the coolest spiral curls in his long forelock, but they're kinda hard to see in this picture. What you can see here is that his right eye (your left) is flatter than his left, and the eyelashes are at a different angle. Over the last few days I've been suspecting that eye isn't completely functional, as we had hoped.

Hasn't he grown into quite the handsome beefcake?

He loves to play "chase the cat."
(Yes, that is a cat. No, she doesn't have a disease. She's the one I have to clip every spring.)

I don't have any pictures of Tonka from this period because he was right next to me being an attention hog.

Then I went and loved on sweet Coda. He really enjoys a good scratching. Isn't that just about the cutest face you ever did see?

Now I have pictures of Tonka. He was really putting on a show.

I think he wants a part in the next "Alien" movie.

But he's not too picky.

He'd settle for a part in "Hee-Haw."

Lookit the difference in those butts. Scout has a much rounder, more filled out physique, even as a yearling. I wonder what he'll look like when he's old enough to go through that filling out phase. I better watch his diet!

And here again we have Mama Cat, waiting patiently for some attention.

She really should have had a better name than that, but that's the name she came with and it stuck. We should have named her Mattie. But at that time I was told her coat was nice, never matted. Yeah, right.

Today I plan on doing more of the same. Quiet time with the horses, maybe a few easy chores. My head is much better, but still tender and I have to make sure I don't overdo it. John is going to work on getting the tin up on the shelter.

Speaking of which. I had roughly planned on going to pick up the new horses next week. Now I'm not sure that's going to happen. I don't have a trip partner, for one thing. And you know, the head thing... So things are still up in the air on that.