Oh, the weather outside is frightful....

Holy moly are the holidays busy!! Work, work, work....spend, spend, spend....drive, drive, drive. I can't wait until after the first of the year, when everything calms down!! Then I can settle back into my work routine, pay bills, feed horses, keep the dream alive. This time of the year gets tough on me. Out at three a.m., in the cold, hauling water buckets cause the hose is froze really makes you remember why you do it. Rolled into bed at five this morning. Work wasn't to bad, and thank gosh it was decently warm out to feed. No jail breaks yet this winter, knock on wood. Let's hope it stays that way. Well, I guess Riot keeps escaping. But I wouldn't necessarily call that a jail break. There is a little spot between a permanent fence and a building that he somehow keeps managing to squeeze through. He has pooped up enough of the lawn for me to clean up in the spring though!

The results of the AHHA top 25 came back. Remme made it, but just barely. He scored in at #25. I thought he'd do better. They also said that only 34 were entered. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I also thought that they were only doing breeding stock, but apparently not. There were a few horses on the list that I know are geldings. Oh well, Remme will keep his cahones for another day.

Becky

Okauchee is a rock star!!!

YAY for Okauchee being a rock star!! I went to Crystal's last night for my "lesson" on him before he comes home Sunday, and he was AMAZING!! Very quiet, willing, and eager to please. A little lazy with no power steering, but hey, you can't ask for a lot from a green broke horse. It felt so good to be on a horse again after such a long hiatus, and a Spanish Mustang to boot! :) He is very light on the bit, moves off your leg like a dream, will go over tarps and the bridge, and really concentrates on his work when he is alone. He does still have some herd issues. He likes to be in it, constantly. I guess it's something we will have to work on.

On a side note, my trainer, who is also a friend from college, really enjoyed working with him. She said he was a challenge and that she really took to heart what I had told her when she got him and actually RESEARCHED the breed before she started. She had had one BLM mustang in for training when Maggie was still there that had issues up the wazoo. She said that she knew these guys had a different mind, but wanted to know as much as she could before she started. She said he is a bit stubborn, but that he will make a great riding horse and partner for someone!! Another good thing, is that she is willing and eager to take more of my horses in the future. I am so excited!! Mainly for the fact that she does mostly QH and breeds Appys (in this area that is the norm and mustangs are looked down upon, mostly due to ignorance) and will get the word out about how wonderful of an experience it was to work with him.

Anyways, I am going to ride him again Sunday. In the indoor, then outside, and then again when we get back home. We did get pics, but they're not very good. Jess, my photographer, was sick and couldn't come. Dean, my boyfriend, took most of them. The arena was dusty so most of the pics are spotty. Oh well, you get the jist of what's going on. I'll see if I can get Lucy to post some on the website until we can get some better ones.

Becky

P.S. The big guy is still for sale and is going to make one heck of a riding horse!!

Crappy Weather!!

So it's raining, and I am waiting on Kim to come do feet for the third day in a row. Not to mention the last time he canceled on me. I'm getting slightly irritated to say the least. Kiah is with me today. Wonder how long she's gonna last out at the farm? I can bet it's not going to be very long, and to think, I actually had a babysitter yesterday for when he was supposed to be here. I have a headache already and think it's only gonna get worse. Not enough sleep and to much STRESS!! I think we got home from feeding this morning at five a.m. The bar got crazy last night because they got shut down for beets cause it started raining again. My floor went from clean to trashed in a matter of minutes. Didn't get out of there until almost three. I think I need a new job! I can't wait until I get moved out of my tiny ass apartment, into the farm house, fences up, and my therapeutic riding certificate started/finished. How life will be different then. More on that later...

Check out the site. Lucy is doing more improvements to it every day!!

Becky

YAY for something broke!!

I'm loving this whole internet at home thing. I bought myself a pretty new blue copier/scanner/printer thing at Best Buy yesterday. I'm so pumped to be able to do WHATEVER I want, whenever I want. I have to figure out how to hook the thing up still. But after that, it's on!

Anyways, I got a text from Crystal, my trainer, today. She said that she's been riding Okauchee since this weekend and that he's doing awesome. She said that he doesn't mind anyone being on his back or leg pressure. She is going to start trotting him tomorrow and work up to a lope in the next couple of days or so. I can't wait until he comes back. I'm finally going to have something to ride after to many years of doing nothing but feeding and ground work! Anyone else excited?? I'm planning on going over there to try my new saddle and watch her work him one of these days. Hopefully the weather holds out a little longer so that I can actually get some rides in on him before winter.

Contacted Josie at the Cayuse and a few other people about possibly getting another filly/mare. I will need something to replace Ella when she sells. I don't necessarily want her to go, but it doesn't seem economical to keep something around that I won't be able to breed to Remme in the distant future. We will see what pans out, if anything does.

Ooh ooh. Check out the website!! Lucy just re-did it, and it looks awesome! Let me know what you think!!

Becky

I'm Back!!

YAY for finally getting the internet at my place!! :) Alltel had a deal I couldn't pass up, so I got myself a nice little internet card and away I go!! I'll actually have time to keep up with this thing now, instead of having to wait until I can get online somewhere to post.

Here's the jist. Remme's AHHA registration and evaluation is pending again now that I got his recent photos sent in. They prefer horses that are over the age of three for the top 25, so it'll be pushing it for him to make it up against all the mature horses that entered. I never did get anything else submitted. It's gotten so cold and muddy that everyone is hairy and dirty, plus Adella and Rain are the only other ones that come close to the three mark anyways. Oh well, I am pulling for Remme to make it and will congratulate those who do make it. He's really growing into a handsome boy!! Very spanishy in my eyes. His AIHR and HOA paperwork is ready to go out also, just have to get the money orders and mail everything.

Rain and Riot are doing great. One of these nights I will sit down and figure out how to add pictures to this thing so that I can post one of the little guy. He's such a little sweetie. Getting so big and looking more like momma every day. He had another haltering session the other day when I dewormed him. He wasn't to keen on having anything around his head again, but once he got done trying to drag me around his paddock he seemed okay with it. Just stood there and looked at me while I petted him and touched him all over. He is so funny, not a ticklish bone in his body. He just stands there and lets you touch him wherever you want. I can't wait until he grows older. He's gonna make a great companion for someone! Weaning is imminent. Will report back on how that goes.

Ransom just returned from the trainer's and is cuter then when he left. Crystal, my friend from college who owns a boarding and training place not far from me, did a wonderful job with him. He is ready to be backed and ridden. I can't wait! Okauchee is at her place right now. She sent me pics of him and said he is doing well. Looks like she got on him a few days ago and walked him around. He will be there for thirty days, and I'll get to ride him when he comes home! Finally!! I am pumped about the whole thing. Then hopefully someone will buy the two so I can cut my numbers down and really concentrate on the training and campaigning of my breeding stock.

Ella and Adella (really? did I need to choose their names so close?) are just hanging out, as usual. I put Ella up for sale just to see if I got any bites on her. I can't breed her to Remme, and I don't want to sell her, but I figured that maybe someone else would love her as much as I do. We will see, if I sell some geldings or Riot I may just keep her and breed her to some other stallion eventually. Speaking of breeding, Adella is going to the University this spring to get bred to Wayward Wind via frozen semen. I am excited about the prospect of having one of his babies to campaign!!

Kim is coming to do feet (finally!) Tuesday and Wednesday. I really need to find a farrier in my area!

Becky

Fences...ARGH!!

I've about had it with winter and all its snowing, blowing, below freezing, insulator snapping glory!! When I left work last night it was about twenty below with a wind chill advisory, not sure what the temp was with the wind chill, blowing to beat h*ll, and had snowed about a foot. OK, maybe not quite a foot, but close enough!! I needed to pull a round bale in with the horses still, plus go home and pack for my trip to my mom's today for the Midwest Spanish Mustang Club meeting on Sunday. My "help" as I like to call him, had fallen asleep and wasn't waking up to my phone calls. He had taken my house key with him so I was locked out of my own apartment!! I had to go bust into his parent's house at 2 am and wake him up. We drive to the farm, and I already know there's trouble when I see hoof prints next to the garage door outside my car window as I'm layering scarves on. Horses are no where to be found, except for Token. Who, bless his heart, never escapes. Until that night. I saw his head behind the fence one minute, and the next he's racing around the yard screaming for the other horses. Which I guess helped us out, because they must have heard him and came crashing across the field headed for home. I went about my usual "the horses have escaped" routine. Figuring out where the fence is down, then grain, some bucket shaking, maneuvering the horses through the hole, dumping grain, runing back to the fence to repair it before they get done eating, and generally swearing like a sailor. Token took a little more convincing, and he and Adella had it out for a few minutes once I had him back in. He and Remme will stay in with the rest of the herd for the weekend until I get back. Their back paddock is in no shape for horses right now! I've heard, supposedly, that nicer weather is on its way. Guess that's when the major repair work will get done. Josh and I have a new plan for the fence, one that will hopefully make it stronger. These plastic insulators don't hold up to the northern Minnesota weather at all!! Plus there's no tree cover on the one side since they cut all the trees down the year before I moved out there. That doesn't help with the blowing. Some of the drifts are up to the top of the fence in some places!!

Plans are being put in place for new paddocks. I think the guy I rent from is going to gravel the one side he said I could have. He's going to probably give me the field on the other side. Which is good and bad. Good cause it's larger, bad cause it's more open and surrounded by CRP that they hunt during deer season. I am excited for more room!!

Thursday is tentative for a trip to Kim's. My friend is going to buy a gelding from him. We are going to pick up him and another horse to take to the trainer's. Should be interesting because I will be picking up my new trailer also!! :) Can't wait!!

Hopefully I don't get any late night calls from my landlord or Josh about horses running loose. I need a vacation where they all behave!! Meetings on Sunday. Will report back on that!

Becky

Every time I start.....

Ok, so it's been like a month since my last post. I am not going to lie, I have started about five different ones during work and never got to finish any of them!! Lots has happened in the last few weeks. I've been busy busy with work, feeding, and attempting to do some training on the warmer days. Which are few and far between.

Taxes have come back, and I finally have money!! YAY!!! It's pretty much gone already though. I bought myself a trailer, or am in the process of buying myself a trailer. A five horse stock, 6 by 16 feet, hay rack on top, feed bins, tack area, the whole shebang. It's awesome!! I'm so excited!! I pick it up in Fargo on my way to Kim's ranch to pick up my two new mares, Blue Northern and Wyoming Trailblazer. Well, one is mine, the other goes back in the spring so Kim can breed her. I am also getting Blue Northern's weanling stud colt out of Black Knight Warrior. I don't really want him cause I don't have the room, but he's coming anyways and will be for sale. It'll be interesting to see how he turns out. We'll be putting up another paddock come spring time at my current place. Once the mares are back up to condition they'll be turned out with Remme. I am excited to see what Remme and Blue Northern produce. She had a magnificent medicine hat filly by Remme's dad before he died, so hopefully they can make something of that caliber. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!!

Things are getting hammered out for the Fargo Expo. I am bringing Okauchee and Ransom this year. Hopefully some little kid will fall in love with him and take him home. He's going to be the perfect kid's horse. He's already completely in love with my little girl. It would be nice to keep him for her, but I have to sell something to make room for more!! The plight of every horse owner. Ransom follows me around like a little puppy dog and has discovered treats. He's just to cute. I want to love him forever!! If Julie comes to the Expo I will be able to pick up my saddle and hopefully back Okauchee while we are there. I think I'll make Kim climb on him first!! Ha ha, he's a lot bigger then me. Harder to dump. We'll see how it goes. It should be a good time no matter what.

Going home this weekend for our Midwest Spanish Mustang Club meeting. We are going to talk about the Midwest Horse Fair and the Minnesota Horse Expo. I wish I lived closer, then I could bring horses to both. It'll be nice to see Jane and her horses again. Plus the rest of the club members. It's been awhile.

Ok, I am getting busy at work so I better go. I think I covered everything!!

Becky

Hay Abound!!!

Well I got hay, and lots of it!! Which is a good thing. But, of course, I paid way to much for bales that I thought would be bigger and of better quality. Oh well, it's there and that's all that matters right now.

We had another jail break Saturday, but I'm not sure this one was on accident this time. I was at work that night and got a phone call from the guy I rent from. He said that the sheriff had called his dad wondering if they had horses on their property because some were loose. I sent Josh out there, and, sure enough, the horses were out. He said that gate was down. Well then when we were out there meeting the hay guy yesterday I noticed that two of the actual fence posts were bent outward. So I went to investigate. Turns out the wires were all messed up and the top one had been re-tied to the wood fence post with bailing twine. It looked like someone had tried to drive through the fence with a big flatbed truck. So I made some phone calls. Joey, the guy I rent from, was out of town all weekend. I knew that before I even knew about the fence. He said that his grandpa wouldn't have been out there because I guess he's not doing well at all. His dad rarely goes out around the horses when he's out at the farm, and he didn't mention to Joey when he called that he had to fix the fence. Or that he had even been out there at all. My friend that works at dispatch said that the first 911 call came in at twenty after one that day that there were horses on the highway. At ten to two the last entry in the computer said they were heading back up the road toward Joey's place. I didn't get any calls until after seven. Now, if the horses learned how to tie wires up with bailing twine I am going nation wide with this show!! So Joey and I are thinking about putting some cameras up. He has had problems with people just stopping by and messing with his stuff before, and I am thinking that next time the horses get out I am going to have problems with the police. I will help pay for some cameras, I was planning on getting a few foaling cams for spring anyways. If it catches whoever is messing with my animals it'll be well worth it.

On to the next order of business. The Midwest Spanish Mustang Club is having a meeting the first of March at Jane Greenwood's Zen Cowboys in Lonsdale, MN. Anyone interested in attending can e-mail me for more info.

Oh, I almost forgot. I am looking for a 6 by 16 foot stock trailer to make a trip out to Kim's ranch. I am going to pick up two mares, Blue Northern and Wyoming Trail Blazer. Blue Northern is a blue corn mare, SMR #1709, by Chickasaw Warrior out of Wild Water. She will be on permanent lease to me to be bred to Remme. Trailblazer is Kim's stallion Reflection's dam, and will be staying until May til Kim can get her on summer grass. This is only going to happen if I can find a trailer to borrow in time. We'll see how it goes.

Becky

Stress!!

I am feeling stressed today. My hay people ran out of round bales they could sell me, but promised they had another guy who could get me some. Maybe even enough to get me through until first cutting. I talked to my lady the end of last week. She said the other guy would call me by the end of this week, but I haven't heard from him yet. I am down to my last bale. I don't have this other guy's number, so I am contemplating calling my lady again to see if she'll give it to me. I'm gonna need a delivery by Monday. Eek!!

Still playing phone tag with Lucy. Sent her an e-mail today to see if we could get some things worked out over e-mail. Thinking about going to the AHHA clinic in the spring. We'll see if I can get the time off. I am on day number nine of working and looking forward to a day off on Sunday. Still not sure what I am going to do about Token. Kim has offered some friendly advice about getting him into the barn and spending a whole day trying to get a rope on him. A whole day?!? Is he insane? I don't have an hour in a day to do my dishes and clean the cat's litter box, let alone a whole day to spend in a stinky barn in the freezing cold trying to get a rope around a horse who wants nothing to do with me. I remember the last time Josh and I tried to rope him. He ended up standing in the corner of the barn pretty much just laughing at the two of us because we were so horrible with that stupid thing. I'm trying to con Kim into coming up and doing it for me. For those of you that know him, know that it will take bribery with work and lots of gas money to get him to even think about it. Oh well, I have plenty of horses that need their feet done and the possibility of making room for a few of his older mares. We'll see how it goes.

Becky

Argh...

Well I talked to Kim today, and there's no way he's going to be able to take Token back. Go figure!! I guess he's in a pickle with a butt load of horses already and would have no where to put him. He's at the ranch, digging paths out to the horses and dropping hay off for the next few months. I may be able to get my hands on a few mares that need some extra attention. Who knows, we will see. I printed off some membership and registration forms tonight from the different registries. I've been sitting here at work all night filling them out and coloring in wonderful descriptions of Remme. Why do I like the wild paints again?? Such a pain in the butt to get them to look like they are supposed to. Lucy Roda and I have been playing phone tag for the last few days. She wants to chat about Windcross and the AHHA. One of these days we'll hook up. Lots of exciting things going on....ok, or not!! It's 10 below out right now, and I still have to go out after I get done with work and feed. Another glorious fight with a round bale. Gotta love it!!

Becky

Realizations & Resolutions

So I haven't made any resolutions per se, but I have gone on a two week alcohol free stint due to doctor's orders. Does that count as a resolution?? On day two and things are going well!! (I know, I know....random.)

Anyways, if any of you read the focus board lately you know about the "issues" that arose there. I have no idea what those problems were or how they came to be, but they got me thinking. (Here comes the realization part.) I realized that sometimes I really have no clue what's going on in the world of my horses. I am wrapped up in work, and feeding, and the baby, and god knows what else. I realized that I need to introduce myself and start a convo with people I don't know, and get to know the people I don't know well better. (That make sense to anyone else?) I realized that things I thought were the truth weren't the truth at all, and that I need to be more open to the people I had shut out. (This post probably resonates with my other post on the focus itself.)

With that said, I have decided to become a bonafide member of all 4 Spanish Mustang registries. (SMR, HOA, AIHR, AHHA). Starting immediately, ok, when I get the cash. LOL!! I've got some big loan payments to make, but expect a nice weekend at work coming up to help pay to get the ball rolling. After my memberships are effective, I will be registering horses. Starting with Remme and making my way down the line. I hope to help out in the SMR as much as possible and also have offered my services to the AHHA. I have a four year degree in Equine and have dabbled in many different disciplines, so I think that I could be of some help to whoever will let me in.

Moving on, Ransom and Token. When I got these guys they had minimal handling and were quite skittish around people. There was no way I was going to be able to spend much time with them in my current boarding situation, and looked into getting a stall at a local boarding barn for a month to put them through an intensive training routine. As stated below, that didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. Ransom has come around on his own. He was the first of the two to approach me if I had grain, and would allow me to touch him and lead him around. In the last few months he has decided that people are his friends and will walk up to me on his own for a good scratching. I have no doubts that I will be able to halter him again and do work with him without the need for a stall when spring comes. Token, on the other hand, will only come to grain. You have to start very slowly to touch him while he's eating, and you can't get past his shoulder if you do. I believe that he will come around with time and the right facility to house him. The latter is the problem. I have the time, or could make the time, but I do not have the stall/pen he needs. Don't get me wrong, he has been handled, leads and loads, but you sure as heck can't get near him without a bucket. I am at the end of my rope with this situation. I know he is going to be an extremely athletic competitor in his chosen discipline once he gets going, so it bugs me that I have come to the conclussion that I have. That is that he needs to move onto a home that can provide him with what he needs to be a stellar example of his breed. I have offered him back to Kim as a trade for something smaller and more handleable until I am in a better place myself, but he's at the ranch this weekend and won't be back for a few days. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what he says. Otherwise I will have to look into something else. Not sure what that is, as I am sure as heck not going to dump him at an auction. Anyone have any suggestions??

Becky

Excitement on the Farm!!

Since I started renting property from a friend last Feb. I've been forced to feed the horses after I get done working at 1:30 in the morning. Lately, I've been making it work out to feed at 8 am before going to pick the baby up. Monday night I took a friend out there after work to help me feed because I had a migraine all day and couldn't make it out there that morning. So we pulled up to the yard, it's dark out of course, and I make the comment that it looks like someone was hot balling through the yard in a truck. I parked the car by the garage, got out and started making my way to the paddock which is on the other side of the yard. As I got closer I noticed that the "tire tracks" were getting smaller and more round. I stopped, bent down, and sure enough, not tire tracks.....hoof prints. So I got to the gate, which was down, and called for the horses. One little loan whinny answered me back.


I have one large paddock and a smaller one in back where Remme lives with Token. I went to the back to check the fence and not a wire was out of place. The fence is up to my chest, and the only way I can figure that Remme got out was to jump. Which is good for him and for my program (his designated job when he grows up is to be an eventer), but bad for me when he figured out he could clear it and get out to run with the rest of the herd. Poor Token was sitting there, all by himself, calling for his friends. Thank god he's not going to be a jumper, cause he'd stink at it!!


So anyways, I called the cops to report them missing. I can't say much for the dispatcher that answered the phone, she cut me off mid-description and asked for my number so they could call me if they found them. Went home to bed and woke up to a 7 am phone call that some guy found a herd of horses in his back yard. Now for the fun part......

Picked up the same friend that was with me the night before and headed out to do some fence repairs. So we were in the back, fixing some wires that had snapped because of the wind and snow drifts, and I look up to see a single file line of horses walking down the road about a mile away. Jumped in the car with some halters and a bucket of oats and went to wrangle up some ponies. They had better ideas. Okauchee was leading the pack, and they were making good time trotting back toward the farm. They stopped when they saw me get out of the car and came over to investigate the bucket. I walked them back toward the car and took out a halter for Okauchee. He saw it and bolted back down the road they had come from. Needless to say, we spent a good hour playing a not-so-fun game of catch me if you can. Okauchee would lead the pack far enough away from us and then stop to make sure we were following. Finally they went back to the same house they were at this morning to dig in the snow and eat some grass. They weren't hard to catch after that.

Walking two and a half miles home in near zero weather leading a pack of horses is a story in itself. We got some pictures, but they didn't turn out to well because my friend was taking them from the car. Plus, I don't think I could even get them posted!! I haven't had the time to figure out how this whole thing works.

I now know that I will have to work on the separation anxiety Okauchee has. I ended up having to put a chain on him on the walk back. Rain decided about a quarter mile from home that she was done walking and was going to run the rest of the way. The rest of the herd followed, and Okauchee didn't take it well. He's normally extremely well mannered, but that day he bolted, screamed, and tried to run me over a number of times. It was hard to get his attention back on me before the chain. He wasn't responding to just the halter and lead. Once he was wearing the chain I was able to get him to stop, bend and flex, back up, and stand. I wish I had a better facility so that I could separate some of the horses and really do some hands on work with them. The barn I planned on putting stalls in has such a bad roof that it leaks constantly. I'm not allowed to set up any separate pens opposite the shed next to the paddock because of reasons I won't speak of right now. There is only one quality boarding place on the edge of town, but the guy is getting old and isn't taking any more horses right now. This is the same guy that told me he'd take Ransom and Token for a month and then called me the next day to tell me he changed his mind. He's actually thinking about quitting in the spring. The other place that boards is the one I had Remme and Rain at when I first got them. These are the same people that didn't feed Remme and left Rain out in a pasture to fret herself down a hundred pounds in three days while I was gone. They aren't worth the two hundred some dollars a month plus the butt load of gas money I'd spend traveling and the anxiety pills I'd end up having to take from worrying so much. For how much they charge I could feed my brood for a month. What's a girl to do??

Becky

New Blog!!

So I started this blog in hopes of keeping track of my horsey adventures. I am starting to think that I should have done this a long time ago as there is so much that I could tell about life with my horses up until this point. We've been through a lot since I embarked on my journey with Spanish Mustangs, starting with my short lived time loving and learning with Maggie and her tragic death....and progressing through new arrivals, issues with boarding places, moves, and the fight to keep the dream alive.

The brood has grown to seven......yup.....SEVEN!!! Who knew I could ever afford them?? I guess as all horse people know, you can always find the room and the cash for one more!! In all seriousness I am capped out. Out of room, out of patience for problems with people who really have nothing to do with my horses but stick their nose in my business anyways, and out of ideas on how to keep plugging away in the crappy economy and lack of time to do what I want to do.

And now to the good points........

I have a wonderful brood of seven horses.
I have foundation bloodlines with the extreme likeliness to excell in their chosen disciplines.
I have one of the only (soon to be) standing stallions of Comes From Dream.
I have horses with heart and the willingness to do what I ask them.
I have SPANISH MUSTANGS!!!

What more could you ask for??

Becky