A quick post

Stopping in for a quick post. Updates and pictures coming soon! :)

Catchin' up

Another month has passed since my last post (where does the time go?) and a lot has happened since then!

First this...

The shelter had been chained down but we had some micro burst winds that took it and flipped it a couple of times so it ended up on it's roof. It is now right side up again and has bigger chains :)

Next came Memorial Day Weekend. When I got home from work we let the horses out to graze and stretch their legs. At one point Dad and I unexpectedly ended up in the middle of the stampede. One minute we're watching the action and the next we are the action! Mom was the smart one who stood by the building instead of the dirt mound.

Shoni, Pebbles, Sundance, Tabasco, then Sweetie

Look at the next picture...

Did you see it yet?

Look a little closer....

Still nothing?

How about this next one then?

Yup, you got it.

There's a Shoni Girl hiding in that thar grass!

Who me?

Mom and Pebbles

Shoni

Sweetie

Tabasco

Sundance

I've been thinking of selling Sundance. I am getting so frustrated with him because he has been biting on Sweetie and Pebbles. Not just little nibbles either. He takes the fur or makes scabs. I have only seen him bite at them a couple of times and when I've seen it it's just a quick nip but there was no reason for it then either. I don't know that this is something he could be taught not to do, but if anyone has any experience or advise let me know! :)

I recently reached another milestone in my life (I guess you can call it that) and am now officially a quarter of a century old! I was wished a Happy Century (100!?), a Happy 26th, and a "Happy Birthday just think you're now closer to 30".

Luckily I got by without having a quarter life crisis, but I figure there's still time. I'm thinking getting a well trained horse would be a great quarter life crisis! :)

For my birthday my folks and I drove up to Duluth, MN and I got to see my Grandparents and my aunt.

On the way there we drove by this huge eagle nest.

Then we drove down to the canal and got to enjoy some fresh air from Lake Superior and see the light house.

The week after my birthday I took vacation time off and decided to drive to my cousins place near Tower, MN. We drove up to Duluth to surprise my Grandparents with another visit. Then we drove to the Rose Garden (I think that's what it was called).

Of course we just had to do a self portrait in front of Lake Superior!

Okay, I think we're pretty well caught up now so I will just leave you with this:

"Hey wait, where are y'all going?"

Friday Funny

Happy Friday!!!

This, that, and the other thing

Last Wednesday I took Tabasco for a spin. By spin I mean, I hopped on him like it was still last summer and like he was a dead broke horse. What I got however was a little different than I remembered.

As soon as my butt was on his back he took off, I got thrown off, landed on the ground in front of and under him (not sure how that happened since I remember falling off his left side and should have landed to the side/behind him). I was lucky and didn't get hurt (just my feelings) but got some gnarly bruises as a souvenir. Now I've learned my life lesson on why it's important not to skip on the ground work!!

On Thursday the Vet came out to give the horses their shots. It was nice and windy that day and the horses did a lot better than I was expecting. Sweetie and Sundance stood like statutes, although Sundance was snorting the whole time. Pebbles who is usually a bearcat with the vet stood like a champ. Tabasco was dancing around a bit but the vet pet on him for a few minutes and Tabasco actually started to fall asleep! Shoni did the "worst". As soon as he pinched her neck for the shot she circled away from him. Over all though everyone made me proud.

Then....

Friday night I went out to do chores and found Pebbles with blood running down her face from an open wound on her forehead (Warning: Semi Icky pictures ahead). Mom called every emergency vet around our area (up to an hour or more in every direction) and all were busy on emergency calls (mostly colic) and no one could come out until the morning.

The same Vet who did Tabasco's surgery in January 2009 was the one who came out. He was here at 7:20AM Saturday. He sedated Pebbles 2 1/2 times (enough for a 3000 pound horse), plus she had a twitch on her nose, Dad holding the rope and the vet's assistant holding her face. She was still putting up a fight.

It took about an hour but they were able to get her all stitched up with dissolveable stitches. Thank goodness he doesn't have to come back to take them out!!

Here I am!

(Sweetie)

I've been meaning to post for a while now, but I've been running into a major case of writers block.

(Tabasco)

This last weekend was beautiful so I spent some time outside with the horses taking some pictures.

(Sundance above and with Pebbles Below)

Sundance, Pebbles, and Sweetie got caught up in a dirt devil and took off running. The dirt devil didn't stick around long it just moved into the recently harvested corn field and twirled some left over husks around.

The ice on the lake finally melted and we put the dock back in. Spring has finally sprung!

(Sweetie)

Photos

I love horse lips. They are so expressive!

Shoni is hard to take pictures of because she likes to be right next to you. You have to pet on her then run away, then turn around and snap a picture. Sometimes when you turn around though she has an annoyed look on her face and wont perk her ears up. Around this time is when I have to get creative. So I threw my glove into the air and let it drop. The picture below is Shoni's surprised face.

Horse-y pile. They're standing shortest to tallest and are all resting the same hind leg.

I love the corn field background

As you can see, we still have a ton of snow... is it Spring yet?!

A Girl and Five Brave Horses

Most "horse families" have seen the movie Wild Hearts Can't be broken and know that it was based on the story of Sonora Carver who rode The Great Diving Horses 1923-1942. Sonora went blind in 1931 after a diving accident and continued to dive horses for 11 years completely blind.

The movie idea came from the memoir "A Girl and Five Brave Horses" by Sonora Carver (the book is available on amazon.com ).

I have to start by saying that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED the movie, but after reading the memoir I was definitely disappointed in the movie. They were nothing alike.

The memoir gives more incite into the characters and their personalities (both horse and human), and also shared some funny stories (many made me laugh out loud).

While reading the book I felt I could really relate with the author. Especially when she tried to trade her 6 week old brother for the neighbors bay horse when she was five. "I knew good and well I could get a new brother practically any time, but a horse! A horse was something else."

The book also contains around 25 black and white photos of some of the horses and people who are in the memoir (including the famous Red Lips who was a paint not a sorrel like in the movie).

I would definitely recommend this book to any who enjoyed the movie or anyone who is also horse crazy. NOTE: There are a couple of sad parts in the memoir as well so I would advise to the parents out there, to read the book first before passing it on to young kids.