honeysuckle faire

You know that I told her, I'd do what I can

2012-01-29T20:34:00.003-05:00

I turned 45(!) on Thursday and one of my favorite gifts was from Lazarus and his mommy, Kristen, over at sweet horse's breath. Inside was a fabulous T-shirt that said "I Love Off-Track-Thoroughbreds" but instead of a heart, Kristen ingeniously used a heart red silhouette of a racehorse. Perfect!!!!

Kristen has a new etsy shop and she is selling her great T-shirts there. Her shop is called kokoshell and you can visit by clicking here.

When I opened my package the shirt was pretty big and I couldn't figure out how I was going to "model" this for her. Then, I realized that she sent a big one for our cold temperatures - I could wear many layers underneath. It ended up that I needed to wear some jackets over top too. I took them off at our "photoshoot" and draped them over Foggy. When I saw the pictures later I could not stop laughing because my jacket looks like short little legs hanging over the saddle. It reminds me of Tim Conway as Dorf.

Foggy was a wee bit antsy about our picture taking. I will try again another day with the photogenic Pie. I don't know if I posted about this before, but Pie was one of the prize WINNERS of the MOO sticker contest I entered in the summer!

Kristen, it is a fabulous shirt even if these photos are silly!!!!!

Poor Foggy!!! I don't yank like this on the reins normally! I was trying to get him to face my mom so she could get a good picture. Brian just now said, "That's a funny look" referring to my Ninja headgear so I shouldn't have worried about where Foggy was facing! What a disaster! We are the half-put-together-gang on our farm.

Foggy says, "No more pictures! Let's nibble some grass - yum!"

Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers

2012-01-24T19:13:00.001-05:00

Here is a Sovey head photo from today. He looks like his father, Suave Prospect (below) I think.

I am sorry to report that our Sovey boy was not very good today on our ride. He uncharacteristically rushed throughout the whole affair. His legs were walking, but his upper body felt like it was trotting. His head was bobbing, working to walk FAST. When he did trot up hills, he made that gelding sheath sound that means he is very nervous.

In this photo you can see that the offending equipment from the other day was moved by the farmer, so there was no reason for the identical pricked ears. Two things were unfortunate about this afternoon's worried ride (three things if you count that the early sunshine disappeared behind clouds). First, I was on bareback again and Sovey was nervous for the entire ride, not just for brief moments like the other day. I would have preferred to have a saddle for such tension. Second, Sovey had a big bite gash on his face. I put Neosporin on it and checked to make sure the bridle would not hit it. Typically, Sovey is so calm that the bridle rarely comes into play at all. Today, though, my bareback seat and his freaky behavior made me worried that the bridle might bump his cut.

My mom usually walks along when I ride but she was playing tennis today. I think Sovey gets used to her presence more than the other horses do. He treats her like the lookout horse and falls asleep on rides when she is along. He was on his own this time, so it was a rush job complete with nervous teeth chomping. No fun for either of us. Broke my #1 rule - the horse should enjoy the ride as much as the rider or what is the point? I don't think Sovey had fun. Back to small strolls, to and fro, around the outbuildings and trees and shrubbery, close to the barn for my next Sovey ride, sans mom. That always helps him forget his herdbound nervous tendencies.

Warning: I am going to post a photo of the cut below to show how close it was to the bridle. Don't look if you are squeamish. There is Neosporin all over it which makes it look worse than it actually is. I keep the Neosporin company in business with all the reindeer games my geldings get into. (Sorry about the prepositions ending sentences - too tired to fix!) Pie is a hock biter when playing and a butt biter when he isn't playing. The butt bites tell everyone where to stand and where not to stand. He only warns first, but if they don't move, then his second bite is real. The Brothers January, though, are head and face and neck jabbers. They like to play with each other best. Pie is just too rough. The brothers stand perfectly still - their feet don't move but they twirl their heads around and around playing and biting and jabbing each other. I believe Foggy to be the instigator which is amazing really, because Sovey could really hurt Foggy if he wanted to be mean. This is what Foggy did to Sovey today. These heal very quickly and don't seem to scar, thank goodness!

Our snow is melting making everything muckier than before. As I walked into the ring and sunk up to my arse, I was thinking that our little farm has become like the state of Florida. You think Florida is shaped like this:

but you are wrong. There is not that much land at all. Because of the Everglades, it is really shaped like this:

When I fell into the mud in what was formerly known as our ring pasture, I realized that the Pennsylvania maps will have to be changed soon to accommodate the new swampland in south central Pennsylvania - our sweet, Honeysuckle Faire Swamp!

Happy 7th Birthday, Found in the Fog!

2012-01-22T15:16:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday, Little Fog, today you are 7 years old!!!! This isn't actually Foggy in the photo above. It is the baby, Pie. He is still 6 years old so that means we have a 6, 7, and 8 year old - one of each! Pie, the baby and the biggest, will be 7 in May.

I had a great ride on the birthday boy, Foggy, but we had our ride on Friday before the snow. He was nervous and anxious in the cross ties but rode like the dream he is.

Pie had to have the ride today because he was full of himself. Maizie has a tennis match this afternoon so only one boy could have a ride and it was the Pie. He was perturbed that there was no grass for grazing post ride, poor honey. He is starving, you know!

Maizie's match is indoors! Pie walked across the court and sniffed the net. Silly boy.

Our snowy trail was gorgeous today. All the snow buys me mud-free time.

What a drag it is getting old

2012-01-19T21:25:00.004-05:00

I hope sweet Sovey doesn't think it is a drag getting old because today was his 8th birthday! Hooray! He does however think farm equipment abandoned in our field is a drag...

I never saw his ears so pointy...

His head was in my lap in this picture and his heart was beating right out of his chest. I was on bareback and I could feel his worry. My mom is walking toward us in these photos, but Sovey is only looking at that contraption. I phoned the farmer and asked him to retrieve the offending machinery. He said he has a flat tire, but will get to it soon. It was a fun training device in November. Not so much fun now with our chilly temperatures.

This is more like my Sovereign boy - bored and annoyed with all the birthday boy picture taking. No pretty ears up here. We walked through the woods and a fat deer jumped out at us. Sovey just sighed, "Ho hum. I am not afraid of that silly deer. But, big orange hay rakes are scary!"

Today was 22 degrees but SUNNY and no wind! I had on my Carhartts and Sorels - with two layers of pants and four tops underneath. Snuggly warm.

And here is a Mother's Little Helper - muddy Foggy grazing later in the day. He will be the 7 year old birthday boy in a few days! My January birthday brothers. Sigh.

Here is chubalicious Pie with his mud beads. I groomed every speck of mud off all three boys. They each went back in the pastures and rolled. What is the point? And (!) how do they find wet, goopy mud when it is below freezing? It does give me a workout though and I stay warm.

Sunspots have faded

2012-01-16T19:30:00.001-05:00

Thank you dear blogging friends for all the great ideas, kind words and encouragement after my last post. We are in a deep freeze right now, so the mud has become frozen. Our temperatures are supposed to go to 50 at the weekend, so I will be employing the many great suggestions.

As the days stretch on and I get used to the pastures and their current appearance, I am realizing that some of my reaction stems from my own lack of light. It was quite a shock to return from the "Sunshine State" to "Sunless State" - Pennsylvania. We have nice sun in PA for a few hours a day, but then the clouds return and it can get depressing fairly quickly.

To buoy my spirits, I rode my fat boy, Pie, today after lunch. The first few minutes were in sun, but then the clouds moved in. It was windy and cold (25 degrees) and I wore my Carhartts and Sorels and used a saddle! Pie was very good in the woods and only threw a few bucks at the end when leaves rustled behind us. My reins were twisted and ended up over his right ear (!) but I recovered and had him walk out like a sensible boy for a few minutes after the upset. We ended on a great note and I was so proud of him. He is a loose cannon at times, but it is obvious that he wants to do so well for me. He LOVES it when I say "Good Boy" almost more than treats. Almost.

Speaking of treats, the photo at the top is from a February 2009 post when Maizie and I baked Thoroughbred Yummies in preparation of Pie and Sovereign's arrival. Tonight I am baking similar little cupcake/molasses treats for Sovey with his Mag Restore hidden inside. Kristen of Sweet Horse's Breath kindly linked me to TB at X's blog post that talks about the benefits of balancing magnesium in ouchy horses like Sovereign. Sovey is a pill to groom and tack. His tenderness is caused by something that I haven't discovered yet. In the meantime, I have learned to "dance" around him in such a way as to be able to groom and tack effortlessly, but it is odd to have a horse that no one else can even touch when on the ground. (He is a joy to ride!) So when Kristen read this post she thought of Sovey and passed along the info. I ordered the powder and am having a fun time trying to give it to my highly intelligent patient. Tonight's cooking class will be how to secretly deposit two scoops of Mag Restore powder into the middle part of Thoroughbred Yummies!

I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower

2012-01-12T08:59:00.011-05:00

This photo is of Pie last February in the mud.

And here is one of the boys in May.

I am posting these to help myself remember how frustrated I was last winter with the mud and my pastures. But, grass does come back over the summer. I need to remember this because I am very depressed right now about the state of our pastures.

I am usually very optimistic, but my return from Florida this year has left me with little hope within a sea of positives. My horses are fat and furry. They are in large pastures that wind around and encourage movement. They are outside 24/7 which seems to me to promote good digestion and good mental health. I am pleased with their weights, even Foggy. Their coats are fluffy and seem adequate for nighttime chilly temperatures. That is all the good news. And it is very good news. I want to enjoy these nuggets of good and be grateful for them. My horses didn't colic or get injured when I was gone. They didn't need a farrier or vet visit the whole time. I devised a safe system for my farm helper to put them inside their stalls if necessary, but it wasn't necessary at all. I should be ecstatic. And, I have ridden each of them this week and they were perfect. In fact, I rode them all bareback! I rode Pie the first day with a saddle, but now he is safe and I rode him yesterday bareback too.

So where is the problem?

I don't think my horses look happy in the pastures like they once did. There I said it. This is where I lose my mind in a circle of worry and self doubt.

The entire fenced area looks like sacrifice pasture. It is all mud. All of it. I understand the concept of pasture rotation and pasture management. I also understand the opposite view, that of the Paddock Paradise paradigm which points to the rotation system as a recipe for lush green grass and colic/founder traps. Which is really correct? My horses aren't fat little Nordic ponies that founder on a blade of grass, but Thoroughbreds can colic and founder too and rotation from sparse pastures to rested ones would require 15 minute incremental increases of grazing time every pasture change. I don't live on the property and I do not want to toy with their healthy (so far) digestion.

My only electric source/water source that keeps a trough perfectly ice-free for the horses is in the muddiest of our pastures. And, Sovereign likes to swim daily in that bucket, splashing water in the already muddy area. We have other buckets around, but they are unheated and need constant attention. Sovey also swims in them. Pea gravel is in the future, but proper preparation would be necessary to ensure drainage and save the pea gravel from disappearing in the sucking mud.

The horses used to eat small piles of hay as their primary source of food and then wander around all day nibbling grass. They seemed mentally healthy in all that movement and entertainment. Now, there is no grass to nibble. They stand aimlessly for hours looking toward my mom's house or our farm helper's house waiting for the next feeding of hay or hand grazing session from me, just like the poor burros in Jaime Jackson's Paddock Paradise book.

They love the grazing and grooming and riding sessions, but I am only one person and it takes me 2 hours to do that well with each horse. I can give 6 hours some days, but everyday just isn't realistic. If they were happily moving in their pastures I would be able to spend 2 hours with one horse a day and then alternate the next day with another horse. That is how it is supposed to work. That is how it was working. Now, it seems to me like they are over anxious to get out of the pastures and very hesitant to go back in after a ride. This just wasn't the case before.

Our area received record rainfall this year. Is this what happened? Or did Foggy's arrival tip the balance of my pasture to horse ratio? Paddock Paradise owners scrape the top layer of grass off to get to the mud! Should I applaud our mud? Am I just letting my former "horses need wide, green pastures" sensibilities over take me?

I seriously am losing my mind. When I arrive each day, I think my horses look like they are in zoo cages. I never thought that before because they were always so busy. I used to have trouble finding them because they were out somewhere having a good time. Now, they are standing in the mud waiting for me.

Animal ownership is a tenuous balance to my brain anyway. I constantly live on the edge of questioning what is in it for them. That is how I am hardwired and this type of worry isn't new to me. For the first few years of re-entry into the horse world, though, I felt very pleased with what I was providing. Our last year of rain left me wondering about it all - even in summer our grass was a mirage from the road. It looked like it was green, but when you walked through the pastures, it was just tiny nubbins of baby thin grass in dirt.

When it rains, like last night, it rains in inches. So, I put the horses inside the barn all night last night. I thought they probably needed a break from standing in muck. Their sheds are dry and bedded well, but they have to walk through a few feet of mud to get into them.

Am I just a stupid human? Did they hate their night inside due to boredom and stale air and the lack of proper walking movement? Would they have been just fine - no, better - in the mud? These are the questions I have been wrestling with since the summer and all has come to a head since my return from Florida.

I dreaded posting about this because writing it down just makes me succumb to the worry all the more. I am hopeful you all can help with your solutions/ideas.

pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends

2012-01-04T10:33:00.007-05:00

Pretty, pretty geldings...and mares that I call friends.

Last night I finished reading my grandmother's diary from 1959. She was 39 years old. This was the fourth and final one (1955, 1956, 1957, and 1959 - she didn't keep one in '58) and one underlying theme is that my grandmother was obsessed with horses. I never really knew this about her. Of course, I knew she loved our horses. She fed them and watered them for us and gave them carrots and apples daily. But her horse routines that I witnessed seemed rather perfunctory. She loved animals so she had to care for animals which meant a daily "job" that she did willingly and punctually, but I didn't get that she did it happily. Somewhere in time she seemed to have lost the joy that her diaries convey.

My family boarded their horses in those days and my mom was in middle school. Therefore, my grandmother didn't actually have to go to the barn until after my mom was home from school, yet entry after entry tells of her cleaning the house quickly in the morning and then going to the barn to clean the horses and sometimes even ride. My grandmother was a beginning rider her entire life, never fully conquering her fear, but I can see when there are long stretches of consecutive grooming days, that she would feel close to the horses and gain confidence enough to ride, first for 10 minutes, then 20, then for a half hour. Weather or activities would stop the streak and then she was back to just grooming.

Her words tell of an insistence, an excitement that I share now in my life and I never knew she had.

Recently, I have been savoring this feeling. The silly, giddy, pure joy of horses. I don't know what to compare it to except maybe the adrenaline of a first crush. I adore cleaning tack now - something I loathed when I showed. It was a chore then, like an unrelated task that my teenage mind couldn't see as important. Now, it is a connection with them, the regal ones. I lay my tack proudly across our dining room table and put on music and assemble my saddle soap and neatsfoot oil and just wallow in the smell of horse and leather. I pray and say thank you to the poor animals (cows?) who gave their skin for my saddle and reins, purchased 30 years ago and kept all these years so as not to diminish their sacrifice.

I felt like I had a big secret when we drove down to Florida and I could smell my tack in the back of the van. The smell that meant the promise of horses when we arrived. I will feel that same surge on the way home when I smell Max's horsey smell on my tack every time we open the van tailgate. I will wonder how I can wait 1000 miles to see my three boys.

I empty my pockets at night and giggle when I discover, mixed in with the coins and hair ties, carrot stubs and horse treat crumbs.

I proudly go to the grocery store and clomp through the aisles in my wellies with the telltale signs of bareback riding on my jeans - something I would have died of embarrassment about as a kid. I don't know if my grandmother would have gone that far, but I do know that she never minded looking "horsey" in the horse sneeze on her sweater sense, not in the crisp, refined, "dress to the nines" hunt clothes sense.

I hope I never lose this thrill, the giddy "I've got a secret" feeling of being a horse owner, a rider. I know that farm chores sometimes rob me of it. Don't get me wrong, I love cleaning stalls and feeding because it is for them, my sweetie pies. It is the farm management - planning, worrying, organizing, ordering, that becomes a bit off topic to the joy for me. Leasing this year in Florida helped me revisit the bliss without the management responsibilities. Is that what happened to my grandmother? My grandparents moved the horses and themselves to our farm around 1960 and maybe some of the "horse" part was buried under all the "farm" part of my grandmother's days. I don't know. She is gone now and I can't ask, but I am going to strive this year to keep her horse joy in the fore of my mind.

Take a cup of kindness

2011-12-31T22:32:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! Here is Max out on the trail. I ended up bareback on my Thursday ride and Max was unflappable. What a sweetie boy.

The barn operators and boarders at the stable where Max lives are simply amazing. They are unbelievably kind and welcoming to me and my family and to others. Yesterday afternoon they did something very special. A woman named Barb started leasing a horse at this barn shortly before I arrived at Thanksgiving. Barb has become a great friend to all of us and she has been on many trail rides with me. Sadly, her soulmate/boyfriend died suddenly last week. The owners of the barn and all the boarders held a benefit yesterday afternoon with pony rides and a picnic for Barb. Brian, Maizie and I were there and the energy was so positive. Everyone turned up to support Barb and sincerely help her by sharing laughter, and of course, horses. I know she appreciated their kindness and we were very lucky to witness such good will.

We took Max out to the church for grazing during the festivities and Brian also had a "pony ride" on Norton. Later we reflected on the great community in that horse barn. Horses can bring out the best in all of us.

May your 2012 be horsey and kind!

2011-12-23T09:10:00.000-05:00

I was born in the sign of water, and it's there that I feel my best

2011-12-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

The albatross and the whales they are my brothers.

And just like that song, I really was born in the sign of water (Aquarian) and I do feel my best here, but who wouldn't? Warm temperatures, quiet waves and...a few miles inland...

trail rides with good friends! This one is of me on Max heading out with Jolayne on Summer.

And here is a shot of Summer and Jolayne in front of us as we walk around the lake trail.

In the photo, above, I am on a new little blue Roan mare, Cheyenne. Cheyenne is owned by my friends, Janet and Ted. Janet invited me up to ride with her last week and we had a great ride around her horsey neighborhood. Cheyenne is so very sweet and kind. She was a good girl even with all the Christmas decorations!

What a horsey vacation this has turned out to be!

got my chips "cached" in

2011-12-13T21:08:00.005-05:00

This morning I was on a trail ride with some friends and as we were weaving in and out of the woods I told them that Maizie and Brian AND MAX and I cached here yesterday! They didn't know what I was talking about so I thought I would post about geocaching and specifically the fun I had geocaching on Max.

I know lytha of the blog A Horse Crazy American in Germany geocaches too. I am sure she has probably cached from horseback. Usually, though, geocaching is done on foot.

The geocaching.com site defines geocaching as:

a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experience online.

Maizie started caching in Florida a few years ago and just found her 100th cache on this trip. She is only 13 so she has to coerce an adult to drive her around in order to cache. Brian and I and my mom are her usual caching partners but yesterday the sweet and wonderful Max got in on the geocaching action!

Here we are just inside the horse park. Max adored Brian and was continually nudging him for head scratches and loving him up! Needless to say, Brian was in love too. Max wins your heart in about one second.

We found out online that there were four caches in the park to find. Three of the caches were hidden in areas where Max was permitted to go!

Max stood statue still while Brian and Maizie went to find the first one in the non-horse area. He was very patient. My own horses are good, but I don't think they would have been this good!

Then, using Maizie's GPS, we found the next three caches hidden in the woods. Two were micros and Max couldn't investigate them because I thought he might try to eat them, but this one, above, was a small ammo can container and Max helped Maizie open the latch. He jumped back when all the contents were revealed. I wish there were treats in there for him!

Did I mention that Max is a great horse? Today, after our ride and grazing he whinnied at me to hurry up with his water bucket. How cute is that? Oh, my goodness, I am lucky!

Tomorrow I am heading up to ride with my friend, Janet, on her new mare. I can't wait! And everyone is calling and emailing each other for a fun group ride in the park on Thursday morning. Sigh. This is a great horse world here.

We're in the promised land

2011-12-09T20:32:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday morning I headed over to the barn to ride Max. Here you can see his ears looking at his Palomino friend, Chip, while Meghan gives Chip a bath.

Katie and her Arabian gelding, Reign, took the lead on our ride to the horse park.

We encountered sprinklers in one yard and driveway. It was a hot day and the sprinklers felt good, but the water stinks like sulfur. Reign did not like the sprinklers and Katie dismounted to walk him through - I really liked that!

At the horse park, Katie cantered Reign.

Max and I watched.

This is a photo of the bridge on part of our ride. I rode over this bridge last year on little Lakota.

Here is good boy Max on the bridge. I love Max. Can you tell?

I hosed Max off and we headed to the church for grazing. Another perfect ride!

On my last post, aurora commented that she didn't know how Max and I got paired up. Actually, I totally lucked out - he is the best!

Every year we vacation in Florida and I have tried to ride a little bit while I am here. There is a fabulous online network of horse owners and riders in this area. I joined in 2008 and was invited to ride with some of the people when I was in town. A few years ago, I rode a sweet Thoroughbred named Red. Last year I rode a few Appy friends, Lakota and Mac, at a local barn and I also rode with my friend, Janet, on her horse, Danno.

The weather in Florida wasn't too great last year, though, so I had lots of time in the condo to sit with my computer and read about all the local horses and happenings. One horse in particular, Max, caught my eye. I don't know what it was, but a photo of just his head made me notice him. There was something in the way he tilted his head in that picture that expressed his cute personality. I read posts from the lady who trained him and I knew that I liked her. She shared my philosophy about riding and caring for horses so I emailed her and said that I thought I might like to lease Max this year if he was available.

I never leased a horse while we were here before, but it seemed like a good plan. A year passed and I contacted the trainer again and then Max's owner phoned me in September. She is actually selling Max, but was willing to lease him to me while we are here. I had never met Max and I can't explain how I knew, but I felt like he would be perfect. He is.

After two vacations in a row of unusually lousy Florida weather, our activities and weather have been ideal this year. It is unbelievable. I am not sure you would believe me if I told you all the details and I keep pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming. We have dolphins swimming right up to us while we kayak, and pretty runs on the beach as a family because Maizie's leg is healed. Noodlebug sun bathes on the porch and I am riding a sweet horse. We are in the promised land and I am so very grateful.

You fill up my senses

2011-12-01T08:35:00.002-05:00

Wednesday's ride on Max was cold and cloudy, but still fun and safe. We only had four riders this time. Bay State Brumby asked if we had any kickers on the last ride. We did which is why there are only five horses in front of me in those photos. Three horses followed me on that ride and one mare was known to kick. I said to the rider that she could put a red ribbon on her tail and she said that her mare should have a red ribbon all over her body!

Max is very s-l-o-w so those riders had to be separated from the group. I trotted that day to keep up with everyone. On the ride yesterday, there were no kickers and Max could plod along just as slow as he wanted. I did make him extend his walk at times to catch up, but I like that he is having fun at his pace so I don't want to hurry him.

Chip is the Palomino in front here and he was having a little fuss up about trash bags. Wednesday is trash day and each house had an assortment of cans and bags for the horses to walk past. Max was so brave and happy to walk out in front. His friend, Sunny B., was also brave and willing to lead and he was a bit faster than Max at the walk, but I love that Max feels secure enough with me to at least want to lead past the scary trash. Good boy! I can tell, Max is very bright. Look at Max's cute black ear tips! I love them!

Here is a view of the little yellow mounting blocks that are spaced out along the trail. They are made of concrete and very tiny.

This funny photo shows just how far back we get behind the group. There is no excuse for the blurriness of this picture. I had plenty of time to take a good photo of the woods and Palmetto bushes and trees with Spanish moss. Max was in zero hurry. He doesn't even care when the horses go out of view. He is in his own little world back here.

We finally caught up to them in the big open area. When I rode through here on Tuesday, this spot was covered with Turkey Vultures. I believe all creatures have their place, but the poor Turkey Vulture is very homely, I think. Ick.

And here is Max's favorite part - post-ride grazing at the church! Yummy! He deserves it for being such a good boy for me. The sun came out which made it nice for both of us.

hold on to these moments as they pass

2011-11-30T07:51:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning I rode Max again. Max wears boots on the front and I am finally getting the hang of putting them on. After grooming him I gear up for a wrestling match and was drenched in sweat the last two times. Yesterday, though, the boots went on fairly easily. I think it was me all along.

I walked him to the park with me on foot. Max doesn't like leaving the barn alone at first, but with me leading him, he happily walks away like I am a horse too. Once we are about four houses out, I can feel him relax and adjust his homing device to me rather than the barn. Because the park is an equestrian park, there is a small mounting block right inside the south gate. Max is about Foggy's size so mounting is easy with a saddle and this mounting block. I don't think it would work out for me with Pie or Sovey. I did see other mounting blocks around the park that had three steps. They are locked and obviously belong to different people who are storing their gear in there.

We walked the entire perimeter and I got to see a new part of the park. Also, there are small trails through the "woods" (Palmetto and Palm tree woods) and Max and I coiled through those. There are hidden caches in here so I am going to bring Maizie and Brian back with me sometime to find them.

One stretch of the trail was flooded because we had torrential rains on Monday. Max plodded right in and pawed and played in the water! He was adorable.

I rode for about 45 minutes and then dismounted and headed back. I regroomed him and grazed him in the lush church grass across the street from the barn (we have permission).

I stopped at a tack store on the way home and bought another white fleece show pad for Max. I have my quilted big pad and a white fleece one, but I am going to use another white one too. Max has high withers and I would feel awful if he got rubbed.

Today is another group trail ride!!!! I can't wait - heading over now!

parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

2011-11-25T21:27:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Florida on Monday afternoon and today I went on an amazing trail ride with a group of wonderful new friends and fellow horse lovers. This is the lovely mahogany bay neck and black mane of Max, an ottb. Max is owned by Niki, who kindly allowed me to ride her sweet boy even though she was on the ride too.

Here is some of the group heading out. I think there were nine of us total.

There is Niki, Max's owner, in front of me on Sunny B.

Here is Max, giving me the listening ear. Cutie boy!

Above is our shadow on the street and sidewalk. We are heading to an equestrian park!

This one is of the group crossing at the horse crossing. Sigh. My dream is to live near a horse park in a horse friendly town. I got to live that dream this morning!

I look so silly like I am falling off of sweet Max in this one. Really I am just loving him up. He has a western bridle with a snaffle-looking bit in his mouth so no carrots are being handed out in this photo. I did bring my bitless bridle with me and hope to ride him in that too.

This equestrian park has trails and a large arena where they hold small shows. We came into this open area of grass and all laughed and said how lucky we were to be here with the horses on Black Friday. It was 75 degrees and sunny for the ride.

This one is around the lake where I rode last year when I was here. There is a zebra that lives nearby!

On Wednesday evening, as Brian and I made our way to the grocery store, Simon and Garfunkel came on the radio and Brian said, "Oh, listen, it is your Thanksgiving recipe song." On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I was combining my Scarborough Fair stuffing ingredients (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) thinking how thankful I was for all the riding I had this year in Pennsylvania and anticipating today's (Friday) trail ride in Florida. It ended up being everything I had hoped for and more! Special note: I think one horse on the ride was named Sage! I hope your Thanksgiving break was filled with horses and yummy herbs too!

Crossroads, seem to come and go

2011-11-17T05:36:00.001-05:00

On today's date last year, November 17, Brian and I drove to Philadelphia Park racetrack to meet our Found in the Fog (Foggy). Doesn't Foggy look, in the photo above, like the mirror image of the little horse in my Honeysuckle Faire banner?

Foggy came in January and has settled in nicely bringing great joy to us. His sweet ways are contagious and I think Pie and Sovereign both like his addition.

This November, we are packing to travel to Florida again for the holidays. Each year this trip gets more difficult for me. I love spending time in the sun with Brian and Maizie, but I miss my boys terribly. I do think Foggy is content and healthy on our farm and I can safely leave. This was my worry last year. This year, I know I probably won't be completely free of worry until the day I return. Is it worry, or is it me missing them? I wonder, are all horse owners like this? Will I ever be able to fully enjoy travel without my horses? Bittersweet is blooming its little red and yellow heads off on our farm right now. Very apropos.

I'll be on the road for a few days. Happy riding everyone!

I got silence on my radio

2011-11-13T07:05:00.001-05:00

Saturday's ride on Foggy. Sunshine and no wind!

You can be my partner in crime

2011-11-11T23:05:00.002-05:00

Today was one of those days when Pie needed to be ridden, but the weather was not right for a Pie ride. We had sustained high winds and the leaves and branches were whipping around with great force. The wind was the kind that is noisy and it makes the adrenaline flow even in humans when it whistles. I do not believe in sticking to a riding schedule without listening to the weather. I also don't believe in being in danger when riding. I am not a thrill seeker in the least - in fact, quite the opposite. I am a serious chicken when it comes to danger. But, I ended up riding Pie and he was fabulous and we had a safe ride.

I started out just grazing him and grooming while he munched. I had ridden Sovey yesterday and Foggy the day before and Pie was in need of some exercise. He gets weird when he isn't ridden consistently. I can't tell if he is jealous if I ride the other boys or just overfed, but he isn't a nice pasture mate if he goes too many days without his riding time. He is pushy with the brothers and even pushy with me on a lead when he gets like this. Grazing was nearly impossible today. The wind was crazy-nutty and Sovey was in a nearby pasture racing around making it obvious that riding anyone would be stupid. A little note here about Sovey racing around. Sovey is one smart cookie and most days he is a quiet boy. BUT, if there is any sort of "situation" that he perceives as "dicey" he works it for all it is worth. He is the prisoner in the yard that incites an incident in order to escape. He never breaks a sweat like if he were actually worried about something. He is very good at starting a riot. Funny guy.

Anyway, Sovey was running about encouraging Foggy to join in. Pie was jumping and shying at every leaf that hit him like a missile, which were many, so I flew my Pie kite in the direction of the barn and stuck him, and then the other boys, into their stalls. Now what? Why did I want to ride Pie, I wondered. What was the point? To be honest, I felt sorry for him. I personally know what it is like to have pent up energy and how great it feels after exercise.

So, after a few minutes of quiet down time with hay, I got Pie into the cross ties and resumed grooming and hoof picking. I told myself that tacking up would be good for him as far as attention from me and riding doesn't have to ever occur. I walked him outside and the wind hit us like a ton of bricks. We trotted and pranced down to the mounting block and a huge gust blew a million dry leaves across the tennis court and Pie went into orbit. Again, I questioned my reasons for continuing and again, I told myself that me just standing on the mounting block would be good practice for him. It would keep him focused because grooming and grazing just wasn't enough. So we practiced the mount with many wiggles and shies. And, then, Pie stood still and calm and I slowly got on. Well done, Pie!

I walked him in small circles and serpentines until I heard his calm snort, muffled under all the wind noise. My mom appeared at that moment and opened an outside gate so we could head out to the field. He thought he might graze but I said "no" to that straightaway - I didn't need to have a horse with no reins in that wind. (I've been through the desert on a horse with no reins - sorry, bad joke.)

We walked on and I kept him balanced between my hands and seat and calves for the entire ride. I opted for my trail running shoes (Inov8s) instead of my riding boots. I was glad for the agility and control over my legs and ankles and heels that they give me. Sometimes in critical moments I feel like I am confined and not fully in control in any of my riding boots. Riding an up horse on a windy day requires the right tools - for me that is comfortable, but warm layered running clothes, and running shoes - I need to feel loose to move and react. Riding, even at the walk, is an athletic event every minute. I just can't be tangled up in boots or clothes that are too rigid.

As nervous as he gets, Pie is a willing horse. He tries very hard to be good and today he did not disappoint. He stayed with me in the field and by the time we got to the woods, he was quiet and relaxed and listening to me completely. The wind held no power over him anymore. Hooray.

On the way back to the barn we stopped in the field to graze and I did give him the reins and loosened his girth while I was still on him (a little tricky on the dismount later!).

I am so glad I rode today if only to watch Pie go back out into the pasture with his friends. He was sweet and sleepy and all his bossiness was gone. I feel better when I run each day and I definitely see a change in Pie after attention and exercise.

I took this picture of the pink sunsets we've been getting at my house this autumn. I am hoping that the red sky means a pretty tomorrow with NO WIND!

Twenty-four hours sometimes slip into days

2011-11-08T08:28:00.000-05:00

Here is my Maizie girl yesterday afternoon with her pony, Foggy BEFORE OUR FAMILY RIDE!!!!

Our temperatures were an amazing 60 degrees and the sunlight was magical. It was very pretty for November in Pennsylvania. Brian is on Sovey, above, and Maizie is on Foggy sweetie boy. I am on the chubby Pie Pie but you can't see us because I am taking all the photos. We rode in the field and through the woods.

My mom led Foggy for us to keep Maizie safe.

Here we are letting the horses enjoy a post ride grazing session. They were all so good and deserved the yummy clover they found on the hayfield paths.

The weather has been perfect for riding for the last week. Prior to that we had the wicked October snow storm and lost the electric at our house for four days. Brian, Maizie, Noodlebug, and I moved over to the farm and lived in my grandmother's (empty but furnished) house because there was electric there. I got to live where my horses live!!!!! I was in heaven for a week! Sometimes you really do get what you wish for. No internet there, which explains my blogging absence (I promise to catch up on all my favorite blogs soon). Tons of down trees in our woods and pastures. Luckily, I put the horses inside the barn on the night of the storm because many trees fell on the fence. If they had been out, Pie would have certainly stepped over the fence and encouraged his friends Sovey and Foggy to do the same. I shudder to think about it.

A week before the storm, my friend Terry came to ride with me one sunny afternoon. Terry rode with me in November of 2009 and we had an equally good ride this year. Here she is, below, on Sovereign.

We all want something beautiful

2011-10-24T08:41:00.007-04:00

This last week was spent riding my boys in the afternoons when the temperatures were in the 60's and the light was fantastic. One day was very windy and it was a "Pie" day, but he was sooo good in the midst of fairly rough wind/rain squall. I also rode Foggy that day, but he is always good so that was a none event. Foggy is the dream horse you think about as a child. Being with Foggy is like riding or grooming or leading a large dog. There are very few situations when he turns into a horse. He likes people and trusts us as much as his herd. I am on Sovey, above. Sovereign rides like a dream horse, but he isn't as sweet when you are on the ground. Still, he is my go-to riding horse when friends visit and want a "pony ride".

And Pie is my go-to grooming horse! Here he is standing like the best boy that he is, allowing our little friend, Kate, to learn how to groom him. Pie is patient and enjoys all the attention. Learning how to stand quietly in the cross ties while being groomed is a process that has evolved over time. Pie is perfect now.

Kate's sister, Lindsay, visited too. Here she and Maizie look like they are doing a dance!

Kate and Lindsay's mom, Melanie, rode Sovey. Here I am explaining the correct way to swing her leg over to dismount. Pretend she is wearing boots! Melanie comes to the barn and grooms with me (no sandals!) when our girls are in school. She is a great photographer and takes brilliant photos of my horses for me.

My goofy face and goofy right leg (turned out) but Sovereign sure is beautiful! I love him even though he is an alligator. He is a joy to ride.

In these two photos I had Sovereign "recreate" what I do with Pie when he sees the scary new downed tree. Usually, I encourage him forward and reward him after he walks by. Yesterday, though, I had to dismount to get Pie near the tree. He touched it and chewed on it and allowed me to re-mount by standing on it. Good boy!

I am leaning forward and giving Sovey many "good boy" pats here.

And, in other news (old news because I have been remiss in getting to this -sorry) I won an award! Thank you to Calm, Forward, Straight, Adventures with Shyloh, and Dressage Training Journal for sharing your award with me. I enjoy your blogs immensely and am honored that you chose me.

I am to tell you seven things about myself. You probably know it all already because I am wordy on this blog, but I will try to think of new and exciting details - ha!

1. I don't watch the news/read newspapers. If there comes a day when the media spends all their time and money only telling of the many amazing, kind, and intelligent activities taking place in the world, I will watch incessantly. To watch now would draw attention to, and reward, horrid behavior. Stories about rapes, robberies and murders or silly "human interest" pieces slapped together in 3 minutes or ridiculous celebrity "news" doesn't deserve to gobble up the precious minutes that could be spent with my horses.

2. Today is my 14th wedding anniversary and yesterday was Maizie's 13th birthday! (Oh, no, I am the mother of a teenager!) Much weekend fun for Maizie. Today, to celebrate our anniversary, Brian and I are going for a morning run on the Appalachian trail and an afternoon RIDE ON OUR BOYS!!!!!

3. I drive a Mini Cooper and I think it is the greatest car that ever was. I never cared for cars at all, except for briefly, when I was in third grade. Back then (1976), I had a romantic notion about the British Minis of the 1960's because of Peter Frampton (long story - don't ask!). When these new ones came out here I fell in love, but I couldn't just go out and get one. One day, my dear Dad drove into our driveway with my Mini as a gift! My father passed away soon after that day so my Mini is extra special. It really is adorable and I have a license plate that says, "Maizie" - here are some pictures -

4. I am so glad we got Foggy. Last November when we met him, I was worried that his addition might upset our happy little apple cart. Boy, was I wrong. Pie and Sovereign are even more relaxed and well-adjusted now that Foggy is here. And, Foggy seems so adorably happy on our rides and out grazing. I can't imagine my life without him in it. He is an absolute joy. I sleep with his racing plates (shoes) on my nightstand and sometimes one shoe ends up under my pillow!

5. I think the last year moved very quickly - too fast. I am a huge believer in taking things slow so that I can really enjoy every second, but I don't know what happened, we are getting ready to go to Florida again for the holidays and it seems like we just went on this trip. It is all good, but it is very quick moving and I am wondering if this is how life will go from now on...

6. My new October food loves are green olives, sun dried tomatoes, and Holiday flavored Mocha Mint and Pumpkin Spice Dunkin Donuts coffees (not together).

7. I often fall in love with a song and then I can't stop listening to it. Currently, it is "Moonlight Mile" by the Rolling Stones. It can be an old song that I've heard a million times, but something just grabs me and I have to hear it over and over. I think it has to do with the seasons and the light. Certain sounds just go with certain light. The last two autumns it was "Wiser Time" by the Black Crowes. Now it is "Moonlight Mile" and it makes me want to ride in the moonlight! In fact, (don't freak out, Mom!) I had planned to ride Sovereign on the full moon a couple of weeks ago, but it was cloudy and rainy so it was a no go. Maybe, this month!

And below are the ten blogs that I am passing the award off to in no particular order. Please don't feel obligated to redo if you already won! These are all terrific blogs and worth discovering if you haven't already.

Dan and Bettys Place

A Horse Crazy American in Germany

A Thousand Pounds of Fragile Horse

Equine Insanity

Manitoba MoonSox and Me

Thanks again for the award! Sorry for the run-ons, fragments and errors. I am going running so I'll try to proofread later!

On a dark, flat land she rides

2011-10-16T04:00:00.141-04:00

Today is my mother's 68th birthday! I thought I would celebrate by sharing some photos of her riding through the years. Here she is, above, at a horse show in York, PA in 1959.

The slide says that Mom is on "Brownie" in this photo. She looks pretty young here and I don't think she owned Brownie. (I gathered all these photos secretly so I will be sure to get some wrong and believe me I will hear about it!)

I was told that my mom was constantly riding the kitchen barstools when she was little, using belts as reins, so my grandfather finally took her riding in Florida on rental horses. Of course, like many, she was certain she "could ride" after a few rental horse experiences and convinced her parents to buy her Chaplain in 1953 when she was just 10 years old. It was then that my mom's true days of riding and horsemanship began. I tell of Chaplain and his wise ways in this earlier post.

She really did learn to ride well and she showed in our local Junior Circuit in the Hunter and Jumper classes. Here she is with some of her ribbons.

These two are of her on her Thoroughbred, Tam. The one below was taken at our barn in November 1960.

I don't know who she is on here, but I wonder, did she wear the sunglasses in the ring?

This is at a lesson on the outside course at her trainer's farm in Dover, PA. She is riding Pep Talk.

In 1961, my mom was invited to train with the Mexican Olympic team under the guidance of Col. Humberto Mariles Cortes. She has wonderful photos from that trip, but they are on the walls in her house and I knew she would notice if I took them!

These two are of her on her Sovey-boy.

I love this one below of her with her friends. I did a post about this before. Her Tam looks so Thoroughbred-y here, I think.

I have always liked this picture of her on Prize List on an outside course. I actually posted these two before, here, in the funny story about the elephant.

Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for sharing your passion for horses with me!

moonlight mile

2011-10-12T10:11:00.002-04:00

Here is a funny angle of my chub-a-lub, Pie-Pie, before our ride. (My saddle and saddle pads and his withers look weird - I don't think I rode with it like that - I usually make sure it is right before I get on!) Our temperatures have been warm (70's) and the leaves are just starting to turn colors - light green, yellow and some orange. The boys are getting fuzzy and black as the daylight hours shorten and the nights become chilly (40's).

All three horses have worked through tough spots like pros on our rides this week. Here is the background information about how we got into the tough spots:

Because of all the earlier rain, we lost some trees in our woods. Above, you can see a giant tree is blocking a trail. (Blurry cell photos.)

I used our much loved Honda to re-route a new trail around the down tree. I don't know where my dad got this mower, but it is a little powerhouse. My grandfather used to keep these woods open with a bush hog. Now, my mom and I hand trim the trails (arduous work but fun!) and I plow the tough stuff with the Honda. It thinks it is a little bush hog. I don't drive it over rocks or big limbs, but it handles grapevines and honeysuckle vines perfectly. Also, its small size makes it easy for me to get into tricky spaces.

Here is the new trail around the big tree.

Brian and I don't do chainsaws so we were fortunate to meet a great friend on Craigslist a few years back who would clean up our trees for us in exchange for firewood. This year's crazy stormy weather, though, has brought our friend so much firewood locally that he doesn't need our trees anymore.

A kind high school friend happened upon us one day and brought his chainsaw to help us out. I was bareback on Sovey when he arrived and I wondered what Sovey would think of all the noise and commotion. Of course, the old soul Sovey was unflappable. He rode around the woods, peeking in and out at my friend with the chainsaw and golf cart and tools, with zero reaction. None. I told Brian this story and he says that Sovey is a professional. In Brian's words, "Sovey might not like it, but he knows that humans do loud, obnoxious things, and he is used to it."

The next day, little brother, Foggy reacted (or didn't react) the same way to tree trimming. I was out on a ride on Foggy when our farmhouse family started trimming their trees with a chainsaw. Foggy didn't seem to notice. In fact, after we finished riding and I had untacked him and headed out for post-ride grazing, he dragged me down toward the farmhouse apple tree. I could not believe how close to all that noise we had to stand. Frankly, it was embarrassing! We have the whole farm and we had to be right up against them while they worked.

Even Pie did well, although, he wasn't tested with the actual chainsaw - just the aftermath. I took him out yesterday to see that the down tree was gone. He was used to using my new trail in the woods, but this was his first time to see the big tree cut up. He snorted and backed up and whirled around. I turned him back and asked him to walk forward. He moved two steps forward, snorted so loudly that I think he scared himself, then he backed up fairly far. Unfortunately, Pie backs very well - too well. He backs slow and lovely and relies on this comforting tactic way too often. He got a loose rose branch stuck in his tail, and I thought we were finished. Luckily, that fell off. Pie stood still and looked and I gave him the reins and leaned my body forward. I patted him and squeezed slightly. He snorted and walked forward. Then, he walked through the open space with the new wood piled on both sides. Good boy! I don't think he would have done this a year ago, but he is getting much more confident about trying new things.

The woods on our farm are aging and our trees are falling. Luckily, we planted all those seedlings in May so there will be paths in new woods some day. Here Maizie is showing how tall a Crabapple seedling grew already. Maizie is 5'5" (!) to give you some perspective. The silver lining of all that rain!

Also, I won an award...many thanks - I will post soon about that!

sweet lullaby

2011-10-05T21:10:00.005-04:00

Lots of pictures in this post because we have sunshine! This is a photo of Sovey...I think. I rode both he and Foggy bareback yesterday and I have trouble telling them apart in photos. How about my crazy reins when I am trying to take a photo? He could totally pull a fast one. I wanted to capture the gorgeous wild flowers - white little dainties (can't remember what they are called - they smell like butter) and yellow Goldenrod. It was 68 degrees and sunny - perfect rides.

I remember taking this one...it is Sovey...he was being a little perky with a neck like an ostrich here.

This one is Pie and it is from Monday morning - still overcast then, but no rain. You can tell Pie's photos because his pictures always look the same - he poses for them. He thinks the click of the camera is me breaking a carrot and he is reaching his head around to nibble the treat. Silly horse!

This is Sovey pointing to the yellow pipeline marker in the woods. If it were Pie, he would be touching the pole with his nose. I taught him to touch scary things - "touch for treat" - and now he touches everything.

The sky grew overcast for my ride with Foggy. This is a shot of our meadow where we had the tree planting party in May. This used to be a hay field and now our seedlings and self-seeded trees are surrounded by bundles of wild flowers. I saw some purple asters in there. It is lovely to ride through. I know it will one day be woods, which is what we want, but it is pretty now too.

I am teaching Foggy to nibble grass when I say it is ok on a ride. Sometimes, I stop and talk to neighbors forever so I like the horses to know that it is fine to graze when I give the signal. Here he is practicing. Both Pie and Sovey are good about grazing and then stopping when it is time to move along. I was just thinking the other day that two years ago at this time, I was having a ton of trouble getting the horses to walk on after grazing if I was on the ground leading them. Now, they both listen perfectly when I ask them to stop. It is funny how a problem with horses seems gigantic while it is going on and then it works itself out and you completely forget it ever was a problem.

I adore the three photos of Foggy above. He is happily munching apples that have fallen off our tree. The second picture makes me crack up laughing! I think his little feet are so hysterical. They don't seem to belong to him - it is a weird angle, I guess, but it so cute. Foggy is a dainty little thing - when you clean his feet they are so tiny. In that photo the coronary band is white and little and those tiny feet are just stuck in there at the side! Oh, I love him like crazy.

No riding horses today. Maizie had off school so Brian and I took her to a local Rails-to-Trails to ride our bikes. Maizie has been very lame. I haven't posted about her injury yet because I get so upset when I think about it. Biking helps stretch it out and she can get out her own pent up frustration about limping and not being able to run.

The trail we chose was gorgeous in the autumn light and is also a horse friendly trail. I will bring the boys if when I get a horse van. Here is the horse sign and mounting stairs.

At the halfway point, we parked our bikes and walked on another picturesque trail to town for much needed iced coffees.

We met a very "quaint" man on a bike. The only way I can describe this man is like he fell out of the sky from the 1970's. (Think Green Acres - Mr. Kimble - in innocence, not goofiness.) Here is a photo of Maizie and Brian talking to him. He was carrying a transistor radio without headphones (we could hear a local AM station playing Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again, Naturally - not kidding) and he had a Hershey bar sticking out of his breast pocket. When I asked, he said, "I'm going to get into that a little later." Very cute. Note: We also look like we are from the 1970's - don't laugh at our bikes in this photo. We rode 18 miles today on our K-mart Specials. We bike fairly far here and in Florida and yet we own bikes as antiquated as our new friend's bike so he may be telling his wife a similar story this evening.

Brian took this one of me with the farmlands in the background. Someday I'll be out here on a horse!

And still be friends, still be my friend

2011-10-01T23:35:00.004-04:00

Here is the view from Sovereign's back. This is kind of what I saw today on our bareback ride. Again, the rain and mist prevented me from seeing all that lovely dappled sunlight. Yes, I had to borrow a photo from earlier this month again. We got another inch of rain today. I really can't take anymore. I am glad Sovey doesn't mind the mud and rain because, without riding, I would have definitely gone round the twist by now.

I have the unbelievable luxury of being able to pluck a horse, today Sovereign, from the pasture and slip on the bitless bridle and hop on bareback and head out for an hour ride. My mother was watching me slide on Sovey recently and she remarked that I don't know how lucky I am to have horses like this. She is right, I am lucky, but I do know it. I am SO grateful! I had ideas and goals about how I wanted to ride and these three horses evolved with me into my dream horses.

There is such a close relationship between the three of them and I love that they include me in their group. The favorite part of my day is when I go to collect them to lead them inside the barn. I tap the chain on the gate lightly and they canter to greet me. Pie always has to go in first because that is how the game is played. Pie used to assert himself to make sure everyone knew the rules, but now he is certain that we all know our parts and will play them correctly. Because of this confidence in his position, there is a comfortable "crowding" that occurs inside that gate without any posturing. I slip inside and often am putting a halter on Pie while being kissed and nuzzled by Foggy on Pie's near side. Sovey is an alligator and he has been known to bite humans. He knows this about himself and kindly keeps his body, tight against, but on the off side of Pie, so I feel safe. As I stand there with them I feel very blessed. Once I saw this (not so great but pretty) movie called Violets Are Blue. There was a scene with Sissy Spacek taking photos of horses on Assateague and she was hiding within the herd when the "bad guys" came. I remember seeing that movie and wishing that I was smooshed in with those horses. Now, I get to live it each day with my tiny "herd" of three!

The horses are in the barn again tonight. Even Pie seems resigned to the routine. He walked into his stall, turned around and snorted out a slow, sad sigh. I know, sweet boy, this has to end soon, doesn't it? Thank goodness we have a dry, snuggly bank barn for the years when the rain never stops.

That's the time I love the best

2011-09-30T19:32:00.012-04:00

I rode both Pie and Foggy today. This is a photo of the sweet little Foggy-boy but it isn't from today. Still no sunshine. In fact we had two more inches of rain since I last posted. My boys were snug in their dry stalls most nights because our pastures and sheds are still squishy. I am so grateful we have the barn! Stall cleaning and mud grooming kept me busy because riding was out of the question.

We did finally have a glimpse of late afternoon sunshine yesterday with a huge rainbow and cooler temperatures followed. Today when I rode, the boys were perky which is understandable given all their hours inside. Even though it was muddy and grey out, there were very few bugs - hooray! Temperatures are to drop tonight - I think our sweet, soggy summer is officially over. Boy, the horses will be feisty tomorrow!

Speaking of feisty, I think I fell off today! I am not sure if this counts as a fall, because I wasn't really on yet, but I put my left foot in the stirrup and kicked my right leg over Foggy and I think my foot hit his hip bone. That made me pull back, worried that I hurt him - he may have moved too, I am not sure - but the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back! Ouch. I stood up and got on again and Foggy started to trot, right through the forebay! I guess he was scared, poor honey, wondering if his nutty rider was going to do a back flop again. I stopped him and dismounted and brought him back to a different mounting block and made sure he felt comfortable. He stood wonderfully so I got on and quietly asked for a walk. He walked off nicely and we had an exceptional ride. Good Foggy.

In the window there's a face you know

2011-09-24T10:01:00.003-04:00

I took this picture of Pie while riding. I stuck my cell out to the side to take it. You can tell it is from a few days ago because there is sunshine and a shadow in the photo. We don't have sun or shadows here anymore. We have rain. In fact, yesterday we beat the all time record rainfall in our area for September and for the year. Here is a graphic, below, from our local television station. People from around here know that the significance of the 1972 record is from Hurricane Agnes. Unfortunately, this year we had more rain than that year owing to our wet May and our recent tangle with Tropical Storm Lee.

I have had the boys in the barn for the downpours to save my precious pastures. On good days I tell myself that our pastures don't look too bad considering that this is a record rainfall year. Our bad days, I cry looking at all the mud and bare spots and squishy sheds and the loss of grass for my horses.

Yesterday morning I found a secret two hour window without rain and I rode Pie. He was very UP. I stayed on, but it could have gone either way at any moment. Our temperature was hot and humid, but the impending storm/flash flood that hit around 11 a.m. must have been in the air. Pie is a sensitive horse to weather changes. I wanted to ride him to give him a break from being inside. The brothers don't seem to mind being in the barn - in fact I think they enjoy it! Pie doesn't. He likes the fresh air and pastures.

He was quiet to groom and tack up, but right from the beginning he did his nervous high speed lip flipping. I made sure to keep him moving forward in an extended walk. I hoped to use up some of his energy this way, but also if I keep Pie moving out it prevents him from going up. The only way I can describe how he feels is like I am sitting on a very large spring. This is the giant, powerful horse you would want under you if you were entering a ring full of high fences. This is not what you want under you to have a leisurely ride around a farm. I trotted him as much as I could given the squishy, slippery footing.

The whole ride was dicey and not actually tough enough to do much for his extra energy, but I had a blast. There is something so rewarding about working with a horse to stay safe. I use the word "with" quite literally because Pie gave me so much yesterday. It wasn't easy for him to listen and yet he did over and over throughout our ride. There are many times on a twisty-turny ride through the woods and fields that he has to follow my lead and my leg and my directions. Pie explains in no uncertain terms that he wants to disobey. He throws his head and flips his lips to tell me that he is nervous and doesn't want to go in THAT direction. There is nothing preventing him from going in that direction - no scary monsters. He is defiant inside his own body, in his own skin. His behavior is so like Maizie when she was little (and sometimes now!) at bedtime when she is tired but doesn't want to go to bed. We call that "out of bounds" or "ginchy" because the horse or child is not willing to move forward so they sort of implode.

Pie was truly a hero yesterday. He held it together and kept me safe. Never once did he give a relaxed snort or release his neck on his own. I could achieve a lovely extended walk and he lowered his head for me and I am sure he looked beautiful, but it wasn't a truly relaxed lowering. It was the walk you would want if you were being judged, but it was a lie. He wasn't relaxed at all. That is why I am so proud of him.

The deception of the ride was crystal clear when we got back in the barn and I started to untack the big boy. He pushed his head this way and that, avoiding the halter in a silly, impish manner. Usually, Pie stands statue-still for untacking and post-ride brushing. I carefully led him out to his beloved apple tree for grazing just as the raindrops started to fall. I thanked him for the ride and promised him better days soon.

There must be a Pony!

2011-09-20T08:43:00.004-04:00

Our sweet Sage is at graduate school and she just sent us this fabulous postcard. Do you know the story? If you click on the photo, below, you can read the words. Oh, I just love this card - thanks Sage!

I have delighted in my own optimistic pile all my days and now I get to really live it. Every morning when I walk through my pastures and see the many new manure treasures left for me overnight, I know there must be three Thoroughbred ponies waiting for me somewhere. And what a lesson for the rest of my day - and life.

Pie's shadow waits patiently for carrots from my mom during our ride on Sunday.

We had a lovely sunny ride in the woods. Pie is a gentle boy in the autumn light. I rode Sovereign yesterday and he was just as peaceful. Today is to be little Foggy's ride, but it is raining. I still might be able to squeeze in a ride between raindrops.

I just fed Pie an apple and you can see his applesauce lips in this photo. Our shadow looks like I am riding a camel or llama!

That's what it's all about

2011-09-17T18:16:00.003-04:00

Our weather has been fabulous and Sovereign and I made the most of it today with an amazing bareback ride. Thank you neighbor Bill for taking this photo. I had tons of layers on even though it was in the high 50's - I'm not used to the cooler temperatures - yet. Sovey was such a good horse - I rode him on the buckle the entire time. What a horse! I did add the criss-cross throat latch back on his bitless bridle after our crazy bridle-falling-off-while-riding mix-up of the other day.

Here is a kiss between the brothers. I am on Sovey's back taking the photo and Foggy is in the pasture.

September sunshine with my Sovey boy. Sigh.

Post ride apple and grass gobbling. You deserve it, sweet Sovey.

That's what it's all about - not the Hokey Pokey.

Steal the warm wind

2011-09-12T19:19:00.000-04:00

These are Foggy's ears as we made our way out to the barstool this morning for a yummy apple. It was warm and sunny, but the bugs must have still been in bed because we had little problems. Foggy's head is high right at this point in our ride because to our left there was a man walking around on a roof (below). This is right beside the house that was getting re-roofed when Pie and Sovey first came to us. It will be interesting to see how/if the other two boys react to this project now. Foggy did nothing but look. Good Foggy!

My ride on Foggy was so great. He is an all-around wonderful horse. Other than the fact that he isn't an easy keeper, I can't see one flaw. He is gentle to lead and work around and a joy to ride.

I have zero photos of me on him though. I took this one of me in front of a window!

Here is one my mom took after she gave him an apple. She has a kaleidoscope style to her photography -lol!

I asked my neighbor, Toby, to take a photo. He was so kind to do this for me. Foggy is a little deer. I love him to bits.

You can hear happiness staggering on down the street

2011-09-12T07:40:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was a day for making lemonade because it seemed like there were a lot of lemons tossed in my direction. Maizie and I went to the barn in the late morning to run and mow pastures. She agreed to help me try to tackle our extra long post-flood grass. After our run, I put the boys in their stalls with yummy snacks and then realized that the grass was still too wet to mow.

We went home for lunch and it got windy and sunny so I came back alone to mow. I got on our big Grasshopper mower, but it wouldn't start. The engine was not turning over and the more I tried, the more the battery sounded drained. I could not get the battery cover off (I didn't have the right tools for the job) to charge it. I phoned Brian and he said he would come back with me after dinner and open it.

So I tried to move to plan C - riding. I groomed and tacked up Pie and we headed out through the fields. He was wonderful, but we could barely walk two feet without stopping to swat flies. The flies are the common fly we have all the time, but they are mean and biting hard now. Riding was almost impossible.

Since owning these horses, I have been extra perceptive about all of Nature's ways. Sometimes I can just glimpse the "method to her madness" that we, as humans, try and try to "fix" but to no avail. Flies and bugs in general are awful now after the heavy rains. Is that on purpose? If my horses were to be completely free to gorge down the extra rich grass, they might colic or founder or both. The insistent bugs keep their eating light. I know it sounds like rationalization, but seeing how futile all my attempts to stop the bugs are, I am left with nothing but rationalization.

I grazed Pie under the apple tree and went back for little Foggy. But as I walked by, Sovey let out a little, soft, throaty nicker. I was going to ride him after Foggy, but his nicker was soooo cute, so I grabbed him first instead. I put on his bridle and jumped on bareback. My thought was that the brothers might not be as interesting to the flies because they aren't as fat and juicy as Pie. I was wrong. Sovey and I got out to the big field and were besieged by biting insects. Sovey swatted and jerked his head around this way and that. I tried to keep us moving faster, trotting bareback (which isn't too comfortable on Sovereign), but nothing worked. He put his head down to scratch a leg, and his bridle came off over his head (I still don't have the throat latch criss-cross part on). Oh, nice, as Onslow would say. I am bareback in the middle of a field with reins in my hands and a bridle on the ground. I slid off and tried to even out my breathing. This is exactly the kind of situation where I convey bad energy. I am fine riding, but on the ground I can't keep it together. Right then Sovey put his head up high because someone started a chain saw in the distance. I somehow managed to get the bridle back on him. We hobbled back to the barn, stopping to swat flies all the way. A grasshopper jumped into one of my high Wellies and started to bite me in its panic to get out. I couldn't get my boot off with all of Sovey's swatting and swishing. It was a circus. Ugh.

I grazed Sovey and then got out the littlest angel, Foggy. I knew better than to try to ride him with the flies. I groomed him in the cross-ties and out we went to the apple tree. He was just getting into happy munching when I saw Brian pull into the driveway. He had a big smile and said that he thought he could help me now with the mower. I put Foggy in the pasture and tried to "not look a gift horse in the mouth" - I was so appreciative of Brian's help, but I was just starting out with Foggy and I knew he would get short changed with his special time.

Brian helped me and we got the mower running but by then it was dinner time. I vowed to Foggy to come back after dinner, but it stormed all evening. Ugh. Many lemons, and the lemonade I made was bitter.

Today is Foggy's day. I am going to spoil him with a long morning of grooming, grazing and riding! Hooray!

Sun pokes through my lashes

2011-09-10T15:03:00.002-04:00

On Friday afternoon, we were treated to a few rays of much needed sunshine. I hopped on my Pie for our first ride in a few days. I could tell as I groomed and tacked up that he was going to be a good boy, and I wasn't disappointed. It was humid and buggy and our land was slightly squishy and muddy, but we were unbelievably fortunate when compared to most of our area's flooding problems.

Pie was a little frightened of our downed trees at first, but I circled him and encouraged him forward with gentle leg pressure and he responded perfectly. Good boy.

Here is a shot of his lovely ears as we headed back home. He actually picked up his pace here - I think he was taking a double take at my cousin's boat. I was grateful for the pace pick-up - he had been slogging around a bit. Earlier he never flinched when we passed a new, big boat beside our property. Pie is a great horse.

Above is a nice photo of our sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora).

And here is another sweet autumn friend enjoying a sweet autumn treat! This is my Brindle Boxer, Found in the Fog, gobbling yummy apples that have fallen off the tree. Foggy, a very dark bay, has bleached out to a strange color. I am looking forward to the arrival of his sleek winter coat, even though I could do without the winter temperatures that come with it.

don't let me catch those rainbow blues

2011-09-09T07:36:00.007-04:00

I think it actually stopped raining! Hooray!

Yesterday I put the horses out in the morning to run and play before the farrier arrived. They raced around but then the rain returned in buckets. I brought them in and had Pie in the cross-ties when farrier Mike got there. Pie tried very hard to be good, but he was certain that Mike was a playmate and holding up his foot was a fun game. This is NOT Pie's usual behavior with the farrier.

Pie would stand for a few minutes and then he would pull his foot back and wait for Mike to pull too. You could see by Pie's face and forward ears that he thought it was a fun trick. At one point, I looked back and saw Mike holding on to Pie's right rear as it circled many times in the air. I thought to myself that I have the best farrier. He never let go and he didn't get angry. He understood that Pie was not trying to kick him. Mike also realized that patience actually helped us keep Pie with us and get the job done faster. It was quiet in the barn as he worked. There was no slapping, no yelling, no unhappy reactions. I held Pie's lead and Mike held his circling feet. There aren't many people in the world who would understand the difference between letting a horse get away with something that should be corrected and letting a horse have some wiggle room in an unusual situation. I happen to have a farrier who does and consequently, Pie did stop pulling and his feet were all trimmed and filed perfectly in a short time. And, Mike's patience on this visit taught Pie that the farrier is confident and can be trusted in the future too. I see the idea of instilling confidence in horses thrown around all the time and usually it involves "doing something" to a horse. I love when confidence comes from being patient, still and quiet with a horse. Sovey and Foggy were perfect angels who stood quietly for all four feet.

I had to cancel the Dairy White spraying for today because the barn won't dry with our rain and humidity so I will reschedule that for later in September. This leaves me free to ride between promised lighter raindrops. I know the footing will be dicey, but I still might attempt a few minutes on Pie. He is a horse who needs his caloric intake balanced with his energy output. Because of the rain, his yummy hay intake has tipped the scales while snuggled in his warm and fluffy 15' x 14' stall. Today I hope to ease him into balance again with quiet walking.

You're the best team I've ever seen

2011-09-07T17:35:00.001-04:00

I put the boys out this morning for some happy romping in the "sacred lake" that forms when we have excessive rains. We call this puddle "Sovereign's Miracle" because he and I wished it to appear and it did! I hurried and cleaned all three stalls and scrubbed their six buckets before more torrential rains would force me to put them back inside. Fortunately, I was able to keep them outside until 3 pm. Our sheds are fine for normal rains, but the ground is beyond super-saturated at this point and it is silly for the horses just to stand in the sheds when there is no cessation in the rain. Maizie's school closed early today because of the weather.

The farrier is coming tomorrow and the Dairy White man is coming Friday and I have three horses stuck inside because of a flood. Don't you love when you plan out everything perfectly and it all goes cracker dog? The Dairy White man removes cobwebs and sprays the interior of the barn with a horse safe white spray. I have to move everything (that I don't want sprayed) into the tackroom or wagonshed and I didn't anticipate having an audience when I was moving things around. Pie, Sovey and Foggy watched my every move as I used ladders to take down clocks and cross-ties. Pie was especially worried when I disassembled the "treat station" (photo below of Pie's beloved treat station after the Dairy White man brightened up the barn in 2008).

Close up of the homemade yummy treats!

I have had plenty of time to groom because of all the rain. Unfortunately, standing still is especially difficult for three cooped up boys. I can tell the sweeties are trying so hard to be good. If anyone ever needed proof that horses do better outside 24/7 they should meet my three who are currently climbing the walls. Pie plays frantically with his lips, flipping them up and down at high speeds so they make a loud flapping sound. This is his way of expressing his nervous, pent-up energy. His trimming should be fun tomorrow. Riding will be even more exciting...can't wait (eye rolling)!

it's just a box of rain

2011-09-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

It seems like it has been raining for 24 hours straight so I brought the boys in this morning for a thorough grooming and then I left them in their stalls for the rest of the afternoon. The svelte Brothers Johnson are pleased as punch. Pie-Pie, not so much. My mom just phoned to let me know that she gave everyone more hay and refilled their water buckets. She said that Pie is nothing but a butterball. That he is.

I "cloud nine" when I want to

2011-09-04T09:42:00.001-04:00

I rode yesterday afternoon and then last evening I went back over to the barn for manure pick-up. As usual, I had three helpers...Pie has his nose in the wheelbarrow and skinny Foggy is to his left. You can see Sovey's nose peeking behind Pie.

Here Sovey is nuzzling up his buddy Pie.

Sigh. Work isn't work when you are with horses.

August and everything after

2011-08-30T16:47:00.001-04:00

Pie on our goldenrod ride yesterday.

Much thought recently about the different ways I ride depending on who I am riding. A summer of quiet rides without too many incidents on anyone has left me reflecting on what works with all three boys. One common theme is my need to act like I am on a rental horse, but keep my lessons and knowledge close by if needed. In other words, I ride like an actress- a professional liar. I try to be relaxed, as if I have zero clue about what could happen. Remember the very first time you rented a horse and you didn't know about a shy or a bolt? You were free of any hesitation, anticipation, worry. That is how I have been riding lately. Of course, deep down, where hopefully my horse won't know, I try to stay focused about what to do if I need to react. This trick really has made my outings better than ever. My mother has been calling my rides on Pie, our most difficult boy, "pony rides" because that is how they appear. He has been wonderful. Sovey and Foggy have been too. I think of it like walking over hot coals and smiling. Yes, my seat is relaxed. Yes, my reins look long. It is all good and calm and easy. And, if there is a blow-up, I am secretly ready to sit tight, inch the reins up through my fingers, (grab mane!) and focus on riding well.

I am reminded of a scene in Room with a View when Cecil tells his mother how he thinks he and Lucy should raise children:

"Mother, I shall have our children educated just like Lucy. Bring them up among honest country folk for freshness, send them to Italy for...subtlety. And not till then bring them to London."

Of course, only Daniel Day-Lewis can say it in the way Forster intended, but I've been thinking of that scene as it applies to riding. The reason Cecil is so impressed with Lucy is because she isn't just one dimensional - she isn't all London and society or all Italy and culture or all Summer Street and country. Her strength lies in the combination of the education/environment. Riding my boys has shown me that I do better to combine tactics. Keep the experience and knowledge close by, but ride like I am oblivious about what could happen.

Let's just hope I am so frivolous with my courage and proclamations when the winds of autumn pick up. It sure was chilly this morning!

But still the days seem the same

2011-08-24T20:07:00.002-04:00

Today was Maizie's first day back at school. There was a chill in the air this morning when I walked her to the bus stop (6:55 a.m. - ugh!) and the wind was steady all day. It felt like fall. Even last evening, when Maizie, Brian, and I played our last tennis of "summer" and the boys grazed in the pasture nearby, the shadows were long and golden.

I was very sad to see her go back after our spectacular summer, but happy that I have three horsey boys to comfort me all day! I am able to be at the barn from 7am - 2pm now. How great is that? I was able to ride most days this summer, but it just feels less rushed now.

Pie and I headed out on a big adventure this morning - insert my hysterical foreshadowing photoshopped photo, above! I did have a saddle on him (thankfully). He has been livelier than usual so I opted for the saddle on Monday and today.

Pie picks up bad mounting habits during the bareback (barstool) summer, so I worked with him today on the mount. He has a tendency to get nervous and turn his hind quarters away from me. When I make a second attempt he is even more nervous which is obvious by his rein grabbing and teeth chomping. Today I decided in the barn that we would go out to our mounting area and just stand around. When I could stand beside him without him being nervous, I clicked my tongue and gave him a treat. Then I stood back near the saddle and repeated the click/treat. Next, I moved to the block, and finally I got the perfect, quiet stand I was after. This happened last year too and I was defeated, but now I am so much better able to handle these little setbacks. I let go of the idea of whatever it was that I was planning to do, and realize that this is what we are doing. So, today, I breathed out and decided that I could care less if I rode. Pie and I were going to practice the mount. And, when he caught on so fast, I decided not to redo it and just stayed on him. I said thank you and gave him a "jackpot" and many "good boys". We have tomorrow and everyday after that to practice. I used to get off and redo a couple of times which just made him think that I didn't like the first effort. Today, I was on so we walked on and he snorted a release. Good boy.

After a great blustery ride through the woods and fields, Pie and I returned to the farmhouse and barn area. We had to pass one of our three luscious apple trees with their siren songs calling the weak and rotund Pie-Pie. He has historically been known to plaster his ears and buck if I urge him forward without stopping. This is obviously unacceptable. I always allow the horses to graze at the trees if I am on the ground so I want Pie to learn to move through the apple-dappled grass and back to the barn without a hesitation if I am riding. Today and Monday he moved through perfectly! Good boy, again.

Right before we got to the driveway, we heard a helicopter hovering in the distance. I turned Pie so he could see it better. We were out near the road and the helicopter started coming toward us and descending! Pie was standing with his head high and his heart was beating through his whole body. I didn't want to dismount because I am lousy at leading him when he is scared. For a split second I thought of my dear blogging friend, Once Upon an Equine and her ordeal with sweet Marley and the helicopter. Then, I tried to relax and empty my brain. It worked, unbelievably. Pie stood there and watched the helicopter fly back and forth over the power lines (checking for damage after yesterday's earthquake?) and behind the trees. How this horse got to be so good, I will never know. He was superb!

Next, I rode Sovereign bareback in the wind - I'll save that (long-winded) story for another time!

Pie says, "MOO!" and gets his 15 minutes

2011-08-03T23:02:00.002-04:00

This adorable photo of Pie with a MOO sticker on his nose was featured in the MOO Blog today! MOO, my new favorite printing company, is holding a City Stickers competition and I thought Pie might not mind participating!

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon MOO when looking for new calling cards. (The above link is to their US site, but if you are in the UK - To Catch A Pony - you'll want to click here.) Even though she is a fictional character, I blame Holly Golightly for my calling card addiction. I design and distribute new ones incessantly. Finding the right paper weight and brilliant color is quite a feat. (I am picky!) Too many nights I sit and google "business cards" only to discover sub-par offerings. I ordered a sample pack from MOO and was knocked out by the quality.

The very next morning after I found MOO, they offered free stickers to the first 1000 etsians who responded! I was in my usual horse vs. art freak-out-mode. I wanted my stickers to be perfect, but I also wanted to go and ride and I didn't have time to get all my photos together in photoshop. So, I went to the barn and missed out. Then, the next morning, they offered the same deal to the first 500 people. Oh! Twice in a row!

What an old school fool I was. If I had just started uploading my photos, I would have found out that MOO does everything for you! I didn't need to resize or color correct. It is tough to let go and trust when you are used to making sure everything is perfect in photoshop first.

AND...the very best part is that they print business cards, postcards, and their unique mini cards with different images on each card!!!! It is like carrying all my paintings and my entire blog in my pocket. Below are two of the 50 (!) different images ($21.99) I ordered as calling cards.

Of course, Pie didn't care one straw about MOO and how great they are as printers. He just wanted me to get that sticker off his face and let him get back to gobbling apples!

Always in a hurry, I never stop to worry

2011-07-29T07:40:00.001-04:00

The whirlwind summer continues (see last post) but I am able to ride most mornings. Hooray! The horses have been wonderful. Pie and Sovey go bareback and on the buckle happily. Foggy is still excited to go out as far as he can go, and he is now dropping his head and relaxing on our rides.

Brian and I ran the Harrisburg Mile on July 20. During the run, I kept thinking of Foggy racing down the homestretch with the announcer saying, "Found in the Fog - 40 to 1 - Hello!" I was very happy with my 7:08 time (my over 40 PR) and Brian broke the tape again and won his age group. Maizie qualified for sectionals in her Junior Team Tennis so we will be heading off to Princeton for her to play there in a week. I will miss the boys terribly.

Grooming them in the barn in the hot afternoons has brought me such peace with all the scurrying around we do. Horses are the very best way to unwind and stay balanced.

Last night it rained buckets after a few hot, dusty weeks. I can't wait to see the three mud pies waiting for me this morning!

Radiant Zappa Summer

2011-07-08T23:02:00.004-04:00

A few days ago, Brian and I were reflecting on how perfect this summer has been. We are in the middle of a humid heat wave right now, but all in all, we, as a family, have had a glorious summer. I thought it might be interesting to document a typical day for posterity so yesterday, July 7, 2011, I took a photo every hour or so from the time I woke up.

6:40 am - Wake up and make iced coffees for Maizie and me. Notice the condensation on the outside of glasses - very humid!

Yummy recipe: 2 TBSP Cinnamon Spice Dunkin Donut Coffee combined with 1 Cup boiling water in french press. Press and divide equally in 2 tall glasses. Add 1 TBSP cream to each glass and fill with ice. Only 50 calories of early morning yumminess and the real cream (read label - make sure it has only one ingredient listed - cream) holds you till lunch! No sugar or fake sugar to make you hungry.

7:40 am - Walk our summer lodger, sweet Zoe.

Historically, Bernese Mountain Dogs pulled small cheese carts to market each morning by holding the tow rope in their mouths. Zoe likes to hold her leash in her mouth. Who did we find on our walk lurking near the high grasses? Of course...the adorable Noodlebug!

8:10 am - Drive to barn. Boy, my windshield is dirty!

8:20 am - All three horses making their way out to the far pastures.

I don't want them to see me driving in right now. I have to refill water buckets with fresh water in their stalls before I bring them inside. They are pests if they spy me. If they see me before I am ready for them, they will come to the gate and paw, and get bit up by the flies and bite each other. So, I am grateful they are heading out to graze.

8:40 am - Here they come trotting down to me when I call - please don't run me over!

9:00 am - Grooming the big boy, Pie.

9:30 am - Perfect ride on the Pie. In the woods...

...a few minutes later...trotting through the field...

...and a stroll through the neighborhood.

10:20 am - Post-ride grazing to dry off.

11:00 am - Back out in the field - this time on Foggy boy.

And, through the woods, too.

Foggy was a funny one this day. He was so nervous in the barn while I attempted to groom him. I hadn't ridden him in four days because he had been slightly off on his right front. I noticed when I brought him in, though, that he was sound so I planned to hop on a little. I don't know if he knew this, but he was very up. He would not stand for grooming. He wanted to go out of the barn. He didn't want to graze. He was looking at something off in the distance. He didn't want to be back in the barn with his friends. He wanted to GO. I got the bridle and hopped on bareback. He headed out way too quickly toward the auto-auction. I jumped off. What is the deal? I brought him back to the barn and re-mounted and relaxed my seat and asked him to go out again, this time at my pace and my direction. He listened, but was still driving forward toward some unknown muse. About 1/4 mile from the barn it became apparent what the excitement was all about. I had ridden Pie out a gate that is rarely opened. The farmer had cut part of our hay field and left the gate open. That is how Pie and I got out to the neighborhood earlier. Foggy must have seen this and he wanted to go too. I allowed him to walk out a tiny bit, but I am not super confident about riding him out there yet - especially bareback. Still, I am unbelievably grateful for his enthusiasm!

Noon - Heading back home for lunch.

Maizie and Brian started without me. (I had to edit Brian out - chewing - understandably asked that I cut that!)

Noodlebug and Zoe. Noodlebug could care less who sees her chewing.

My Very Berry Iced Tea Zinger - cool and perfect!

And luscious Amy's Lentil Vegetable Soup topped with sour cream and curry powder. Too bad this photo looks like it is a bowl full of yucky gruel.

12:30 pm - Noodle curls up for post-luncheon napping.

12: 52 pm - Back to the barn to meet the farrier. Just a few minutes for manure pick up - fun!

1:30 pm - Farrier Mike is working on the best boy, Foggy. He stands quietly even though off to his left...

...Sovey is swinging the cross-tie in crazy circles! I took a video, but it is too dark. This photo is too, so I had to try to find the image in photoshop. Sovey is very naughty and smart. He throws the cross-tie and then catches it on its way back by and then he swings it like a lasso and then does the whole bit again. Oh, that horse. Of course he was the perfect gentleman for his trimming.

2:15 pm - Pie's turn. "Julwee, pweez don't let him hurt me."

3:15 pm - Horses back out and enjoying a much needed downpour.

3:45 pm - Grocery stop - apples and carrots topping the list!

4:00 pm - Quick salad snack with Brian

5:00 pm - Maizie and best friend Sophie playing doubles on wet courts.

Yesterday was Maizie's last practice with this team and they had a pizza party at the courts. This was a great group of kids and Maizie was sad to see it end. They played from 5pm - 7:30 pm and I think they would have played all night if we would have let them.

Sad puppy. So glad she met these great friends!

8:00 pm - Super spruce bathroom cleanup with my new favorite products...

Mrs. Meyers!!!

Who cares if it is 8 o'clock at night? My new best friend, Mrs. Meyers, makes me want to clean! Maizie and Brian say I've gone round the twist, but this stuff smells soooo good.

And, that is a typical day for me this summer. Tomorrow will be atypical. Maizie won our district meet in the Standing Long Jump so we are driving up to Penn State so she can compete in the state meet tomorrow morning. No horsey rides for me, but that is ok. I have had so many great horse days this summer. I hope your summer is shaping up to be grand and horse-filled!

**********************************************

UPDATE!!!!!!! - July 9, 2011 - 5:12 pm EST - Just got back from Maizie's state meet. She won with a jump of 7'8.75". We are soooo happy!

I've been one poor correspondent

2011-06-21T20:16:00.006-04:00

Look at those adorable long bunny ears! Can you guess who they belong to? Yes, they are the crazy long ears of one cute Found in the Fog as we headed out on our ride this morning. I've been one poor correspondent and I've been too, too hard to find recently in the blogger world mainly because my real life has taken over my virtual life! Riding three horses, petsitting our usual summer puppy friends, and mostly being Maizie's mommy has taken me away from the computer. I can't say I am sorry though - summer is too short to miss!

These ears, above, are also from this morning, but these are Pie's ears. I rode him first. Here he is, below, trying to touch the mailbox so I will give him a treat!

When Pie and Sovereign first came to our farm, they loved to head out through the fields on our rides and it was difficult to get them to go back to the barn. Sometimes my rides stretched into two hour adventures because they just never had enough. I loved that! After a year or so, though, both horses were done with adventuring. I ride them out each day happily, but they don't seem to want to go much farther than our borders. Also, they walk back to the barn/pastures willingly, if not, quickly.

Now that Foggy is with us and I am able to ride him, I am noticing the very same initial desire to go out far and I am having difficulties getting him back to the barn after we go out. Does anyone know what causes this?

Foggy is attached to Pie and Sovey. He doesn't like to graze or be away from the barn if they are in the barn. He will call and rush back to the barn. Yet, when I ride him, he wants to leave and just keep going. He could care less about them.

Today, I took him out much farther than I ever had before on the trails. When it was time to come home, he would not go forward in that direction. He wants to head east. If I trick him and take him another way, as soon as he spies the barn, he circles and tries to head away. Pie and Sovey used to do the very same thing in the first year they were with us. I had to dismount sometimes to get them back to the barn. Today, I had to dismount to get Foggy back home too. I am not really complaining - I love a horse that is willing to keep riding. But, I know how this goes. It happened with the other two. They just stopped wanting to go out far one day and now their homing device is set to the barn. I used to think it was Philadelphia, where they all came from - east of us that was "calling" the horses home. Really though, it is any direction away from what they know. It is exactly like they want to see what is out there, but after a year, they don't care anymore. I have to force Pie and Sovey to investigate uncharted land now, but for the first year, they pulled me to see more. Now Foggy is in that stage. I don't want it to end, but I wish I knew what was going on and why it happens like this.

In addition, I am still riding Foggy bareback because he is built weird and skinny right now and I don't think my saddle fits him correctly. When Pie and Sovey were in their early investigation stage, at least I had a saddle and stirrups so I could lean forward and comfort them (myself) by patting (grabbing) mane. With Foggy, I am out there bareback and bitless and pretty much along for the ride as he happily walks around the farm. He is much smaller than the other two in height so I reassure myself that a fall won't hurt quite as much! I wish I could keep them all this interested in walking far away from the farm forever. I guess it is a good thing - I probably wouldn't ever come home.

Here is Foggy seeing a new neighboring field for the first time this morning. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is on the other side and the loud trucks were racing. He could care less - he just kept moving forward away from the barn with a purpose.

I adore this photo!!!! Somehow, I captured Foggy's quick side glance at a scary object. A year from now, he will shy big at all this like Pie and Sovey do now when they see scary things. But, in this early stage, nothing is too frightening - a quick glance and then he keeps moving away from the barn. What is this all about and why can't they stay like this?

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We have had gorgeous sunsets every night here of pink and orange and blue. Too lovely for words. And, this second there are singing birds and fragrant Locust and Chinese Chestnuts trees wafting their evening scents all around. June 21st is sweet and sorrowful all at the same time. I can almost forget summer's bugs right now.

On Thursday, Maizie and Brian achieved their Jubilee Day goals of pull-ups (him 25) and flexed arm hang (her 76 seconds) and earned their Marine Corps t-shirts that say "Pain is weakness leaving the body". How funny is that? Here are videos of them!

Tonight I was rushing around trying to clean up after dinner and get Maizie to her tennis practice. I glanced in the mirror and said, "Oh, my goodness...look at me!" I still had on my barn clothes and my face was dirty and my hair was nutty. Maizie said sweetly, "I think you look pretty, Mama." Then she added, "In an Albert Einstein sort of way."

Every picture tells a story

2011-06-12T22:47:00.006-04:00

Here is a hysterical picture of me on my sweet pony, Dimples, and my mom with a tail!!!! (Click to enlarge.) How funny is that? The date on the photo is January of 1971 but it must have been taken sometime in the summer of '71. I was four years old. Mom and I are sporting our favorite matching outfits - made out of old curtains. I am not kidding - we have older photos of my mom from her high school days and those curtains are hanging in the living room window!

It looks to me like it is Maizie on Dimples. She really looked like that when she was four. Sadly, Maizie is terribly allergic to horses, but she does help me graze now and then. I had her take riding lessons last summer to learn basic horse safety, but her allergies made her face and eyes swell and kept her sneezing through the whole lesson. Fortunately, she did learn some important horse handling skills which came in handy last week when Foggy and Sovey got loose! I was leading Pie out of the ring gate and because it was so buggy and hot, Foggy decided he was leaving too. He slipped through the gate on the off side of Pie. Sovey hesitated a moment while I was reacting and he also slipped out! Both brothers were completely loose and without halters. Maizie calmly walked up to the horses as they headed toward the barn and detained Sovey while Foggy investigated the wagonshed thoroughly. Meanwhile, I was freaking out like a chicken with my head cut off trying to figure out what to do with Pie. He was very cooperative and allowed me to stick him back in the pasture. I ran up and grabbed two halters. Maizie put one on Sovey and I got Foggy. She really saved the day with her calm demeanor and quick thinking - unlike me!

I am struggling to find the perfect time of day to ride now that Maizie is home all day. I tried evenings for two nights. The honeysuckle smell has been heavenly and I love the soft pink evening light, but the bugs are just too bad. Last evening Pie went crazy even though I sprayed him thoroughly. I thought he was going to buck me off because his belly was getting bit. Tonight's ride on Sovey was exactly the same - not pleasant because of the flies and gnats. I was bareback and poor Sovey shook so many times and his skin was flicking and twitching the whole time.

I bring the horses into their stalls if it is 90 degrees or above during the day and they really don't want to go back outside in the evening because of the bugs. I am probably going to go back to morning rides and hope that makes a difference. I give the horses garlic, spray them with different products, and use fly masks, but this year nothing is working. Tonight while I was putting the bridle on Sovey in the forebay, he pushed the screen door open and walked back into the barn before our ride. Talk about giving me a complex! My horse disappears and hides in his stall when it is time to go riding. Ugh!

Crazy Janey and her mission man

2011-06-07T15:57:00.002-04:00

Looking back on the week before Memorial Day and all through that holiday weekend we had humid and terribly hot days. On June 2nd the temperatures dropped and the pressure rose and we had 5 glorious days! Can you guess what I was doing everyday? Riding my boys - mostly two a day! The heat is coming back tomorrow - yuck.

Today is June 7th! I love that date. There is something so summer-y and end-of-school-like about saying June 7th. (Although, Maizie's school doesn't end until this Thursday!) I remember on January 7th dreaming about what I might be doing on June 7th.

I got to the barn early today and tacked up the Pie. You can see his silly ear as we headed out past the tennis court. He has been an exceptional horse the last few weeks. Last Thursday, a road crew was working in front of our farm and Pie demanded to visit the stop-sign-turning-guy. In fact, the man crossed us over to the church and back again on our way home! It was auto-auction day with traffic and loud speakers but my good Pie wanted to investigate off our property. I just adore him!

These two are from this morning's ride.

And this one, below, is also from this morning, but I am on the Foggy-boy. He is eating apples out of a tub so I can sneak on bareback! I ride him in the ring with a saddle and he is a perfect angel. Rings just aren't my thing, though, so recently I have been climbing on while he grazes in the evening. A few nights ago, I was on him and he was munching happily in Sovey's bridle (the one without a throat latch criss-cross) and he somehow stepped out of it and there we were - no bridle, no saddle - just a fly mask!!! I think I could hold Foggy in the palm of my hand though, so I wasn't too worried. He is gaining weight with his happy beet pulp snack.

I love when horses groom and "hug" each other. I especially love it when the brothers do it. I never was on a horse before when the hugging started, but this morning Foggy and Sovey included me in their snuggling. I was a little scared of the alligator Sovey having his teeth so close to my knee, but the little naughty decided to grab hold of my right rein and play with it and tug it around. I reached down and got it from him and guided Foggy away from the paddock!

And in more "summer is coming" news, my Crazy Maizie Jane-(y) and her mission man daddy, Brian, have been keeping us all busy with serious athletic events. This past Saturday morning, Maizie jumped 8 feet 1/2 inch in the standing long jump and won our local meet! Last year she was third in the state, but this was her best jump ever in a meet. (Got to love the sign, above. No Sunflower Seeds!)

She and Brian have also been training each evening to do pull-ups at Jubilee Day this year. The Marines set up a bar and challenge men to do 20 pull-ups and women to hang with bent arms for 70 seconds. Maizie and Brian are determined to earn a tee shirt(!) so they have been practicing.

I am not usually as competition happy as those two. This year, however, I have committed to running the Harrisburg Mile in July. I have always been a runner, but the words, "Runners take your mark" make me nauseous. Then, in the middle of May we received the Harrisburg Mile application form in the mail.

Brian was on the front cover!!!!!!!!

I decided that must be some kind of sign that I am supposed to race too this year! Everything I do has ulterior motives that all lead back to horses and riding. I figure that my race training will make me lighter for little Foggy-boy's rides!

You just might find you get what you need

2011-05-28T08:21:00.003-04:00

Thanks everyone for the great feeding suggestions to help Foggy with his weight. I did start adding beet pulp to his diet. This new addition has caused comic relief just when I need it most. I don't know if these three are actually funny horses, or if it is my perception, but every new "event" seems to elicit a response that cracks me up. Pie especially, is a funny horse. He is so huge with big expressive eyes and big head and body movements that "act out" what he is thinking. I have been bringing the horses inside the barn and putting them in their stalls in order to give Foggy his beet pulp and grain. I give Pie a meager handful of grain to keep him happy. Since Sovey is on the thin side like Foggy, I give him some beet pulp with his grain. They all have hay and water in there too, but Pie finishes his gratuitous grain without beet pulp long before the other two. I get him out and put him in the cross-ties to groom him, but you can hear the other two boys slurping and gobbling and chewing. Pie stops fidgeting and listens. He holds his breath so he can hear better. He looks around the barn and then lowers his head to look at me all cross-eyed and serious, like he is questioning, "Hey, Julie, what is going on in here? I think there is some yummy chewing going on. Do you hear that? What is all that slurping and gobbling? Did I get that food too? I am not remembering eating something that sounds that yummy?" I feel sorry for him, but he is such an easy keeper in a barn full of svelte, beet pulp gobbling brothers.

My rides have been consistent, although it has been hot (80 - 90 degrees) and buggy. I ride Pie and Sovey bareback and wonder if I will ever be able to ride Foggy bareback - he has very high withers.

Last evening I had an unexpected gift of quality time with all three horses. I got Pie out of the pasture to graze and ride. As I was standing there with him, though, I realized that the whole barn scene was chaotic. The heat and humidity were oppressive. The gnats were driving Pie crazy, causing him to swish his tail and kick and circle like a madman. Maizie and her friends were whopping it up loudly on the tennis court. My mom was flying around on a riding mower and our sweet farm helper, Melanie, was using a hand mower. Brian was periodically banging a sledge hammer into a pasture gate (I had hit it with a mower earlier and bent it!). Sovey and Foggy were pacing furiously in another pasture trying to escape the bugs. I brought all the horses into the barn to give them a brief respite from all the activity and just then a loud clap of thunder sent everyone scattering. Brian took Maizie to our home and mom and Melanie and kids went to their respective houses. I was left in the barn alone with a pouring rain storm outside and the three boys safe and sound inside with me.

Talk about a gift! Grooming in a barn with no chance of riding can be the most peaceful activity in the world. There is no rush, no hurry, no expectation of the next thing. Grooming is the destination. I stretched it out long and thorough with each horse. They were quiet and I could tell loved every second of me currying and brushing out all the day's sweat and bug itches. Happy, happy. Sigh.

Black Mountain Side/White Summer

2011-05-23T06:39:00.004-04:00

Rain and more rain has made riding challenging. I was able to fit in good rides on Pie and Sovey last week between raindrops. The footing is terrible and my grass paths in the field are almost gone because they've grown back. Our tree seedlings are very happy, though. Some sunshine on Saturday and Sunday and nice trotting work with Pie.

Pie has been bossy in the pastures to sweet Foggy and Sovey, shoving them off by light hock biting as soon as they get down to relaxed grazing. I take this as a cue that I am not working him nearly enough. He is easily my fattest, happiest boy with tons of boredom and naughty ideas. His extra energy is my responsibility, so we went on a long adventure to the church across the street on Saturday and then trotted our paths in the hayfield on Saturday and Sunday.

Foggy is still struggling to gain weight. He is not thriving like I want. I am up at night with worry. You can't force a horse to eat. His teeth are great. He is worm-free. I gave him a course of U-Gard. We have gorgeous, leafy alfalfa mix hay. I am supplementing him with a little grain. He has nice pastures. My staccato sentences illustrate my frustration. Insert my signature foot stamping here. Other than moving him into my house (I would love that but Brian is not buying) I can only pray and be patient. So I wait and groom and graze the little guy. I think he wants to go riding like the big boys, so I will keep up with our light walking. He just seems sad to me. Sovey did too when he came and it took some time for him to prosper. Pie has prospered enough for the whole lot of them. He is so full of himself, I wish he would share just a little of that joie de vivre with the sweet brothers.

I guess there's just one thing left for me to do

2011-05-17T07:43:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning I rode Foggy for the first time!!!! He was a perfect angel. I have waited a long time to ride him, mainly because of his weight. He is still thin, but he has put on some nice pounds with our grass and his coat is sleek and shiny. Mostly, I knew that any worry he may have had initially about being at our home has vanished. I like horses to know me long and well enough to be completely confident that I am offering only kindness. That way, when I introduce something new, like riding, they are happy to see what it is all about.

I groomed him while he grazed. This is our normal routine. Then, we walked up to the barn and spooked around in there. For the last few weeks, I have been taking Foggy into the barn and getting him used to the cross-ties. He is not at all worried about the cross-ties. Pie cross-ties perfectly, but Sovereign has never stood well in the cross-ties or relaxed in that space. Instead, he stands out in the forebay for tacking. I am happy that Foggy has zero problems in the cross-ties.

Yesterday, though, he stopped in the forebay and just stood there. This is probably not accurate, but it seemed to me like he has observed Sovereign standing there for tacking because he stood in the exact position where Sovey stands. So, I put the lead over his neck and left him there and went into the tackroom and got a saddle pad. When I returned, Foggy was standing like a statue. I used a thin, quilted pad and two fluffy white fleece pads. Foggy has high whithers and until he is the correct weight, I can't properly tackle saddle fitting. My saddle was high atop a pile of fluffy pillows, but I didn't care. I knew I was only going to walk him around a little. I hooked the girth very lightly and popped on the bitless bridle. I have tacked Foggy up before, but he always seemed nervous after tacking. This time, he was calm and relaxed.

Foggy is the type of horse that will do anything you want him to do. This sounds like a good thing, but it can be tricky to be sure that he wants to do something. Just because you can make a horse do something doesn't mean the horse is necessarily ready to do that. There is no worry in this camp with Pie. If he is willing, then he is happy and relaxed in his entire body. Sovey also is more demonstrative if he does or doesn't want to do something. Foggy, by contrast, will willingly do anything, but I can tell that sometimes he doesn't really want to do it. I don't want to rush him in anyway so I have to really keep a watch on my own enthusiasm and make sure he is completely ready for the next step.

Yesterday, Foggy was happy to be tacked up so I walked him down and we carried the mounting block around. He is afraid of the mounting block. This is a perfect example of what I mean by his willingness to do anything even if he isn't comfortable. When Pie first arrived, he was terrified of the mounting block. He would snort and back up and let me know with his whole being that he was scared. I used treats to slowly introduce the green, plastic contraption to him and he got over his fear in a few introductions. Foggy is also scared, but he is so slight and less vehement about any fear. He will walk around the scary thing and let me carry it and stand on it, but Foggy really isn't over the fear. Just because I can "force" him to be near it doesn't mean I shouldn't take the same time I did with Pie. So I've been putting treats all over the block and letting Foggy "meet" the monster. Easy horses get the short end of the stick sometimes and I don't want to cheat Foggy out of proper introductions and training.

I had Foggy stand beside the block and easily leaned over and put some weight on the saddle. He is so short compared to the other boys. Then, I got on gently. He stood still and I gave him many "good boys" and a few treats, which he could not believe he could get with a rider on his back! We stood quietly like that for a little bit and then I asked him to walk with a light squeeze. He walked nicely around the ring with his head a little high, but not too worried. The auto-auction was using a loud backhoe and he watched that with interest. As we circled a few times, he lowered his head and relaxed his whole body. I stopped after ten minutes. He walked forward on the dismount. I remember Pie did this too at first, so I know we can work on that later. All in all, it was a great first "ride"!

Time ticks by her one race at a time

2011-05-14T07:53:00.002-04:00

Saturday, May 7th was Pie's 6th birthday and our Kentucky Derby Tree Seedling Planting Party. The weather was strange - first sunny, then cloudy, next wickedly windy and then cold - in that order! My family, friends and neighbors were true troupers, though, and kindly planted many of the 350 seedlings. The horses were front and center for most of the festivities as you can see in the photos below. I have uploaded more photos on a special page HERE. Thank you so much Melanie P. and Melanie B. for the superb photography!

Our sign out at the road.

Maizie and her friends served as tree planting helpers. Here Austin is pointing out where to plant.

Maizie leads a group out to the fields.

Of course, Birthday Boy Pie and friend, Sovey, had to get some snacks from the tree planters!

Dappled Pie and Foggy grazing.

Two brothers grazing.

Our kind Apple-Barstool friends joined in the fun!

We planted Crabapple, White Pine, Shag Bark Hickory, Dogwood, and Hawthorne. All are "horse safe".

We set up tables in the backyard. This area used to be a swimming pool! The pool was built circa 1959 and it collapsed in the 1990's. The view of the horses and pastures from here is perfect. Guests brought a dish to share and the food was fabulous.

My Aunt Martha and her friend had this amazing cake made for our party!!!! Isn't it wonderful? She took the design from the top of my blog! I was so surprised! It was delicious too - a vanilla and cinnamon spice cake. Yummy! Aunt Martha reads my blog and I am so glad she could share in our special day. She really knows the history of our farm - here is a photo of her walking out to this very pool (when it was still there) on July 4, 1966.

Here's one of Maizie and her friends - the tree planting crew!

I brought Foggy up to the party and of course, the Birthday Boy, Pie, above, had to get some loving and treats too. I had groomed the horses perfectly, but Pie rolled and has mud above his eye!

Maizie organized a Kentucky Derby dollar pool. Here she is with our friend, Greg, collecting money. I think they look like two Bookies!

Our friend, Kathy, above, not only planted trees in her lovely Kentucky Derby skirt and hat, but she split the Derby pot with my father-in-law, Ernie, by picking Animal Kingdom to win. Congratulations to you two! As usual, I couldn't watch the race, but I had fun grazing my boys while the race was running.

It was a great day. Thank you, everyone, for planting trees at Honeysuckle Faire!

Don't forget to see all the photos - CLICK HERE!

Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day

2011-05-07T06:17:00.000-04:00

Today is Pie's 6th birthday!!! Here we are on the trail yesterday morning. I have been riding every single day first thing in the morning and then I work on a huge project...

We are having a Kentucky Derby - Pie-Pie's-Birthday - plant a tree seedling picnic today! I can't believe it is finally here and it might be sunny! Hooray!

I got 350 (!) seedlings from the state and I have been preparing our fields with paths and pre-dug holes for the little ones and older guests. I woke up today at 5 am without an alarm. That isn't like me!

My only rule with this project was that I rode every day before I started work on the seedling preparations. Even today, I might sneak in a ride. It took me 44 years to get my priorities right - ride, groom, graze, first - do the rest of life after. It is the only way to be happy and keep sane!

Happy Kentucky Derby day. Love up your ponies. I will have photos of our event and finally get back to reading all the blogs next week!

I'm gonna play with free livin' lads down the street

2011-04-27T07:36:00.000-04:00

Three great (some rain but sun too) days in a row and three great rides on Pie and Sovereign. Here is Sovey during our post-ride grazing session yesterday posing by the cherry tree.

On Easter Sunday morning I rode Sovey and put the other two boys in the barn in their stalls with hay and snacks and water. Usually I put them in special pastures but our pastures have all gone to muck. It rains everyday now, even if the sun comes out later. Then, it is humid and buggy and muddy. Our barn has screen doors (!!!) so it is cool and fly-free. Sunday was the first time I put them in there when I rode and I have to say it was wonderful. Pie and Foggy were sleepy and peaceful when Sovereign and I returned.

This photo, above, shows Sovey's bridle with the throat latch that goes nowhere and the reins hooked to the noseband. We like this!

On Monday, Pie and I had to head out at noon because of the morning downpours. It was squishy and humid, but look at the violets! I left Sovey and brother, Foggy, together in the barn and they were equally happy.

The neighborhood beside us was built in the 1960's on top of a creek that ran through our property. The creek is gone, but with all our rains, the basements in these homes have flooded. The people have been pumping water out with sump pumps. In this photo, Pie encountered wild looking black plastic pipe, coiled and drying on a clothesline. He looked and thought about it for a few seconds, and then did nothing. What a good boy!

This photo is blurry because Pie is pawing for a treat from my mom (spoiled), but you can see that I am riding in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. It was 77 degrees!

Sovey ears and my uncle's barn in background.

Now you see the dandelions...

now you don't!

Sovey loves to munch dandelions and violets. He is a salad gourmand.

Made the skyline look like crooked teeth

2011-04-23T08:31:00.004-04:00

We had an equine dentist out to work on the boys on Wednesday. Here is Sovey, above, giving me the listening ear on our ride Thursday. Sovereign was a happy boy on our ride - I think mostly in part to his new ability to chew correctly and relax his facial muscles.

My Sovey is not always a happy camper. I have been using clicker training with him to work on "happy faces" (I call it Ears Up Mother Brodie) when on a lead or getting tacked up, and he is super quick to understand that "trick" but in the pastures, at liberty, he still carries his ears back. That tells me that something might hurt. I have learned that before you call in massage or chiropractic help, it is important to make sure that a horse has proper jaw alignment. Kate over at A Year With Horses did an exceptional post back in December of last year about how a natural balance equine dentist can assess lateral alignment and front to back movement. Kate's post was well written and informative and I've referred to it many times since. I phoned her dentist, Mike Fragale, and he gave me the name of a natural balance equine dentist, Rick Samuels, whom Mike recommended to visit my horses in Pennsylvania. Rick doesn't have a website, but his email is: lazysequine@yahoo.com.

Kate's post describes how natural balance equine dentistry is different from traditional floating. I do not want to try to restate what she has already said so definitely check it out here to understand the different approach.

I had the boys in their stalls when Rick arrived. They were very calm and continued to munch hay happily when Rick came into the barn. We talked about Sovereign at length and then Rick went around to each horse and introduced himself and he watched and felt their jaw and face and teeth. Rick explained that the upper and lower jaws on a horse are supposed to grind and chew in an oval motion, moving around freely. If the teeth grow enamel on the outside edges that aren't used properly due to previous improper floating, that growth is like little "hooks" that latch the jaws and stop the correct oval-shaped grinding movement. In addition, as the horse puts his head down to graze, the jaws are to move forward freely, but the sharp hooks can prevent that too. Rick said that Sovereign had very little movement laterally and practically none when he put his head down. A horse is supposed to have relaxed muscles while resting with his head dropped. When hooks prevent the jaws from aligning correctly, the horse has to use his muscles (constantly) to hold them in the unnatural position. This puts strain on the temporomandibular (TMJ) joints and can cause pain and stress down through the neck and back.

Rick is wonderful with the horses and worked gently and quietly and completely won their trust. He will sedate the horse if necessary, but surprisingly, all three of my boys were willing to have Rick work on them without sedation. I would not have believed this if I hadn't seen it. Rick said that Sovereign seemed to be aware of the help that he was offering, and he leaned into Rick allowing him to work easier. Pie had "wild" eyes and Rick was sure he would have to sedate him, but when his turn came, Pie cooperated fully. Poor little Foggy had no lateral movement at all to the one side. He was so good that I was able to get my hands in there and feel the points before and after removal.

I can honestly say that the horses acted unusual (in a good way) after Rick was there. They seemed relieved and shocked and a little unsure of their new movement. Rick said that sometimes they will "quid" or ball up hay and grass for a week after because their jaws and muscles need time to get used to the new movement. My boys started chewing well straightaway. In fact, Sovereign always had a problem taking treats from a flat hand and would inadvertently pinch your hand. Sadly, I think someone in his past punished him for this when he could not help it. As I took him out to the pasture after his dentist work, I palmed him a round carrot chip and he took it like a normal horse. I was so shocked, I kept feeding him more!

I worked for a large animal veterinarian for many years and held countless horse tongues while Doc filed away points with a huge metal rasp. Doc was careful to check with his fingers each tooth, but I don't think the science at the time realized the correct angles of the molars and incisors and how they fit like a puzzle.

This year, when we were in Florida, there was an article in the St. Petersburg Times about a local equine dentist going "high tech". He had a shiny new van equipped with thousands of dollars in power tools to grind and buff and file horse teeth. Unfortunately, power tools can often overfloat a horse's teeth and take away the perfect meeting of upper and lower teeth for necessary grinding.

I am so grateful that I read Kate's post and called Rick. Another testament to these blogs. I am certain my horses are more comfortable now. Foggy is grazing like a lawn mower now and he needs the extra weight!

The rain continues to pour down on us, yesterday and today. I just asked Brian where Noodlebug was and he said, "Up on her throne." Here she is...the princess on her throne, sleeping away the rainy day.

Now could be forever

2011-04-19T07:57:00.001-04:00

Pie and I had a great ride yesterday morning. First we rode around our big field and he was quiet and lazy. I could barely get him to trot. As we circled to the north, he was more spooky than I have ever seen him, but he stayed with me. He even did a strong backing/refusal to go forward when we entered the woods at first, but he never once went up into his half rear. At the end of the backing (usually the pop up time) we just calmly stood still. I talked to him and allowed him to stand. He backed some more, but then stopped. After what I felt was enough time to think about it, I asked him to go forward and made a big deal about one tiny step - loud "Good Boys" and then he kept going! Hooray! It was a nice practice on our own land - this usually only occurs when we are off our property. In the woods he was really nervous, shying at invisible ghosts. I thought that there must be deer in there, but after thinking about it some more, and running later in the day, I think Pie was shocked at the changes in the woods. We had heavy rains and flooding on Saturday and it seems like our leaves and flowering trees all just "popped" open at once. I think the woods he saw last week looked entirely different yesterday. To him, there were new green little shadows and white puffy cotton balls on every tree.

More rain today, so riding is out. I get to spend another day soaking wet, juggling little, sweet Foggy-boy from outside to inside trying to avoid lightning and save all the calories we have packed into our new boy.

I am not complaining about the rain. Rain brings little treasures. Yesterday, when Maizie and I headed out for an afternoon run, Brian told us to take a camera. This is what we found!

A carpet of Grape Hyacinths!

Gather round all your clowns

2011-04-16T09:30:00.001-04:00

Today is raining again but yesterday was sunny and gorgeous. Sovey and I headed out in his silly bitless without criss-cross straps. I don't know if you can see it in this photo. The one leather strap goes down and attaches to the noseband. The other is short and attaches to nothing. We love it!!!! Sovey has been perfect for two rides like this.

On Thursday, Pie was acting funny in the pasture, watching something to our south. On our ride, I saw that our farm market neighbor had erected their yearly circus tent. I didn't take Pie over to see, but Sovey wanted to investigate yesterday. You can see the orange tent in the distance. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is in between our farm and their farm. Sovey was very well behaved even though trucks were whizzing by us.

After the tent we encountered two loud, barking dogs. I circled them in red and they look little and far away, but they are large and loud. The neighbors put an underground fence to keep the dogs on their property, but they put the flags out on our land to add more grass to their "yard". Thanks a lot. I love all dogs and they crack me up when they are determined to bark like crazy - it is like they enjoy hearing how loud they can get. Horses don't always find it funny and I do think it takes some nerve to put their boundary flags out on our land. Sovey was scared at first, but then he walked right up to all their noisiness and looked down at them in a very condescending manner, like, "You two aren't so big. I could squish you with my big hoof if I wanted to. I won't, but really, could you please pipe down a little. You are hurting my big ears with all that noise."

I love this photo of Sovey's fuzzy ears, but it looks like an optical illusion because I don't cut a bridle path into either of the boys manes/foretops. It looks like Sovey might have his ears back and the foretop is coming over the browband, but in reality, Sovey has his ears pointed to the barn and is looking and listening to Pie screaming. Pie hasn't figured out that Foggy is there with him. Foggy is so good and quietly grazes while we ride.

Here is the gorgeous spring view I had while I grazed Sovereign after our ride. This photo is of Foggy-boy and our lovely Forsythia and Maizie's tire swing in the foreground. Sigh.

And another picture of our wagon shed and our license plate collection. I posted photos of this in May of 2009 and my mother had a fit. She thinks it looks so trashy. Aesthetics! I ADORE this view in a historical/country/dusty farmer sort of way. We have license plates from 1916! Imagine my delight when I discovered that my all time favorite Black Crowes song, Wiser Time, has a video that starts with a wall of license plates and the song is about that very essence of what I feel when I see our lovely wagon shed. And, bonus, the lyrics to that song are so true - on a good day (I know it ain't every day) we can part the sea. Sovey and I had a good day!

And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers

2011-04-15T07:59:00.001-04:00

Pie and I headed out through the woods yesterday morning for a great ride.

We popped out on this street and talked to neighbors and Pie was the perfect boy. I kept my seat tight and my reins loose and he "targeted" scary things (trash, bright flags in the ground, manhole cover). Anything for a treat. Here he is looking at me, asking if one such treat is on the way.

Thursday is trash day. Fortunately, we were back on our property when the trash truck and trash men arrived. You can see them in the distance of this photo, below. They are out on the street where we had just been. Pie probably would have been fine, but you never know.

It was a gorgeous day with temperatures in the 60's.

Pie greeted me with a nice, thick coating of mud. Here he is after some grooming. Mud is omnipresent.

He grazed in a patch of violets when we were finished with our ride.

I put some in his mane and foretop. He promptly shook them out!

And, here is the littlest bunny rabbit, Foggy, grazing in his new fly mask.

And all my dreams would come true

2011-04-13T09:09:00.005-04:00

Here is sweet Sovereign grazing. He and I had our best ride to date on Sunday. I have been having the usual barn sour/buddy sour issues with him so I wanted to concentrate on shifting his focus. Just for fun, I removed the criss-cross leather pieces under the jaw on the Dr. Cook's bitless bridle and hooked the reins directly to the noseband rings. Therefore, there is a browband and noseband, but no throat latch. Sovey loves changes, especially ones that free him up. This set-up has no more control than the halter and reins, but it is lighter on his face. I am beginning to realize that he isn't uncomfortable in his halter or saddle, but he is uncomfortable leaving Pie and Foggy.

We started out on our ride to the south of our property. Previously, his buddy sour worries manifest in him going horribly slow/balking/ear pinning for the first 10 minutes out away from the barn. Occasionally, he tries to turn around quickly and head back. He also refuses to step on the driveway at all if I am on him, which may be unrelated (sore feet?).

I decided that I was going to keep him moving forward (almost asking him to trot) with my reins long and if he turned back I was just going to go with that and keep him moving in any direction. That way we wouldn't get into a turning/tugging match, but he would have to keep moving forward.

For some reason, this approach worked. He didn't turn around once and never displayed any hesitation. I think our normal slow, boring, walk allows him time to worry about the other horses. When I am asking for the extended walk, he has to think and forgets his friends. Once away from the barn, I rode him more collected and he was fine. Good Sovey-boy!

Monday morning Pie and I had a warm, sunny ride before the vet came for spring shots (this photo is from chilly Thursday). Our temperatures got into the 80's later in the day and Pie anticipated the heat with a sleepy, perfect jaunt around the farm.

I put all the horses in their stalls for the vet's visit. Pie thought about throwing a little fit since he was inside and this was clearly NOT part of his accepted routine, but our earlier ride must have taken the edge off. All three horses are good for shots and never moved a muscle. I am so proud of them. They all stand like statues! Their fecals revealed that they are shedding well below the accepted range, so we are just going to worm in May and then recheck in September. I like that! No unnecessary poison. An errant skunk got in the pasture on Sunday evening and the horses were sniffing it. Good timing for their rabies shots.

The last few days have been extremely stressful for me trying to juggle Foggy inside and outside during our torrential rains. He doesn't have enough fat at this point to get soaking wet with our below normal temperatures. He was out all night on Monday and I didn't sleep at all listening to the pouring rain. We have the sheds, but he does what the big boys do and they are known to stand outside and eat. I originally thought I would get him a rain sheet when he arrived but I know I could have also taken the money and whipped it out in the street and it would have been just as helpful. This is because my Pie-Pie boy is very naughty and a sheet on Foggy would last about one minute until Pie ripped it off of him and tore it to shreds. Pie is known for his fly mask shredding and wheelbarrow tipping and any other devilish antics he can cook up. Sovey kindly handed me the road apple fork the other day, so he isn't above playing with "toys" either. So, the Foggy inside/outside marathon continues until we get a few consistently warm days!

Well all right, so I'm not working

2011-04-08T07:53:00.003-04:00

It is raining again this morning. It has been a cold, raw spring so far with highs only in the mid 40's and depressing, overcast skies spitting rain at every turn. I have been lucky to squeeze in rides most days, when the sun peeks out for two tiny hours. I am only able to do this because I didn't teach at all this year. I took off in the fall because Maizie started middle school and I wanted to be around for her transition. She settled in nicely, although I am still wrestling with the mood swings of a middle school girl - glad I have horses to comfort me! Then, with the distant hope of getting Foggy, I didn't want to commit to teaching in the spring. I have to admit, I like this schedule WAY too much - especially with this sporadic weather, I am so glad to be flexible. Yesterday's ride on Pie was during a patch of sun in the afternoon. The wind does pick up occasionally while I am riding, but both horses don't get flustered by wind, thankfully.

Here Pie is looking at the grass in anticipation of his post-ride hand grazing session!

We trotted quite a bit out on the trail. Pie is off slightly on his right front. He seems to work out of it the more we trot. As we headed back to the barn, I asked him to turn back for another walk in the woods. He hesitated slightly, but then willingly walked back around the woods. I am proud of him for doing this. Pie gets very comfortable with his routines and it is quite a stretch for him to change. The more I get these little "gives", the better he is when we encounter a crisis out on the trail.

Sovereign is the opposite. He is slightly barn/buddy sour, especially with the addition of a new brother. He balks right out of the box. Once I get him out and away, he enjoys routine changes.

Below is a video I took yesterday of Pie walking up to his beloved barstool apples and gobbling them all up. Warning: Turn your sound down or subject yourself to my squeaking saddle and nutty baby talk that is almost like another language (Yummy-lish?). It seems like I do nothing but apologize about looking goofy or sounding silly. I am not super insecure and fishing for reassurance/compliments. I get a kick out of how hysterically intimate and unconcealed these blogs can be in an effort to show the beauty of our horses!

Sun and shower, wind and rain

2011-04-05T08:21:00.002-04:00

Here is a photo of me riding Pie last evening. I look goofy, but he looks adorable, as usual. I think Pie has a very pretty head and face. We had just finished our trotting work when Maizie took this picture. She took videos of us trotting, and I hope I can post them soon. She is saying in the background during the video, "Ok, here is Momma and Pie-Pie trying to t-r-o-t", because neither of us were too spunky and getting him moving was a feat. He is just a big, roly-poly doll baby and I am just a wimp who never wants to make a horse work.

Maizie had her best friend, Sophie-girl, over to the barn to play tennis and the 3 children who live in the farmhouse joined them, so the whole gang of kids were laughing and playing tennis and running and doing cartwheels and climbing trees, yet Pie seemed calm and content. It helped that we had a single day of 70 degree temperatures (it is cold and rainy again this morning) to keep the big boy relaxed. Still, it was windy and unsettled as a storm approached and Pie was unusually good.

Earlier Brian and Maizie were up on my grandmother's roof installing a new flue Brian had built.

None of the horses seemed to mind "the roofers".

Watching Maizie and her friends whoop it up from horseback was magical. The sun was setting and Pie and I walked the entire farm in and out of the woods and we could see and hear the kids playing and it seemed like summer to me. We don't live in a neighborhood and Maizie rarely gets to enjoy the free play I remember from my suburban childhood.

After our ride, I brought Pie right beside the tennis court for grazing. He was not rattled at all by all the tennis balls flying this way and that. I am very proud of him. You could tell that he enjoyed the silly playing and laughing. I think laughter must be a universal good energy indicator, crossing language and species boundaries. Pie never flinched the whole evening and even, while grazing, tried to rummage through Sophie's purse in search of her mint flavoured gum. He is a character!

So you ride yourselves over the fields

2011-03-31T12:00:00.006-04:00

Here is the cutest Sovey boy after our bareback ride yesterday afternoon. Yes, he is back in his bitless bridle in this photo. He is doing fine again.

Pie and I had a fabulous ride on Tuesday evening. This was my first evening ride since last year so he was nervous in the cross-ties trying to convey to me that I had mixed up the routine. With Pie, I just have to proceed calmly and tell him that I know what I am doing. With his first balk and worry as we headed out, I pushed him forward with no ambivalence in my mind and that was all it took. He trusted me the entire ride. I need to trust myself and push him forward more when he thinks the only way out is up. And, as many of you kindly suggested, also circling him if he is doing the half-rear and absolutely won't go forward. I think he will go forward if I mean it. He just senses my hesitation to push him forward.

Kate, over at A Year With Horses, had a great post about her new Drifter boy and his baby habits called Drifter Acts Like a Baby. This post really hit home with me because it described my Pie to a T. Pie is willing until he is done or bored or onto the next thing and then he wants to be the boss like a spoiled child. It was easy in the beginning because everything at our farm was new to him, but now he knows the routine and the farm and he wants to cooperate only so long. My daily work involves trying to get him to give even when he is done.

Pie is the youngest of our three horses in actual age. He is still five and will turn six on May 7th of this year. Foggy turned six on January 22nd, but Foggy is the real baby. This is a different kind of "baby" than the one I was just describing above or Kate is describing in her post. Foggy's actions and view of everything reminds me of what it would be like to have a foal on the farm. I know he raced and has seen way more of the "world" than Pie, who never raced, but Foggy is "coltish" in his daily play. I really like that about him, but it might be a crazy ride when I finally climb on!

The cutest thing about Foggy is the hair that flows out of the inside of his ears. He looks like a long-haired bunny rabbit. Because of his constant movement, I had a difficult time trying to photograph his cute ears.

These shots are from Tuesday evening.

He just won't stand still long enough for me to show both ears at the same time. The tufts are adorable! Here is a photo from last November when Brian and I went to see him at the track.

He was calmer that day than he is with us. He is not hyper here; the only way I can describe it is - exuberant! He used to come out of his stall very slowly and walk calmly. Now, he comes out excited to see the day and the other horses. I know that I am partly to blame. I am always so excited to see him in the morning and I can't contain my enthusiasm. That is the worst thing about being around horses for me. I get the best results when I act "bored" - like a mutt, as I say. I am SO NOT bored when I am with horses! Today, I acted bored and depressed when I brought Foggy out and he walked out quietly. Oh, it is so difficult to be calm when you have such adorable cutie pies around you at every turn!!!

they asked us to stay for tea and have some fun

2011-03-28T23:02:00.001-04:00

This is my take on Frank Mather Beatty's poster, Out of the Running.

Today's ride on Sovey was ridiculously perfect in spite of a thundering herd of two stirring up trouble in the pastures beside us.

I left Pie and Foggy out together with access to all the pastures as I headed out riding Sovereign this afternoon. That wasn't very smart on my part. It is fine if they are out together, but I should have kept them in a small pasture. I gave the left-behind-boys hay to munch which only lasted as long as Foggy's tiny attention span (4 minutes!). They walked slowly and calmly around to be near us at first. I rode for 30 minutes around all the building and trees. Sovey likes variety more than anyone so this was a fun ride for him. My mother joined us and we followed her into the woods. Dumb me. I was talking and forgot what I doing. As soon as we were out of view, the two wild babies understandably took off looking for their herd mate. If I had been on Pie I would have been launched into orbit. Luckily, I was on Sovereign who takes care of me like no other horse I've ever known. He put his head up a little but that was all. I felt his heart thumping because he heard one of Pie's dragon snorts, but he didn't become the dynamite keg that Pie is known to imitate in scary situations and we made it back without any problems at all.

I love these three horses so much. Each have unique personalities and their own positive attributes. I tell the horse I am with at the time that "you are my best boy" but really they all are my best boys. Sovey is a steady boy under saddle. Pie is willing and funny/goofy and sweet. Foggy is unbelievably kind and trusting to horses and dogs and people. They all like each other, too. Foggy is back in at night because our temperatures are so chilly, but in the day I have witnessed Sovey and Foggy grooming and resting their heads on each other. Pie and Foggy eat tight together sometimes. And, of course, Pie and Sovey are still best friends. It seems to me that Pie and Sovey are actually happier now than they were before. I think it is because they are one horse closer to a real herd and all the benefits that come with that natural dynamic.

I thought I was perfectly horse happy before, but I feel even more joy now, if possible. My only regret about adding another horse is my sad lack of blogging time. I have been having interesting rides on the two "old" boys and good progress on the ground each day with Foggy, but I find little time to post about it and then it is the next day and new things happen! Three horses and a husband and a sixth grade sweetie-Maizie-girl and a smattering of posters to design and blogs to read (I have been reading-just not commenting) has been keeping me stepping - all in a good way.

On Sunday, Maizie and I went geocaching and she found a pony travel bug that had instructions to have its picture taken with "other ponies" along the way. Here it is with Pie and Sovey!

never seem to live up to the ones inside your head

2011-03-18T22:02:00.000-04:00

Here is my cute boy, Pie, on our ride today to the cemetery. We haven't been here in a long time but he has been "asking" to go, so today we attempted this big adventure.

I finally kicked the flu (thank you for all the kind well wishes) and got back to riding this week. I have been alternating riding Pie and Sovey each day and yesterday I tacked up the new, sweet Foggy for the first time. I walked him (me on the ground walking beside him) around the ring in his tack. He walked nicely for me, but I can tell he is nervous about "something new". I have read in blogs and internet articles that a sign that a horse is calm is when they chew. I have to say that I must not understand what is meant by this. Both Pie, and now Foggy, "chew" and lick and move their tongue around when they are nervous. By contrast, Pie lowers his head and gives a nice, long sneeze-snort-sigh when he is relaxed and Foggy did that very thing after a few laps around our ring. As soon as I heard that and felt him relax and lower his head, I untacked him. He was much more worried about our new program than I like. I didn't tack him today, but I will again in a few days. He is just going to take a long time which is fine. His weight is still very low so there is no hurry.

I am getting bored riding around the farm and I know Pie and Sovey would like a change too. Today, I pictured going north off our property and Pie headed right out there straightaway. How do they know?

We have to pass an automotive garage on the way to the cemetery. Pie will not walk by without visiting there. It is sort of embarrassing, but I like that he is interested and not frightened. My mom was walking along with me so you can see her talking to the mechanic in this picture. We gave the man treats for him to feed Pie. Pie loves him now. He took our photo (below), but unfortunately he got his hand in front of the lens.

Pie continues touching "targets" everywhere because of our clicker work. A few days ago he was determined to touch every single plastic bag that had blown over from the auto-auction. Our treats were long gone, but he would not stop! Today in the cemetery he wanted to touch the monuments but I would not let him. He had to settle for this trash can. He loved it, but of course, thought it was smelly and made his "stinky face".

Pie and I headed down a path and somehow got lost from my mother. He was determined to go home a different way than the way I wanted to go. He started throwing his head and popping up and down in the half-rear that he does when he is nervous and wants to go home but won't listen to me. I stay with him and have small successes with sitting tight and pushing him forward. He gets very frustrated, but we are working on these tantrums. As usual, I am kicking myself for not going home when we were at the trash can. I always have to push it and not quit when ahead. So, I kept working, but it was clear that he was not moving forward. He started backing up and tearing up the cemetery grass. I only ride him on the pavement or way over at the grass edge near the woods, but still I didn't want him to be destructive. I had to dismount which is the kiss of death for me because I am not as confident with him when I am on the ground. I let him graze and pulled out my cell to phone my mom for moral support. Pie really calmed down when I started talking on the phone which is weird, but tells me that my body language and voice probably calmed down first. My mother was wondering how a huge horse could disappear in a cemetery. She had started home when she lost us.

I walked back out to the neighborhood beside the cemetery and found her. She gave me a leg up while complaining how much I weigh. She said that it was much easier to give me a leg up when I was in high school. I reminded her that my mare was only 14.2 back then and Pie-Pie is almost 17 hands. I was so proud of how still he stood. I have been using clicker and treats to get him to stand better for mounting and it sure paid off today!

Back on our property Pie put a nasty rear in when a loud truck passed. I just couldn't get my breathing together and I held my breath when the truck approached. I'm not entirely happy with today's ride, but I am not mad at Pie.

Foggy is out all night tonight with the boys for the first time. I hope I can sleep!

I had another look and I had a cup of tea

2011-03-10T17:43:00.001-05:00

Here is the sweet Foggy (Found in the Fog) taken just after his win.

*************

I have the flu. Maizie started with a head cold last Monday and happily she was over it by this Monday. Brian and I got it on the weekend and now I have body aches eerily similar to the horrid flu we all had in 2009. This is the first time in my entire life that I made it this long without an illness. We all made it through the fall and spring and when February ended and I still hadn't caught a cold, I danced a jig. Now I am defeated.

Consequently, I have zero horse news. I have been grazing and grooming in between rain storms just to keep my sanity. We are flooding here in Pennsylvania and the rain and mud and fever and little horse time is depressing. I haven't blogged or visited any of my blogging friends posts. I promise to catch up soon.

My only comfort has been watching old videos of Foggy and Sovey racing. Here are some cute videos of Foggy winning - his only win! I had to "film" the computer because the site doesn't allow downloads.

Here is another of the cute boy taking his victory lap!

freshly ground and fully packed

2011-03-05T07:47:00.001-05:00

My sweet Pie is a little chubby this spring. I was grateful for the extra layer he acquired because it helped me worry less on cold nights this winter. Now is the time to begin a tiny, little exercise program to lift that belly before our spring grasses sprout their lush heads.

Thursday, I went to the barn in the morning with every intention of riding Pie, but I wasn't dressed right. It had been 40 degrees on Wednesday when I rode Sovey, so on Thursday morning I wore the same amount of layers. After grooming and grazing Foggy, followed by some animated manure cleanup, it became apparent that I was freezing.

I went home and tried to get inspired to come back in the afternoon to ride my chubby boy. It was sunny with very little wind, but it was 25 degrees and not supposed to get much warmer. What tricks do you use to get yourself up and moving and riding when all you really want to do is climb under a blanket and read blogs? Sometimes I go running, but then I have to ride fairly soon after or my body temperature drops back to normal. Sometimes I take a bath. Thursday, Brian had just got back from his run so we sat down to yummy cups of hot, creamy coffee.

I never drank coffee until 2007. I had grown up drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast and kept that sugary habit well into my 40th year. I loved their eggnog and coffee flavors back in the day, but they were bought out by Nestle and flavors were changed and dropped and ruined, so in the fall of 2007 I started experimenting with coffee. Brian drank it every morning and it smelled so good when he would grind it, so I gave it a whirl.

My dear friend, Susie, says that my coffee shouldn't be called coffee. It is something else - a little more decadent. Whatever it is, it gets me out the door on cold mornings and sometimes a second lunchtime cup can get me back out again if I need the extra push. That is exactly what I needed on Thursday.

I use a French press with one tablespoon of coffee to one (8 oz) cup of boiling water. I press it right away without letting it wait for the recommended time. My coffee isn't strong, obviously, but it does the trick!

I add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream. I use real cream. I do not believe in our country's fear of fat (sugar scares me more), but I do make sure my cream just says "cream" in the ingredients. I don't like other junk in my cream. Each delicious cup of hot, perfectness has 50 or 100 calories depending on whether I use 1 tablespoon of cream or two. Coffee tastes better in my favorite cup from Anthropologie.

So, I was finally warmed up and ready to ride! I went back to the barn and Pie and I headed out around the trails and fields bareback. He was just wonderful and I encouraged him to walk out with a little more energy. I knew that I wanted to make him push, but I rode bareback to keep it light and interesting for him.

Then, yesterday, I gave Sovereign a break from riding and only groomed him and grazed him and loved him up. I decided to ride Pie again, this time with a saddle and mixing in a tiny bit of trotting to help pull that belly up. I don't trot Pie all that often. Pie is a lovely mover. His trot is fluid and easy to ride, with a saddle or bareback, sitting or posting. He looks amazing from the side when he trots, but straight-on, you can see that he wings with his right front. He was apparently born with some sort of anatomical problem on that right front. The hoof grows out with a pronounced flare. He was never raced because he bowed that tendon early in his training. He just isn't put together correctly there, which probably caused the bow. My barefoot trimmer has tried a different method to prevent that flare from growing out so quickly. It is working because the hoof looks pretty normal right now, six weeks out.

Pie always breaks into a canter when playing with the brothers long before they do. We joke that Pie is so lazy and cantering is the easier gate. I think there is some truth to that with Pie, but I also think his right foot/tendon bothers him while trotting. Because of this, I gave him a long walking warm-up, and only planned to trot a tiny bit.

Just as we were really getting started at the trot, a low flying plane began circling us. The plane was noisy and scary, but Pie kept it together. The plane's shadow, which followed a few moments after every pass, scared Pie the most. I was really annoyed, but proud of Pie for not freaking out. I called it a day and walked him around our property. He was like a docile teddy bear, which tells me just how out of shape he is because we didn't trot all that long. I will continue to keep his trotting sessions very short, even without that annoying plane.

I don't know who rode or trained Pie before I got him. All I can say is that I have never ridden a horse as responsive as Pie. Because the trot is a little faster than the walk, I am surprised and in constant awe of how quickly he listens to even a slight signal. He circles full and round. Actually, he is amazing. I notice this when I open gates to lead him through. He moves his back end out of the way instinctively, calmly and round, not nervously. That is how he moves at the trot in circles and figure eights. Could he have these responses naturally or did someone teach him?

watching the detectives "ooh, he's so cute"

2011-03-03T07:18:00.006-05:00

I bought these halters from Pinkston's Turf Goods for the horses in January. They each have a brass nameplate with copper rivets. I really like them, although I thought they were a little heavy for the sweet, tiny Foggy head, so I had them make me a custom one for him with thinner, lighter leather. Everyone here laughed at me. It ends up that he is doing fine in the one that is 7 ounces "heavier" as well as the light one. Our horses are only in their halters when we are leading them or grazing or tacking up. The rest of the time they are nakie boys. I also bought the fleece sets for the halters in hunter green.

I mention the halters, specifically, because yesterday I ended up riding Sovey all over our farm in just his halter. This was not my original plan, but after some serious detective work, it became apparent to me that Sovey might not like his bitless bridle.

I spend much of my time striving to make Sovereign happy and yet his preferences still remain a mystery. I am going to have a traveling equine dentist visit us this spring to start the process of ruling out physical problems. I am keeping my eyes open looking for ulcer symptoms and/or anything else that might be happening. I know Foggy's introduction is a change, but Sovey's attitude is very similar to what it always has been - unpredictable.

The last few rides on Sovey I have ridden bareback. This is because I thought the saddle and girth might be hurting him. This is my third spring with him and when he is shedding, he is extremely sensitive to the touch. I don't know if his hair tickles him or if something else is going on, but I decided that the saddle pad, saddle and girth might not be so great.

He told me in no uncertain terms that I was wrong about that guess. I should have noticed when I was tacking up last week. He stood perfectly for the saddle, but made faces when I came out with the bridle. It didn't register that it was the bridle.

Yesterday, I got on bareback and started out south. Sovey would not cross the driveway to go. He planted himself and light squeezing only caused him to plaster his ears and make a horrid face. I still thought it was his sides or back or something around the saddle area. I hopped off and encouraged him to walk down toward the farmhouse with me. He was angry and reluctant. I wondered, do horses get headaches? That is what he reminded me of - me with a headache.

We have these Kentucky Derby glasses from last year. Every time Brian uses them he holds it up and says, "Sovey" because this is what he looks like when he is mad. There are many things that causes this face but I usually see it when I am not understanding something he is trying to "tell" me. Sovereign is an excellent communicator. In the people world, I fashion myself to be a little like my hero, Nancy Drew. I think I am so perceptive. Ha! Sovereign would tell you otherwise. We spend much of our time together with him telling me "Timmy's in the well". It takes me so long to figure out who is Timmy, and where is the well. Most of his conversations are not about pain. For example, he "told" me I left a gate to the far pasture shut the other day by walking down there and repeatedly pointing to it with his muzzle. He also "told" me that I forgot to fill his snack bucket (I had!) in the paddock when I rode Pie on Tuesday by uncharacteristically nickering softly. If I ask him to, he kindly moves the horses around for me so I can open gates. The first year he was with us, he clearly showed me that he would rather stand in the forebay for tacking.

So yesterday, I was having a tough time deciding what was bothering him. The farmhouse just had a water line dug and the dirt-filled trench has been making him nervous. I thought it was a good opportunity, since I was on the ground anyway at this point, to work through that fear. He was excellent about it and we successfully conquered the trench and the new fire pit at the farmhouse. Still, though, he was mad.

I re-mounted bareback and attempted to go east. Nope. More ear pinning. He walked around the paddock and then would not take another step. I was really confused because it was so uncharacteristic of him to balk, so I slid off, slipped the bridle off, and turned him out in the big pasture so I could think.

Just then, I remembered how he made an ugly face when I brought the bridle out of the tackroom. I decided that I would try to tack up with a saddle and only ride in a halter. If he still was acting unusual, I would quit and get the vet to check him out.

I tacked him up with the saddle only and hooked two thin nylon leads to his halter. I got on and asked him to go south toward the farmhouse. Happy, forward ears! He walked down there and over the trench. Good boy! He walked up and around and toward the turnpike. We meandered down this way and that. He was happy and sweet. We walked all around the perimeter. When he wanted to go in a direction different than I did, I circled him until he went my way. More "Good Boy" pats. Squeezing did not cause any ear pinning. The wind had picked up and it went through my brain for a split second that I had lost my mind. What the heck was I doing out here in this crazy bad wind on him in just a halter? I immediately let go of that thought because I had to get home safely so we continued on. Sovey was just wonderful.

I had ridden him before in just a halter, but that ride was in the summer and I stayed in the pastures that day. I was so intent on figuring out what his problem was yesterday, that I forgot what I was doing in terms of safety.

It worked out well anyway. I don't know if the bridle is pinching him or pulling on his long winter chin hairs. I don't even know if it is the bridle at all. Maybe he was good in the halter because it was something new and exciting. I am still going to watch him and see what is going on. Sovereign is one horse I can't figure out. That makes him all the more endearing to me.

Update: I just ordered U-Gard for him. I am thinking this might be a spring flare up thing he experiences. We will see!

You can't let one precious day slip by

2011-03-02T08:05:00.005-05:00

Here is my muddy Foggy boy grazing last evening at sunset. All these mud speckles and this is after I groomed him!

I have been taking my time with Foggy. Not that I didn't take my time with Pie and Sovey, but it is different this time around. I am just more relaxed with Foggy.

Every day when I walk in the barn I see their snack bowls lined up on the stairs and I get the giggles and think that they are "my three sons". I've heard parents of multiple children say that they were more relaxed with the younger kids. I am definitely seeing that with my retraining of Foggy. Pie and Sovey were in the barn together at night back when they arrived in February of 2009. Each morning, I would work on cross-tie practice with one of the horses and the other horse was right there, in his stall looking on. Foggy is alone so his program has been a little different, and, a little less structured.

This is a rough outline of our schedule:

Pie and Sovey are outside and Foggy is in his stall all night. My mom feeds all the horses hay at 7am and Foggy gets a little grain too.

I arrive around 8:30 am if the weather is nice and pick up manure in all the pastures to warm up. Pie and Sovey usually help me when they are finished with their hay. I bring Foggy outside. I haven't tried him in the cross-ties yet because he is anxious to get out and see his friends. I practice leading him around the farm. He leads very well. He rushes a little if the other horses get out of his sight, but not too bad. He grazes and I groom him. Then I stick him into a small ring pasture with water and hay and more grain.

I put Pie and/or Sovey in a nearby paddock depending on who I am not riding that day. The horse in the paddock has hay and water. I hope to one day leave the two horses that I am not riding out together, but for now I am trying to fatten Foggy up and he has some grain and rich hay out with him.

I groom and tack up the horse du jour and off we go on our cross-country trek. I rode Sovey on Sunday bareback and Pie yesterday with a saddle (it rained Monday). Pie is screaming much less when I ride Sovey so that is great that he knows he has Foggy "with him".

Yesterday, when I rode Pie, he wanted to investigate a neighboring field east of our property. I let him decide how far out he wants to go. He was very willing to keep going which makes me happy. Someday I am going to just keep going and never stop.

After my ride there is post-ride grazing and grooming/massage. This is the best part for the horse and can be nice for me in the sunshine. Usually it is freezing though! We had some considerable shedding from Pie yesterday - much relief that spring has sprung.

I put the horse I rode in the big pastures and add the paddock horse. Then, I bring Foggy in to be with everyone. They all seem happy.

I leave them out all day with more hay. I used to have to clean Foggy's stall, but now my wonderful farm helper, Melanie, is doing his stall and buckets so I go home. Melanie feeds hay in 8 separate piles at 4:30pm. I come back around 6 or 7 pm and put Foggy in the barn for the night. Removing him from the pasture at night seems cruel to me and I don't know why he lets me do it, but he doesn't have enough winter coat or fat to stay out all night. Around mid-March, I should be able to leave him out with the boys 24/7. He walks into the barn and his stall willingly. Last evening, when I got him out, I grazed and groomed him. This was surely a terrible mistake. I doubt he will forget - and now I'll be expected to do that every night!

I have moments when I panic and think that I am not "doing" anything with Foggy. I see when I go back and read my blog from 2009 that I was further ahead with Pie and Sovey at this point (they arrived February 22nd) than I am with Foggy. Pie and Sovey had been at a Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation farm for 3 months before they came to us. Foggy came straight from the track. He isn't showing any signs of nervousness or worry, but it just feels right to let him relax and fatten up and "do nothing" for a while.

Mellow is the feeling that I get

2011-02-26T18:27:00.003-05:00

On my rides this week, and afterwards, while I graze the horses, I have been contemplating "energy". I am not sure that is the right word, but I have been thinking about whatever it is that is invisible and yet so electric that my horse feels what I am thinking almost as I think it. If I have clean, empty thoughts, without anticipation of a spook or a jump, I get a seamless next few minutes without cessation in the evenness of the ride or a stop in the munching of grass while my horse hand-grazes. But, if I imagine an outcome - and prepare for an event, then most of the time, I am not disappointed - I get to experience that which I prepared for - usually bad. I know that I am passing the thoughts, this "energy" to my horse. It is easy to understand if I am riding. Surely, I am using my muscles in a certain way that "tells" my horse my thoughts. Or perhaps my hands on the reins change ever so slightly and my horse picks up on it. The energy transfer that I can't explain, though, is the one that happens while hand-grazing. How exactly am I conveying my thoughts to my horse when I am standing a few feet away? The energy field that is between us must be, to my horse, so big and "real" because the transfer seems to happen immediately.

When I say "real" I mean something that is visible to my horse. Something that is visible seems easier to explain and hopefully understand (in other words, not out there in my normal metaphysical la-la-land!). Lately, I have been thinking of this energy as a color that my horse can see. If, to a horse, I have an intense band of color around me that is so obvious, then it would make perfect sense that he only has to catch a glimpse of me and know whether to a.) keep on grazing peacefully because the color I am giving off is safe or b.) flee because the color that I am giving off is warning of danger.

Just giving this energy the quality of being visible doesn't necessary mean I can control what "color" I am giving out. But, it has helped me to feel more participatory in what is going on between us. I guess that is because, as a human, I am more comfortable with our five senses than the extra senses our equine friends seem to have. When I think that I am doing something that a horse can see it isn't vague. It is real and I am causing it.

When I was a beginning rider, my instructor would have us graze the school horses after our lessons. If I had a Thoroughbred on the end of the lead, I would talk with my friends, but I was extra careful to watch out for sudden jumps. I thought myself clever to be prepared and try to anticipate a frightened reaction. I would have been mortified to have a horse get loose from me, so I was always conscientious, ready, alert. If I had a tired, loving, old chubby Heinz 57 on the end of the lead, I could feel myself breathe, relax, become less worried. Of course, it is easy to understand why I had many skittish Thoroughbreds to graze and few skittish Grades. Back then, had I thought that I was giving off a color, almost like a wildly waving flag, I might have changed my approach.

Our farm is right beside a busy road and directly across from a bustling auto-auction. Huge tractor trailers pull in and out all day long. Their gears shift, their air brakes hiss, their tires squeal. They bump and crash and clang over the culverts in the road.

When I ride, sometimes I have to go near the road (about 60 feet away) and I might end up going down a hill with a truck coming up from behind us in the near lane. I am not on the road or in danger of being hit, but from behind, the engine roaring can send adrenaline through me and my horse. I have learned to lean forward and laugh and empty my brain and pat my horse's neck. It takes lots of concentration, but I am getting good at it and it is not too difficult because I am touching the horse.

Grazing safely can actually be more difficult. Of course, all three horses know that the best, greenest, most delectable grass is on the road side of the farm. I would never graze them too near the road, but it is close enough to cause a jump or a flee. By thinking of my energy as a color, periwinkle blue, this week I have avoided any fuss at all by the horses. It is amazing. I feel deliberate. If I hear the approach of a roaring engine I breathe out and empty my brain like I am riding. I do not anticipate a reaction but rather feel like I am surrounded by the "color" of safe - periwinkle. I think it is more powerful than words because talking might inflect fear accidentally. This is just a sign. Safe. It has worked so far with Foggy who is new to our farm and all the roaring.

Today's ride on Pie was exceptionally periwinkly. We had not one upset, although there were many distractions.