Evening Ride

In our neighborhood, we have meeting to plan the entertainment for holidays and random parties. There are all inclusive and usually pretty fun. The planning meetings themselves are valuable as we share information about the neighborhood and the residents, comings and goings, who is selling, whose dog ran away and was found by whom.

I look forward to these meeting and when I am going solo (without the kiddo) I try to walk to get a bit more exercise. I arrive sweaty but since it is just us girls...I really do not care.

Last night I decided to ride my horse Bailey. I have not ridden him in months. He is sure that he is retired and has no responsibility except steal food from the other two horses. I call him gramps, he protects the youngest horse from his half brother's jealous tendencies.

When I went to get him in the pasture, he saw the halter and walked away just out of reach. I take a few steps toward him, he takes a few step away. It is a lovely and frustrating dance that we do, until I decide to play dirty. I get some feed and pour it in the small feed pen that I have for them. Now usually when I open the gate, I know the chosen horse will run right in and eat without me putting on a halter or anything. Last night when I opened the gate Bailey ran out, past the feed pen, past me, past the house and way into the front yard.

I just stood there and shook my head. He beat me at my own game. He knew it too as he munched happily on the grass. I got the halter and the food and trekked across the yard to him. Put on his halter and let him eat a bit. We walked together back to the feed pen to I could groom him and put on his saddle. He finished his feed while I did this and was ready for the bridle. Got it on, packed the saddle bags with head lamps for the two of us, my calendar and camera.

I documented out ride to the meeting, taking film shorts as we rode along. Tough to do on most horses but Bailey is slow. We rode in a all purpose English saddle but used the reins Western, neck reining and filming. It made for bumpy video but it will be a fun short that I will post after it is produced. I filmed through his reluctance to walk towards construction workers making a racket by cleaning up a site. But I stopped filming when he spooked at a blowing pizza box from someone's overturned garbage can.

We made it to the meeting. I untacked and put him in the pasture next door. He galloped off to the far end. Whatever.

I left before the meeting ended so I could tack up before dark. I put a light on his headstall and one on my helmet. Later I read this was not the smartest idea because horses can see very well at night (which I knew) but can be temporarily blinded by flashlights (did not know). I sang my favorite riding songs to keep a nice pace and rythem. He did not spook at all but clearly was not going to stop when I saw fun neighbor David taking out the trash or neighbor Lee guarding his gate so their Mustang, who was unintentionally loose in the yard, would not run wild. We got home safe and sound. I fed the screaming Arabian half brothers and gave Bailey a little more too.

I like riding at night.

Time Flies!!!

Holy Crap! I look at the date of the last post and wonder how all this time has flown by.

I have been tremendously busy at work with flu coverage. It seems silly to me in a way because more folks have died of influenza than this strain but I am not a doctor just a mom with some common sense. At our daycare, hand washing has become more stringent although it was always the norm. The hysteria seems to be dying down even though the cases are rising.

At home we have gotten rain. Mixed blessing because while we really need it, the lawn has really gotten lush. I just have not had time to mow. So Thursday night, I roped off certain parts of the front yard and let Bailey loose on the front lawn. He is a voracious eater but not an even cut (as far as lawn mowing goes). He also does not eat the weeds.

Friday went so well, I put Bailey and Sahil on the lawn. Sahil has matured quite a bit so even when the dogs barked and ran after their imaginary rabbits, he ignored them and continued to eat. He and Bailey stuck together, heads down, munching grass. Chop, rip chew, chomp, rip, chew. Very rhythmic when you listen to them.

Later in the afternoon, I walked out the front door to see Sahil standing on the walkway to the front, looking as if he was contemplating walking up the stairs onto the front porch. I moved him away but not ten minutes later he was peering in the screen porch windows. Does he have a "not so secret" desire to come in the house and hang out? Being an Arabian, he probably does.

Dewey in the meantime just jogged up and down the fence line screaming for his friends. They flipped him the horse equivalent of the middle finger and ignored him, noses buried in the lush green grass.

Last night, I went to put them back in the pasture after dark. I couldn't see them in the light of the moon but all of a sudden, I heard the clatter of hooves on the driveway as they went flying by. I walked to the gate and heard them running back. Why they were running on the driveway and not the grass is beyond me. Drama queens! I think they just like the noise of the hooves on pavement. They were happy to get back into the pasture with a very "put out" Dewey. Dewey was angry because he did not get to partake in the feast. He is too young and I did not want to be chasing horses around the 'hood at 11pm at night.

Hey! No Hay.

The drought has hit Central Texas pretty hard. HAving horses, this always freaks me out because I am worried about getting hay. My usual source (who is also the neighborhood source thanks to my big mouth) can't grow it because of the no rain issue. The feed stores are up to $9/bale (I remember when I was getting it in the field for $2.50/bale 5 years ago). There just does not seem to be affordable coastal horse hay anywhere. I bought 40 bales of tifton from a source who had to get rid of it because he is moving. The horses took a few days to get used to it but they are eating it now. They get alfalfa trucked in from New Mexico when I can get it. They only get that once a day. It costs $21-23/bale for a bale that is $110 pounds. I can make that last a week or so with the 3 horses.

They take longer eating the tifton so they are not eating the trees as much. That, in and of itself, is another issue. The horses strip the bark off the trees and then you lose your good shade trees. I want to shout at them, "Hey dummies! You are going to kill your shade and in the 104 degree weather you will be really sorry!" I strategically wrapped a bunch of them with chicken wire so the horses could not get to the bark. The wire is fairly invisible to the causal passerby. There are still the trees they will be killing but then I will have some firewood and a sunny area for more grass to grow in the front pasture.

They are banned from the front pasture now because the rye is starting to come up from the 2 days of damp weather we finally have had. It should last until May once it comes up if I am careful to keep them off it. When I think back to how much grass we had before the horses and how often I had to cut it, I can hardly believe that it is gone. Part of me wishes we had fenced the front yard so we would never have to mow that as well (that is about 250 yards square).

Such is residential farm life. I would not trade it for city condo life at all.

Saturday shoot

I really wanted to write about this sooner, but Saturday I had a lovely relaxing drive to Hempsted TX via Independence, X. I always stop in Independence because of the Antique Rose Emporium. I just love the place! I roam around the ground admiring the garden projects. I usually buy an antique rose or two but it was nearly 95 degrees and I didn't really feel like worrying about them while I had my shoot. I did wonder why a building was missing though. Turns out they had an electrical fire last winter that took out the main building. They are rebuilding and I hope it will still have the quaint charm that the other building had.

Onward to Hempsted to photography my old workout buddy's mom's horses. I had never met Shane's mom just heard about her from Shane. I would be meeting her at her trainer Becky's place. I had it in my mind that Shane's mom had large appaloosas and the trainers place was going to be this imposing place with lots of white fencing and a big white barn. Don't ask me why, it is just what I had in mind since they were close to Houston.

When I turned in the driveway, I was pleasantly surprised. There WAS a kick ass arena but the farm was humble and neat. I met Leslie, Shane's mom. Not what I was expecting at all!! I knew she was petite but I guess I was not expecting short red hair. Becky was just as tiny with short, stylish, blond hair and a very intense gaze.

We walked around and looked at the farm deciding where to shoot and firming up what exactly they were expecting from the photography. We had very pretty warm afternoon light and chose a location by a pond. It was very pretty and Becky's husband had just mowed. Shane's dad was there too taking pics. He was nice too. We all laughed when I told them I was from Timonium because they were from neighboring Hereford in Baltimore County. Small world.

We photographed mares, geldings and Becky's Stallion. I could tell he was special. He was so tank-like and strong looking. He had a kind eye and was very gentle. I could tell he adored Becky. He had a keen taste for spanish moss.

After we were done with the formal pics, we wnet to the front paddock and did some the the old sweet broodmare who likes bananas. The light was so pretty but the horses were more interested in the camera than having their pictures made.

All in all it was a fun day of meeting new people, new horses and making pretty pictures. I really need more of those days. At least I did not want to leave from there with another horse. I really think I have what I need for awhile.

Sunday - Day of Rest

The rabbit sat on the front lawn surrounded by crows. There must have been eight of them surrounding the bunny as if he had the key to some locked door full of crow treats. As I came out the door, most of the crows flew away. One stayed locked in an eye to eye stand-off with the bunny. I slipped inside to get the camera. When I opened the door to get outside, they had danced around some so the crow could see the door. He flew off but the bunny say in the long grass trying to decide whether to leave his buffet. The door opened again and kiddo came out with his neighborhood friend. The dogs flew out the door and the bunny dashed into the pasture away from instant death.

Sunday used to be the day of rest and refection. I spent lunch time lying on the couch resting after spending a few hours with me friends and his 9 yr. old daughter. He came over as part of a barter for speaking to my class at UT. He is an amazing photographer who lives in town. His daughter loves horses and he loves his daughter. They drove an hour this morning to spend time with Bailey, the grump.

She brushed him and groomed him and I taught her her how to act and move around horses. I put her on with an English saddle. She rode while I had a lede line attached to his bit. We walked around the pasture while dad busily took pics. She did great in the pasture so we decided to have a walk around the neighborhood. I was having such a good time and she was doing so well that I walked a bit too far. I was not wearing good shoes for walking and it was the first walk since the fall off the horse. I was tempted to hop on with her and ride home but I am not sure Bailey would behave with 2 riders and I am not supposed to be riding yet. So I braved on trying not to limp home. After washing Bailey down, we hydrated, chatted and my friend's daughter drew a very cute thank you card for me. It was fun.

After the rest, kiddo's little friend came over. Actually he is a year older and really has just wanted to come over so he could play with kiddo's toys. That was fine with me because we spent yesterday afternoon at his house playing in the pool. They played well together.

When he left, we played games until we decided to go to Rachel's house to drop off a table and chairs. She was having family dinner at her house. I though kiddo would like to play with her nieces and nephews. We were not even out of the 'hood before the little one was sound asleep snoring in the car seat. Went to Rachel's, he never woke up. Looked for her lost cows in the car a bit, still asleep. decided to drive into town to get gas. After gassing up the car, he woke up wanting to go to Tractor Supply. I told him that I just drove by and it was closed. That was half true, I knew it was closed but had not driven by. I offered to go by again and we did. He cried and said he didn't like T.S. anymore. He wanted to go home and he said he didn't want to go to Rachel's either. Smiling and sighing, I said "all right, we'll just go home."

All things Gross

I know a few things about animals. I actually have a few theories that I have not scientifically proven but I am pretty sure they are so.

I have pictorial evidence on this one (note the very old dead armadillo in the pic). If it smells bad, dogs will eat it or roll in it. Dead animals, horse poop, yucky smelly ponds, dirty diapers....you name it. The tough part is remembering this fact especially when you say to your pup, "Come here and give me a kiss." It must be said in your best baby talk voice of course. Just remember what that dog has been eating. Usually before you snuggle your dog, you can smell if they have been rolling in anything disgusting.

My second theory is about white horses. I think white horses always want to be brown. they roll in the mud every chance they, hoping to fit in. Maybe it is because many white horse start out dark and shed to white. I'll get to prove this one as Dewey grows up.

Not my Favorite Saturday

Yesterday started out all right. I got Sahil in the trailer in 10 minutes. Bailey hppoed right in after him. Jake got in the truck without incident. I drove down to BFF neighbor to trade horses. Bailey would stay there and Timmy would be loaded up. Timmy was going to Rachel's for a bit and Bailey would stay to keep Monty company. Timmy got in without any trouble and we headed to Rachel's.

When we got there, Jake hopped out and said he wanted to ride. Then he decided to play with his trucks instead. I got Sahil ready for my lesson. Kellie as finishing up and David was watching Lorre do some massage work on Timmy.

I lunged Sahil in the round pen and he was listening and being good. We went into the arena. He stood still while I got on. Good Boy!! We had a nice walk to the end of the arena. Then I heard a helicopter. No big deal, they come over our house all the time. This time it seemed to be getting louder and louder. Sahil was getting nervous. I though for a minute that I should hop off until it went by. Then I thought how well he did with the motorcycle the other day so I decided to ride through this.

He took off into a trot and then canter. The gate was open so I thought I would turn him away from it. The helicopter sounded like it was going to land in the arena. Sahil took off out the gate at a gallop. Long legs I thought to myself. "Help" I yelled to no one in particular. I did not want to fall off. I heard Rachel yell "Bail!" On the driveway? no way! I thought the front gate was open and that is the way we were headed. I did not want to end up on the street.

I made up my mind. I tried to turn him one last time. He slowed. I had no stirrups at this point. I bailed off the side.

The next thing I saw was paramedics over me. I knew the day, year and all the other questions they asked me. I needed to know where Jake was? Did he see any on this? No Kellie had him in the sand box. The ride was like a dream. I heard that we were buzzed by a helicopter. Sahil took off. Apparently I was riding so well no one thought I was in trouble.

I was unconscious for about 3 minutes. My tongue was purple and going back in my throat. Lorre and Rachel pried my mouth open and pulled my tongue out. I started breathing and came to. They called 911. The ambulance was there in 10 minutes and took me to Brackenridge. I made conversation with the paramedics. They showed me my helmet with the crack in it. The EMT trainee tried to get an IV in my wrist but the vein kept rolling. They finally got it in my elbow.

The emergency room was quiet so I was attended to right away. They cut my shirt off and I begged them not to cut off my new full seat breeches. We got them off without having to cut them. WHEW! My vital were good and they thought I may have a mild concussion. Bt they were more concerned with the back pain. off to X-ray I went. The doctor came back and said the x-rays looked okay. Some arthritus in my joints (didn't know about that!) and calcium deposits around the old compound fracture.

Rachel came in and read the charts. Then she helped me get dressed. We needed a shirt so the nurse got me a paper shirt. Getting up was nearly impossible. I told the doctor I needed some pain medication. Rachel told him I needed muscle relaxants. I got wheeled to check out while R got the truck. I told the doctor that my groin area really hurt. He took another look at the x-ray and said I may have a small pelvic fracture. There is nothing they could do about that. I just needed to rest.

I could not have made it to the truck without Rachel. It was so painful to walk. Sitting does not hurt but walking is near about impossible. Rachel got me settled in at home on the couch.

David and Kellie had taken Jake home in my truck. He had lunch there and crashed on their couch for a bit. Terri went over to get him from David and Kellie's. He went almost too willingly. She brought them up to visit before they went to the park. He kissed me and then ran up to get his pijamas for a sleep over. As of now he is still down there having a great time.

Rachel spent the night, fed me dinner and pain meds, walked me to the bathroom. She tucked me bed in the guest room. She slept in our room.

This morning I am still so sore. I can barely walk. I know I am going to need my muscles worked on when I can work again. I have already called in sick to work but I determined to get to my dermatologist on Tuesday.

So where is husband during all this? In England covering the British Open. He volunteered to come home early if it was possible. I would like to have him home but I am afraid he is going to want me to stop riding. hat is such a huge part of me and I know if it had not been for the copter, we wold have been fine. At least we got that over with at Rachel's and not on a trail somewhere. I must be strong.

So now I lay on the couch, trying to ignore the pain. Trying to heel. Thank heavens for friends and neighbors. I am fortunate to have them in my life. I hope I can repay all the favors.

Little Stallion

Dewey is trying so hard to fight for his place in our new little herd. Bailey has decided to let him eat next to him, Sahil still chases him away and Sahil has the scars to prove it. They are constantly fighting for the #2 spot. I am not sure who has it yet.

I was planning on waiting to get Dewey snipped in the Fall when the weather is more favorable for an operation. Cooler, fewer flies and recovery is easier. I am not sure I can wait though.

I was petting his forehead the other day and he decided to be playful and take a nip at my arm. He connected with the delicate underside. Hurt like a MOFO!! I put ice on it but still ended up with a bruise larger than a poker chip that folks keep mistaking for a tattoo gone terribly wrong.

Last night I was feeding them after a pretty hard rain. (YAY RAIN!!) Dewey is last to be fed because he is the baby and needs to learn his place. Not sure he likes this very much. In the process of dumping his feed in his pan, he stepped to left and onto my right foot. I body slammed him off of me and smacked him for getting in and on my space.

"You are getting cut very soon....very soon" I muttered all the way back to the gate.

It's a Beautiful DAaaayyyyyyyy

I opened the door this morning to surprisingly cool temps. What a difference it makes feeding the horses at 6:15am instead of 7am. They greeted me with a chorus if whinnies, nickers, and Sahil's trademark scream. If I had one more horse, I could have a barbershop quartet. Bailey is the bass, Dewey is the tenor and Sahil the soprano. I just need an alto.

Got them fed and checked for new scrapes or bruises on the young ones. Treated Bailey's thrush with this purple stuff that looks like my pen exploded on my hand. Counted the hay, I have 33 bales left. Since we are having a drought, I need to figure out how to conserve and plan. I have 50 bales on order and I get alfalfa from Rachel's supplier. That should get me through at least 35 weeks.

Finished up and headed back into the house. Saw four roadrunners playing in the side yard. I wondered if it was momma and daddy teaching youngsters how to catch food. I have been seeing 4-5 of them together for a few days now.

Noticed that Daisy was chewing on something on the front lawn. It didn't look like a stick and she looked like she was actually eating something. Upon closer inspection I found that she was in fact eating something. It took me awhile to figure it out but it looked like a rabbit sans head and skin. I kept saying we had fat bunnies and that we should be hunting them. I guess Daisy (the coyote dog) had the same idea. I wondered if this is what the dogs caught when they went out last night at 3:30am.

I went inside and told husband. He noted that we had a Warner Bros. cartoon, except the roadrunners were being left alone by the coyote, who was dining on Bugs Bunny.

Sahil is Home!

Sahil, my 4 yr old Arabian is home from Rachel's house. Rachel, my BFF (funny to use that when you are over 25 yrs old) and horse trainer, has been putting so much work into him to make sure he is a safe ride for me. I used to have a HUGE buckskin dun that she swore would kill me if I didn't sell him. She was so worried about it that I did.

She gave me Sahil for my birthday a few years ago. He came home after being gone about 4 months. Things had changes since he was home, namely Dewey. The two met in the pasture. Dewey immediately went up to Sahil and started being a pest by nudging and sniffing. Sahil reacted with a swift kick to Dewey's shoulder. He got a few more kicks in before Dewey decided to keep his distance. Bailey, the old grump, played the diplomat, siding with with neither. He allowed both close but would not be involved when the others were sparring.

The next morning I went out and both the young horses were soaked in sweat. They must have been running around all morning. I might have suspected the nasty humidity but Bailey was dry.

Rachel and I rode Sahil and Bailey (respectively) around the 'hood Sunday night. Bailey was slow, as usualy and Sahil was looking around so it was good Rachel rode him. We just did a shorty. My order from her was to ride Sahil as much as possible, even if it is just around the yard.

We did that last night. He was pretty happy to have the attention. Freaked a little as some low branches hit my helmet and made a funny noise. We rode around them and the went back to that area again. He was better. We ended on a good note and then I fed him. Maybe he will associate riding with dinner. That would be good.

The Guest

Well he started as a guest. My friend called and said she was dropping him off at my house. Uh, okay I said not feeling like I had much say in the matter but thinking he would be fun to have around. Tell me what you think of him, she said, but do not trust him for one minute!

Lucky for me this was not a human guest. She brought me a year and a half Egyptian Arabian who was not quite what the breeder had in mind for her program. My trainer said I could keep him if I liked him but that would be the end of horses for me for awhile. Arabians live to be 30-40 years old.

Al Fadoulee is his name. He looks like a red roan now but will shed to gray by the time he is six. He has a mischievous manner but is friendly. The breeder was calling him Doulee but my trainer misheard her and started calling him Dewey. We liked Dewey better. He will be bigger than Sahil. The husband who thinks horses have ruined his life (at least when he gets angry at me), adores him. He suggested we keep him. I gave him the final word on the matter. Lucky for me, Dewey follows him up and down the fence line. He feels like they have made a connection. I really do not think that it will inspire the husband to actually learn how to ride, but maybe Dewey will be gentle and calm enough for him to be able to trail ride on him in the future.

At this point he is a stud colt but we will get him snipped. I have been worried about him jumping out of the pasture to go find a girlfriend but so far he enjoys the safety of his home. As a matter fact, somehow the gate go open the other night and Bailey was in the front yard grazing. Surprised the husband when he came back from his run at 6:30am. He got him back in the pasture but did not see the open gate. He came in a told me about Bailey aka Houdini. I got worried thinking we had a break in the fence. I looked out the window and saw the open gate. Dewey was standing near it and Bailey was out in the yard again. I dashed down the stairs, out the door and got to the gate. Dewey was just standing there looking at me. I don't think he had any intention of going through it. Got Bailey back in and fed them breakfast. I think Dewey thought breakfast would be much better than escape.

I like this horse. I have a good feeling about him. He is brave and bold but loves humans. He comes when called and does not get insulted when you make the rules for him. I am glad we are keeping him.