Westfall Horsemanship

I found this video of Stacy Westfall's horse Popcorn. It makes me laugh everytime; Popcorn is such a funny guy! Im afraid that if we ever had mud like that, my mare would be just as bad. She loves to roll in the mud (well, what passes for mud out here; more like damp soil!)

If you don't know who Stacy is, take the time to find out. She is IMHO, the best trainer out there (okay, maybe tied with Buck Brannaman). She was the first woman to be invited to and then win the Road to the Horse competition (on Popcorn who she bought after the competition). She won the 2006 AQH Congress with the highest score ever (still standing) just 24 days after her father passed away. She's won numerous competitions and usually rides bridless...

Check out her videos; they are amazing.

Warhorse: Truth is Better Than Fiction

I haven't seen the new movie Warhorse yet; our small community is usually a few weeks/months behind new releases. However, I found this video about a REAL warhorse, SSgt Reckless, USMC who served during the Korean war (yeah yeah, I know it was a "conflict", but tens of thousands died so it was a war dammit).

WARNING Not Easy to Sit Through

Stacy Westfall had this video posted over on her blog. I was seeing RED after watching it. This woman got off easy; had I been the judge she would be worm food.

Horse people will be especially appalled at what she allowed to happen.

Why I Love Living Where I Do...

I took this pic a couple of days ago. The dirt mound he's on is about 50 feet from the front door. Looks like he made it through hunting season okay!

The Ultimate Friend

I wish we never had to lose another of America's finest, but know that until the job is done, stories like this will keep coming up.

God Bless our warriors and their families. Have a tissue ready...



Dogs really are man's best friend and I hope Hawkeye finds peace someday. My prayers are with Jon Tomulison's family as well as all who died in that horrible attack.

Patrick the Pitbull

I meant to post this the other day when I first heard about it, but time and other things got away from me again (yeah, big shock there!).

Time and time again I’m reminded why I have such little faith in the human race. More often than not, I think I’d be so much happier if I could close off my life from the rest of the world and just live my life with my animals and a (very) select few other people. I know the few readers of my blog will agree with me that this story is beyond words. I’m so angry that it’s a damn good thing that Kisha Curtis lives in New Jersey and not anywhere near the Rude1 Ranch, since firearms are plenty around here.

I’ve never been a real fan of pitbulls, simply because my canine companions are generally of the working dog or retriever breeds. However, I know that pitbull’s generally get an unfounded bad rap simply because of the idiot humans who abuse them and train them to be violent. Plus the media inflates bad press about the breed and fuels more fear of them. This breed, more than any other, has suffered severely from misinformation.

No matter your feelings about pitbulls, this story should piss you off beyond measure. No creature deserves this horrific treatment. I wouldn’t have blamed this dog if he was afraid of and/or violent towards people after how he was abused. Thankfully, he appears to recognize the love and care he is finally getting and isn’t harboring any ill will, however, time will tell.

I can hardly look at the pictures and videos without tearing up and seeing the red rage. I was almost physically ill the first time I saw the pictures. Words can’t describe the magnitude of my anger towards the piece of shit who did this to that poor dog.

Heros come in all shapes and sizes, in all kinds of places. We usually think heros are our military, law enforcement, fire fighters and medical professionals; and rightly so. However, the garbageman who took the time to look into the garbage bag and call the authorities is a hero to me, as well as the staff taking care of Patrick.

**UPDATE**

Patrick Seems to be doing quite well, all things considered, under the loving care he is recieving. He still has a long way to go, but he is a fighter in the good sense of the word. His pictures show what a special little guy he is.

Thank you to those caring for him so well, and to all who wish him well.

Oh and I see the piece of Shite (my Scots coming out) Kisha Curtis is out on $1,000 bail. I hope they throw the book at her and then smack her in the head with it.

Horse Crap

Greetings from the West dear friends! Evidently, I’ve severely neglected this ole blog for quite some time. Sadly, life does get in the way, and I guess I don’t think most of my ramblings warrant posting. Oh well, who gives a shit anyway right?

Actually, I thought that winter would bring things at work to a crawl since the farmers can’t do much, but not so! We’ve been super busy and even behind a bit, so I’m pushing the guys hard to get caught up before planting season.
We’ve been pretty lucky in the winter weather department this year; very little snow except up in the high(er) country. I say higher because the ole Rude1 homestead sits just over 9,000’. We’ve also had fairly decent temps this year, with only a few really cold days and nights. Much nicer than the -28 for months we had the last couple of years. I know the farmers want more snow, but I’m just happy I don’t have to plow every other day.

So I was reading BR’s blog the other day and he mentioned how Smokey was being a bit of a pain for the farrier. Well, I suppose I should have paid better attention because my mare and I had a little disagreement on Sunday as I was trying to pull her shoes and trim her feet.

I really should know better since she has always been a bit finicky about having her feet done, but usually she just pulls a bit and tries to step on my feet, then quiets down and lets me do what I have to do. Things were going well at first, she was well behaved as I pulled her front shoes and trimmed her hooves. Things started going south when I started on her hinds. First, she kept pulling her foot out of my hands and stomping her hind feet. We went back and forth a few times like this with her showing her impatience and me talking and rubbing her till she let me pick them back up. Finally, she kicked me in the calf as I was pulling her left rear shoe. Well now, we can’t have that so I went and longed her around for about 10 minutes. She was bucking and showing her dislike for a few minutes, then calmed down and did what she was supposed to. She was listening and obeying my commands like she always does, so I figured she was ready to finish her feet. Boy was I wrong!

I went back to working on her left hind when she pulled her foot out again and tried to kick me. So back to longing we go. I worked her to the left for about 10 minutes and she did perfect. Just as I started her to the right, she came in close and was crowding me. As I stepped back away from her, she kicked back and caught me right below the ribcage, dead on. Now I’d like to tell you that I cowboyed up and ignored the pain while getting her back under control, but that would be a damn lie gentle reader. The fact is, I don’t care who you are, when a horse kicks you full on in the stomach, you go sailing back flat on your back as you curl up into a little ball sucking for air. The good news is that she didn’t catch me directly in the ribs, but the bottom rib on my left side is either cracked or at least severely bruised. Who cares, there isn’t much you can do for it either way, so why go get an x-ray? I can tell it isn’t broken so I’m just taking it a little easy for a while.

In hindsight, I should have known better. She is notorious for being picky about her feet. Usually, it’s just a little inconvenient, but I think that since she’s been in the pasture all winter with little to do, and with the weather starting to get really nice (that is until today) she is getting a bit of spring fever. My wife was upset at my mare but I reminded her what Jeanette Walls wrote in Half Broke Horses; she was just being a horse and really it was my fault. Besides, by the time I was able to get back up and figure out I wasn’t seriously hurt, too much time had passed to correct the mare as she wouldn’t understand the why she was being corrected. Not to worry, we’re going to spend a lot of time teaching her to be more respectful.

So now you know the latest news from the Rude1 Ranch. I’m a bit sore, but none the worse for wear. The mare is running around the pasture with half a pedicure, but we’ll finish that up once I can bend over again.

Goodbye Little One

Two days ago one of my dogs died. It's still a terrible shock since he was the younger one of our dogs, and the most active. In fact, he had surgery about six months ago and the vet said he would have guessed his age at 6 or 7, not the 11 he was.

Reno was one of those dogs that everybody loved, and he loved everyone back as only a dog can; unconditionally and with all his heart. He was a constant source of laughter for us. here.

The night he died was like any other with him dividing his time between sitting next to me and laying his head on my knee, visiting everyone in the room hoping for a pat on the head, belly rub or a treat to eat. He was fine.

I went to bed and he followed me a laid down on the floor next to my side of the bed, just like he has for 11 years. Sometime during the night, he got up, went upstairs and laid down under my desk. That's where I found him the next morning; just laying there like he was asleep. He must have died around 3:00 am.

I buried him on the hill beside the house, near where he would lay in the afternoons watching the house. I wish I had the words to say what that little guy meant to me and my family. All I can do is thank the Lord for blessing us with such a good friend and companion. He will forever be in my heart as my little Reno-bambino.

Good-bye little buddy, I love you.

Crappy Update...

Just a quick crappy little update to let all four of my readers that I'm still alive.

A few fun tidbits...
1) Had a black eye for a while after a wrestling match inside the horse trailer with one of my horses... Some horses can really be a big pain in the ... wait for it...

eye.

2) Had another bear sighting the other day, actually the day I got my black eye (thanks again Gibbs). After I went up to the house to wash the blood off from our little trailer dance, I looked out at the pasture and all three horses were staring at the driveway where it crosses the creek, with their ears pricked up. I thought it was probably a coyote or something, but then a black bear came running down the drive, across the creek, and off into the thicket. Pretty cool living here!

Then, a couple of days after the bear sighting, there was a bear paw print in the dust on the back window of the Jeep. I hope he doesn't come back and scratch it; how do you explain to the insurance company that a bear scratched up your jeep, and now you need a new paintjob?

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

Later taters!

Horses

Horses are many things; companions, money pits, dangerous, gentle, healers, playful, hard workers; the list goes on and on. I've been blessed with good horses for the most part. Part of this I think is having a good eye and sound judgement when it comes to buying them. With one exception. :)

I've learned to listen to the old saying "never buy a pretty horse". Obviously, I don't take this literally, and neither do any serious horsemen (horsepeople?). I mean, a pretty horse has good conformation, which we all look for. What it means is not to make a purchase solely on the horses appearance. So, let me tell you about my pretty horse.

When we had to put down JT, we needed to replace him. A friend of ours said he had a couple he needed to get rid of, so off we went to have a look. When we got to the corral, there they were, two geldings. One was a big dapple grey and the other an average looking sorrel. The grey was one of the nicest looking horses I've ever seen, and I immediately wanted him. (never buy a pretty horse) He was difficult to get near, he was very nervous and skittish. (never buy a pretty horse) Finally, after about an hour of trying to get near him, he finally allowed me to touch him, although he was still very nervous. He was good with me handling his feet, and putting a halter on him, but he never really seemed to relax. The sorrel on the other hand, was really peaceful.

We talked to the guy who had started the grey as a two year old, and he had great things to say about him. Said he was a good horse from what he remembered. When we told him that the horse had been turned out to the pasture and not ridden from the day he came home from the trainer, he suggested we take him back to the trainer he had worked for when he started that horse.

Well, we knew the trainer as well so we asked him about the grey. He said he was a good horse, but only had 90 days on him and was still pretty green when he went back to the owner. He agreed to take him back for another 30 days and work with him. By this time, we (I) had decided that we needed to have this horse (never buy a pretty horse!), so we picked him and the sorrel up (the sorrel was basically thrown into the deal for free) and took them to the vet for a vet check, teeth float and jock cleaning. Both were pronounced sound and healthy by the vet. We called our friend and said that since they were fit, we'd take them.

The grey's registered name was Costa Lotta Chex. Little did we know how apt his name was...

While at the vets, Chex was given Rompun to relax him for the floating and jock cleaning. Here's where it starts to get exciting! I'm holding his halter, talking to him and rubbing his neck while the Vet is floating his teeth. All of the sudden, Chex goes down, knocking the Vet over and (luckily) through the door to the storage room. We later figured out that he fainted! He wasn't knocked out by the rompun but rather just passed out! I went down with him and as soon as he hit the floor, he came to and started thrashing trying to stand back up. If you've ever seen a horse trying to stand while agitated, on a concrete floor, you know it's not a gentle thing. I'm holding his halter, trying to stay clear while talking to him, trying to calm him down. Luckily, he recovered quickly and stood there nervously wondering what the hell just happened, just as I was! Thankfully, no one was hurt, including Chex. All that happened to him was a slight abrasion on his right front knee.

We loaded Chex and Jethro back in the trail and drove over to the trainers and dropped Chex off for his 30 day refresher course. Or so we thought. After 30 days, the trainer didn't think he was ready. I trust this guy completely. He has been training, working and showing for all of his life, plus he and his family are good friends with us. He was concerned that since my wife was an inexperienced rider, and Chex was still pretty green, he didn't want her to get hurt. So we left him there for another 30 days.

During the next 30 days, he brought my wife out and would let her ride Chex while he kept an eye on things. Chex was really good with her on him, but still never really relaxed. He was being worked 6 out of 7 days a week. Everything from ground work, round pen and arena work, to working cows on the ranch. He would do really good for a week or two, then out of the blue he would blow up. Strangely, he would only blow up with very experienced riders, never with my wife. This led to yet another 30 days at the trainers.

After the 90 days of consistent quality training, we decided to loan Chex out to anouther local rancher for the summer, to use up at his cow camp. Again, Chex did really good for about three weeks, then one morning...

C had been riding Chex everyday working cows for three weeks. This day, he saddled him up, stepped up into the saddle and as soon as his right foot was in the stirrup, Chex EXPLODED. Now C rode saddle broncs for nearly 20 years, and it takes quite a lot of horse to throw him. C told me later he couldn't remember ever riding a horse that bucked so hard. C stayed on him for quite some time, losing his hat, glasses, cell phone and finally a stirrup. At that point he decided to get off before he got really hurt. After he got back up, collected all his gear, and climbed back up on Chex, everything was fine.

We finally decided that Chex just wouldn't be a good fit with us and decided to sell him. Unfortunately, the horse market was in the crapper and we wanted to make sure who ever bought him knew exactly what they were getting. I tried to convince my wife to let me take him over to rodeo outfit I knew, but she didn't want that. Too bad, I thought it would be cool to hear the announer call out "...riding Costa Lotta Chex...". Oh well.

As luck would have it, a patient of my wifes was an old cowboy who had heard about Chex and wanted to see him. So we showed him, told him everything we could about him, and he offered us a deal we wound up taking. D is a big man. I mean a BIG man! What he proposed to us was a trade; his 15yr old appendix he used in the mountains for Chex. A big, stout, smart trail horse that would be safe for my wife. She rode him a few times, and finally decided to do the trade, with the stipulation that if either party was not satisfied, we would trade back with no hard feelings.

Well, we got to keep Jethro, who is a good horse, but getting on in years, and Taco, the wonder horse. Neither are what you'd call a pretty horse, but both are rock solid. D got a strong, athletic 9yr old that could in his words, "Carry my fat ass up and down the mountains all day long."

I'm still partial to dapple greys, and will own another someday. But I'll make damn sure I don't buy a pretty one, but rather a pretty damn good one.

Attention all Horse Owners/Future Owners

BR over at Buckskins Rule wrote a wonderful piece about the dedication and education required to be a good horse owner. I couldn't say it better, so go on over and read his thoughts.

Go on.

Elk

Elk on the hill behind our house.

Strange

I know it's hard to see, but when I was moving the horses the other morning, this doe came around and kept getting closer and closer. She would walk around the meadow nonchalantly, occasionally looking at us. She would occasionaly leap into the air, kicking to the side and throwing her head around. I was trying not to laugh at her antics, hoping not to scare her away. Eventually she slowly walked up to me and sniffed my hand. I guess she thought I was okay, 'cause then she let me rub the top of her head. She'd jump away a few feet, then come back and let me rub her head again. Pretty bizzare!

Eventually, I found out she had been released from the wildlife rehab center several years ago, and hangs out in our canyon. She enjoys hanging out with horses and is comfortable around some people. I guess I'm one of them now! All in all, it was a rather strange morning!

Great Way to Start a Day

I woke up this morning after listening to it rain all night long, knowing it would be a wet, muddy day today. I looked out the window and noticed that the pasture was empty; no horses. I looked and looked again, but still no horses. Shite, they got out sometime between 10pm when I checked on them, and 6am. I looked across the hills, behind the house, down the canyon and nothing, no sign of them.

So I get dressed and slog my way down to the pasture through knee deep grass and see the broken wire from the electric fence. I see that they've headed up the canyon, which is nice since it's a shorter search. We get in the truck and drive up the canyon about a mile and I see them grazing on the side of the mountain. Off I go, up the hill through the rain and wet grass. My mare sees me and ambles over, not a care in the world. At least she's easy to catch, and the other two will follow her. I halter her up and start down the slick hill to the muddy road. My wife drives the truck back to the house and I get the pleasure of walking three horses down a mile of slick, muddy slime back to the house. In the rain. Nice.

Sometimes animals can be such a pain in the butt! At least none of them were injured. Then, to top it all off, my wife's jeep had another flat tire; that's four in the last six weeks! I really wish the county would do something about our excuse for a road! Grrrrr!

Is It Spring Yet?

Spring must be finally here... This heard of Elk was down from the high country last night and hanging out on the hill behind our house. I love living out in the country!

Goodbye My Friend

For the past few weeks, our injured horse has been getting worse and worse. Today, we made the difficult decision to put him out of his misery. I know it was the humane thing to do, but it doesn't make it any easier. I feel like I let him down. We tried about everything we could within reason. We could have continued to try, using more and more sophisticated and expensive treatments, but the bottom line would have been the same; a lame horse in constant pain.

We agonized over this decision. Although we had only owned this horse for less than a year, he had proven himself as an exceptional horse. Anyone could ride him and he could handle anything we ever asked of him. Everyone loved him, and most wished he belonged to them. Even the Vet had a hard time putting him down. In the end, we all agreed that it was what was best for him.

I knew it was the right thing as I lead him out of the vet's stall to the area out back. He limped painfully along, even though he was doped up on the maximum amount of pain killers. He followed me faithfully. I think he knew where he was going, and was glad to see and end to the pain; at least I hope so. We arrived at the spot where he would be put down and he turned around stood there waiting. The vet, his assistant, a close friend of mine and myself stood there for a few minutes in the softly falling snow. His warm breath billowed out of nose in quiet clouds. He looked at me with soft eyes as I rubbed between his ears and along his face. I quietly thanked him for being such a good horse and gave him a few of his favorite horse treats. I rubbed his warm and powerful neck as I appologized for what we were about to do. I tried to tell him that we tried everything to get him better, but we just couldn't find a solution to his pain. I knew he wouldn't want to live his life in pain and restricted to a small pasture, unable to run.

He just looked at me as the vet administered the fatal dose. I'll spare everyone the details of putting down a horse, but it isn't a pretty thing. Thankfully, the vet told me that the brain shuts down almost immediately, so there is little chance he felt anything. God I hope so.

After the vet checked and told me there was no pulse, I knelt in the snow and rubbed his still warm cheek and neck for several minutes. Gently talking to him, and asking God to take care of him. I'm sure there are horses in Heaven. The snow continued to gently fall. I noticed a few flakes landing on his eye and knew he was really gone and free of the pain. I still held onto my composure.

As I got up and turned to thank the vet for doing all he had, his assistant handed me the halter. My throat suddenly became tight and my eyes started to fill. I had a difficult time forming the words to thank the vet, but I did. I shook his hand and the hand of my friend, thanking them both. We said our goodbyes they left quietly, leaving me alone with my friend.

After a few minutes and another prayer, I turned away and walked through the quietly falling snow, the only sounds were my boots crunching and my sniffing. I got into my truck and called my wife to let her know it was over. Afterwards, I sat in the darkend truck and cried quietly by myself.

Goodbye my friend, may you find endless green pastures.

I Suck as a Blogger, But My Horse is Okay :)

As anyone who happens to stumble in here knows, I suck as a blogger. I have a multitude of things I want to write about, all these things running around inside my head, but never able to actually get anything down on paper (or web page as it were). Things like the economy, celebrity idiocy, government, my house, my horses, our adoption, the holidays, cancer, erectile dysfunction, the weather, and any other bullshit that's constantly banging around in my noggin.

Sadly, as I've said many times; I'm a reader, not a writer. I read so many great blogs that once I start writing, I read what I've written and think it's just crap. There are so many talented writers out there that usually one of them happens to articulate what I'm trying to say. Then I just delete what I wrote, happy in the fact that someone, somewhere, has gotten my point across.

Once in a while, (okay, once in a GREAT while, just look at how often I update! :)) I actually sit down and write something that will (gasp) actually be posted. Like tonight... TA DA!!

Last Wednesday, I was driving to a job I've been trying to finish before the weather turned to complete crap, when my phone rang. It was the lady who boards our horses. It seems her hired man was checking the herd when he noticed my wife's horse standing stock still, at the opposite end of the pasture from all the others. He found the poor guy had a really bad wire cut on his right front leg. He called her, she called me...

The vet said he could see him as an emergency, so I scrapped my plans for the day and went to get the trailer. When I saw how badly he was injured, my stomache did a flip. This horse is such a gem; he's practically bomb-proof. He's a great mountain horse, but he's also just about a perfect kids horse. Hell, anyone can ride him, he's that good. Anyway, The entire back of his leg, just above the hoof, was peeled back. I don't know how he was standing there (I guess three other legs helped). Now the trick would be to get him in the trailer so I could get him to the vet.

Usually he gets right in the trailer, but being injured, he was very hesitant. I finally got his head in, but couldn't get him to step up inside. I tried everything; food, pulling, pushing, nothing worked. Then I did the dumbest thing possible; I tied his lead to the inside of the trailer and was going to get behind him and push. Just then, the wind blew the damn door closed and it swung into his side. This of course startled the hell out of him and he tried to back away, but the lead held him. He started thrashing and kicking trying to get loose. The rope pulled so tight I couldn't pull it free. Of all the days not to have my knife with me.

Luckily, he is such a good horse that as soon as he realized he was trapped, he quit thrashing. I talked to him and got him calmed down, and finally got the lead loose. I looked at his leg and almost cried. He had opened it up again and now it was bleeding terribly. I told him he had to get in this time, or he might not make it. The wound was actually spraying blood. Arterial. Bad news. He looked at me and walked right in, leaving a trail of blood.

I drove as fast as I dared the 25 miles to the vet, praying all the way. Luckily, the senior vet was there (it was his day off) and he took over his care. He shaved the leg and cleaned it up, then spent a few minutes poking and prodding till he was satisfied there was no nerve, tendon, or bone damage. The wound was so large and deep that he was able to put two fingers completely inside. Luckily, like I said, there was only tissue damage. Severe tissue damage, but tissue has the best chance of healing.

The Doc put about 20 stiches in and when he was done, you could hardly see the injury. He then put a cast on him to keep him from flexing the joint and pulling the stiches out. The bleeding slowed to an ooze and I asked about the arterial damage. Luckily, it wasn't an artery, just that his blood pressure was elevated, and that caused the spraying. Thank you God!

Anyway, The Doc figured he'd be in pretty severe pain in a day or two, and would probably keep his weight off that leg. It's been five days and he only limped a little the first two days. since then, he's had full weight on it, and eating like a pig. In fact, he's starting to look like a submarine!

On Saturday, I went and searched the pasture and found the wire he got caught in. I wanted to make sure that none of the other horses could get injured. It looks like he got a piece of barbed wire (the only section of fence that HAS bw) tangled around his leg. I fixed the fence and thanked the Lord for keeping the other horses safe, and for keeping the damage to a minimum. It could have been a lot worse. Doc says he should make a full recovery. Whew.

I hope we don't have any more days like that, but I'm sure we will. Horses always seem to get into something...

Cowboy Up

Just another nice fall day spent with my newest gal...

Riding Amy

It's been a pretty busy time for me lately since it's the end of the season and everyone is trying to get ready for winter. The good news is that means more dinero in my pocket, but one of bad things is that I haen't gotten to ride in almost three weeks! So, I decided to fix that and go for a ride yesterday afternoon.

I got to the paddock and she decided to let me know she was a wee bit pissed that I hadn't been to see her in so long (I have to keep her at a friends until I get our paddock and barn built). Normally, when I come to catch her, she comes right over and lets me put her harness on with no trouble at all. Well, yesterday she would wait until I was just about to her, then trot off to the other side of the paddock. She would try and put another horse between us, so I couldn't catch her. Well, once she finally decided it was time to let me off the hook, she stood perfectly still as I walked up and put her harness on. I was hoping that would be the end of her "mood" but found out differently when I started to brush her out.

When I was first thinking about buying Amy, her owners warned me that she could be tempermental and that I really needed to watch her when getting ready for a ride. They said she had never really bonded well with anyone in the past, and she could get a bit stubborn; in fact, the first day I rode her, she bit me when I was tying her to the hitching post. Not a full on bite, but a nip on my forearm just to see how I would react. After that first ride, she wouldn't let me out of her sight. Since then, we've been really good together; until yesterday.

While I was brushing her out, she kept giving me the stink eye and pinning her ears back. Not full-on pinned back, but she was letting me know she wasn't real happy with me. After I put the blanket on and went to get my saddle, she pulled the blanket off when my back was turned. We had a little chat and then I saddled her up with no real problems (other than the 100lbs she has put on for winter; I had to adjust both the cinch and the flank strap to fit). She did give me dirty looks when I cinched her, but then she always does that. The good news was she let me put the bit in her mouth with no argument, something she usually makes me work at.

Since she was being a bit moody, I took her first to the round pen for some ground work. She really decided to test me in the round pen. She refused to move her feet and I had to really get after her to get her to lunge. First, she just would not move at all, then, all she would do was walk. Finally, I got her to trot and lope in both diredtions, and got her to follow MOST of my commands.

Finally, I felt it was time to ride a bit before we ran out of light, so off we went. The first part of the ride was good; she gave me no attitude at all. I worked her a bit from the saddle, then just let her follow the trail. Just as we were coming into a little grove of trees, something spooked her and she jumped to the left and tried to bolt. I was just a bit behind her and didn't stop the lunge, but quickly got her stopped before she could bolt. I don't know what it was, but evidently, it wasn't anything too bad cause she recovered and we went on about our way out of the trees and up the hill.

We rode for almost two hours, just walking through the hills and looking at the fall colors. This time of year the colors are just beginning to fade, but the aspen are still bright gold. The reds, oranges, greens and golds are especially vibrant in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. I'm just mad I didn't bring my camera.

All in all it was a good afternoon; Amy did a great job after she let me know she was feeling a bit rejected. I guess I won't make that mistake again! I don't know if the ride did her or me more good, but I know I really needed it. After so many years without a horse, I'm finding that I missed it more than I ever imagined. Horse people will understand, but it's hard to describe the feeling a horse brings out. It's so much more than just going for a ride. The bonding and trust between horse and rider, the tranquility of riding out in the quiet, the peacefullness that just surrounds you when you're with your horse. All I know is that I really feel at peace when I'm with our horses, and with Amy in particular.

I sure hope I can get our facilities up soon, I could sure a little horse therapy more often than I'm getting now.

The Other Woman

I never saw it comming, nor was I looking for it, but it happened. I fell in love with another woman. She is amazing. Her eyes are limpid pools that I can see all the way into her soul. She expects and gives total respect with no questions asked. She loves me as I am, with all my faults and problems. We are one.

Her hair is like spun copper glinting in the sunlight and dancing on the breeze. Her legs... Oh her legs are strong and beautiful, even with the few scars, they give her character. Her body ripples and is warm and wonderful to the touch. We don't have to speak, we communicate almost telepathically; she knows what I want by the way I look at her, or touch her.

She is playful yet strong, fiesty yet submissive, stubborn yet forgiving. When she walks she looks like she's dancing. Her breath is warm and sweet on my skin. She is regal. Her name is Amy and she is all I ever hoped she would be. She is beautiful, and she is mine forever.



And my wife loves her too!