A Frosty December!

Winter has definitely touched down on the Oregon coast! With temperatures down into the teens (18 forecast for tonight) It was time to bring out lily's blanket and worry about the possible freezing of the pipes/auto waterer. She hasn't seen the blanket in about 8 months, so of course at first it was possibly a blue plaid horse eating creature. It is our third winter together and her third winter of being blanketed however, so she got over it pretty quickly. Yesterday I brought a plastic garbage can out to the barn and put it in her stall, filled it up and with help from my dad put hooks in the wall and used bungee cords to help prevent "accidental" tip overs. This afternoon when I went out, the auto waterers were turned off, but she hadn't drank from the garbage can (which has never had garbage in it by the way!) which concerned me a little. I'm sure the plastic container imparts a bit of a different taste from her slightly rusty metal auto waterer, although she had a plastic supplemental water container last year that she used just fine. It was a harder type of plastic though and maybe didn't give off as much of a plastic taste? I'm considering getting flavored electrolytes to add to her water if I find she's not drinking enough when I go out tomorrow. Has anyone else had any problems like this? Have you used flavored electrolytes to encourage your horse to drink more?

Horses, Mud and Mushrooms.................

Or is it toadstools??? Tune in Monday!

No Tricks And Lots Of Treats!

It's not quite Halloween yet but I just had to get some treats for my favorite filly! Since the weather has started to get a little soggy, I got Lily a new Himalayan salt lick and a Uncle Jimmy's Hanging ball (in apple flavor, yum) to help keep her occupied during stall time. I love the Himalayan salt licks because they are super hard and therefore last a really long time, the horse can't take a bite out of them like the softer mineral blocks and they come with a hole drilled in them and a small rope so you can tie them through the stall bars to keep them out of any horsey messes on the ground! I also got a few treats for myself because I just got the new Back In The Saddle catalog and they have such great stuff! I got two super cute T-shirts and an all weather hat (like an aussie oilskin hat) that I couldn't resist because I've been watching McLeods Daughters non stop. The shirt to the left is one that I ordered and so very true! What I actually need is good pair of boots and I really like the Ariat Legend western boot (pic below) but that's a treat that I'll have to save for Christmas!

5 Things I Love About My Horse

1. That velvety, snuffling muzzle

2. Her exquisite, uniquely equine scent

3. That low rumbly nicker when she sees me coming

4. Her complete devotion to carrots and Mrs. Pastures cookies

5. Her saucy trot and bucks when I turn her out in cool weather

I just love my horse! Every time I go to the barn, I always leave in a better mood than when I arrived. I love taking care of her, buying carrots, good hay, Stall Dry.......anything to make her life better makes me happy! I feel very blessed that I am able to have her in my life.

Farewell to Summer

Well summer is almost done. Here on the Oregon coast we tend to have a late burst of good weather, September is usually one of the most "summery" months for us and this year is no exception, we've had a beautiful couple of weeks and the temp even made it into the 80's (that's a heat wave for us lol) Perfect weather to turn Lily into a bathing beauty! She's not a huge bath fan, but now she's spiffy and all ready for that first coat of winter mud.

I had high hopes for this summer and getting Lily going under saddle. It didn't go exactly according to plan, but we're progressing. We'll go slow but steady this Fall/Winter and I hope to be able to introduce a little trail riding next summer!!

We had a huge blackberry crop this year too and next summer I'm going to try my hand at making some blackberry wine. Blackberry wine and maybe a sunset ride on the beach next summer??? Something to look forward to!

A Life Without Gizmo Would Suck Too

I will admit that this post has very little to do with my horse or any facet of horsemanship really, but a lot to do with one of my other favorite furry beasties, a cat named Gizmo who's nickname is Silver Paws.

I came across Gizmo aka silver paws when he was 6 weeks old and fell in love! At the time I couldn't take him because I was on my scooter and didn't feel safe about stuffing him in my back basket! The lady who had him assured me that she could keep him till the following Monday if I could take him then and I did!!!

This little cat has loads and loads of personality and is a total sweetheart on top of it. He's a mighty grasshopper stalker (yum, extra protein) and snatches an occasional bird (which I'm not thrilled about, but what can you do) But one of his favorite things to stalk are the turkey slices I occasionally give him, loves that turkey!

We live in the perfect location for the cats up a dead end gravel road with only 4 houses on it so the cats can stay out all day if they want although we always bring them in at night (we have coyotes and coons in the area). Giz loves to romp around the yard with his sisters and brothers ( 7 cats total......yikes!) He's also great at posing as you might have noticed. He's doing his best Lily impression in that saddle picture, the worlds first Team Penning cat perhaps? Perfect in every way that's my Giz!

Autumn

Maples wrapped in their brilliant best

Throw off those robes for winter rest

Leaves that whisper as they fall

Orange,red and gold enthrall

With crystal air and waning light

Autumn rustles into sight

The Saddle Pad Spun From Golden Thread........

Yep here it is. And I thought gold was supposed to be shiny (apparently it can take on the appearance of finely woven wool as well!) The Professionals Choice SMx Air Ride Saddle pad. The Cadillac of Saddle Pads? For $170+ dollars my horse's back had better feel like I'm sitting on a cloud! It was given to me by a friend (yes, I will love her for eternity) and I'm excited to try it, it's very important to me that Lily be as comfortable as possible when I ask her to cart me around, but I've never used one and is a saddle pad really worth that kind of money (especially when it isn't spun out of gold)!?! It's nice quality I must say and I love the color and pattern. Ultimately I guess I should just shut up and test my freebie (oh yeah I need to break my horse first hah!), but I would love to hear from anyone who has one of these pads or has ever used one. Is it worth the money or are you just paying for the Professionals Choice name?

Sunday Covergirl!

Today I managed an amazing feat, I was able to photograph a wily beast in one of her native habitats! How did I accomplish this you ask? Did I sneakily hide behind things then jump out and quickly snap said photos while she bolted for the hills? No no, it was more difficult than that as this beast is know as the Treat Snuffling Lily monster *gasp*. I took her into the arena with the intent of a photo session, but she follows me around as if she's on an invisible lead rope. I imagine I'm probably the most interesting thing in a dirt arena (snuff....is there a treat around here somewhere? snuff) so I finally grabbed a lunge whip and sent her off to see if I could capture an action shot. I actually really like this one (except there was dust on the lens!)
This next pic shows my savvy (hehheh) use of the lunge whip to keep her far enough away to get a decent shot. Lily's just thinking *snuff snuff* can I eat this??

And finally we have the inevitable "Could that possibly be a horse eating monster in the corner?!" shot. Oh wait........ is that a sparrow?? Whew!! You can never be too careful you know.

All in all I think I've finally progressed just a little in the digital photography department. I have a long long way to go, but the fact that I got the above action shot and it wasn't a blurry mess makes me very happy! Of course having such a lovely subject doesn't hurt either! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

My Top 5 : Horse Supply Websites

I love a good Tack/horse supply store, the smell of leather, the isles of horse related treasures. My longest running Tack and Supply love affair was Clayton Saddlery ( Clayton, CA, sadly gone forever)I was a constant customer for 5 years and I could spend hours, they had great stuff........ tack, brushes, books, breeches, cowboy boots, Mrs.Pastures cookies, Excaliber Sheath cleaner, you name it! Sadly, where I live now there are no fabulous horse emporiums to wile away the time, so I had to come up with a substitute. While I might have to conjure the scents from memory these Equine supply websites more than make up for it with a mind boggling selection of horse supplies, tack, gifts, DVD's and books! You can also sign up to receive catalogs on these sites and while that may seem unnecessary to some, I love catalogs and getting mail of the equine variety!

1. SmartPak Equine - Pre-measured and packaged supplements. Choose from 300 available supplements and have them individually pre-measured and sealed for your convenience. They can be automatically delivered every 28 days or hold the order to be shipped when you decide! Tons of other supplies, tack is for the English rider.

2. Dover Saddlery- Huge selection of items, tack is for the English rider.

3. Stateline Tack- Great selection and good prices for both the English and Western rider.

4. Horse Health USA- Great prices, huge selection of horse supplies including vaccines, but other than a headstall or two and a few girths, they do not sell tack.

5. Vally Vet Supply- Celebrating their 25th year. Huge selection (including vaccines) English and Western tack, great customer service.

I want more than a pasture pony!

Slower than molassas in January.....that's what our progress has been like in getting Lily started under saddle, due to me for the most part. I think horses are started too young in general so when I bought her as a two year old I never intended to start her under saddle until she was 3 years minimum. Well, her 4Th birthday has come and gone (April 11) and we still haven't quite gotten there. I've tacked her up, lunged etc. but I don't feel as unbreakable as I did when I started my QH gelding when I was 22. (plus I didn't really know what I was doing and got help later anyway). So I was planning on getting a trainer to come out and start her for me.

My first problem with this plan was finding a trainer nearby. I've lived in the area for over 2 years now but I have Lily in a very quiet, private non-show barn which has proven not to be a big help in finding a good trainer in the area. And then problem #2 reared it's ugly head...............the getting laid off/financial type ~insert scream of horror here~ I'm able to keep my horse in boarding and full of hay and carrots and the other necessities (although I give my own vaccinations now) but I can't really afford to send her off to a trainer for 6 months.

My horse is a groundwork champ compliments of my Stacy Westfall basic groundwork DVD, but I'm feeling a little stress because she's 4 and not under saddle, like I'm doing something wrong! I think I've read too much Fugly blog and I'm feeling like the bad horse owner who doesn't train her horse and then the horse ends up 12 years old, unbroken and going to the kill buyer (*reining in overactive imagination now*) I'll never let that scenario happen, but I have that guilty voice in my head saying got to get going, got to get going! Plus I really do want to ride my horse! I live in a beautiful area and the beach is 10 minutes away, I'm itching to get out on those trails. I'm feeling a bit frustrated right now and I'm not sure of an immediate solution. I guess I'll just have to chill out, not beat myself up over it and put money in the training jar until I either find a trainer that I can have come to us a couple of times a week or until I've saved enough to send her to someone ( yikes that should only take another 3 years or so) Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do?

Waiter, there are no flies in my soup..........they're all on my horse!

It's that time of year again, when those annoying little buzzing pests start dive bombing our equine buddies with incessant glee. I hate flies. I was pleasantly surprised when I first moved up to the Pacific Northwest from California. The flies here in Oregon were nothing compared to down there. I laughed and scoffed and thought hah, is that the best you little buggers can do? I think they might have heard my taunting because this year they seem to be out in record numbers!

I put a fly mask on Lily for the first time this year, which she took to readily and I broke out the fly spray, something that for the last two years I really didn't need (I guess they're making up for lost time sheesh) I've tried a lot of different fly sprays over the years, Tri-tec, Ultra Shield etc and this time around I really wanted to try somthing that was less harsh chemical and more natural so I tried Eqyss Marigold Fly Spray, it's botanical and smells nice but..........I think the flies are snickering because it doesn't seem to keep them at bay for long. I've heard that Avon's Skin So Soft is a great fly deterant and I've used it before on myself so I know it smells great, have any of you used this and if so how did it work? I've also seen a product by Absorbine called SuperShield Green that has Citronella, tea tree oil and witch hazel which I may try before going back to harsher products. What is your fly battle strategy? I'd love to hear about the products that work for you and your horse natural or not.

Things I Love Right Now!

This is going to be a new regular post of mine and may, sometimes *GASP*, have nothing to do with horses! It will be about something (as you may have gathered from the title) that I am loving at the moment (and sometimes forever) and it could be ANYTHING.............The thing I am loving right now is.............. The Coconut Hut! http://www.coconuthutbeauty.com/, Sometimes I'm referred to by my friends as the Coconut Cowgirl because I love all things coconut scented and I'm always on the lookout for great coconut smelling lotions, perfumes, sprays etc. I would occasionally run into a few things at a drugstore or Bath & Body Works and then I found the Coconut Hut online. They have their Beach Baby Perfume in the most luscious scents, from Coconut (of course) to Pumpkin Toffee Butter Cake, Banana cream pie, 7Up Bubbles and over a hundred more. There is literally something for everyone. They have a Sea Spray Body and Hair mist that is so light and refreshing for a quick scented pick me up and also a decadent whipped body souffle for silky smooth skin. Both the souffle and Sea Spray is infused with the scent of your choice! The service is great and the prices are reasonable. In fact if you hurry Beach Baby Perfume is on sale thru July for $7.50 for a 1 oz bottle! If you want to smell edible check them out!

This is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you............yeah right!

Horses are expensive, ask any loving horse owner and they will tell you it's true. Hay, supplements, farrier, board (if your not lucky enough to keep your horses at home), vet (the occasional online shopping spree at Dover Saddlery or Stateline Tack)...........all cost a considerable amount of the green stuff. The last time I had the vet out, just for shots , it cost me $115.00. I decided to check into the cost to buy and give routine vaccinations myself. Maybe a lot of you cost conscious horse owners are way ahead of me, but I was a little nervous about sticking that needle in! But what I found is that the same combo shot for Fall (S.Sickness,Tetanus,Flu and Rhino) from Valley Vet costs $21.49 and the Spring (Rhino and influenza) is $15.69. Yes, they have to ship overnight and that costs an additional $14.00, but even with those shipping fees ($28 if I order separately) I still save over $150.00 to give the shots myself! Was I nervous? Yes, but because the last two times the vet had given Lily a shot she had reacted in no way whatsoever I figured I wouldn't have a problem and I was right. Before I gave her a shot the first time I also checked out this video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSxegxets1k, it really helped! So do you give your own shots? Are you considering it to help cut costs in harder times? I'd love to hear about it.

The Mysterious Case Of The Missing Blogger.......

It was a dark and stormy night..........(I think all posts with Mysterious in the title should start like that!!)

.......and I love blogging, I think it's a great medium for all kinds of people to express themselves and share a little (or a lot) about what makes them tick, things that they love and their opinions in general. I have my favorites that I check in with everyday for a new post and when there isn't one I have to admit to my disappointment! I have fallen off the blogging wagon due to a few things (one being frustrations with photoghraphy) and while I don't have a huge following (hmmm due to the lack of posts perhaps??) I apologize to anyone who has checked in only to be disappointed! Thanks for checking and I am back (with Lily in tow)

Happy Easter!

First off I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Easter and apologise for not posting in quite some time! I'm going to get back on the blogging track because I really enjoy it and have many Lily antics to share! Please don't give up on me and check back soon!!



~How come the horse gets all the carrots??

Monday Musings

I wonder........

...If it will ever stop raining

...If Lily and I will finally be able to hit the trails this summer

...When I will remember to take the clippers out to the barn so

Lily can have a bridle path again!

...If it would be considered obsession if I watched Twilight again

(I mean I haven't seen it 20 times, yet)

...If I will feel guilty for watching Twilight again, when I could instead

spend extra time at the barn?!! (yes I did just get the Twilight DVD)

OK I do have Twilight on the brain at the moment but I will work through it!

I am actually more excited about the prospect of the coming summer and Lily

and I blazing the trails and hopefully hitting the beach (it's only about 4 miles away!)

Plus as much as I love Edward Cullen, the thought that he'd consider Lily a snack is a little disconcerting ; )

Spring Shower Overload!

I spent a very soggy morning running around getting hay for Lily. I'm glad that spring is here, the blooming flowers put a smile on my face and I love getting the garden plot ready for planting, but good lord all the rain! Although being that it's Oregon the way you tell it's spring is not the commencement of spring showers but the fact that the showers are a few degrees warmer. Time to dry out and have a nice steaming cup o' joe! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Channeling my inner farmer

I think I can safely say that spring is almost in the air (please oh please). It's especially easy to say on a day like today, which while not exactly warm, is gloriously sunny!! Earlier this week I bought seeds and earlier today I got out the trusty rotor tiller (yep, I really did) and tilled the garden plot! I am preparing for my foray into carrot farming! Seriously, my horse eats a lot of carrots. They are the "go to" treat of choice and while they don't really cost that much I'm finding that Lily goes through at least 3 bags a week (not even sure what they weigh, but the grocery store size bags) Soooo, why not plant a bunch and save even that little bit, plus know exactly what kind of chemicals (or hopefully none) that were used around them! Oh, and one of the best parts?? I have my own personal fertilizer factory!

Any produce gardeners out there with tips please share!

Lily, Invisible Monsters and the worst spa treatment ever

Life in the Pacific Northwest is generally a soggy affair. And as most horse owners know, horses + rain = mud. By some miracle the clouds decided to hold off when I went to the barn today and I decided to put Lily in an outdoor turnout. Maybe this was not my best idea ever. Did I mention it was really windy? You know...... the kind of wind that has your horse convinced that there is a big, hairy horse eating monster ready to pounce AT ANY MOMENT!!! I'll tell you, the walk from her stall to that turn out while in actuality is pretty short, seemed like a mile. We managed to get there though ( miraculously avoiding monsters of any kind) and I deftly unchained the gate,led Lily through and BAM........Super Spook (that monster must have had one of her legs in it's mouth) and she took off. The good part was she took off in the right direction..........into the paddock and not back out the gate. Also, she didn't trample me in the process (whew!). The bad part you ask?? Right inside the gate slightly to the right is a very large muddy lake (you may see where this is heading). When Lily took off I was still holding on to the lead rope about to remove her halter. Because of the mud and the downward slant of the ground, I slipped AND was pulled off balance (kind of like mud skiing) and kerplop right in the middle of the muck.
Lily calmed down pretty quickly and trotted back so I could remove her halter and lead (what a sweetheart ha) I swear I could hear her thinking.....Hey! You don't want me rolling around in this stuff , what do you think your doing?! I finished my horsey tasks covered with mud pretty much head to toe, all the while thanking God that no one had been around with a video camera! People say mud is rejuvenating right? Although I don't know about the addition of horse poop (yeah gross, but they do just eat grass and hay and stuff) and I think it's supposed to be warm! But I guess now I can save a few bucks and cancel my trip to Calistoga!