Fun facts

I was reading the Fugly blog and got this idea. It's about how your horse and you are alike. So I thought I would blog about that! First, my new horse Miss. We have similarities and differences. We are both hard headed and have strong feelings about what we believe is right. Also, I would go days without talking to someone or eating just to prove that I have power over them... I know, this is only penalizing myself, but I usually give in quite easily after a while. We are both extremely patient but loose it in a heartbeat if it's something that keeps occuring and annoys us. She is a bit headshy, as I am (we are working on getting her used to it, I'm not convinced that she was treated all the best) and tends to throw her head up. She is super sensitive to pressure, but has a kind heart and is very sweet, she is not dangerous with people and VERY patient with other horses (too much if you ask me), she is forgiving and willing to work with people. She usually comes by to say hi when she is at liberty but she is a bit hard to catch (or rather putting her halter on is a task on its own), she stands tied, but she needs something to do. I've just started working with her and only have two rides on her as of now. I can't sit and do nothing either, I need a job or something to do. I can't stand puzzles and things that make me feel like I'm doing something but in reality, I'm only wasting my time. Don't take this on the wrong side, but I would rather be productive doing things on the farm than sitting inside and putting together a puzzle. I do that when it rains, if I'm not sleeping. Misty is my heart-horse, she is calm and assertive and knows what she wants, she is people oriented just as much as I am animal oriented. She is curious. Nothing spooks her and she takes everything in stride. She is short and bulky (bulldogging horse) and I am tall and... bulky (I'm working on that). She has thin hair, just like me and a kind eye. She is super sensitive and a simple loud voice will cause her to shut down completely (just like me), so kindness and softness is ideal for her. I'm more of the bully type of person.... but I am learning that this is not the way to go and that being gentle helps. I have to remind myself that the horse as probably not done what I am asking often and need to take it more slowly and "explain" it to them in order for them to understand instead of getting frustrated. Horses are such good teachers, I've learned to control my emotions and just be patient, I am extremely patient today! Wakan is not my horse, but I love him dearly... he has nothing that I have. He is an annoying little guy that is equivalent to a roll of Scotch tape if you unwind it all and get caught in it. He is always stuck to people like glue and is the first one at the gate to get loved on. He has a loud personnality and will make faces at you... this is super funny. Wakan turns two in May and has pretty much all of his groundwork done... we are just tweaking things now. He is a bunny rabbit and would never harm a person intentionally. Peg, my 18 year old ex-racer / ex-broodmare is somewhat people oriented if there is food envolved, kind of like me, LOL. If she is going to be caught to work, she is gone in half a jif, but food will get her right back in your pocket. She is the kind that doesn't take any bull**** from anyone or anything and will turn on a dog that runs and bark after her and chase it, she knows that the cows and sheep will move if she takes enough space. She is calm but has that extra boost when needed and tends to be very competitive, like me! She has her own opinions but she is easy to work with. She is bombproof but a bit hard-mouthed (racing days!?) and hard to stop once she is gone, we are working on this. Pearl, my other Ex-racer / ex-broodmare is 20 years old, but acts like a 4 year old... that is not at all like me. I'm 25 and would rather stay home and relax than go out and party, I also have a lot of responsibilities that other 25 year olds might not have. She cannot live without her buddy Peg, she is strongly opinionnated and will not do what is asked of her if she has anything else in mind, she has been known to kick and rear (not at anything in particular) to get her way (NOT working with me!). She needs constant reminder that humans are the boss, she is a BIG intimidator and she needs a lot of patience to get her where you want her. Once we leave the barn for a ride, she is the perfect little angel but is not suited for a beginner, since she has a tendency to mini-rear and bronc a little if she doesn't exactly feel like doing what she is told. She is also a gaited horse and sitting her pace can sometimes put people off balance, but she is very smooth and constantly gaits which is super pretty in parades. She is the nervous type, but is not afraid of anything on the trail or road... she just has a head full of hot air and she is very energetic. She is awesome for someone who likes a horse with a bit of pep left in them, but an absolutely safe and bombproof horse. She will probably never be able to go out alone, but we are not going to argue with her as we don't need to ride her alone and because she is already semi-retired. So there are my horses according to my views... they are all very different and I love them all equally, we all have a touch of something in common. Dandy, which has sold a few weeks ago was the exact personnality match for me, laid back, would rather not run fast (she was blind, so that is probably why), would trust me blindly and was my best partner, she wasn't affraid of anything and at her young age (5 years old), she seemed more mature than that, she was loving and caring, she was careful with beginners and children and LOVED to work, she would go bananas if another horse was working nearby and not her. She had a big heart and was willing to do anything for her human friend. She always had the biggest trust in me (I never felt so trusted by an animal before, but she was blind, so we had to have a bond in order to work together) and would forgive all of my mistakes, even the biggest ones, she always stood by me and for the few times that I have fallen off of her, she always stopped right there to wait for me and I know she felt sorry for throwing me off (not intentionally). I loved her with all of my heart and I will never forget her. The unfortunate circomstances of her sale were mostly related to her love of the work and me being under-horsed by her. I would've kept her, gladly, if she didn't mind it so much not to work. I found a great home for her where she will work often and be treated kindly and softly like she deserves. Her new people keep me in the loop of things and love her dearly which makes my heart lighter.

She's gone

Dandy has gone to her new home. I have found someone who was looking for a solid trail or road horse (Not the girl in the picture), she came by to try Dandy out and instantly fell in love with her. She wasn't even mounted on her that she already loved her. Dandy is so well behaved and respectful that I'm not surprised, she used to wow the crowds everywhere we went, and when people found out that she was mostly blind, they couldn't believe it and they were very impressed with her.

I miss her a lot, all the time. This was hard on everyone, but deep down, I know that I did the right thing and that she will be happy in her new home. She is only with one other horse in a small enclosure with a big shelter, free choice hay and a big water through.

The girl loves her to death and treats her like a porcelaine doll. Dandy should be very well there.

I've had quite a rough week. On March 18, my mom announced that the man who we wanted to buy a farm from decided not to sell it. I was devastated, that farm would be perfect for our horses and I already had big plans made for when we would move there, that shattered all of my dreams. That same night, my grandmother passed away. Her death was unexpected by all and broke the heart of everyone. My grandma passed away in the arms of her daughter, if this doesn't rip a big chunk of your heart out... I was devastated and my aunt will probably need counseling. Her mom was her best friend, they were always together. The next morning, I was driving Dandy to her new home. My heart was already heavy and I managed to not burst out crying in the truck with my trailer guy. I had cried enough the day before, I had spent the whole day with Dandy, brushing her and trimming her feet and petting her and telling her I loved her and that she was such a good girl... I sold my best horse, that's sad. I cried the whole time I was with her.

I will never forget Dandy and I get teary eyed just thinking about her. Fortunately, I get news about her and she is doing really good and the girl really loves her a lot. I feel relieved to hear this and I am sure that Dandy is as happy as a clam. I wish them all the best.

This will allow me to start my new horse, Miss, without having to leave Dandy behind and miserable. I already have a second ride on Miss, I know, it's not a whole lot, but at this time of year, in my part of the world, things get really icey and I don't want to take chances with the horses. They get regular visits and are all a bunch of attention hogs.

Misty had a really hard time with Dandy leaving. It ripped my heart out to see her standing at the gate all day waiting for Dandy to come back. Obviously, she didn't like Miss right away and there is still a big cold between them, but they are starting to sort things out. At least I don't have to sit at work and be worried about a blind horse running throug a fence or being injured because she can hardly see, I would've died if something like that would've happened. I thought long and hard about putting her down, but she was doing really well in the last months and I decided to give her a chance to find a new home where she would be happy and kept into work and I did... it's perfect for her.

If Dandy hadn't sold in a year, I would've considered putting her down, she would've been very miserable at my place not being worked and one of the standardbreds could really give her a run for her money, which had already caused her injury once. I was very nervous at the thought of putting them to pasture together again, that wouldn't have happened. Now, I can rest my head and know that, although horses are trouble magnets, that at least all of them can see and probably figure things out on their own.

Since I have been sick (since September), I have found out that stress brings out the episodes and that I should avoid all stress if possible. I know that it is impossible to completely eliminate it, but I'll try! Having this less to worry about really helps, as much as I love Dandy, I know that this is a better situation for her and that she will do very well there.

So here's to Dandy, my best buddy!

I will always love you girl

Be good! ( I always said that before leaving the pasture)

News

I don't know wether to be happy or sad... I have good and bad news.

I'll start with the good news... I've purchased a new horse this past weekend. She is a 4 year-old AQHA bay mare. Her name is Leos Miss Mito (N/N) she has great lineage with Impressive, Poco Bueno, Leo and Three Bars on her pedigree... she is just the breeding I was looking for. I want a horse that could move cattle and turn a barrel... she should be able to do that since she is Reining & Speed bred. She was apparently ridden all last Summer, but after trying her out yesterday, I figured she was probably just started and very green broke... or maybe she is still settling in and hasn't yet warmed up to me... I plan on working on our bond more next weekend.

Below is Miss... getting a bit of a lesson on respect.

I actually rode her afterwards... I have video of that somewhere... She did pretty well, she has movement to absolutely die for, her trot is nice and flowing and she has a natural lope and does lead changes at liberty. She has the prettiest head and tiny little ears. She currently stands about 15 hands, but I suspect she should reach 15.1 hh. She is a bit thin for my likings, her past owner could no longer afford to feed her, so she should start building with good food and exercise in the big pasture.

She will also benefit from a good hoof trim... I will absolutely take before and after pics... I don't think she has seen a farrier in a long time, but I will fix that for her and it should improve her movement (which is already stunning!!!) and her posture. I hope to try her out more in the weeks to come, but I want to concentrate on our bond too, so that she is willing to work with me. She does have a bit of a tendancy to throw her head when pressure is applied to the bit, so I will look into that as well (teeth??? bit???)

Now for the sad news... I have made the difficult decision to sell Dandy. Since Dandy is partially blind, she will never be suitable for what I want to do with my horse (barrels, poles, low level jumping and complicated trails)... I have taken her to the level she is at now, but we will not progress further. She is one solid trail horse and an amazing girl. She is by far the best horse I ever rode. The person that will get her is definately getting the greatest horse ever! I will miss her dearly and I always thought she was my forever horse, but things change and I really hope a nice beginner gets her to learn from (Dandy is one great teacher). I am waiting for the right home to come along and am in no hurry to sell her. My price is very negociable to the right person. Dandy has always taken outstanding care of me... we have a great bond, she loves kids and knows to be carefull with beginners... she is such a gem... I wont ever be able to say enough good things about her. I will certainly miss her, but she would be better suited with someone that would be doing flatwork (amateur dressage even!) or nice relaxing trails... and someone that would work and ride her more than I currently do. She is a fun horse to ride and is very beautiful when she works.

I will keep her for as long as it takes to find her a really good home. She couldn't stand to be a pasture ornament, she loves to work and has to do it. This was the hardest decision I've had to make, ever, but I think it would be the best thing for Dandy... I can't be selfish here, I have to think about what she can do and what she loves to do and find someone that does just that. I have to think about her happiness.

Sunday Ride

I had a pretty busy weekend. Saturday was hoof trimming day, I touched up both Standardbreds and their feet look great! I'm very pleased... I have pictures, but my computer at home quit on me and I can't transfer them (AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!). I swear I'll get some pictures on here soon! (this is my Dandy girl in the picture above).

I then trimmed Dandy's feet and Misty's fronts (my back didn't feel like doing the rear legs at that point!). So I have her rear hooves to trim and the colt's feet also, then everyone should be good for a couple of weeks... (eesh). After trimming, my sister and I took Dandy and Misty for a little ride... we rode them bareback (as always during winter), at a walk / trot, I have not yet graduated to a bareback canter although I wanted to try it, my sister didn't feel quite at ease with Misty to canter. I used to full out run bareback when I was a kid, but I wouldn't try that today... even if I know that Dandy is a solid horse, she has huge movement that could be hard to sit bareback. They both did great, it was Misty's 2 or 3 time bareback and she is super! We've seen 7 deer and no one spooked, even when one of them shot passed us.

Sunday was a quiet day, so my SO and I took the two Standardbreds for a ride... they hadn't been ridden in a good while (probably 3-4 months) so they were full of themselves and mostly trotted/ paced the whole time. I hadn't been on Peg seems like forever, so I took the opportunity to relax, since Peg can see very well, I didn't have to worry about her tripping over snow banks and things. I also practiced some dressage moves with her... I don't know the extent of her training but she can move! I had her doing side passes, leg yielding, a nice collected trot / extended trot. She has BIG movement when you ask her. Don't get me wrong, she still has a lot of racing spirit and does use her racing mouth (hard mouth) when you apply pressure, but I'm trying to ride her mostly on a loose rein to get her used to having her head / mouth... she has the most beautiful headset on a loose rein. She does amazing side passes and leg yields... she actually surprised me! I was very proud of her.

Since I don't have new pics of them, I will post some pics of Misty and Wakan (my sister's colt) playing around!

Enjoy!

This is Misty... I really like this picture. I've done a bit of research on Misty's lineage. Turns out she is very well bred. Poco Bueno top and bottom, Jet Deck and Three Bars... and more... so she is mostly cutting / cow bred with some race breeding in there. She should be a fast little one, she already shows her herding instincts by herding Wakan away from Dandy and keeping him at bay! They constantly play together.

Here she is doing her nice flat western trot... it is extremely smooth to ride!

Here, Wakan is trying to kick Misty, I love how the snow flying everywhere showed up in the picture.

Lots of movement in this one!

The little bugger has great movement. He is 1 year and 8 months in this picture, will turn two in May. He is as black as they come and it's hard to see his features on a picture. Should mature to 15.1-15.2 hands. He's just a big suck and LOVES human attention. Already wore a very light saddle / blankets and did super! I honnestly can't wait to ride him, but we won't be doing that until he is well past his 2.5 years... maybe wait for his 3rd year. That's the guy that was bought in utero and we've had him since his birth. We wouldn't trade him for the world! I love him to death even if he's a little trouble maker with the other horses... he also tends to run away with everything you leave lying around! He's a gem!

Really?! Hoof trimming

Ok, today, I was going to bring you a post about hoof trimming.

When we separated, my SO and I separated the horses. He kept Peg and Pearl as they were bought for him although I forked half of the money. Anyways, I had trimmed the horses in June (mid-June) and they were left untouched since then, even if I offered to trim them several times (we still talked). It was in dire need but I was thankful, for once, that their hooves grow really slowly. So, my plans were to trim Peg and document the whole thing, but my camera decided differently. I was getting ready to start and took one picture... cleaned the hoof and went to take another one when I noticed that a button on my camera had gone missing. It was obviously the one I need to press to take the picture. I looked frantically on the ground to find it... no such luck.

Maybe it was the -35C that was affecting it... I'll never know. Thankfully, I can still turn it on and off, just not take pictures with it, which kind of defies the whole purpose of having a camera, but at least I can get my pictures out. It was old, but still worked fine and I wasn't really planning on buying one so soon!

Anyways, Peg's feet were a bit overgrown, one had a crack in it, so I decided to just go to work on her front feet right away, it was brutally cold and I didn't want to spend more time out than needed. So I started trimming with the nippers, but Peg's feet don't grow too fast and have always been in mediocre shape (compared to Dandy's, let's say). I decided to go with a toe rocker trim, because her hoof is so stretched forward that it is becoming ridiculous.

A toe rocker is a strategic trim that you should only do when the whole hoof is pulled forward or has become oblong. Remember, a front hoof should be as round as possible. In order to do such a trim (which is also called "backing the toe"), you need to leave a little bit of heel (not trim the heels directly to the level of the sole), I would say to leave about 3-5 mm, leave the same lenght in the quarters too. Your vertical cut should be between 10 and 2 o'clock on the hoof (imagine the hoof as a clock). The purpose of this is to remove all of the wall (thickness wise) between those points. The wall should be inexistant and backed up to the level of the sole...

Below is one of Dandy's feet... now, If I was to do a Toe Rocker on her foot (which doesn't need it at all! This is just for information purpose), I would remove all of the wall material between 10 and 2 (or in this case 4 and 8 o'clock) past the white line that you see (which is the Water Line) and right to the edge of the sole, which is greyish in colour. I would leave the rest of the wall (Quarters and Heels) as they are in this picture. The purpose of the Toe Rocker is to permit the hoof to land heel first (given that there is no Thrush or heel pain) and eventually make the hoof rounded, giving a shorter breakover, therefore greatly improving stride and comfort for the horse.

Now, you can't apply this strategy every time you trim, you can alternate between a Toe Rocker (which I don't have a picture of... GRR) and an aggressive Mustang Roll (like in the picture above, that's a very good Mustang Roll, Maybe I would do it a little more aggressive than that if the horse had a really oblong hoof). Then you can go back to the Toe Rocker for the next trim, etc. Once your horse's hooves have regained a somewhat normal shape, you can stop applying the Toe Rocker and just continue with a good Mustang Roll for the next trims. Using too much of the toe rocker might make your horse go flat-soled, so only use it if it is really necessary and don't over-use it.

As I have probably mentionned before, I like doing my Mustang rolls so there is no more pigmented area in front of the Water Line (which is the really white part that goes all around the hoof, the White Line is yellowish / Light grey, you can see it if you look closely at the picture above, right between the Water Line and the Sole). This eases the breakover and reduces the amount of "pull" the hoof has to endure at every stride, therefore reducing the risk for White Line disease and founder. I always compare it to a fingernail, If you have a long fingernail, it can easily be ripped off if enough pressure is applied, as opposed to having a nice short nail that is harder to rip off or break.

Cracks aren't normal in hooves and there is no way on earth that anyone will ever convince me of the opposite. A crack is formed by an unatural leverage force that is applied or created by the badly trimmed or too-long hoof. If treated early, you can probably trim the whole crack out, but if left long, the crack will continue to grow with the force exherted on the hoof. A toe crack necessitates a good toe rocker that extends to the quarters, make sure that the hoof doesn't have any "corners" that would exhert more pressure on the toe and making the crack even worse. The goal here is to remove ALL pressure that could affect the crack. If this is done correctly, the crack should be able to grow out and the hoof will return to normal again.

Every horse has different hooves and some might be able to take more aggressive trims than others, my advice would be to always be carefull and never go and trim a horse too short too soon. Trim a little at a time, when I first start on a horse that I don't know, I only take out the basic. I touch up my trims every week and it is amazing how the hoof can change in such little time. Take the time it takes, don't rush nature, work with what you have, your horse will thank you and will never go sore or lame!

I really wish that I could've provided more pictures... I'll try and buy a new camera soon and show you what a toe rocker looks like. Have a great week!

Lots of change

Hi everyone, I'm back!

There has been a lot of changes in my life. My boydfriend and I are back together since about a month ago. We are working things out. I've been really really sick for the past 4 months, this has landed me in the hospital several times with life threatening breathing problems. Since the doctors have not yet found exactly what causes my illness, I wasn't being properly treated and ended up taking medication that made my condition worse and nearly caused death. I have to say that I nearly gave up the fight... I did it for my family and friends that were very worried about me.

I have also been working on Misty's training, if you remember Misty, she is my new paint mare that I bought in April 2010.

Misty has been going under saddle since the beginning of September 2010. She is doing W/T and we are working on a bit of canter, she has extremely smooth gaits, is way too smart for her own good and learns everything like a breeze, she has a natural reining stop on her and doesn't move once stopped until she is asked to go forward again. She has had her feet trimmed 3 times now and her hooves are improving greatly. I have not been taking pictures of that since I need all the hands I can get when I trim, since she is not yet 100% used to holding her foot up for so long. She does pick up all four feet without a problem, she is great to lead and has even been bareback riding! (I don't have those pictures on my camera, they're with my mom). Misty seems to take everything in stride, she is absolutely not spooky (deer, fowl, dogs, etc.), can go alone and has been on the road / in moderate traffic once without any problems.

This is the first time anyone has ever sat on Misty (that's me on her. I forgot to mention that I lost 45 lbs...). I had my sister holding her but she is doing great, paying attention to me and basically stood still the whole time. That was enough training for that day.

The week after, we took Misty out on her first ever trail ride. The ride lasted no more than 10 minutes. Misty did great! That's my sister on Misty at the trail head. Misty is being ridden in a bosal and responding fantastically to that.

Weeks go by and we are riding Misty every week (1-2 times) and slowly building her endurance. She is doing wonderful. Here are a few more pictures! The last one is me on Misty at the end of October, we did a little schooling session and I decided to ride her back home. My sister mostly rides her and has done most of her training under saddle.It turns out that Misty is by far the smartest horse that I have ever worked with, she seems to understand her job and does her best to please. She also has very light aids doesn't like too much pressure which is nice. She has a lot of stamina and could probably go all day, but we are not there yet, I want to make sure she is in good shape before going on longer rides. As of today, she has gone for as much as 1.5 - 2 hours, mostly walk and some trot. We are planning to start her conditionning when Spring starts. Right now, it's icy, cold and miserable so we are only taking them on short bareback strolls when it's not too icy (haven't been on a horse in about a month... I'm starting to NEED it!). She has been introduced to a bit and has worked in it for 2 rides.

I think this is enough material for today. It's been mainly focused on Misty, but don't worry, I haven't given up on Dandy. Her vision seems to have stabilized and she can see a tiny bit out of her right eye when the day is really bright. She gets along great with Misty and Wakan (the long yearling gelding) and has spent a good part of Sunday playing around with them. She doesn't canter on her own in the field, but she does trot and she did throw a few good kicks and bucks. It was very nice to see her go and enjoy herself, made my heart feel light and happy. I will have more on her in the next days! I hope I haven't lost all of my readers.

Welcome back to my blog and I'm sorry for having been gone for so long.

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.