Not So Wild Life

There are some cute critters at the ranch where Misty and Marley are going for training.

I adore donkeys. I tried to get some shots of these two minis, but they kept mugging me. I'd step away to get them both in the picture and before I could snap, they'd be right on me, grabbing at my coat.

I had to settle for their shadows.



I wanted to put them in my pockets and take them home.

Then I found these two fur balls waiting at my car.



I think they were practicing to be wheel chocks.



I would have brought this one home too, but my pockets were full of donkeys.

Misty's Monday Muse

Misty & Marley Go to School

Last Friday, Marley and I went for training with Kathleen Sullivan and Erin McLaughlin. We worked on the ground naked and dressed in saddles. It was nice to work with Marley in the same arena. Kathleen taught Marley while Erin taught me. By the end of our lesson we both showed improvement.



Erin is asking me to back up.



Kathleen working Marley in a circle with the flag.

We were both very good about being saddled.



Erin asked me to soften and bend while keeping my feet in place. I was resistant at first because I didn't understand. Erin was very patient with me; she didn't force me, but gave me time to think.



I started to figure it out.



I became softer.



By jove, I think I've got it!

Marley was quite interesting.



He's rather stiff, but he can sure bend that thick neck of his while resisting the pressure of the rope. We know he can even run full speed ahead with his nose bent to his shoulder.



Here he is bent like a bobby pin, but resisting long enough to get bored. So he decided to nibble on his girth for entertainment. Silly boy.



But he did better than on our evaluation day. There was actually some communication going to his feet this time and he moved around more fluidly.

He has a really tough time with his right side though. Kathleen asked if on the occasions that Marley ran off with riders, did he veer to the right? My Lady said she had not witnessed his run-offs under saddle, but as she thought about it, she recalled the several times she experienced Marley trying to run-off on the longe line, he always tried to run away to his right. He's very strong on that side.


Kathleen is asking Marley to bend and move his feet.
See how braced he is?



He's a stubborn pony, but Kathleen was patient.



He finally got a clue.



And found the answer to the question.

Next time they might ride us both. We've been ridden before, but I'm green and Marley is ornery. It should be interesting.

To be continued...

Mother Nature...I have a complaint.

Easter Sunday 2009

This is not what I was expecting to wake up to on Easter morning.




My husband says this is why the Easter Bunny colors his eggs.
So the children in Colorado can find them.




Here's what the Easter Bunny left for me.

I rented this movie last week and watched it on my iPod.
I enjoyed it very much!

Afterward, I lamented that I hadn't seen it on a bigger screen.
The scenery and the filming appeared to be stunning, but I couldn't see the details on my tiny screen.
I want to watch it again, on a bigger screen.

Thank you Easter Bunny!

Action, adventure, beautiful scenery, good guys vs bad guys, humor, romance, horses, and cattle.
All the makings of a great movie.

From the Side of the Road

Saturdays go by so quickly; much faster than work days. Why is that?

All I've done is make one feed run, attend a NH training demo, and drive into town for some cosmetics...and the day is done. Alas, no time for housework.

It goes without saying...I also fed horses and scooped poop.

After the morning barn chores, my husband and I took a drive along a new route to pick up some horse feed. We snapped a few pictures along the way.


Breakfast in bed:





Rock garden serpent (everybody needs one):




Cool Cattle:






Four black horses running in a row:



It was an interesting drive.

Drop by on Monday. Misty will be reporting on the recent training session she and Marley attended.

Happy Easter!

Let The Training Begin

Misty and Marley were evaluated this afternoon by a natural horsemanship clinician who is holding a colt starting/special project clinic for the month of April. Misty and Marley were worked on the ground to see how attentive they are, how much they understand, and how they move when asked to yield to pressure.

The clinician was holding Misty while her co-clinician worked with Marley. I was a little embarrassed when my spoiled mare acted like a lap dog, crowding the clinician, getting in her face and trying to give her kisses. A few gentle but firm reprimands from the clinician and Misty stood quietly at a respectful distance on a loose lead. She's a bright mare and learns quickly.

Marley was quite stiff and braced as he worked in a circle, especially his hind end. When the assistant walked the rope around his rump and pulled gently on the lead line, asking him to turn and yield his hind quarters, he stood for a long time with his head bent around to his shoulder. And while standing bent like this, he started nibbling on the lead rope, oblivious to what the trainer was asking of him. When she applied a little more pressure with the rope to his hind quarters, he finally moved. But rather than yield his hind quarters and turn with a fluid motion of both his hind and front ends, he kept his back feet firmly planted and moved his front feet around in a circle while pivoting on his back feet. The trainers found this to be interesting and a significant reason why he has been so successful in running off with his former riders. They said we need to get control of the motor.

The game plan for Marley is to get him moving and yielding those hind quarters and improve his flexibility and bending on the ground and under saddle. They will work on his control issues (the mental ones) and will ride him out away from the barn and away from Misty and place him in a situation that will challenge him.

Misty was the opposite of Marley. She was more fluid with her hind quarters, but a little braced in her front end. She was acting a little spooky about something she was seeing in one corner of the arena. She is inexperienced, but willing. She just needs some training hours put on her.

We return to the ranch on Friday morning to begin training. I'll be observing and learning for now.

P.S...Let me add too, that this was my first time hauling both horses. We did ok, although Misty got a little freaked out loading into the trailer for the return trip home. But the trainers helped me get her in. They also had to back my rig out of my parking space for me. It required advanced trailer backing skills as the afternoon progressed and more boarders and visitors arrived, parking their vehicles helter skelter along both sides of the one lane driveway. The trainers got my rig backed into a T-branch off the driveway - a 90 degree turn with other vehicles to maneuver around. Then they turned it over to me and guided me forward and back so I could make the turn onto the main driveway, again with more vehicles ranging from pickups to little sports cars parked along the sides of the drive and in front of my truck. A couple of vehicle owners came out of the barn a little cranky and concerned about their vehicles during all this back and forth maneuvering of my rig. For heaven's sakes, it would have been a lot easier for them to have moved their little cars and trucks and been courteous to the fact that this is a horse stable, training is going on, and people will be bringing horse trailers onto the property. But it is all a learning experience and thank goodness for skilled drivers to help me out of a bind. Although, they did say they charge extra for trailer backing lessons...but with a giggle. ;-)

Misty's Monday Muse

What's wrong with this picture?

I'm a pretty easy going mare.
I don't complain much.
I get along well with others.
But sharing my snacks with a gluttonous pony has its drawbacks.
Fortunately, the service here is excellent.

Waitress! Waitress!
I'd like a refill on my Pony Pop please.



Horsea Salt flavor makes me smile.
I'm so happy, I'll even share with Marley.


Oh rats!
She put the top on to slow us down.
But Marley is always up for a challenge.


Go Marley! Go Marley!
Work that tongue pony boy!

Frosted Toes & Other Blessings

It's Saturday. Do you know what that means? Another Spring snowstorm to hamper the weekend activities. Humph!

I was looking forward to attending a horse clinic today, but it was cancelled due to weather.

Pictured are Misty's tootsies as she was standing at her trough in her stall eating lunch today. It's not snowing heavily (at the moment) but the wind is really fierce. My face stung as I was pelted with tiny snow flakes on my short walk to the barn. Snow is swirling and blowing into the stalls. It's a day to stay indoors and reflect.

Friday was a sad and stressful day at my office. Extra security staff walked the hallways on all floors. Human Resources staff had flown in from corporate headquarters; they stuck out like sore thumbs in their professional business suits amidst the rest of us dressed in "Colorado casual" attire. The office grew very quiet except for whispered conversations between co-workers.

"I just saw 'John' being escorted from his cube."

"Is that 'Jane' carrying a box out to her car in the parking lot?"

"Oh no, 'Joe' just went into a conference room with his manager."

"It doesn't make sense. These are bright, hard working people."

We all sat at our desks, stunned, waiting to see if the axe would swing our way.

By 11:00am our manager notified us that our work group was not affected and we gathered in a small conference room where we all expressed our sadness and confusion. How did they choose? It didn't make sense. What was the criteria? We'll probably never know. Then we were dismissed for the rest of the day. Nobody was in a frame of mind to concentrate on work and upper management realized this and gave us the afternoon off.

As I sit inside on this cold, blustery day, with Friday's somber mood still lingering, I need to count my blessings. Here are just a few:

• I'm grateful for a warm and comfortable house on a day like today.
  
• I'm blessed to have a husband who was willing to move away from the suburbs and build a barn and put up fencing so I could bring horses home.
  
• I'm grateful for Misty & Marley and the joy they bring to my life.
• I appreciate our barn and the good workmanship of the craftsman who built it. It's creaking and rattling today in this wind, but it provides excellent shelter for Misty & Marley. I know they like it...judging by all the poop piles inside today rather than outside.
  
• I'm happy there is hay in the hay loft and grateful to my family for helping hoist it up there.
  
• I'm thankful for my job...so very, very thankful for my job.

I hope our economy improves soon, for the sake of my displaced co-workers, the horses that are going unfed, the rescues that are trying to take up the slack, and all those people struggling to make ends meet.

Silly Sign

There is a grocery store in town that sells horse feed.

Feed prices are posted on a sign at the front of the store.

I'm pretty sure horses are vegetarians.

So, why are they selling Rolled Cats?