Walking in the rain

E's ankle is bothering her tremendously (again) so I had a solo trip out to the barn this evening.

It was rather nice, actually. I mostly did chores, mucking out Curly's stall and run and generally tidying up our area. Since I had to walk back and forth between barns, I decided to take Curly on the short walk to break up his day a little. He was so excited when he saw me pick up his halter that he rushed over to me immediately and dropped his head to have the halter tied on. In the middle of our walk, a rain storm blew in. It was fun to feel the rain come down while we rushed into the dry aisle of the main barn.

I just love this fall weather.

Workin' again...

Yesterday, E took her first ride on Curly since last July. She was ecstatic when I told her they could travel around the arena at a slow walk for 20 minutes or so. She didn't waste time saddling up, choosing to ride bareback instead. Both horse and rider were so happy to be working together again!

E made quite the funny picture once the ride was done. Riding bareback had left large dirt stains on her backside, plus so much horse hair she was actually able to curry it off. The fact that she wore mis-matched boots yesterday just made her seem all the sillier:

The post-cleaning version of E's outfit...

Why the mis-matched boots, you ask? Her ankle has been acting up again, necessitating the use of an ankle brace. When wearing the brace, she needs my (larger) left boot. Funny looking, but effective!

I also think she just likes to be weird sometimes. :-)

Should I?

Last night was 4-H ride night. Curly is still having lameness issues, so E had to ride Chance. A few small jumps were set up in the arena for the girls to practice with; E has decided that she really likes jumping. This does not help my blood pressure.

While we were there, I saw a couple of horse-for-sale flyers posted on the tack room door. Times are tight, feed is expensive, and we're all beginning to see more and more animals up for sale. The two from last night are priced to sell (only $500!) due to divorce. A friend (our barn manager) knows the owner and the animals and says that they are good, sound horses. So should I go look at them????

There are two things holding me back at the moment. Number one is the lack of available feed. Good hay is scarce around here at the moment. I was given a couple of new leads for hay suppliers last night, though. :-) The second thing holding me back is E's back and forth on what she wants to do with horses. The last couple of times she's ridden, she's really enjoyed the arena stuff and jumping. The two horses listed at our barn happen to have ridden only trails up to this point in their lives. My hunch is that they'd go nuts riding around in circles in an arena.

But....there will be more good animals coming up for sale in the next little bit - and I'm sure that some will also be priced to sell like these two are! So, I guess I just talked myself out of looking at these two particular animals...but left the door open for future purchases!

Fruitcakin'

All of the horses out at the barn were jazzed up by the blowing wind and cooler weather yesterday. You could hear thundering hoof beats all over the pastures and we watched as they bucked and ran everywhere. It was fun to see...but of course Curly appears to have taken it a bit too far and now has a sore leg (right rear). We think he must have slipped in a muddy spot while fruitcakin' around. Will he ever be sound again????

(Side note: "Fruitcakin'' has become a favorite word....I heard the barn manager say it yesterday and it just made me smile. So descriptive and silly! I love the imagery it creates in my mind.)

E spent some time picking Curly's hooves (found two stones), putting linament on his leg and just generally loving on her horse.


R, on the other hand, found a warm spot in the barn and curled up in the hay to play.


By the time we left, she had finger-crocheted an incredibly long yarn chain.

I love the horse barn....

Barn Therapy

E had a terrible day at school earlier this week. Lots of tears and general hormonal upset. After talking it all out I asked if she wanted to go out to the barn. She wasn't too sure but agreed to go anyway.

We spent an hour or two cleaning and riding and loving on the horses. When E got in the car to go home she said "Mom, that was just what I needed." All was right in her world again.

So we have a new deal - whenever she feels like the day has been too much and her emotions are out of control, all she has to do is ask to go to the barn. I promised to find a way to get her there, no matter what.

If only all our problems could be so easily taken care of.....

English, anyone?

Taking Chance for a spin.

E. had an opportunity to ride a different horse out at the horse barn yesterday. Chance is a beautiful Morgan with a pretty little gait. E's never ridden a gaited horse before, so she wasn't sure what she should expect. After trotting around the arena a few times she decided that posting, and English style riding in general, has a purpose after all! Bouncing along in her big ol' Western pleasure saddle wasn't all that comfortable. But she did enjoy Chance's floaty canter. She also really liked the fact that he actually responds to her leg cues, unlike Curly - whose first response to any request is a big "No!"

After spending some time riding this new guy E. has decided that taking some English riding lessons might be fun. Our barn manager has offered Chance for our use while Curly heals, so this is a definite possibility. And who knows, maybe a gaited horse is in her future!

Land Lust

When we first moved to our town, I was overjoyed to finally own a home. And the place we purchased was especially nice, having many beautiful gardens and an absolutely magnificent maple tree in the backyard. The lot wasn't big, but it was all that I needed and wanted. And the fact that my husband can walk to work in 10 minutes is a huge bonus, too.

Over the past nine years my husband and I have overseen some pretty big remodeling projects to make the house fit our lifestyle better. And I'd like to think the changes we've made have improved the quality of our old house.

Then I discovered my love of horses. And guess what - my perfect house doesn't seem so perfect anymore.

I want land, lots of land. Okay, maybe not that much, but definitely more than my current .16 acres. I check the real estate ads obsessively now, looking for the perfect lot to build my dream barn, um, I mean house, on. My ideal place is still close to hubby's work - preferably within bicycling distance - and at least 3 acres. I've even picked out some house plans that I think I'd like to build. (I've researched sustainable building and alternative energy sources for home heating for many years -- so wanting to build a house such as the one in the link is nothing new.) Unfortunately, the land around here is not inexpensive anymore. I found my perfect lot - to the tune of $325,000! I'd like to spend that much on the land and the house. Then I'd still be able to possibly build my dream barn....

Complicating the whole issue is the fact that hubby M doesn't want to move. That 10 minute walk to work is extremely important to him, plus he just plain likes our house.

I'm constantly torn by my desire to own our own acreage where we keep our horses, a couple of goats and the random chicken. But our current setup works okay. Sure, I have to drive 20 minutes to go see the horse, but by boarding I gain the freedom to travel and I also benefit from the social aspects of being at a barn with lots of people around.

If only I could find a lot to build my strawbale house that was next door to a place to board the horse, all within walking distance of work.....