You’ve probably read that I’ve been having some trouble with my Paint horse, Apache, and having him not responding well, with him having an abscess, etc. it’s seemed like two steps forward and one step back. One reason I got Drew is to have a horse I can enjoy riding without struggle.
I’m a good guy!
Now that we have everyone over at our place, I wanted to try riding Apache here. But I did some tests on him.
I started the day with the horses by just walking him around in his little pasture. I wanted to see what Drew would do. He followed us around curiously. So, I took the halter off Apache and put it on Drew. He walked with me just great! He had very good manners. Apache followed, but didn’t force his way between us. It was great!
I was good.
After a hot afternoon of raking huge piles of grass and putting them in the front-end loader’s bucket (don’t ask why), Kathleen and I wanted to ride. I warmed Apache up on a nice long lead, and he was okay, not great. But still, I put his saddle on, in addition to his pretty new side pull bridle.
I’m all dressed up now.
While we waited for Kathleen to get help with her persnickety old saddle, I got on and rode Apache around, to see how he would do. Um. Wow. He was fantastic.
Happy human and horse. Note I do have my helmet on.
We rode over by the cows, checked out the pond, crossed the driveway, and really bothered the poor dogs. But wow, he did so well. He didn’t act upset or nervous. He then stood quietly at least ten minutes while I talked to Kathleen and Dusty.
I had fun, too.
Fiona was also good. When Kathleen and I were out, she didn’t act up or run like a crazed ass. And she came right in when we were done.
I was proud of Apache for helping Dusty and Kathleen figure stuff out, but at one point he’d had enough of mosquitoes and did not want to keep going. I listened to him and got off. He was so happy and friendly and good.
I’m looking forward to my chiropractor experience tomorrow!
We both seem relaxed and happy. Plus, Drew was calmer this evening, too. We are all making progress. I was almost in tears after the ride. I have my horse back, and my new fellow is a real peach.
PS: we watched Apache and Remington mutually grooming for a long time this afternoon. It’s just so nice to see how well all these equines are adapting to their new surroundings and herd. Sometimes things actually work out well! All good.
I’d been waiting a long time to get Apache and Fiona on our property, so I can hang out with them more. What with the three new horses this week and all the work getting things ready, it’s been busy around here, but today topped them all! Everyone agrees this was the busiest day we remember. Lucky for us, there was also fun.
I mean, who couldn’t have fun in THIS get-up?
Before I could go get my guys, a few things had to be finished, so I got drafted from my heat recovery reverie to finish mowing Apache’s grazing area as far down as possible. I do believe that was my first riding lawnmower work, but I did good, and apparently the tractor made me look sexy (musical reference).
My fine mowing on left, what it was before, on the right.
Finally, recharged with Gatorade, I walked over one last time to the other horse pens. Speaking of exercise, I got over 16,000 steps today. Six miles, not counting horseback. Anyway, we loaded Apache with his hay net and lead rope, and put Fiona’s halter on so she could carry it. Sara tied it up real well.
They have no idea they’re moving to new pastures.
I rode Apache and Fiona followed, in her own fashion. Sara opened the gate for us and waved farewell. Sniff. She promised to keep feeding Big Red for me. But, now the paddock can rest and recover, so it’s all good.
I was proud of how Apache did fine passing a lawn mower, barking dogs, and hidden scary objects, but one thing concerned him. There’s something near the mailbox for the cabin that reflected brightly and made him stare. But, eventually we made it to our property and I turned them out.
Home at last.
After eating a bit, Drew called to them, so they went over to meet him. It was a very successful meet and greet.
You’re okay, so are you, and you, too.
Meanwhile, Remington and Dusty were getting saddled up, so I guess everyone wasn’t too tired to ride. (I was, but I wasn’t about to miss any fun!) Drew did not like being in his pen, and got all worked up. He knocked down his temporary gate and went charging around. Luckily, I’d just decided to close the exit gate, just in case.
So, while Kathleen rode around happily on Dusty, I held on the Remington while we made the executive decision to put Drew in with Apache and Fiona. I have no photos, but they got along okay, once Apache kicked Drew to establish his dominance. Still, Drew ran and ran. You know, why not? The poor guy hadn’t had many opportunities to run around before.
Lee took this nice picture of me. I’m all covered up because I’d been in the sun all day.
When Kathleen got off, she said I ought to ride Dusty. So, I clambered into the Western saddle, grabbed the split reins, and walked and trotted around, mostly watching Remington, who had some issues.
Yee haw.
Dusty was fine, and eventually we had a nice time out looking at stuff with Remington, who had learned his lesson. He will be lots better after the chiropractic work on Monday.
There is a lot of tack on this horse.
By the time we were done with riding and putting things away, everyone was tired, even Lee, who helped a lot in the frantic preparations.
Horseback chatting. Thanks to Lee for the pictures!
Kathleen and I both took soothing baths tonight. We both got a lot of sun. I will be ok, I did have sunscreen on. She’s really red, but is a good tanner. Whatever, I bet we are out again tomorrow, even if we are sore.
What a day of fun and new things! When I checked the horses in the evening, all four plus Fiona were peacefully grazing. No one was running around!
Here’s the surprise I’ve hinted at. After I got Andrew, Kathleen went to a horse rescue place and came home with two fine buckskin gentlemen, Remington (7) and Dusty (13).
Dusty, Remington, and Drew
When they got back with the new guys (who have all their shots and were checked out by a vet), they all said “hay” to each other and were fine. When they were let out together the next day, nothing but friendship ensued (and gentle nips). That was a good surprise.
Buddies.
Remington is a perfect quarter horse type. He’s really beautiful. He needs work on his neck, so Trixie is looking at him Monday. (She will look at them all.) but whoa, he can do stuff, potentially.
Mr Fancy
Dusty is older, very gentle, and will be a great guest horse. He used to be an elderly man’s horse, and was well loved. He loves carrots, and used to have the nickname Bunny. Aww. He likes to chew, too.
Dusty has two white socks.
We’ve spent most of today with these three, walking, learning, and having nice baths. That was fun!
Clean baby.
Much of the rest of the day we got the stalls and pasture ready for Apache. I even had to mow. I meant I got to mow.
On the left is Apache’s low grass.
Now Apache will have little grass just like he needs. Whew. We were outside all day!
I think Drew, my new colt, is annoyed with me. He had to go to the vet today, and I don’t think it was his favorite experience so far. He is really glad to be home.
Home at last.
It took us forever to get to the vet, who was in Waco, because we were behind a wind turbine propeller. Wow, it was slow. Thankfully, it stopped for a minute and we got past it.
Moving roadblock.
The vet place was nice, an all-equine practice. I was too busy paying attention and hoping Drew wouldn’t be too traumatized to take pictures, but I took a lot of notes! Here’s what I learned:
Drew is 14.1 hands high. That’s short, but he should end up about 15 hands, which is just fine. (A hand is 4 inches, and height is measured from the top of their shoulder, not their head.)
He is right at 3 years old, so I decided his birthday will be July 1.
Drew is not a red roan. He will be gray at adulthood. It will be so fun to watch him change!
He needs high-protein feed.
His facial features are a star on his forehead and a snip on his nose.
He is healthy as a…you know what.
He has a great face.
The people at the vet place were all so nice. A friendly old vet and a really helpful technician who gave me lots of helpful information. I sure appreciated it! Drew did not appreciate three shots, one nasal spray, and oral wormer. That’s why he’s pissed off.
Nice place
I enjoyed talking to some folks when I checked out, then we headed back, making better time. We had a fun stop at the Rosebud Feed and Seed. It’s a cute place and has its own brand of feed! We also found the brand of high-protein feed the vet tech recommended there, too.
It’s also fairly local!
By the time we got home, we were all wiped out. Poor Drew didn’t want to leave the trailer until Chris cowboyed him out. Now he is very happy with both grass and space to run.
New horse love
What about my other precious beloved equines? Well, now that Andrew is vaccinated and wormed, I can bring Apache and Fiona here! That excitement should commence tomorrow. Sara sure is glad, so the paddock can rest until Aragorn arrives.
This has fulfilled a prediction both Kathleen and I had made. You may remember that when Kathleen found out about Goldie, she was told Goldie was infertile, so of no use to the previous owners, who’d wanted to breed her. We don’t need puppies, so we were happy to take on a giant sweetie pie.
Bonus photo of Drew getting along with Vlassic just fine
Yesterday, I saw blood on the floor and thought yet another dog had cut itself on some random ranch hazard. But, later, Lee texted that “Goldie had started her period.” Oh my! She’s not infertile, she was just slow to mature, like a giant dog tends to be. That’s why we are giving her puppy food! It might also be that she was too thin to go into heat; who knows?
No more photos of blood! We’ve got it all under control, though, and we can get her spayed when this is over with (no, we do not want any giant hybrid puppies and are glad we know no intact make dogs). She’s being very clean, and all the other dogs are quite respectful of her.
The sun sets on Goldie’s childhood.
In other news, it just keeps raining. We’re supposed to take Drew to the vet in Waco today, so I sure hope it calms down soon. Mud is being produced! The weather has been great for mushrooms, though!
Big ole mushrooms
At least yesterday wasn’t too rainy, so I got to spend good time with Drew. We walked around the field, and of course he pooped on the driveway. Ah horses. He matched my every step, so I tried running a bit, and he trotted daintily along beside me. His trot is so pretty. It was a really happy time for me.
We were very coordinated yesterday. He is always looking at a dog.
And in other good news, we should be able to bring Apache and Fiona over to where Andrew is, so they can make friends and try out the stalls. I’m very excited about that. Crossing my fingers about the rain issue, but hey, the rain brings out a lot of cool insects, like giant walking sticks!
Lee’s hand is for scale.
Hoping you have a fun day, and that you like surprises. We may have more over here at the Hermits’ Rest!
Hungry. That’s how he is. Poor Andrew must have felt like he was in Heaven when he realized he was in a pen full of grass. As you can see in the photo below, he definitely mowed his pen quickly (photo was at 8:30 am).
Excuse me, I’d like more grass.
A second makeshift pen was quickly created for him, so now he has more grass to nosh on. I’m gonna bring him a bale of hay in a bit, just in case he needs it.
I need a little meat on my bones.
He’s got to grow, so he needs food! He has his veterinarian appointment tomorrow, so we will ask them what kind of food would be best for him, and I’m sure Trixie will have some ideas, too, when she sees him next week.
No more mud in my hair!
I had an hour between meetings, and since he’s right near the house, I was able to groom him a little. I got the mud off his mane and tail, and most of his legs, using extra tools we had at Sara’s (and I told her all about Drew when we met this morning to move Apache and feed him). Grooming was more difficult than it could have been because of his new best friend, Goldie.
What are you doing? Can I join you?
Goldie just thinks it’s cool to know a dog even bigger than herself, I think, and Drew is fine with her (he grew up with dogs). It’s just hard to groom with the dog running around.
I just wanna PLAY!
So, we are all having fun and getting acclimated. Meanwhile, Barbara the hen is still sticking with us, and getting around pretty well. The other chickens seem fine with each other, too, so maybe I’ll have more eggs soon!
Have a good day, and remember to focus on what’s good in your life; that often lets you handle your challenges with much more grace.
Now that we will be able to have horses at the Hermits’ Rest, Kathleen and I have been looking for horses. She has found one, and we get him Friday. More on that later. I wanted a sound, calm older horse that was not too pricey to take lessons on. I was not in a hurry, but looking around. But today, Kathleen saw an ad for a nice looking horse in Cuero.
Not bad looking
He was in my price range and was not bad looking. So, my nephew the horse trader talked to the owner, who had owned the colt (age 3) since he was really little and trained him. The conversation went well, so I canceled my afternoon meetings and hopped in the truck, trailer in tow, to check the young horse out.
A wet little horse.
We met the owner and followed him deeper and deeper into the countryside. It really is one of the prettiest parts of Texas, with huge oaks, rolling hills, and fine ranches. However, the horse was not in a fancy place; more like a mud pit. He was obviously loved, but not fed enough. He is thin and narrow.
Skinny boy
Poor baby. I’m lucky that the nephew trained horses in another life and knows what to look for. After he inspected the colt, he asked the owner to ride him. That’s always a good plan. That went well. So I got on him next.
Caution. Don’t ride without a helmet or where you can’t reach the stirrups.
I managed to get on without a riding block, which shows you he’s not very tall. Yay. And we had fun riding around, even though it was rather muddy. He was so easy to move and so responsive. Wow. I didn’t feel worried at all, even though I could not reach the stirrups. What a good boy.
A neighbor visited
To test his calm demeanor, a large pet pig wandered over to say hi. The horse paid attention to me and not the commotion. I was sold at that point.
We like each other.
So, after the mandatory country guy bonding and storytelling, we got the horse for less than advertised, and well within my budget. We let the horse, formerly called Blue, even though he is a red roan, eat as much grass as he wanted. He deserved it.
Finally I put my gaudy blue halter and lead on him, and declared him to be my colt, Andrew. Or Drew, which at least rhymes with Blue and will sound familiar. He’s named for my dad’s father, Andrew Kendall. (I once had a donkey named Oscar, after my mom’s father. Tradition. )
I’m not interested in this halter.
Into the trailer he went, and we wound our way out of the rural Cuero area (by the way, Drew lived on Kendall Road!), and headed back to the ranch. I’m sure grateful I had help with this! Horse buying is not for the faint of heart, and this feels like a rescue.
I resent that you stopped for snacks and didn’t give me anything.
I’m excited to work with Drew, get him to a healthy weight, and learn with him. And I’m glad Apache will have a friend to hang out with! Now I have a new buddy and can concentrate on developing a good relationship with him.
But first he goes to the veterinarian and gets checked out!
Well, I’m back where I was a few months ago, but with a healthy horse to ride. Sara isn’t here for a few days, but I wanted Apache to keep getting the exercise he’d been getting lately, so he will have more muscle and less fat.
I have no pictures of me riding, so here is a picture of the big dogs swimming.
So, this evening I went out to release Apache from the dry pen and took his beautiful groomed self out in the round pen for a lot of trotting. That’s also good for his muscle building.
Yep. That fencing is moving right along.
Then, well, I got on, even though I hadn’t done so since the winter, when we had our last scary ride. Luckily, this ride went pretty well. He did his thing where he tried to turn around, but not too many times. After that, it was a nice ride.
We have the pretty yellow flowers of the water primrose again around the pond.
Apache and I even walked by the two younger cattle dogs and a bunny with no issues. It’s so good to have him feeling good and focusing on what we are doing. Maybe I do have a future learning more with him.
Hey. We’re still here.
Also, for your information, Fiona is also being a superstar. I no longer have to go get her and halter her when we’re done riding or exercising. I call her, and she meanders my way. I stick my hand out with a treat in it, and she happily follows me. My stress levels are so low now with these guys.
And that’s really how I’m back in the saddle again. Just having fun with my animal buddies.
[Somehow, most of this post got deleted when I went to publish it before. THIS is the real story!]
I’m excited to have permission to share this story! Yesterday I got to head out to a horse breeding and training facility in our area to visit Sara’s new love interest, a large Andalusian gelding named Aragorn. She met him last week and instantly bonded with him.
True love. (He has sweat marks from being ridden)
It’s a beautiful property, and we were surprised to see a beautiful colt on the road, prancing and dancing like a fairy animal. We said we bet he wasn’t supposed to be there. Sure enough, Glenn, the ranch owner, came running up to get the little guy. He was back in and coming into the barn to eat dinner by the time we got in.
That’s the culprit at right.
All the mares and foals just walk in and line up in stalls to be fed. All so well trained, and the foals were very friendly.
Dinner time!
Aragorn’s current owner bred him, so knows his history. Glenn told us lots about him and was very honest about why he is relatively affordable for a very well-bred European breed. He coughs when anxious, for example.
Getting ready to ride. These horses start our some other color, then turn gray. He looks like he was originally chestnut, like one of the colts above.
Once he got all saddled and we learned a lot about appropriate bits, Trixie showed up, and we watched Sara get a lesson in riding in the style Aragorn is used to. Sara is such a quick learner that I could tell Glenn was having fun telling her stuff and watching her figure out exactly what to do.
Teaching and learning
And, obviously, Sara had a blast as well. I got a lot of photos of the lesson that I’m going to send to her just to study her positioning and stuff, but my favorite pictures have to be the ones of Glenn gesturing, Sara working, and the two dogs who are exactly the color of the dirt, just sat and watched.
This may be my favorite
Just in case you are interested in what Aragorn can do, here are a few more pictures to click or ignore. To be honest, I just like looking at the beautiful setting of this ranch and its facilities. They are nice but not insanely fancy or anything. It’s “just right.”
Learning and enjoying her future friend.
Trixie has known Glenn a long time, but even she said she was learning some things watching him show Sara things, explaining the origin of the moves in Western dressage, and sharing history of equestrian sports. It was fascinating. And he is such a nice and generous man!
You can see the other geldings behind Sara. They were annoyed that their dinner was delayed.
The Amazing Part of the Story
After the “test drive” in Sara’s tack, we were just talking to Glenn. She asked if he did private lessons, and he said he hadn’t before, since he just retired from being an ER physician. Sara sat on Aragorn for a minute, thinking. Then she asked him, “Were you an ER physician in College Station 21 years ago?” He replied that he was.
When we were chatting (sorry for bad lighting)
She then asked if he remembered a blue roan paint colt named X that he trained. He didn’t quite remember, but said he could look it up. Sara said that was her colt she’d raised to work with before she married her children’s father. She mentioned her married name, and Glenn said that did sound familiar. So, we are pretty sure they met all that time ago when Sara had her precious colt that she had to later sell. Wow!
Back to Work
After we got over our surprise, Trixie got to work and adjusted the heck out of Aragorn. Just like with my horses, he ended up extremely relaxed. It’s always extra educational watching her work with a horse and diagnose where it has structural weaknesses and what could help it. Sara took a lot of notes.
Working on his neck
Meanwhile, I bonded with the dog and looked at all the other beautiful horses. I had no complaints whatsoever, and took lots of pictures of how they arranged their tack house, their tying mechanism and such, for reference when we get to setting up our new one.
Woof the guard dog has been busy guarding. He is very friendly to humans, though.
I knew Sara would like some “glamour shots,” so we went out and took some, even though Aragorn still had the sweat marks from her saddle pad. He is obviously fond of her already. They really had an instant bond, like he’d been waiting his whole life for her to show up.
A whole lotta love
At the end of the day, we all got to go take a look at the young stallion who was in the paddock next to Aragorn. He is most beautiful, like someone’s dream horse. They are hoping he will have a baby soon from a mare that was brought in to be bred.
I’m doing my trick. Where’s my food?
He’s been trained that he has to stand on that stump to get dinner, because he used to be pushy about his food. He was not thrilled that his food didn’t immediately show up, but he was gentle as a kitten, and apparently is a great riding horse. I’d love to see him in saddle!
The horsie gals.
We were pretty exhausted and sweaty by the time we were ready to go home, but had to take a selfie of us horse lovers in our unplanned coordinated shirts! We are a bit disheveled, but happy. I hope you enjoyed our love story with a nod to the past. I know you look forward to Aragorn coming home to Sara’s property and watching them progress in their skills.
Hooray. I’ve got my horse back! It’s sure been a long road for Apache. Last night, I saddled him up for the first time since the dang abscess, and I made sure he was doing okay in the round pen by trotting him a lot. He was deemed okay, so I mounted him while Sara got on Spice, who really didn’t seem happy, though she behaved fine. I’d say the ride wasn’t a complete success, though it wasn’t a failure, either. Apache indicated what he wanted to do instead of what I wanted, fairly strongly, a couple of times. Still, I got through it and did a good job getting him on my schedule before I got off. I did give him a nice rinse-off, which delighted him.
This morning, we got out bright and early. We were delighted to see that there were clouds in the sky and a breeze. That made everything much more pleasant. I was happy to see that he was still clean, even though I KNOW he rolled in the pens.
Today, Sara decided to see if Bonnie Pumpkin, the horse who’d hanging out with us for a while, would be ridable, and she put the bareback pad on her. I decided to use the hackamore with Apache today, and apparently, that was a good decision. After a fine warmup, Sara carefully got on Bonnie, and she was fine! Hooray!
A happy moment for all.
I got on Apache, and off we went. He was a different horse today, very responsive and calm. He didn’t break into a nervous trot once, nor did he start spinning around if I dared to ask him to turn right. He must be feeling better. We went through the dreaded line of trees, and neither horse did anything other than walk, and occasionally stop to look at something. None of the usual spots bothered him. We made an entire circle, walked over some obstacles, and then, in a shocking display of obedience, I got Apache to walk past the barn before turning to go back.
Fiona wanted to be in a picture, too.
Sara and I both had FUN. That was so great. I felt so good (and not overly hot) that I decided to clean all my tack. I got all sorts of stuff off the saddle and got it gleaming and not all scuffed up. Apache’s girth was also really dirty and covered in hair, so I cleaned it, as well. The worst thing was the poor hackamore, which had been sitting since Apache was last ridable and had gotten all yucky and moldy, so I cleaned it all up again, too. I’m ready to go somewhere, once I have somewhere to go with him.
Everything got saddle soap except the suede parts, which just got wiped off and brushed. Horse people, this is a hybrid saddle made by Parelli back when I could afford such things. I intend to use it the rest of my life (it is SO comfy), though I’ll probably have to get a Western one at some point.
I hope that will be soon. Now that I am not spending so much time in Austin, I hope to be able to take lessons and fix some of my riding gaffes, then work on Apache’s horse gaffes. We both have a lot of work to do, but we do love each other!
The Hermits' Rest 