May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.

- Irish Blessing

2012 Resolutions

~ Send Tabasco and Shoni to a trainer for saddle training ~ I've been in contact with a trainer who lives 30 minutes away and who came highly recommeded from a couple of people. I'll be calling her in a little over a week to get on her schedule. She has openings in mid March that I'm planning to fill.

~ Get into shape ~ It's been a long time since I've done any regular riding so I want to get in better shape between now and when I bring the babies home from the trainer. That way I have more muscle power to hang on if my green horse does something unexpected ;)

~ Hit the trails ~ There are a ton of beautiful places where you can take you horses to go trail riding. I would like to bring my horses to Maplewood State Park in MN and to Medora, ND. We have a few friends that have horses and know these areas so I'm hoping we can get together with them. There is also a facebook group that arranges trail rides in our area that might be fun to try.

I'm going to keep my resolutions short this year (more of a likely hood that they'll be acheived that way see). Do you guys have any resolutions planned for 2012?

I love my...

JOLLY BALL!!!!

I was working on this post back in February of 2010 (Really? Almost two years ago??) but I never got around to posting it. Better late then never, right?!

Sundance, Tabasco and Shoni all love their jolly balls. They love to lift them high in the air then watch them fall to the ground.

They like to chew on them until they're deflated

And sometimes stomp them.

Tabasco and Shoni- Teamwork

Round two

All in all, I think it's safe to say jolly balls are big fun. ;)

...And then it was Monday...

It was bound to come around sooner or later, so Happy Monday! By the way, did everyone behave with their siblings for the Holidays? Koda and Ruby were sure having a ball.

It's almost time to celebrate Christmas and take a break from all of the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping and baking.

I hope you all have a wonderful RELAXING holiday and get to spend it surrounded by your loved ones of the two and four legged variety. :)

Once in a while, right in the middle of an
ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.
-unknown

Far away in the sunshine are my highest
inspirations. I may not read them, but I
can look up and see the beauty, believe in
them and try to follow where they lead.
-Louisa May Alcott

... from the sky, from the Earth, from a
scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from
a spider's web... We must pick out what is

good for us where we can find it.

-Pablo Picasso

Photo Contest

Neighgirl is having a photo contest on her blog with the theme being horses (woo hoo!).

I narrowed my pictures down to seven that I really liked but had trouble deciding on which photo to enter so Mom made the final pick of Sundance and the lake. :)

Surprise! Dad found this lovely nest in some lilac bushes that line the driveway.

From what I've been able to find online, it sounds like it's a paper wasp nest. The detail and the size are amazing (I forget how many inches it is... I know it's over 8 inches from top to bottom)! It's hard to believe we never spotted it before. Then again there were leaves and flowers protecting it.

I'm just glad nobody was home when I took that picture.

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same."

-Unknown

"People always say that, when you love someone, nothing in the world matters. But that's not true, is it? You know, and I know that when you love someone, everything in the world matters a little bit more."
-Jodi Picoult

My Shoni Girl. She's so photogenic... when we're separated by a fence.

I find that with Tabasco and Shoni they are much more people oriented and when they see people they just want to be around them. I'm not sure if it's because they are mustangs and because they trust us or if it's just their personalities (or maybe both!).

These two seem over the top though. Anytime I am trying to get pictures of them I have to try and run away to get far enough back to take a picture. Shoni is worse. As I'm running I'll usually hear rapid hoofbeats and when I glance over my shoulder there's Shoni keeping pace right behind me with an innocent expression like, "Hey, where are we going?"

As far as "issues" go, I can't complain too loud. I love being around them as much as they love being around humans so it all works out. And when I can't get far enough away? Well, that's where the fence comes in handy. ;)

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
-Abraham Lincoln

I absolutely love that quote. When your burdens seem to multiply faster then you can keep up, sometimes it's a little more bearable if you take things one day and one step at a time.

On the other hand, I'm already ready for summer. If the next couple of cold months went by a little faster, I definitely wouldn't complain (even if the ice on the lake can be beautiful to look at).

Big plans in the works for 2012 and it is going to be a busy year with the horses. I'm going to be sending Tabasco and Shoni off to a trainer and will hopefully be blazing trails with them by summer. I would like to send Sundance off as well for a refresher. If you don't see horse trainer posts by April... yell at me!!! lol

I'm also curious what your opinions are about saddle starting horses. Do you think it's enough to send them off for 30 days of training or do you prefer to send them for 60 days? Do you have any big plans for your horses in 2012?

Nothing warms the heart more, then walking around the corner and seeing three eager faces waiting for you at the gate.