I’ve been rushing through horse stuff this week and not done much thanks to the rain. Just a couple of short rides and slogging through mud. That changed today.
I enjoy mud and grass.
I got a new de-shedding tool, which did its job so well on Drew I can tell he’s lighter this spring. I also cleaned both saddle pads and Apache’s cinch. I was impressed and actually enjoyed the cleaning. So satisfying.
This was solid hair before.
After rather unsatisfactory rides on both horses (we need our lessons to start again!) Sara came over to trim Drew and Apache’s feet. It’s good practice for her and more horse time for me.
Note clean white horse. He was not that way earlier in the week.
I managed to try the new tool on Dusty, who shed a good amount, too. It always makes him happy to get attention. Mabel got some curry combing but was not pleased when I tried to remove her mud balls.
Reminder of her muddiness. You can see the balls in her mane.
After stopping and starting multiple times I got MOST of the mud off. Guess what she did after I got her clean?
I rolled. Twice.
She seemed happy with herself. Actually, she had the best day of any of us.
I got to watch Apache get his feet done. I got to watch Drew get his feet done, too. I was fascinated!
I always love petting and loving on the horses when they get their trims. So much love, nibbles, and warm breath. And with Mabel “helping,” Drew, Patchy, and I got even more love than usual.
Is my blade of grass sexy?Shh. I’m napping. Behold, we are clean buddies!
It’s nice to see everyone clean and happy. Well, Fiona was hiding behind us, trying to get at Haggard’s bull treats, so she didn’t get groomed. I did get her on Tuesday, though.
I’m glad I was up to all this, because I was pretty sickly yesterday. I MUST remember to go east of fried food!
The end
But it’s okay. The horses always make a day better, even when riding hurts my dang toe. it’s gonna be a while healing, since dogs keep stomping on it and I keep falling into holes in fields.
I’ve been rushing through horse stuff this week and not done much thanks to the rain. Just a couple of short rides and slogging through mud. That changed today.
I enjoy mud and grass.
I got a new de-shedding tool, which did its job so well on Drew I can tell he’s lighter this spring. I also cleaned both saddle pads and Apache’s cinch. I was impressed and actually enjoyed the cleaning. So satisfying.
This was solid hair before.
After rather unsatisfactory rides on both horses (we need our lessons to start again!) Sara came over to trim Drew and Apache’s feet. It’s good practice for her and more horse time for me.
Note clean white horse. He was not that way earlier in the week.
I managed to try the new tool on Dusty, who shed a good amount, too. It always makes him happy to get attention. Mabel got some curry combing but was not pleased when I tried to remove her mud balls.
Reminder of her muddiness. You can see the balls in her mane.
After stopping and starting multiple times I got MOST of the mud off. Guess what she did after I got her clean?
I rolled. Twice.
She seemed happy with herself. Actually, she had the best day of any of us.
I got to watch Apache get his feet done. I got to watch Drew get his feet done, too. I was fascinated!
I always love petting and loving on the horses when they get their trims. So much love, nibbles, and warm breath. And with Mabel “helping,” Drew, Patchy, and I got even more love than usual.
Is my blade of grass sexy?Shh. I’m napping. Behold, we are clean buddies!
It’s nice to see everyone clean and happy. Well, Fiona was hiding behind us, trying to get at Haggard’s bull treats, so she didn’t get groomed. I did get her on Tuesday, though.
I’m glad I was up to all this, because I was pretty sickly yesterday. I MUST remember to go east of fried food!
The end
But it’s okay. The horses always make a day better, even when riding hurts my dang toe. it’s gonna be a while healing, since dogs keep stomping on it and I keep falling into holes in fields.
I’m always being warned by people wiser than me that I should expect ups and downs with Drew and Apache. Monday was a big down for Apache, with his difficulty settling down.
And I’d been concerned that I’d messed up with little Droodles, too. But today was extra encouraging. He came up and asked to go out. He was rewarded by a chance to do more “mowing” and enjoy the removal of excess hair. He’s looking good.
I’m playful, too!
I wish I had a picture of him standing there watching me and Apache when I groomed him. He is really looking like a healthy horse.
I look like a healthy Bull!
As for Apache, he was back to his new normal today. He jumped great going left and medium going right. And he cantered up a storm in the round pen, looking happy.
These flowers made me happy. The dewberries smell great.
Our ride was just great, too. We did a bunch of the things in the Trail test just fine. I was so pleased. Lee said all he heard while working on the RV was “good boy, Patchy!” I did say it a lot. I am not so concerned about the show this weekend. We will get lots done tomorrow and Friday, and he will have fun.
I had fun breathing on Suna, gluing myself to her, and trying to eat the eggs. She wouldn’t let me.
And in honor of International Woman’s Day, here’s our girl Mabel, leaving her leftovers to her buddy Apache.
I had a philosophical post about aging all planned, but I’ve had such a nice day, that I’ll just say how glad I am to be 65 years old, alive, healthy, and able to enjoy life.
I’m still full of potential.
I spent my whole officially old birthday doing whatever I wanted to. I spent the morning chatting with the men of the house and giving myself hippie fingernails. I earned them by surviving the 60s.
I enjoyed the flowers Lee got me that I arranged to look about as tie dye as my nails.
Colored baby’s breath cracked me up.
Then I spent an afternoon horsing around. What fun it was. I was just Sara’s helper as she did recording of her horses doing their Q1 Virtual Show. I enjoyed helping groom them.
So much pretty hair.
It was fun watching Aragorn do cool stuff, but more fun watching future mama Sully try her best to open gates and deal with that darned flag. But by gum, she trotted through the slalom like a dream. And she gave me a gift! I got to feel the foal move inside her! It was so cool.
It was helping her with her shows.
On the way home we got birthday ice creams, which was sweet. What a good afternoon. But it wasn’t over, because I then got Drew going and we had a fine ride! After that, he kindly mowed the grass where the mower can’t reach. He is such a cutie.
MmmmowingI’m so darn cuteTired from mowing
So what if I’m old? I had a great dinner with an amazing ice cream cake for dessert, and enjoyed the gifts of family and friends today! Look at all these “gifts!”
Butterflies! Horses!Brother-in-law and VlassicFlowersDonkeys! Marlys (from Anita)Life!!
After a year and a half, our Mabel has crawled out of her shell, gotten into shape, and started to act like a real horse, not a sick, frightened shadow. I’m so happy for her to have possibilities of a healthy, productive life. Wow. I’m having trouble expressing how much today meant to me.
Voluntarily being touched
She’s been through injuries, illnesses, and emergencies since Kathleen rescued her and I started helping out. She was so thin and sad. She’s not fat now, but she has muscles and is interested in life around her. And here’s the thrill: she let Jackie do bodywork on her!
Sure, you can massage me.
Jackie was so gentle with Mabel that she completely win her over. With every move, Jackie asked Mabel’s permission and she kept saying yes. Her neck got stretched, her back got worked on, and even her legs and feet were rubbed and lifted. Mabel was gracious and calm. Just wow.
I trust this human.
Mabel is learning that humans can make her feel good. She already knew her farrier makes her feet feel better, and now she knows Jackie makes her body feel good. This way, if she needs more intense stuff later, she can trust that good stuff will follow. I’m grateful that Mabel is getting treated so well!
I believe you won’t hurt my leg.
After the session was over, Mabel even stayed with us a while. She felt safe! I can see potential in Mabel now. Even her back is looking stronger, like she can be ridden again at some point. It’s been worth the time and money to see her improvement.
What about me?
Yes, Drew and Apache got worked on, too, and both are improving. Drew needs to stretch his legs frontward and Apache needs to stretch backwards. Huh. Drew got lots of deep work done and found it very relaxing.
Aah
Apache was more alert, because he was watching bulls and trucks, but he seemed happy. He is really improving in his conformation. I’m proud of the old guy!
I can stand straight. I just don’t want to!
He is a delight to me, just knowing how hard we’ve both worked and how far we’ve come. I’m happy to keep getting him worked on to continue the progress his whole team of helpers have enabled him to make!
Looking at cows. Listening to Jackie.
I wish I was as good to my own body as I am to the horses. I could use some bodywork! But I do have eye doctor and dentist appointments in March. And maybe the cough will go away someday.
It’s been a while since I updated you on my teen horse Drew. (Teen in horse years; he’s 4.5.) I was worried that he wasn’t going to do very well, since between weather, travel, and illness, he hasn’t done much work.
That’s okay. I just want food and Mabel to run with. That’s his food he spilled on the ground.
Today was the first time I’d had an in-person lesson in a long time. I just took Drew, because I knew preparing two horses to go would tax my breathing. Luckily, he was so good that I ended up enjoying grooming all his shedding hair off and I didn’t cough much.
I got him all shiny.
I was looking at him and noticed he’s getting more muscles in his neck and chest. His tail has grown, too. And he’s mentally better as well. He handled trailering well today.
Stopping on a dime.
As you can see, Tarrin rode him a lot, but I was able to do his ground work except when she had a little chat with him about keeping his head down and being in control. Wow. When he paid attention his footwork was beautiful.
Turning
He worked very hard, even though he mostly walked. He was walking with good form, which takes energy. He was breathing hard and looked so sweet. He really tries.
I’m trying in more ways than one
I did get to ride, though, and it was so good to have some coaching and affirmation that I’m doing the right things with him. Tarrin even said he’s improved in some ways!
Must I turn?
He even leg yielded well for me. I was pleased that I held up long enough to accomplish things, and managed not to get sunburned, too. I’m glad I remembered to wear a shirt with sleeves.
Good boy.
Like I said, getting confirmation that I’m on the right track was really helpful. I got the same for my health issues, too, when one of my friends who happens to be trained as a physician’s assistant offered to go over my symptoms and share some things she found about bird-related illnesses.
This, and Fiona, cheered me up.
She pointed out how rare the chicken-related illnesses are, and that my lack of fever helps tule them out. Her guess is that what I inhaled triggered an asthma-like reaction in my lungs, which may not deteriorate since I got the antibiotics in. She also told me how to most effectively use the inhaler, which no one had done before. All in all, I feel less worried. It sure is nice when people offer to help like that!
Speaking of chicken issues, either Henley or Billie laid a dud egg today!
I do plan to wear dust masks around chicken poop and hay, for sure. But I feel less concerned.
Now I’ll move on to my next concern, which is job related. I’ll be fine no matter what happens.
Today was fun until it wasn’t. I mostly practiced Tunisian crochet, thanks to a little book called Tunisian Crochet Workshop that I found on Kindle for free. It has good photos and clear instructions, so I was able to get through a bunch of different stitches on a sampler.
Left to right, Tunisian double crochet, extended stitch, mesh stitch, reverse stitch, knit stitch, purl stitch, and simple stitch.
Simple stitch is the standard. The other ones I liked were knit, mesh, and extended. Reverse is icky. Good thing purl is similar. Anyway, now I know some stitches.
Woof woof.
I spent some time today enjoying the dogs. I always hear them in the backyard barking. I realized they were barking at cows, but today I got proof that it’s fun for all involved.
Those cattle are having fun!
The dogs bark, the mamas paw the ground, and the calves bounce up and down, trying to play. It’s so much fun to watch!
All the dogs were involved. 6 canines and 4 bovines.
Alfred didn’t want me too close to the scary cows. When he realized I was approaching, he got between me and the action and herded me back. What a sweetie.
Ima keep you safe.
I wish Alfred had been there to protect me later. I’m having a lot of awkward moments. Yesterday I hurt my shoulder tossing saddles around. Today Drew and I got entangled in a rope and both fell down! That could have been a lot worse. He got clover stains and I hit my head and hand. No one bled.
No photos of the accident, so here are my cute Black History Month nails.
I managed to get Drew saddled and we did all our stuff just fine, so I guess we weren’t hurt too badly. But when he was free, he sure rolled a lot. Thankfully, Apache is still calm and cool, so I managed to do fine with him. I’m so grateful for him. And glad Drew is forgiving.
Tomorrow I shall spend time in the hot tub. I need it.
I enjoyed hanging out with my friends last night, and was up bright and early for some Saturday morning fun. Lynn and Don took me to breakfast at a pretty and sophisticated place called Stella, with farm-to-table deliciousness. The grits and biscuits were great, as was the pecan coffee. I took photos of the decor to show to our rustic renovators in the family.
Ladder lampMore rustic lamps
After the food fortified us, my friends took me over to Texas A&M University, a place I’d never really seen, even though I’ve lived nearby for years and even renovated a house in College Station. First we visited the very fancy Brookshire Brothers grocery store near the football stadium. This was not at all like the sad place in Cameron.
It has beer on tap and a coffee bar. Plus there’s a stage! There was nicer food, too. I got some wine and a weirdly delicious strawberries and cream Dr Pepper.
Everything in this place says 12 or Aggie. They are fond of the 12th Man. It’s a tradition.
Well, I am incapable of describing this school, its fans, or its lore, but I can describe excellent gardens. I was so happy that the next stop on my tour was a teaching garden that’s being developed on campus. This place is worth a visit if you’re ever nearby. It was fun discovering signs of spring in the series of different theme areas.
Views of the Leach Teaching Gardens
I spotted so many wildflowers growing that I could just imagine how this place will look in a few weeks. So many bluebonnets! But I found blooming trees and other plants hiding in nooks and crannies. All the pansy blossoms were a bonus!
One rose was bloomingMm. Texas mountain laurelQuinceMexican plumAggie colored bluebonnetLargest post oak in the area Blossoms and beasts
I want to go back here and bring more friends.
Next I got a tour of the campus, which features many, many state-of-the-art athletic facilities, as you’d expect from an SEC university. Athletics rule. I also got to see some of the interesting older buildings hiding among the bland 70s buildings and a gorgeous new central campus park. It’s good to drive around a school on a weekend! I got no photos because I was busy looking.
I got out here, though.
Our final stop was the Bush Library, where Don volunteers. We didn’t go in, but I’ll go back later (been meaning to). There are always interesting exhibits. My favorite part of the grounds is this statue of horses breaking down the Berlin Wall. I’m not sure why there are horses, but the wall is cool. It has graffiti copied from the real wall. A moving tribute to some of the contributions George HW Bush made.
Bush Sr.
I appreciated this tour! I now feel like I know the area much better. But I needed to go home and visit my precious animals.
We are precious.
I’m relieved to say things are getting better with the horses after a rough re-entry. I’m slowly getting them back into their routine. Drew was a little squirrelly earlier, but today he got down to business after I made it clear he needs to focus.
I’m taking advantage of my teen status.
Apache, in the other hand, has become so consistent! I’m so proud of him. He pays attention to what I ask and just seems like he is having fun with me.
He’s a good boy.
I’m relieved I’m feeling better about these guys, though I don’t think either is ready for a virtual show this quarter. Drew and I sucked last time and I still haven’t had any experience or guidance doing dressage with Apache. I think I’ll work on next quarter and take my time with my equine boys.
I’d like his foodExcuse me, I’d LIKE his foodLook at us getting along. I like Apache’s food. Do you like my decorative mud balls?Mabel looks better from a distance This is her friendliest distance.
I’m not sure what I can do with Mabel. She is sweet but doesn’t like contact. I hope someday the decorations on her mane will fall off! I’d love to groom her but don’t want to stress her out. We will see.
Let’s also see if I can get back into my rhythm. I started a new craft, so that’s a good sign. Here’s the first Tunisian crochet I ever did correctly.
I had a pretty free Saturday, so I split it between fun with yarn and fun with horses. The yarn post will be tomorrow. Today is my day to bask in my relationship with the horses.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Apache this week, mostly just hanging out with him. It really pays off, I think, because he’s so much more relaxed, yet interested in doing things lately.
Looking at his friends, but happy with me.
He seems to look forward to jumping and cantering. He seems practically athletic when we do groundwork. He looks strong and fit, not chubby and weak. I’m so happy for that.
Let’s go!!
Riding was fun. He informed me in his horsey way that my new square setup is too close to the trailer. When he stopped, I saw that he had noticed our reflection in the shiny part of the trailer front. Well, I had to agree he had a point. That looked weird.
That other horse and human look funny.
I finally, finally can relax when I ride and just focus on what we’re doing. It makes such a difference! My legs are relaxed. My arms are relaxed. I’m giving easy signals and Apache responds. He’s also relaxed, as you can see.
A relaxed horse and his cone. He stopped right there and didn’t move.
After we rode, I must have spent ten minutes just petting and talking to him, and he seemed to want to stay. Eventually Fiona indicated she was hungry, so we went in.
I got to hang out with the calves!
Drew hinted that he wanted to do something so I lunged him. He wasn’t at all into it. That was odd. I think he’s in some discomfort from playing too hard with Fiona and Dusty. Fiona had blood on a cut and Drew had some (of hers) on his neck. There is much kicking going on. So I relaxed and just spent time doing what he wanted to do, which was get his itchy head scratched. It was quite cute.
These guys wanted attention, too. It’s a new batch of young cattle.
I was all warm and fuzzy by the time we had some visitors. It was fun watching Sara’s granddaughter enjoy Fiona and Vlassic while we discussed hooves. Then the guest got to see all the dogs, which delighted her. What an animal lover she is!
I’m sure glad I had the chance to follow the leads of my horses and relax today. Oh, and by the way, no one has touched yesterday’s scary hay. I love my equine buddies.
Moody morning Weaving progressRode Drew outside the round pen for the first time. Amazing sunset from College Station Costco parking lot. Dallas Cowboys manicure.
The Hermits' Rest 