I'm in shreds :(

I've come upon some bad luck and I might just lay off of the blog for a while... I'm in shreds... totally demolished.

My SO and I have separated last week. If you asked me, I never even saw it coming... I might be blind or stupid, but in my mind all was going better than ever... it hit hard.... I love that man with all my heart and all of this as left me crying, not eating or sleeping for the last 4-5 days.

To simply add to my misery, I have found that Dandy has injured herself Saturday night or Sunday morning. Since she is still at my SO's farm (and I'm not), I couldn't check up on her as much as I wanted.

I came to see her yesterday and she seemed fine from a distance, so I went and checked the others... then, I returned to Dandy. There were many flies on her so I ran my hand on her face and down her neck to her chest... and when I got to the chest... I froze, my face changed. This wasn't Dandy's coat... I was rough and humid and sticky. Yes, Dandy has managed to injure herself. There is some sort of laceration or a deep rub mark on her chest about as big as a hand and a small cut on her shoulder. I took her out and rinsed it off... it was swollen and had the same consistency as hamburger... obviously, it was painful for her. I cleaned it and put some disinfectant on it.

This brought my spirit right down... I feel so helpless and I already don't feel competent enough to take care of horses, and this happens! I was in pieces on the ground. I realize that Dandy is not as happy as she was 2 years ago... she stays away from the others but always looks for them. She does not go into the shelter even if all of the others are in.

I think that she was trying to keep up with the herd as they were running in the pasture, and she must've ran into a fence or a tree, I have no idea. The wound is not life threatening, but I can't help but think about what else could happen... is this her way of telling me "This is it"? I will not be able to care for a blind horse like that and I know it. So what should I do? Have her put down? give her away to a kids camp? Would she be suitable for that or would she just end up at auction? What are my options??

Obviously, I'm in no state of mind to make an official decision about her. My mind is all over the place and this is just the cherry on the cake. I know that Dandy is almost blind (95% I would say) and I know it is affecting her quality of life... she no longer cares for anything, she likes to see me, but she doesn't do anything else... Am I making her suffer? Am I selfish? I don't know the answer, my mind is already flooded with other types of questions... I don't know what to think. I've had no luck talking with surgeons who could fix this and I would have to trailer her far in order to get it done, but nobody around is specialized to do this... and it might be too late (cataracts are too advanced).

I need to take a break, take a breath... so please forgive me if I am absent for a few weeks.

Not much new / Blindness

Well... I might as well have crawled under a rock for the past 2 weeks. All in all, I couldn't work with Misty because it was raining for the last two weekends. I didn't ride much either.

We did ride on August 14... (I know, long time ago!!). We did a 2.5 hour ride with Dandy and Pearl. The only thing I guess I could point out is that Dandy's blindness issue isn't getting better.

I took her out on a ride that day. It was kind of sunny and clouding over. We took a bike path up to a bridge and accross a river, where I met friends for a quick chat. On our way to the bridge, we decided to canter a good part of the way, the horses were warmed up, we had been riding for about 30-40 minutes at a quick walk. So we decided to canter and all was going well, Pearl was beside Dandy, which always gives Dandy some confidence. All of a sudden the sun peeks out and trees cast a shadow on the ground, Dandy sees one particular shadow and slams on the brakes. So I went from a nice quick galop to a stop in 0.5 seconds... thankfully I didn't fall off and wasn't ejected. Dandy has a great habit of tucking her butt under when she slams on the brakes (If only I could get her to do it on command! Sigh!). I stayed on and as soon as she was completely stopped, she took off at a galop again. I guess she realized that it was only a shadow and that there was no need stopping... Thank goodness I wasn't unseated! She spooked at a fallen tree, brand new pavement and that tree shadow. Dandy never spooked at anything inanimate before and I got really sad seeing that she was at that point. Still we made it accross a huge wooden bridge and she never batted an ear even though I was a nervous wreck while crossing.

You see, when I was about 12 years old, we took our first pony for a ride outside of the pasture, we took that same path (which wasn't a bike path at the time), we'd had to cross a wooden bridge smaller in size and it looked a bit risky... instead of turning back, we tryed to cross it (don't scold the child mind, we got scolded enough for it, plus we had learned our lesson). At the very end, one of our pony's back legs broke through the bridge. After much panic and terror, the horse finally got back to its feet. Fortunately, she only had a scrape on the leg, but I was left scarred forever. We walked the whole way back home in case the horse had an underlying leg problem as a result... we had a walk that is equal to a 15 minute car ride. I never liked wooden bridges after that. The one we had to cross this time was way bigger, higher up and longer... a lot longer. As soon as I heard Dandy's hoof hit the wood, my heart hit the floor and I was a complete can of nuts until we reached the other end. I guess this is what you call post-traumatic stress. Anyways, my biggest fear was that Dandy would spook and fall off of the bridge. The bridge is an old railroad track bridge and was revamped with high railings and a brand new 3 inch thick floor... But the mind is stronger than that. We made it to the other side and I guess everyone felt the tension dissapear. I gave huge praise to Dandy for actually taking care of me as if I was a newborn child crying. She always outdid herself when I was a total nervous wreck, she seems to feed on that, she knows what she has to do... I'm glad that she completely ignored my fear and forged on to the other side, never putting a hoof out of line. WHEW!

Pearl crossed the bridge fine too. I was better about my emotions on the way back.... confidence gain??? I think so! Thank you Dandy again. Anyways, on the way back, we borrowed a new trail, it was rough and Dandy tripped a lot... I guess she couldn't see the bumps in front of her... maybe she was tired, but I know her vision is fading. I wish I could find a place where they do surgery. If I ever do, I will immediately ask that they evaluate Dandy and give it a shot. Sure, it's expensive, but Dandy is worth much more than that to me. If surgery is not available to her... I will eventually retire her to working only on flat ground, no trails. If that doesn't work, I will retire her completely. If I see that she is unhappy, i.e. running into things, not finding food or water sources, getting hurt somewhere... well... I will have to make the heart wrenching decision to put her down. I am not looking forward to that day, but I am aware that it might happen... just like she might do great without sight and be happy well into old age. I have to prepare for every scenario, but the grim one makes me want to cry like a baby. Just thinking about it makes my eyes water.

If ever she goes, I will lose my best friend... the one that understands me the most, the one that absolutely loves me and shows it... the one that is greatful to see me and is very happy to work with me. We've been through a lot of things together and she has always been there for me. I was always there when she needed me and we understand each other very well. I would be losing my partner, my horsey soulmate.

I hope this day never comes... I know she will pass one day, but she is very young and I hope she has many good days ahead of her. I will keep assessing her blindness... right now... she can trail ride but I don't like putting her in hard trails... she can still canter on the flat, she even does schooling very nicely, so she is not done working completely and might always stay this way.

I know it will never get better, unless I could find a place where they could do surgery. I am 99% shure she has cataracts... the surgery is similar to the human one. I will look for a place close to my home, but I have never heard of one yet. :(

Wish me luck!

Drum roll Please!

After almost a week of being super duper busy, I finally sat down to upload my pictures yesterday at 10:00 pm... I would've rather been sleeping, but here they are! BTW, I absolutely LOVE the picture above, the colors, the textures and the movement... I don't even remember taking it... eesh!

On Friday, August 6, I've succesfully put a saddle on Misty... for the first time in her life. I was very pleased, she was nervous and probably asking questions like crazy, but she trusted and followed quite well. Here are a few pictures of that adventure:

Above: Misty is getting brushed thoroughly for the first time... She seemed to enjoy it. Her skin is sensitive, so I went easy with the plastic curry... overall, she was ok with it.

Above: Then came the saddle pad, she got to meet it, chew it and play with it first, then we put it on her back... she was ok with the putting it on part, but was a bit antsy when it wouldn't come off, so she moved her feet a bit, but never ran off or bucked... she was pretty quiet... so I brought the saddle over.

Above: Before swinging the saddle over, Misty met the saddle and chewed a bit on it (which I stopped her from doing immediatly, without being too mean, she didn't know what this thing was!). After we've seen that she was ok with it, I had my sister hold her (that's me holding her in the picture) and I put the saddle gently on her. I was a bit nervous and actually held the saddle (and my breath) for about 2 minutes almost over Misty's back before resting it on her... I remember that she was quite explosive when we first started working with her and I was afraid that something like that would happen and damage my precious saddle! lol

Anyways, the saddle on her back didn't bother her, so we proceeded to tighten the girth. A bit antsy, but I've seen well broke horses move more than that when cinching up. We progressively walked and thightened the cinch, then walk again and so on.

Here is what she was like after two short walking sessions with the saddle on:

You can see that she is a bit nervous, not much... the saddle is squeaky and she listens for that noise. She is a little distracted because her friends are in her field of vision and she wants them to come back, but she got better after a few more walks.

After having walked a few times more, I decided to try my hand at putting my foot up in the stirrup. So I grabbed my helmet and off I went. When I first put my foot up (no weight) Misty was wondering what was going on, then she moved a bit and I followed her until she settled. I put a little weight and repeated with more weight each time. The last thing I did was put all of my weight in the stirrup... Misty didn't move, wasn't even off balance (I'm impressed 'cause I'm not a small person, as you can see). I immediatly proceeded to unsaddle Misty and let her go. She stood great for unsaddling and I even let the off side stirrup and girth down so it rubbed on her when I took the saddle off... no reaction at all. She was off to see her friends which had migrated to the far end of the field... she walked then trotted away from us and when she was far enough, she shifted into high gear and ran at a full galop right to the other end. She is better about being apart of her friends now, but I guess she likes to be close to them if given the chance... who doesn't?

All in all, a good session with Misty. It lasted about 45 minutes... as you can see, we were loosing daylight and I didn't want to over do it. Sessions will be kept short and we will progress slowly in order to make a great riding horse.

I'm not dead!

No, I'm not dead... I've been sick to no end. I've caught a cold, in the middle of Summer.



I did nothing with the horses all of last week, all of my long weekend and all of this week. I feel bad about it because they could all use the exercise... not because they are fat, but because it keeps them in shape. I'm sure THEY appreciated the break, with only visits with treats and scritches. I did take Misty out on her halter and lead, she did good, I even tied her and touched all four legs, but I only worked her for about 30 minutes on stuff she already knew.



Tonight, if I have the time, I am hoping to put a saddle on her, just to get her used to it. She's three years old, has never worked a day in her life, so it's time to make the big step. I don't know if I will swing a leg over yet, we'll see how she takes everything, if she seems ok, I might risk it and sit on her for a few minutes. I don't really feel like being thrown off so she'll have to be a star for me to get on.



I am just recovering from the cold and I do not feel like being thrown around.



I plan on riding the other horses tommorow. Peg is pretty much semi-retired and is only a relief horse when we are three people riding for short, easy rides... don't be fooled, she has a lot of spunk and speed still, but she can get sore depending on what we do with her and I don't like seeing her not being 100%. She lacks a lot of muscle tone, but she couldn't handle a conditionning program.



I plan on training Misty and have her replace Peg.



I'll probably be taking pictures if I have enough free hands to do so and I'll be posting them next week! Stay tuned to see Misty with her first ever saddle! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Time goes by so fast!

I was thinking the other day that I've now owned Dandy for almost 2.5 years!!!! I sure don't feel like she's been with me that long. I keep thinking that she did awesome in her training when, actually, a lot of work went into it and she didn't just transform in a young mischevious filly to a beautiful, well manered, bomb-proof mare. I worked on many things with Dandy that I hardly remember... collection, gaits and speed, trust and confidence.

Yes, Dandy will go through right about anything if I say it's ok... even if all the other horses are scrambling and refusing to put a foot near whatever is spooky, I can usually walk right by the spooking horses and step right on the spooky thing and she never bats an eye.

She wasn't like that when I started her, but a lot of work and praise paid off. I've put up a good number of fights with Dandy, some lasted almost an hour, some others, minutes, but I vowed to ALWAYS win those fights, even if I had to spend the day, even if I was tired, sweaty, sore, hungry and even if I really wanted to go home.

Now I have another unhandled horse in training... Misty. She is 3 years old, which is a year older than when I bought Dandy as a two year old. She is unhandled (like Dandy), but socialized (like Dandy) and I believe she's had some kind of training that went bad, but I couldn't be sure (like Dandy)... So I'm stuck with this horse that has probably been mentally abused or broken... I need to fix this the first. When I got Dandy, I spent countless hours just petting and being with her. Dandy had no manners and tried to kick your head off everytime you entered her pasture. At least, Misty doesn't do that, but she has been thought to pull back on anyone trying to lead her, this must've worked for her. I've been able to break that habit and now, she leads like an old mare... litterally, she is like a 34 year old mare... she walks slow, nothing phases her... I thought she would have more go than that, oh well!

When I got Misty, I couldn't even stand near her shoulder, she'd move and put me right in front of her, she was way more comfortable if there was a fence between us and wouldn't allow me to pass behind her no matter how far I was. I would touch her and she would cringe. Now, I can touch her anywhere, stand on either side or right behind her without any problem. Fences are no longer a shield and I can grab all 4 legs (Kudos again to my sister for being brave enough to pick up the back feet)... in all honnesty, the back feet were less dramatic than the front... it's just my comfort level vis-a-vis à back leg. Misty even gave us a little hard time by not wanting to pick up her feet... but I have my share of tricks for that and she learned that it was more comfortable to pick up her feet than to leave me hanging. I even trimmed her feet, all of them!

All of this to say that after 20 years on and around horses, they still impress me to the highest level. Their intelligence, their connection to all living things, the way they can understand and learn or teach us a few things... I keep being amazed everytime I train a new horse. Misty is the 5th horse that I will exclusively train and I can still stare in awe at them!

I believe that horses have a greater connection to humans than the one humans share among themselves. The way they can understand without us even having to talk or act, the way simple energy will either make or break a horse, their expression... I've always felt a strong connection with horses and for some reason, I've always wanted to be on one even if my immediate family didn't have and never had horses. I fell in love from the moment I saw them. They certainly make you much more self-aware and conscient about energy, weight distribution, balance... you know the primal things in life that seemed to have disappeared with technology.

When I was three years old, I took my first pony ride. I remember what was going on in my head... I just couldn't get over the fact that we could train animals to carry us, let alone such beautiful and majestic animals. I couldn't get enough of the leather scent, I was hooked on horses and I was only three years old. From then on, I kept bugging my parents to buy me a horse (or pony), I watched every show jumping, rodeo, parade, etc. on TV just to watch the horses. I could've watched the same thing 50 times and I would still want to see it, just to see the horse move, the mane flowing in the wind.

At five, I had a friend that had a horse (I didn't know she had a horse when I met her). So I started riding, supervised by her mother, we had to wear a helmet (those old black felt covered things that didn't have a chin strap... really it was useless!) and proper attire and we learned to ride from there. I had my share of falls but it never discouraged me out of horses. After about 15 years in horses, I started working with them and training. I am not an accredited trainer, but I've been around them long enough to know how they work and so far, my method is just as good as John Lyons... When we finally got Internet, I read about him and found a lot of similarities between his techniques and mine... there are only a few basic things that you need to understand to effectively gain your horse's trust and willingness to work.

1­. Never loose a fight.

2. Release of pressure is the reward (pressure can be energy from your body or physical pressure, like on a lead rope).

3. Never be affraid of your horse, if you show him weakness he will take it upon himself to lead the group (you) and the weak (you).

4. Be gentle and remember to give time to your horse to answer what you are asking of him.

5. Always reward, never punish (I only punish if I know a horse has bit or kicked me on purpose (i.e.: not trying to get rid of a fly or whatever)). If a horse hurts me, I take it upon myself to hurt him, at least minimally, back. Remember that they can kill you with a strike of a hoof. Be severe about what you allow them to do around you. Before I completely trust a horse, I do not let him put his head on me, unless I ask and it is usually for a very short period. After I completely trust them, I will put their head on my shoulder or let them press their heads on my stomach for as long as they like.

I believe that those tips are the secret to success with your horse. The training techniques only come after you have established that trust and companionship.

So tell me about what amazes you or has amazed you about your first or current horses.

What a weekend!

OUCH! I'm so sore all over, I did a lot of hard work on the weekend... well mostly Saturday.

I started at around 10 am... My goal was to trim all 4 horses, including Misty, which I had planned pretty much all day to do. I started with Dandy, she desperately needed to have her hooves rebalanced. When I bought Dandy, her hooves were in bad shape, mostly long but her front feet were the worst. Her walls on both feet were broken on the inside quarter, it made her feet tip inside, just like if your horse was standing with its legs wide apart, but her legs were straight. I don't know how long she was allowed to stay like this, but I think that the bone column in her leg adapted to the shape, so her hooves always use more on the inside quarter and heel than the outside. Makes it hard for me to rebalance, but I will keep a close eye on them and keep rasping the outside overgrowth as soon as I see it. The bone column may realign, but I wouldn't count on it.

Peg and Pearl needed adjustments to their hooves, I didn't trim all that much since their hooves don't grow fast... I just made them more comfortable by taking the longer bits off and rebalancing the hooves. Peg also has some rebalancing to do and I will be watching over her too.

We took a break for lunch before undertaking the heavy task of trimming Misty. My goal with her was only to nip and release, I would only take the lenght off and leave her as she had never been handled, especially her back feet.

I went and got Misty out of the field, she still leads after a few weeks off (we are busy with hay and oats) but she walks so incredibly slow, at least she's not dangerous! I took her out of the field, I think it was her third time out and she was good. I trimmed her front feet while my sister held her in place, it went well, I had practiced taking her front feet before. Then, I tied her to the fence post and didn't leave her too much slack. It was her first time tied so I kept a real close eye on her and was ready to pull to knot free anytime. She didn't move, stood like a champion. I had to trim her back feet and I would need all the help I could get, so there wouldn't be anyone to hold her lead rope. I was 100% sure I didn't want to take her back feet. I've seen her kick before and I wasn't ready to put my head there.

We discussed (my sister and I) on the best way to pick up the feet... then she said: "I'll try to pick them up and we'll see after that"... Right then, I was convinced that I would have to call 911. So I watch closely while rewarding Misty (with ear scritches) everytime she did something right. Next thing I knew, my sister was holding Misty back foot up without much problem! I was floored. Then she proceeded to lift the other back foot without much problem at all. She told me to bring the nippers.... I wasn't convinced that Misty would hold her foot without the scritches, but I went anyways. While my sister held the hoof, I nipped. Misty pulled her foot back about 2 times and the rest was perfect. I think I had more problems training Dandy to give her back feet when I bought her!

This leads me to believe even more that she was handled as a yearling, then she was probably sold to people who didn't know anything about horses that wrecked her and left her doing nothing for 2 years. There are some things that Misty takes in stride and some others that you have to really work to get her calm and accepting. She is much more trusting than she was and can be touched all over except on her udder but we are working on it. My next step is to put a saddle on her and have her walking around wearing it, and putting a bit in her mouth, although I don't think I will start her with the bit right away. After a few sessions of wearing a saddle, we'll try a rider on her, those will be short sessions of maybe 5 minutes or less, as soon as she accepts the rider, the rider will get off, give her a break, then get back on, if she stands still, get off again. Get on maybe three times and if she is quiet, the session will be over and she will be free.

No whip and no harsh punishment, just practice and work and treats! She is a sweetheart and comes when called... or when we say "Cookies!".

After the trimming of the four horses, I managed to throw about 100 small square bales of hay out of the barn to get them on the elevator and in the hay loft. I had to throw the bales about 20 feet... after all that hay, I was burnt... and sore all over... still sore today.

Sunday, I could hardly get out of bed, but my sister got home and she wanted to ride... so I dragged myself out of bed and off we went, then we washed the horses and let them eat the grass just out of the pasture until they were dry-ish... they still rolled in dirt, but hey, at least they were comfortable. Then my SO and I had to put the hay elevator up in the hay loft and open up the lean-to and the small pasture to the horses... who had been patiently waiting in the large pasture all along. That thing weighs about 500 lbs... I could hardly hold it and my SO was helping... My sore muscles got another hard work out. Thank goodness it's all over... I took a day off Friday and we have a statutory holiday on Monday, so I have a four day weekend planned! HOORAY, I'll try to rest this time!

Good weekend - pictures

I can say that half of my weekend was bad and the second half was good.

Friday, I got in an argument with my SO and left to go sleep at our cottage. I was hurt and I didn't really want to leave, but I did, because I am VERY stubborn! I cried pretty much the whole time, so I think I only caused myself pain.

He called me the next day and we talked everything over and we are back to normal as of Saturday! :)

I kind of lost a day with my horses, since I was so upset, I remained very quiet throughout the day and I had to help my sister trim her colt's feet, which we did in half a jif, because he is such a good boy! He is a long yearling now and he is stunning, I can't wait to see him when he is all grown up! His feet are looking fantastic now!

Talking about hooves, Misty's other front foot self trimmed and is looking pretty good. I can pick her front feet up, so I'm not worried about that... it's the back feet that make me cringe and would probably cause me to hide under a rock. I can't ignore them but I wish I could. I'm hoping I can work with her next weekend and get her feet trimmed, I am only aiming to nip and release her after... the nipping is another thing... I might hobble her to keep from being kicked to death. She is a kicker and has not had her back feet handled at all since birth. If I hobble and touch and massage her feet, she might get more confident in letting people handle her. I want to nip her back feet because they are very unbalanced and are pulling on her white line.

I also have to trim Dandy who is long overdue but her feet keep a great shape, so I am not bothered by it. She will have her feet done this weekend for sure! I have to rebalance Peg who doesn't need a trim besides that and rebalance Pearl who doesn't need a trim besides that. So I have a lot of nipping to do! Fortunately, I have bought a completely new set of nippers and a brand new rasp in order to facilitate the tasks at hand... they work great, I've tried them on the colt on Saturday!

I also got to ride yesterday. I was ready and had the camera set up to take video of Dandy's schooling session, but my girl just wasn't into it and I had poor control and a very energetic horse. She is in full swing of heat and I think the weather had them pumped! Anyways, she was rearing to run and I just couldn't get her fully collected and slowing down her gaits. So I had her running around, we still did circles at a canter, short and long trots. Pearl was out with us and they wanted to race around. We have an area of field that is a bit bigger than an arena, so we used it for schooling. At the end, I got her to lope and jog, but I was too tired to have a video taken and I was sore from holding Dandy back so much, she just wanted to full out run and I am not comfortable enough to let her do that while turnin a 90 degree... she was also hard to bring to a full stop... next time, I will work on that. The rest was great and they got a really good workout. We did about three to four arena turns at a galop, then 3 turns at a walk and trot, then we did it again and took a standing break of about 5 minutes. They were still willing to run after about an hour of that... I was getting sore so I wanted to stop! lol

After like 3 weeks of waiting, I finally got the pictures from the Parade we were in for our annual rodeo. Here are a few of them. I know I am not in the best of shape and I am working on that.

Here's Dandy and I entering our town, to the other side, on my right, is Peg and my sister. You can see a few problem horses scrambling, which I thought was a problem for the situation we were in (Lots of people watching)... If I can get my 4 year old under control, well you can get your 10 year old under control. Peg actually parade walked a good ways. These are the rare photos of me and Dandy under saddle... I like the way she looks. You'll see that I maintain a good contact with Dandy pretty much the whole time, that's because I constantly have to remind Dandy to slow down, she walks really fast and I have a hard time slowing her down, so I keep contact like this to keep her under control and she works fine with that. You can see that her bit is not pulling back, there is just a bit of contact there.

Here, we had to stop to wait for the buggy. I am making a face because we stopped in front of a karaokee bar and the guy that was signing was probably drunk and singing awfully bad... I couldn't wait to get going and it reflected on Dandy, who I had to hold back for most of the time we spent waiting. Beside me is my sister... if you think we look alike, she is my twin sister!

Finally, the buggy makes its way ahead of us and Dandy is about ready to jump in front of it. I have to remind her to be polite and place her back on track!... I'm about ready to get off of my horse and go punch that drunk guy right in the mouth! At the same time I have this lady pointing at Dandy while yelling "Look at that Beautifull Black Stallion" Just goes to show how ignorant some people are... stallions aren't always black and a black horse can also be a mare.. EESH... how irritating! I told her without much manners that she was a mare. Then the lady completely lost interest and walked off.

And away we go! I had taken extra carefull steps to ensure that my horses where bathed, groomed and looked good, which earned me 50$ that I shared with my sister, who helped me get them prepped. Got their tails combed out, manes combed and everything matching. Most other horses, except the paint, were muddy, sweaty, out of control and had bad feet! The white gelding below at my left had only one shoe on a front foot, the others probably flew off, but they didn't bother putting shoes back on or taking off the only shoe. Those people have a lot of money and their horses are poorly taken care of. I felt bad for the horses.

So there it was! I am pretty happy about the way Dandy looks under saddle, I had no idea how "on the bit" she really was and how collected she is. Can't believe how black she is either! She was fantastic and never spooked at anything, she did this like a pro and I never felt out of control at any time. It was her first time exposed to loud noises, speaker, loud music, a LOT of people, a LOT of different horses and she didn't even bat an eye! She's such a good girl!

The Heat!

We are in what seems like an unterminable heat wave every day for the past 2.5 weeks.

All ranging over the 30C (86F) and as high as 47C with the humidity factor (Over 116F). Needless to say that it is UNBEARABLE! Today, we are expecting 35 C (95F). This is borderline normal for our part of the world. Our temperatures can dip to as low as -40 C (-40F) in winter and we've seen as low as -44C (-47F) some years. We are used to and are most comfortable in weathers that are around 20-25 C (68-77F). This is scortching for us!

It is not showing any signs of letting down either. Tommorow, we are calling for temperature close to 40C (104F) and Friday also. The weekend is supposed to be closer around 34C, but this is still warm. For the last two weekends, we have taken the horses out, but have not been able to ride much at all... we have to take long breaks, water them and give them at least one hour in the shade to cut the ride... we are also holding back from asking them to move faster and, therefore, aren't able to work on their conditionning or training at all.

I'm not complaining, but I don't think we've ever had a summer with so many consecutive hot days. Usually, by this time, a huge thunder storm has cooled us down. I am also a little POed because I totally froze my bum for the greater half of my vacation and now, Mother Nature is offering sunshine and warm weather by the bowlfull! We've also had to do our hay in this weather and for anyone who has ever unloaded and stacked over 300 square bales in temperautes over 40C and incredibly humid weather, my hat is off to you, because it just about killed me! The humidity makes it hard to breathe, you constantly sweat a waterfall, dirt sticks on you and the heavy-ness of the air just drains you. I understand that our hot weather is not quite like the southern weather, where it is much dryer.

As much wind as we've had, now there isn't any breeze. I am grateful for my air conditionning!

Horses are all well in their cool shelter, they all fit right in with plenty of room and they always have fresh water. They get really hot if they are out and enjoy a cool shower if they are worked.

The cows enjoy the bush for shade and don't graze at all during the warmer hours... but they will come out for a treat!

Well, at least I work in an air conditionned building, but it's obviously struggling since I find it really hot in here... is it normal to sweat while typing???!!!?? EESH! I can't wait to go home!

I was wondering if it's this hot in other parts of Canada... BC? Newfoundland?

My Vacation

It has been a whole week since I'm back from vacation and have not even posted about it yet!

I have been so busy at work and in life, it's very exhausting.

So, here goes:

My vacation went well, as I vowed to do, I spent a lot of time resting and relaxing. I could feel the exhaustion creeping up on me. I really needed this vacation.

I had scheduled all of my appointments on Monday in order to be done with them as soon as possible. So I went for bloodworks on Monday at 8:00 am and I had to take my car to the garage right after. So I was home by 2:00 pm that day! Unfortunately, I missed the better part of the day waiting for my car at the dealer. My mom and I had plans for the week that consisted of resting and going out on the river for a pedal boat ride every day. We also had plans for a morning walk every day. Things didn't really turn out that way...

On Monday, right after diner the wind picked up, it had been windy all day, but this wind was much stronger. My dad was outside with my dog, so I glanced out at them and I saw a great big storm brewing at the far end of the river, I could actually see the wind coming in and the rain right after the gusts. My dad made his way quickly inside the cottage and joined me in the sun room to witness this storm.

The winds started strong and were causing waves 2 feet high or more (on a freshwater river or lake, this is pretty impressive) with white caps on every one of them. I took pictures from inside the cottage so excuse bad quality...

Below: This is how it started, the wind had just started to blow. Notice the rain blowing in the wind on the other side of the river. It was not yet raining where we were.

Below, the wind proceeded to blow at gusts of 100 km/h ( Or 60 mph). We could hear the roof of the cottage cracking and huge branches were breaking from the surrounding trees and falling on the roof, then, they were quickly swept off of the roof and blown accross the street over 300 feet away!

Then, the rain hit, the wind died down a bit (although it was still very windy, it wasn't dangerously windy anymore). Excuse for the pictures through screened windows, but I wouldn't have gone outside for a large amount of money!

It's pretty hard to believe but the following pictures were taken the same night, less than 2 hours after the storm. This is the view from our cottage. It was still windy, so for reference, the river is usually calmer than this.

I actually managed to capture a sunset. The following days of my vacation were pretty cold and rainy until Thursday, where I returned to the farm to do some chores and bale the hay. My vacation fell short of my expectations, but I still managed to rest during those cold and rainy days, so I'm back at work, feeling 100%! I didn't get to ride until Friday (I think)... I had vowed to ride every second day at least... didn't happen, but I did check on the horses and spent more time with them every day, even in the rain... I spoiled them rotten!

Our hay was a real success this year, it has not seen any rain from the moment it was cut to the moment we've put it in the barn for storage... it is of very good quality and does not contain any dust like last years'! HOORAY! We've already fed some to the horses... they seem to REALLY like it!

Rodeo Time!

Every year, in our small town, we welcome the cowboys and cowgirls from WildTime Productions to produce our annual professionnal rodeo and demonstrate their incredible riding skills.

First, the events started with our National Anthem and the Cowboy Prayer. Then we had the bareback riding, followed by the calf roping, rescue rider, barrel racing, Junior bull riding, saddle broncs, exchange rider, steer wrestling, poney express and finally the Bull riding!

Here are a few pictures of each event:

Bareback riding, riders must maintain position on the horse for 8 seconds, only one hand strapped to the horse. The free hand must not touch the horse.

Calf Roping: The rider must chase and rope one calf without breaking the barrier (giving a head start to the calf) in the shortest possible time. The calf must remain roped for 10 seconds.

Rescue Rider: This event consists of one rider on a horse and one on the ground. The horse and rider make their way at a full galop around the arena and must pick up the rider on the ground. This is one spectacular thing to see and is very hard for even the better riders to complete.

Then, it's my favorite event... Barrel Racing! This sport is exclusive to women in the professional rodeo circuit. The horse and rider must complete a clover-like pattern around 3 specially placed barrels, they must do it as fast as they can, without knocking a barrel down. I appreciate how the horses are able to go around the barrels at such speed, proves that they are very agile!

Then we had Junior Bull riding, where boys under 18 ride small breed bulls for 8 seconds... I was not interested in this, they shouldn't have put this in the professionnal rodeo...
Saddle Broncs: A lot like bareback riding, except that the rider is sitting on a saddle and holding onto a rope that is connected to the horse's halter. Rider has one free hand and cannot use it, must keep it above his head.

Exchange Rider: One rider on one horse, one on the ground. The horse and rider race around the arena. At one specefic point, the rider on the horse must get off of the horse and the one on the ground get on it and completes the circle in the fastest time. Look at the picture below, you can see the first rider at the right of the picture (getting up) and the second rider getting on the horse succesfully. This happens VERY quickly!
Steer Wrestling: Rider must capture and wrestled to the ground a steer, with the help of a hazer, who's job is to keep the steer close to the rider's horse. There is about as much failed attempts as successfull ones.


Poney Express: Very impressive display of ability. Two riders, each on a horse must race around the arena. The first racer has to leave their horse and get on the second horse as the rider on that last horse dismounts. The first rider on the new horse must complete the circle around the ring.

AND Last but not least... Bull Riding: The rider must remain on a bucking bull for 8 seconds, one hand is tied to the bull and one free hand must not touch the bull. Points are granted for style of the rider and intensity of the bull.

I hope you've enjoyed my pictures... if my camera had been better quality I could've taken much better pictures.

This rodeo is not like the bad rodeos you see out there. No animals are harmed, they are well treated and are all fat and seem content. The bucking stock know their jobs and love it. I have been behind the scenes, where they keep all of them and all have good clean water and the staff ensures that the water is of quality and good feed. The staff is pretty oriented on taking the best care possible of their stock. Everyone works hard to bring a good show and ensure security.

I enjoy this event every year, coming from a small town, there is not much to bring tourists and new faces to us... this event is one of them and I hope it remains that way for a long time. Our small town economy has gone down the drain with the recession and this helps bring new dollars into our village.

My vacation - part 1

For lack of a better picture, here's the opening act of the rodeo. My parade pictures aren't yet downloaded... Did I mention that I LOVE the buckskin at the back!?!??!?

I'm back from my vacation!

I can't say that it was the best vacation ever. I left on Friday, June 25, 2010 at noon to go prep the horses for the parade. It was our annual rodeo on that weekend and the opening ceremony was a horse and buggy parade, so I was up for it and was bringing Dandy, Peg and Pearl.

I got home and started right away on washing the horses, with the help of my sister. We decided that we would wash Pearl the first, then Peg and Dandy. So Pearl gets her shower and is all sparkling clean and stunning. We tie her up to the fence to dry and proceed to showering Peg.

To this point, all goes well and we start washing Dandy after we've tied Peg beside Pearl. We are in the middle of shampooing Dandy, when I quickly glance at the two horses tied to the fence and notice that Pearl has got a leg over her lead, as quick as I could tell my sister, Pearl panicked... and this is where it gets ugly...

Pearl is pulling back on the lead, with her leg caught up, she falls to the ground, gets up, falls down again, at this point, we are half way to her to help, but she is not tuned in, she rears up and nearly runs us over. While she reared up, she pulled back on the lead and on her way down from her rear, two things happened: The lead rope with tension on it caused her to over extend her knee and on her way down, she smashed her nose on the fence post. At that time, I was running to the barn to get a knife. When I came back, Pearl was on the ground, her legs tangled, her nose in the dirt and breathing hard. There was way too much tension on the lead to release the quick knot (these knots are useless!!!). I cut the rope quickly and left Pearl loose in the yard. She was terrified, so there was no use running after her, there isn't anything in the yard that she could've got hurt on and I knew that she would search the comfort of the other horses, so she went near the pasture, where Misty was standing.

At that point, I was making my way towards her, I saw that she was limping and that there was blood, but I didn't know where it came from. I was shaking like a leaf... Pearl was shaking hard too. It broke my heart when I caught her. She wouldn't put weight on her leg and I noticed that the blood came from her mouth. My sister came to join us but I was crying so hard, I was really scared, I couldn't even lead Pearl anywhere so I let my sister take her. My heart was broken. I watched Pearl walk away, she was limping. I ran in the barn to get a rag soaked in cold water to stop her bleeding. It worked almost immediately.

I also put some cool clay on her leg and felt for any dislocation but all seemed in good order. Obviously, we left her home for the parade and my sister took my SO's horse, Peg, for the parade, he was kind enough to let her go with Peg after our terrifying ordeal. My heart wasn't really into it anymore anyways, but I still went because I had an engagement towards the organizers.

Dandy and Peg did great, we were there way too early and we drew a big crowd, but the horses handled it like real pros! I know Peg is used to this kind of environment (speakers, loud music, crowds of people, like kids running everywhere, all kinds of different horses, etc.), but it was a first for Dandy and I couldn't be prouder of her. She was jigging a bit at first because of all the new "friends" she wanted to meet, but quickly settled and was a real doll. After waiting for about an hour, a few horse buddies that were also participating in the parade made their way to us. We left about 10 minutes late. There was quite the crowd and we went right through town and Dandy did great, never flinched! We won $25 each because we had the cleanest horses there! So it was worth it, but I would've liked it better if Pearl hadn't been hurt, I don't care for money at that point.

I don't have the pictures of the horses with me right now, it's on my mom's camera and I need to put them on my memory stick to post here... so probably next week, we'll have them since I should see her this weekend.

All went well. I returned to Pearl and she looked better. Over the week, she kept getting better and better, the limp is completely gone, there was hardly any swelling and she is back to running around, chasing her buddies. She will get another week off, then I'll reassess her and see. We might try her out under saddle for a short (very short) ride to see how she does. As of the last time I checked, there was no heat, no limp and no swelling.

This was a huge lesson for me. I tied Pearl long enough that she could eat some grass. I always preach to tie short and I didn't practice any of it. Thankfully, she wasn't badly injured and it scared the heck out of me. None of my horses will ever be tied long enough to reach anything again. She wasn't tied there overnight or anything, just for a few hours. I will never do that again. I had questionned myself about the lenght of rope a few times, I should've shortened it right away, it would've saved me a lot of heartacke and panic... and for Pearl, pain, panic and confusion. If you have any doubts on something you've done with your horses, don't wait, fix it NOW before something like this happens. If you preach about something, you'd better do it yourself... skipping on it only once is not okay. Feel free to throw rotten tomatoes at me, I feel rotten enough as it is. I wanted to spoil them a bit and let them eat the long grass along the fence (that is not part of their pasture) but it turned into a real disaster.

Below: Pearl on Saturday morning, no more limp, no more heat, no more swelling. The leg that was injured is the left front from the knee to the fetlock. Pearl got a lot of cookies and attentive care for the whole week. I checked on her every day, applied cool clay when I felt heat and she was a very good patient. She's always had great legs and I want to keep it that way!

Please be careful and prevent instead of trying to heal!

Much much more pictures to come... I will cover the rodeo in the next posts.

Vacation!

As you may or may not know, my vacation starts in less than 5 hours! This means that I wont be able to write on my blog for the next week. I am going to the cottage, where there is no Internet, no phone or TV... I can't wait!

Here are some of my plans for my vacation.

1. Ride, at least every other day.

2. Spend quality time with my mom, who is also on vacation!

3. RELAX! I need to rest, I feel exhausted.

4. Spend some time outside, as usual.

I didn't plan any work on the farm, because I feel like I REALLY need the break. I will still be able to go to the farm every day to check up on everyone and everything.

We had an earthquake here on Wednesday (5.0 on Richter scale)... the horses seemed fine about it. The dogs were just going crazy! I was in an office building and it shook quite hard, stuff was falling off the walls and at one point I really felt as if something could fall on my head at any given time. Of course, I didn't know what it was given that there is the G8 and G20 summits and that we were advised to be on our guards about suspicious people (I work for the Canadian Government)... At first I thought it was an explosion, then I felt like the upper floors were crashing down, that's when I took my purse and ran for it.

It's not until I was out of the building to notice no material damage to it that I realized that it wasn't a bomb... then I saw the streets flooding with people and realized that our building wasn't the only one afffected, then the thought of an earthquake was the most likely. Anyways, nobody was hurt and there wasn't major material damage, just a few reported cases. It is the first strong earthquake that I witness and let me tell you that I could feel the building swaying from side to side. I'm sure I was as white as a ghost and my legs were shaking the whole time I was going down the stairs. I thought my office window was going to fall out of the sill! I didn't know if it was going to get worst before it got better, so I got out, like everyone else actually.

Anyways, glad that's over!

We are participating in a parade tonight for our annual professional rodeo. It opens tonight with a horse and buggy parade. I am taking Dandy, Peg and Pearl. It will be Dandy's first time in a crowd and with horses that she doesn't know... I don't know how it'll go since she is so friendly and always wants to meet all the new horses. I don't think that she'll be out of control, once we get working, she always pays attention to the rider. I'm not at all worried for Peg and Pearl, the old girls have been in races, they know the whole crowd, noise and strange horse stuff. It'll be their first time since they got rescued that they'll participate in any horse event. They have been with me for over a year now, they are both doing great and are very happy horses.

I will take many pictures of the preparation to the parade and the horses... I will get my mom to take pictures of the parade itself... since I am riding in it... it's kind of hard to take pics and I don't want to carry the camera with me. It's a great first time for Dandy, since there isn't supposed to be any sirens, I'm sure it wouldn't phase her, but I might feel more comfortable! :)

So I'm off on vacation and will only be back in the office on July 5th. By then, if I'm not too busy, I might post stories and pictures! Have a great week everyone and I hope that you did take some time off from work to enjoy summer... my week isn't supposed to be too hot, but not too rainy (except Monday, but I have erands to run!). See you in 10 days!

New guys! PICS!

You probably thought that I had retired my camera... but no! The weather hasn't been the greatest and I haven't had a ton of time to take pictures. So yesterday evening, I took out the camera... no... I didn't take pictures of the horses, but I should've. Although no horse has had significant changes, they all look exactly the same! ;P

We managed to take out the horses twice this weekend for about 1.5 hours everytime. Peg only got out once, remained sound without shoes, but she sweated a lake.. she is not in good shape, since she is only used occasionnally, she never gets much exercise. At her age, she rarely runs around anymore and enjoys her days basking in the sun or in the shade if it's too hot... I've actually found them using the shelter!!! :D I have decided to not put shoes back on Peg. She is rarely used and is sound in the pasture... I will treat her thrush like all the others and keep her hooves trimmed in a natural way. I plan on selling the shoes that I didn't use, they would make excellent shoes for someone who is into gaming and wants their horse to enjoy a more natural way of living. The shoes can be glued on or nailed on.

One of Misty's overgrown hooves broke off to a normal lenght. I can pick up her front feet, she hasn't had much work this weekend except for putting on her halter twice, leading a bit and picking up her feet, but I'm in no rush. She can still be touched pretty much all over except for her underbelly, but we'll work on that in the weeks to come. The next steps are to trim her feet, at least the front (I will take before and after shots), then probably start sacking her out, maybe putting a circingle on her and a bit in her mouth, just to get her used to it. I don't want to skip steps and I want to have confidence when I put my foot in that stirrup. She is a sweety, but I don't know how she will react to a saddle and rider yet... I'm thinking that either she'll just stands there, frozen or shoot forward in a panic, but I will probably video tape that first ride and some of her training. She has seen me getting on Dandy and riding, she is curious about the saddle and there isn't much that spooks her. I was bathing the horses yesterday and she was getting too close, so I sprayed her neck with water... but she didn't move... Nothing makes her nervous. There was a deer in the pasture with the horses on Friday evening and she kept looking at it, then got closer... then realized it was just another "horse" and got back to grazing.

On Sunday morning, we added a new addition to the cattle herd... Here he is:

He is a 16 month old Blonde D'Aquitaine bull. That's Nabisco behind him. He was introduced to the herd on Sunday morning. We'll only see what he can produce next year, in March-April 2011. Nabisco seems to be close to her heat cycle, he is sticking with her away from the herd, so I am expecting her to be bred this week, I will note the appropriate dates. The Blonde D'Aquitaine is a great breed that gives calves that aren't too big at birth but that have significant weight gain in their first weeks of life. I am not fond of this bull's conformation, but he is in his dangly yearling stage and should even out with time. I also find him a bit thin. He should build more muscles in the year to come.

I have also taken pictures of the herd:

Above: These are two of our Gilbvieh X Angus cows. The one in the middle of the pic has not yet calved and the one behind her is the latest one to have calved.

BELOW: This is the next one to calve. She is a first calf heifer, so we'll be keeping an eye on her. She should calve in the week to come.

Below: These are the youngsters. Our two calves and first calf heifer. The calf laying down is the latest calf. He is a steer from our biggest Gilbvieh X Angus cow and from a Charolais bull. The calf in the middle is our white heifer from end of April. She is now a few days short of 2 months old, while the little guy is 20 days old, he was born on June 1st.

We've called the little heifer Biscuits... because her mom is Nabisco... we stayed in the cooking theme! Biscuits will be staying with us. The little guy didn't get a name, I am trying not to get too attached since he will be sold, probably for meat... It's hard to keep away from such a cute little face. He is curious and wants to walk up to people to smell them, but he doesn't know that we wont hurt him yet.

As for the bull, he is just getting used to people. He ran for the woods a few times but once with the cows, we were able to get close to him. Our cows are very friendly and I found myself having to back up to take some pictures since they were standing way too close to me!

This weekend will be our annual rodeo, I will try to take some pictures of that, weather permits... I am participating in the opening parade, I might have pictures, if someone takes some. This is also my last week at work before a week of vacation. I am going up to the cottage for the whole week next week so I will have no Internet access, no phone, no TV... Everything I need for complete PEACE! My mom is also on vacation and we are planning to go pedalboating quite a bit, she just got her pedalboat on Friday! I'm more of a canoer, but I'll adapt. Since the cottage isn't all that far from the farm, I'll be able to go every day to check on the cows and horses and probably will be going for a few rides... by myself but that's ok. I will probably have more time to take pictures.