Cold Days

Well besides the snow we got yesterday morning its been a good spring.  We are more than 3/4 calved out, had 2 sets of twins but as it would work we had 2 cows who lost calves (actually 4 but 2 went to town) and so they now have new calves.  One we are still working on but she seems to like it its the calf lol he likes every cow, so we got to get him to believe this is his only mom.

I got a perm earlier this month, Neil's cousin's kid is taking the hairdressing school in Red Deer and needed a model for her exams,  I wasn't sure I wanted a perm but oh well its only hair and it will grow out.  Turns out I actually kinda like it, gives a bit of volume to my otherwise super straight flat hair.

I been riding a bit, not as much as I want to or should be but its been wet and cold.  Neil went in the horse pen without moving the horses and they of course escaped and Easy and Nita ran around the yard a whole bunch of times, finally quit and I caught Easy and then Nita.  Easy worked hard, he was all sweated up, Nita was just following she wasn't even breathing hard.  I had a good laugh at them after being kinda annoyed with Neil and then did some groundwork with the weird stuff I have set up in the arena.  Easy doesn't care for anything he doesn't know, but the whip cracking or travelling anywhere over him is not a big deal, he backs up real nice (almost too much) he didn't care for the hula hoops or the logs, but the tarp that is one scary scary thing.  But I got a toe on it and praised him and quit there.  It was a big deal for him.

Nita didn't care about anything, she walked over the tarp, through the hula hoops, I even flipped one around and threw it and she didn't care.  The whip wasn't a big deal either after she could see what I was doing but she does not back up.  So we will work on that, she probly has never been asked and that's ok, quite normal I think from what I've seen.

We had Neil's birthday celebration on the 15th and that was good then the next day headed to Calgary for Easter.  Was nice, worked out well.  I stayed over and picked up my foam for my window seat and now just waiting on a sale for fabric to make the cover.

(I made Bunny Butt cookies,

 not quite as good as pinterest but still delicious)

(Finally finished my sisters Christmas gift,

 its hard when the shop isn't heated)

Was up at the Mane Event on Saturday, met my neighbors there that is kinda fun, all I bought was a slow feed hay net and got a bag of feed for free.  I'm trying to find a ration balancer for the ponies that isn't soy based and its really hard.  Watched some trainers challenge and a bit of the clinics and that's always fun.

Got Easy teeth and sheath done on Monday, teeth needed it but were not bad, sheath however was another story, I kinda figured cause I could smell him but hes so silly sensitive I didn't want to do it and its a good thing cause it was a big job and he had a bean way up high.  The vet earned his money on that one.

Also started back doing the therapeutic riding this spring, last night was the first night, we had a Boy named Tristan and hes been doing this since they began, he loves it.  So fun seeing there reactions.  only 5 weeks, so the end of May I will be done.  And yesterday was our last day swimming for a while since the closed the indoor pool for renovations. One day when it gets warm out they will open the outdoor but its not the same.

Easter Weekend

Went over to the curling rink on Saturday, Neil's team lost their game so they got 3rd in the A Event, not bad.  He asked a kid who really want to curl but didn't have a team or much experience and he had fun, Neil did too, different to have others that are so excited about curling on your team.  He coaches the grades 3-9 kids a few weeks every year at the rink but they are a little young for games yet but good to get them started, they love it.  We need more curlers so might as well start them early.  Still had the banquet and was nice to visit over there, I don't make it over near as much as I used to anymore, except for bonspiels pretty much only the curlers go over so boring to sit by myself.

Sunday we went to Olds to have Easter dinner, was good, not too crowded got to actually visit with those there.  And last night we went to Brooks to celebrate Neil's dads birthday.  He's  80 but sure don't look or act like it.  We are having a "small" party of about a 100 people next Saturday but still nice to go out on his actual  birthday.

Went to the vet yesterday afternoon with Bailey, shes healthy as a horse haha.  Not even too fat.  I was gonna keep her in a get a few more rides on her and keep Pally in so Easy has company when he comes home this week (I hope Thursday) but I just didn't wanna do chores yet so she went back out.  Later this week Ill get them in and try and get some fuzz off them.  I am gonna try check cows on Pally for now, see how she does, and Easy too but that will be a little different might not get much done yet, he doesn't like mud and weird footing so it will take a while I think but fun to ride him anyways:)

(on the way out, Jess, Dee, George)

(Dee, George, Bailey, Trio)

(and Pally, I think she looks better, 

lost a little weight running out on grass all winter)

Otherwise my week is pretty well taken up by planning for the party, baking, cooking, slicing meat, luckily Neil is going to Medicine Hat with his sister so I don't have to go.  They are gonna spend all day shopping for food and decorations and a gift.  Will be a good party.

Easter Weekend

We had a full weekend planned, Saturday we headed to Brooks for Neil's Dads birthday and then Sunday we had planned to go to Olds to my Moms house for Easter Dinner.  Saturday worked well, and we come home and had one new heifer calved and so no problems.  Then came Sunday.

Saturday before we left there was a cow in the creek pasture calving and she was doing fine so we left for town, we came back after dark so never went and had another look at her.  Sunday morning Neil went out to check on her and she hadn't had the calf...not good.  So he took his bob out there and brought her back to the yard.  Turns out she was a heifer who somehow got out.  If we knew she was a heifer we woulda watched her a little closer.  Well the calf was dead so we pulled it out.  It was presented right and wasn't that big so I don't know why she never had it on her own.  But then as she was laying in the corral, and we were getting ready to leave, she prolapsed.  So we called the vet and she come out and stuffed her back in and sewed her up.  But by then it was too late to leave for dinner so we just had BLTs instead of ham and scalloped potatoes.   We will go another day and have dinner with them, wont be the same with the whole family but that's how it works sometimes with cows.

It wasn't all bad, our snow is melting something crazy and the road is kinda a mess and really hard to get through.  And it was kinda nice to have a day to do nothing in, well kinda nothing.  But back to it today going riding and hopefully a couple more lessons this week then the show next weekend.  I am kinda nervous about it.  I know I am not really ready to show, but then again I also know I put it off all last summer and might as well get going if I want to.  I am also nervous about going alone.  That will be hard, always easier when there is someone going with me somewhere, but I am pretty familiar with the arena which is nice but still scary.

Back to Lessons

Thursday morning I got my trailer hooked up bright and early and picked up Jessie then stopped at Chars to pick her up and off we went to my lesson.  There was lots of people there!  It was so weird.  I had never met any of them before but we all introduced ourselves and they all seemed really nice.  I had to warm up in the indoor and then when it was my turn we went and worked cows in the outdoor pen.

I know that I always have to work on stops, and we did, but at one break time I said it frustrates me when she turns in to face the cow after she stops.  He said it did him too, lol.  But if I get a good stop and act like I know what I am doing she will quit doing that.  OK that was good so I did not worry about that any more just went to working on stopping when the cow stopped.  And by golly I think I did it a few times!  The last cow we worked I only had to turn her twice and we stopped both ways!!!  Ya I think maybe I am learning something  lol.  Sometimes I wonder when I have to work on the same thing over and over again.

Then on my way home I stopped at the barn to drop off Jessie and I knew Razz needed a different blanket so I grabbed her and was brushing her and another girls stopped in so I decided to ride with her.  It was the best ride I have had on Razz this year, she is just better with other people riding I guess (and maybe I am too with her)  She was so good, even though there was a guy lunging his horse at the one end and his little boy running in and out of the arena every 10 minutes with a cat he caught   Although she still couldn't get over the box that sings, lol she spent a lot of time looking at that. I rode her a little harder than I had planned but she was so good and even kinda relaxed.

Not realizing it until yesterday when I went to ride, my legs were sore, not sure if it was from cutting or riding Razz, but its been a long time since I been sore from riding.  I did ride Jessie on Friday and she was good while riding, but a dork when I went to get her.  It is melting something serious down at the barn and for the last 3 days there has been a puddle in front of their gate that she has walked through no problem, but of course on Friday she decided she didn't know how to cross water.  Ach!  So I kept trying to get her to walk across it and then she tried to jump on me rather than walk through the water, that is not acceptable ever, so then I got upset.  I backed her through the water and made her walk in in all the way to the barn.  Funny thing later she had no problem walking through the water outside the barn.  I know in my mind she was just testing me as she does randomly it just gets annoying when she is normally so easy going.  Then I go to get Razz and I cant get her out of the water, lol.  She was just standing all 4 feet in water eating the little bit of grass showing under the snow.  Such a difference.

But I rode with Lu and Jessie was really good, did pretty much everything I asked really nice, she was so sweet, almost like she was saying sorry.  Its so hard to stay upset at her cause she is so nice.

Then today we headed into Brooks for Neil's Dad's birthday celebration and it was a good day.  Tomorrow we are heading to Olds for Easter Dinner.  Kinda hard for us to get away this time of year cause of the calving but we always try to get away for Easter, it gives us a break.