Fridays For Sale -- Belle

This is a hard thing for me to do to list this horse.  For some reason I really like her and I cant explain it.  I got her as a 4 year old from a sale and she was started at 2 but not done much since and she was out with the stud but never got bred and I didn't pay much for her.  Thought maybe get a baby out of her and maybe ride her.  But no baby and I went to ride her and she was terrified of everything.  So pretty much she did nothing around her till I called the people I got her from and decided to get her bred by one of their studs.  He was a pretty buckskin and all I wanted was a filly, a buckskin filly would be perfect, but of course got a stud colt that was sorrel.  And I didn't really want to like him but I really did and he was a sweetheart, just as quiet and gentle as possible for a baby.  He ended up going to BC in a trade and she loves him.

(her foal as a yearling)

Other than that I don't ever do much with her but I love her conformation and her head is about perfect.  She is not very tall (about 14.2) and that's perfect for me too.  If I had more knowledge when I got her and no broke horses I probly would have rode her but I didn't have the patience or the skills at the time and mostly was just unsure so she got left.  I am really tempted to take her back up this spring and get her bred back the same way as Jamaica, but I am trying to cut down on horses here right now to a usable amount so I can concentrate on them and showing as well.

(Dec 2011)

She is a little hard to catch cause she is very timid and prefers you on her right side, but in a small corral I can just walk up and get her no problem, no running around, she just stays far enough away.  She is perfect for picking up her feet and getting trimmed, and she loads really easy.  She actually will load herself if the trailer is open, was sure a surprise as I was loading Bailey and turn around and Belle is in the trailer behind me!

(Sept 08)

She is easy to worm and vaccinate and is up to date on all that.  She is a really good mom and will mother other foals as well (no nursing, just care).  She is sorrel with no socks and a white stripe.  She also carries the rabicano gene and so has roaning through her flanks and on her tail.  She is timid in the herd but knows how to take care of herself, she rarely has a bite or scratch on her.

(Sept 09)

Her pedigree is on All breeds as LT Belle San Tivio.   I am asking $1200 for her and can have her bred back if I know before Mid May at the lastest.

Also linking up with Farm Fridays over at Fresh From the Farm.

Sunday Stills-Favorite Photo of 2011

This week our Sunday Stills challenge was to pick our favorite photo of 2011 and what our photo goals for 2012 are.  When I first read this challenge, my automatic thought was to my pic of Jamaica walking towards me outta the fog. 

I had this as my desktop for a really long time then decided I should probly have a horse I still have on there, so now I have Razz.  But then looking through all my pics, I really liked this one of the fox that was in our yard last February.

It was so flukey just to get him sitting there and I took it out the living room window, so still more amazing how clear it turned out.  But I kept looking and I think this one of a frosty tree is my favorite of the year.

I can't believe still how you can see the individual frost flakes and just looks so much better with the blue sky behind it.  Funny how they all were kinda wintery pics.  And they are all straight out of the camera.

My goals for the next year are to complete all the Sunday Stills (even the hard ones)  and to learn more about how to manually take photos with my camera rather than to just rely on the Auto setting.

Quick Trip to BC

(I love trees that are frosted with snow )

A Month or so ago I made a deal with a girl, J, that I was gonna trade Jamaica and Casino for a mare she had (Shasta).  She didn't get along with this mare cause she had lots of energy and she wanted something quieter.  And she really likes the young ones and likes to start them and get them going.  So I wasn't really looking for a trade, but this mare sounded like a decent mare (She actually sounds a lot like Bailey)  So we conversed forever and finally decided we would do the trade.  I would drive cause she was going to college and I had more time.  This weekend worked for both of us and so yesterday afternoon I loaded up the babies in the trailer which I had bedded down with lots of hay and off I went to pick up Charlene.  We left Drum about 4 and were on the way.  It took Casino only about half hour to get her sea legs and I think it sure helped Jamaica just jumped in and started eating. 

(Jamaica in the trailer in Invermere)

We took  a small detour (about an hour out of our way) when we got to the Radium turn off and missed the sign and we hit Lake Louise and I was pretty sure we weren't supposed to go through it but we went a little farther and finally decided we should stop and ask and sure enough we had to turn around.  We finally found the right corner (silly national parks have brown signs when I was looking for a green one, lol)  and headed down to Invermere to spend the night.  I thought about going to Janice's after she suggested it but I was exhausted and she was probly another hour or so down the road.  I never even thought of her being that close or I mighta gone a day early and spent some time visiting her.  Sorry Janice, maybe next time. 

We fed and watered the babies in the trailer and headed to bed for ourselves. In the morning we gave them more water which they didn't want, then we headed to J's place.  She lives in town and it was odd to dive by houses and see horses in the yards.  Sure a lot different than here.  It was about -11 and kinda windy so we caught her mare (and she was super easy to catch) then we lunged her a little (she was sound and even when she slipped, she just got up and kept going)  She was just sweet.  So I led Jamaica and Casino off the trailer and into their pen and loaded her up with a full hay bag and made the deal.   Then we headed home.  It was a lot earlier than I thought we would get on the road, which was kinda nice. 

(walking to the Husky Restaurant, lol)

We headed up the 93 and saw signs with the mountain sheep on them and I said I wanted to see some, and lo and behold when we got to Radium they were just standing in all the streets and so Charlene took my camera and took some cool pics of them.  They were just standing there and some even posed for us.  One which we missed a pic of had his front feet in the tree and was eating the leaves!  Kinda fun to see different wildlife than we have here.

(Posing for Char)

We got back to Jardi's at about 4 and got her settled in the barn for the night and she was real well behaved through it all.  Tomorrow Char has a lesson so I might go over and hopefully the weather forecast is wrong (it says high of -15)  if its warmer I will ride her otherwise I have to wait till Tuesday cause it is supposed to be +8 or +9 so that will be perfect.  I am not sure what to do over the winter now cause I had a lesson on the flag with Razz on Thursday and she was soooo good that I got caught unaware and now want to show her this winter.  But that leaves me Razz and Disco and this new mare.

I never got very many pics of her so I will post a bunch tomorrow or Tuesday when hopefully it is a little warmer.  I think she will turn out and if I don't get along real well with her I don't think she will be a hard sell.

Big Plans for the Winter

Well yesterday I went riding and saddled Disco again and put the snaffle bit on her just to hold while  rode Razz.  The whole time she was chewing and being silly so I still never got on her.  She was much better with everything else though, stood still while brushing and saddling so that was an improvement.  But I better get on her soon cause I want to show her in the Jan 7th show, so I better get her in shape so we can work the flag and some cows too.

(Disco all saddled up and ready, just not sure I am ready)

And Razz was soo awesome too.  We did a little trotting then some loping and I made her go slow which was pretty good, still tries to go fast most of the time.  Then mixed her up and trotted again before loping the other way.  then more trotting at the end.  In the middle we did circles and rollbacks and figure eights and even some counter bending.  She was pretty responsive until Jardi come to talk to me and we stood still for a while then she thought we should be done, so we trotted and worked some more till she wasn't trying to quit on me.  She is getting way better, but I read an article last night about Chiropractic work and it said something about if the horse has trouble chewing and making sharp turns the jaw may be out, and since Razz has issues with her face, maybe a chiro should be next on our list of things to check out for her.  I was more thinking it was nerves or something but this might work too.

(Disco still all saddled (even though the saddle is obviously not tight as it slid back quite a ways))

And this weekend I am heading to BC to drop of Casino and Jamaica and pick up the dun mare from a million posts ago that we are trading for.  Should be a fun but long weekend.  Think its about 5-6 hour drive so I am thinking I will leave on Friday afternoon and stop in Radium or Invermere overnight then head to her place for about 10ish and ride the mare and then load up and head home.  That way it will still be a decent time when I get home on Saturday.  I am thinking I will leave her at Jardi's and take Razz home.  That way I can get her ridden instead of putting it off till next summer. 

Sure will be a challenging but interesting winter with riding 2 new horses and I am hoping I will at least like one of them.  Both would be nice but I'm not sure about that cause I am pretty picky about what I really like and am kinda wary about riding horses that other people have ridden, not that they cant be good, but I like things a certain way and not everyone is the same way.  But I am trying to keep an open mind and will ride both and see. 

It will be kinda weird not having any horses in the corral for the winter though.  At least until it gets real cold and I might have to bring in Jazz. I am still up in the air about her, I think I probly would really like to ride her cause I really like Razz, but now my heart says not so much, but I will find out in the spring when she gets started.

More Ponies

Yesterday I guess I didn't explain very good about what's going on.  Duchess is not my horse nor was she in one of the pics.  She belongs to a friend, Susan, and is here for the winter.  (She is a half sister to Charlene's horse Ricki)  She is a sweet horse and the only horse I know that will allow me to hug her head.  And she enjoys it too.

(A not real good pic of Duchess eating cause I was crouched down to far and she is big)

And apperently I think more than I write cause I forgot to say the biggest part of my blanket dilema is because we are going to Vic's for cutting every other weekend and they spend a couple nights in a heated barn.  Then I feel bad putting them back outside without anything on.  Last winter it wasn't till about end of January I put a light blanket on Razz.  But also there are so many horses turned out with her (6 now) that her blanket always ends up getting ripped. 

(Belle, Casino and Jazz in the snow)

She has winter hair, but it is short and thick so I think I will put it off for a while.  No saying I can't blanket her later in the year.  I actually prefer no blankets and my home horses don't get a blanket but they have a windbreak and noone rides them and smooshes the fur down on them either.  If I ride like last year it will be 5-6 days a week and then I think a blanket is gonna be necessary.  Even though I know it won't make less hair cause only light can do that, it seems to prevent a little sweating and makes me feel better, lol.

(The babies--Casino, Jazz and Jamaica)

Oh and the house the other day was not ours, unfortunatly, but we were headed to town and got stopped to let it go by.  There was a pull out so he actually stopped to let us by and they guys behind him pass as well.  It was 40' wide the guy said, so pretty good size.  Still wish it were coming here, sigh.

(Casino looks so little behind Duchess)

Ponies and More Ponies

Well I was looking out at my ponies and checking on them so of course got some more pics of them :)  First George walking around impatiently waiting for me to feed him.

And Bailey just patiently waiting till I quit fooling with the camera and feed George then its her turn.

And Casino cute as ever, with her white body and brown head and legs, I am thinking she won't stay this white, but sure is easy to pick her out of the herd from far away.

Ands Jamaica, so friendly and getting to be quite a looker.  I had a couple people interested in him, nothing serious yet, but sure wouldn't mind keeping him for myself.

And Jazz, she is getting quite stocky, I am afraid to ride her cause I am sure I will really like her.  She is pretty and quite a bit like Razz (right down to the left eye that had white around it!) and so she should be good.  But I know I can't keep em all, even if I want to.

But sure are turning into some nice ponies here.  Can't say I'm sad about any of the babies I have had here.   Yesterday my neighbor come and he wanted Casino if she was a boy.  Shoot!  Would match his big roan horse too.

Jamming

I have been busy making jam and getting my garden out.  I think we had a touch of frost on Tuesday night, so it was lucky I had brought in all the tomatoes.  Not as many as some years, but not to bad for how small and late they were planted.

I also had picked all my onions last week and set them out to dry in the sunshine. That sure worked well last week.  There was lots of onions, both red and yellow this year and so I should be good for winter.

I have been making jams and jelly's for the craft sale and for Christmas and for eating.  Yesterday I made 19 jars of crab apple jelly and 4 jars of applesauce.  I still have probly enough juice to make another 30 jars of jelly and 15 apple sauces or apple butters not sure which yet.

Today it is peaches.  One batch of jam being made as I type and the rest will just be canned, 10 jars of sliced peaches.   And 7 jars of chokecherry syrup for my neighbor.  But he may only get 6 cause I think I need to keep one.

I still have nanking cherries at my Moms in her freezer and raspberries and rhubarb as well.  I will  make nanking and raspberry jam and raspberry and rhubarb raspberry jams.

Oh and trees, pretty much the only trees we have around here are in the yard (excpet a few wild ones in the creek and the ones by our turnoff)  and only the ash trees are turning color.  I am sad, but like Neils Dad says, pretty tree but last one to get its leaves and the first one to lose them.  And he is right.

Oh also yesterdays pictures were actually taken on Monday when it was really foggy, and the first pic is the sun.  I was surprised how much it looked like the moon too, but so foggy it just wasn't bright.  Jamaica is hanging around a ways from everyone else so far cause they kinda pick on him.  Not sure why if he's the only boy or just a newbie.  They all know him but he just stays far enough away.  I actually had to protect him from Kali and after that she was so much nicer to him and so were the others, so I think it will be fine.  But I just wanted to make sure he was alright by himself.  And he was really happy to see me, I can't complain about that, wasn't sure what he would be like in the pasture, but just the same as ever.

Wordless Wednesday

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...

So seems like I been missing out on everything that has been going on here except for the ponies, so here's an update.  Well Jamaica is home.  He is out in the pasture with the mares and happy to be there.  Sure loaded good.  I asked Jardi to give me a hand and I never needed her, he just walked out of his stall, out of the barn, across the corral and right onto the trailer.  Pretty happy with that.  I think it is a lot like walking onto a stall, kinda dark, even though the stalls  are step down and the trailer was step up, much the same.

And the bulls are home.  A couple weeks ago we got a call for the community pasture to pick up our bull there and so Neil pulled all our bulls at home the same day.  They were pretty well ready to come home.  We also sold two, one who never tested that we kept as a just in case one and one was 7 years old and we never realized but he was fine but that's getting pretty old for a bull.

We got all our hay baled as well as the green feed oats.  They are just waiting on John Deere to fix our tractor and bring it back before we can haul them home.  Neil tried rigging up a system where his tractor can pull the trailer so he can use it to both load bales in the field and then unload them at home, and it seems to work, but takes a long time driving back and forth.

And the corrals got cleaned one day last week, sure was stinky for a while but much better now and healthier for the calves over winter.  Oh and we picked a weaning date of October 24, which is coming up amazingly quick.  Got a lot to do before that comes.  And about a week or so before that I will probly wean Casino and leave her in the filed and take Disco to Jardi's to see what she is like to ride.  It takes a couple weeks before the calves quiet down and don't get too sick before I can move the horses into the corral and I am not even sure who will live in with Casino yet, maybe Jazz and Jamaica, haven't decided on that yet.

And the cows (or in this case heifers)  are doing good, they sure like hanging around in the slough where the grass is really tall when its warm out.

And last night I got a call from a girl who wanted to come see Dinero.  She called last week and asked a bunch of questions and wanted to come down but didn't know when they could.  Well their schedules lined up and they came and tried him and took him home.  He will be rode in the feedlot by her husband and she will pleasure ride him.
All in all life is progressing and I am not ready for winter but looks like its on its way anyhow.

Big Day for The Boys

Yesterday was a long day for me and a big day for the geldings.  Jardi phones and says Greg will be there around noon and if I want Jamaica feet trimmed I can meet him there, so I goes over at noon.  Well Greg got hung up in hussar and was late and Jardi had to take Neil to Physio so I was there waiting for him to show up.  i decided while I was waiting I would just ride Dinero in the arena then I am close by for when Greg comes.  And the horses he was shoeing were tied to the rail so he could just start anyway without me.

I have been thinking for a long time I would try and ride Dinero in my English saddle and I thought this was the perfect opportunity cause I don't want to ride out yet so arena it was.  I was a little unsure how I would feel in it cause it has been a long time since I rode English and last time was awful, I felt like I was slipping to the side with every step especially around corners.

Dinero thought I was a little weird with this tiny saddle I put on him.  I was kinda worried the cinch wouldn't fit when I could hardly get it done up to the bottom hole on each side, but once I had it on and he moved around it was up to the third hole on one side and second on the other, so seems to be the right fit for him.

Well then I was worried about how the heck I was gonna get on, I was sure I couldn't mount from the ground and I had never asked him to stand by the step in the corner by the poles, but then I remembered there was a oilfield pylon I have used before to get on and it works really well cause its is round so even if they move they don't usually get too far from it.

Well that worked good, I got on and then he wasn't sure if he should move or not,I am sure it felt really weird to him, but I actually felt comfortable. So I asked him to walk and we walked a couple time both ways around the arena and then I asked for a trot.  He was pretty good, a little unsure but after a couple rounds he was fine.  So we did a couple figure wights and some more walking and then trotting again and then I decided that was enough for us and he was soo good so I couldn't complain.

We only rode for about 25-30 minutes which was okay with me.  And turned out good cause just as  I got off, Greg showed up.  I put Dinero away and went to visiting.  I don't get a chance to visit him very often so it was kinda nice.

After the others were done, we got Jamaica out and he was really good.  Kinda a little fighty when pulling his back feet backwards, but he got over that really well and Greg is sooo good and patient, he trims the puts the foot down the files and puts the foot down.  So all in all a good experience for the boy.  I forgot to take pics of his feet while in the alley so I tried to get them in the stall afterwards and I got weird things on the side of my pic which I finally realized was his whiskers!  But they look so weird in the picture.