Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mothers Day!

Hope everyone has had an amazing Mothers Day. My kids got my a nice weaver headstall which I very much appreciated.

But my big Mothers Day present I got on Monday.


1985 Brawley trailer. After 17 years of owning horses I FINALLY have a horse trailer!

and real quick jackie update!
March 7th 2012
May 13th 2012!

Doesnt she look awesome!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Jackie again :)

No feet photos this time, shes not quite due yet, but some weight gain pics yes :)

Today Jackie did two things that she hasnt done since we have had her.
1. Stood square on pavement (I know that seems like nothing to you non-horsey people, but it means her feet are SLOWLY getting better
2. And she got into a full out gallop today with bucking :). Before she would just canter along pitifully behind the herd, today she was at the front with her tail in the air!

And some photos!
March 7 2012
March 23rd 2012
April 16th 2012 (and standing square!)

I know you can see some of her ribs but thats mostly because she is no longer standing underneath herself and is standing normal... that and her head is down. If you loo the the curved line in front of her hip that is new and she her back has filled in as well.. its really hard to tell from pics sometimes :)

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Spring is here!

I think! I am seeing some 70 degree weather in the forecast as well!

We ended up playing Musical Horses yesterday :). At around 8:30 am Mystic went to her new home up north (past bellevue). Then at 3 I met up with someone to evaluate their horse and on my way home I get a text from Jake saying "Sebastian will be here at 4:30."

Ok rewind,... Sebastian is my friend Kadras 4 year old Arabian who is having some tendon issues. We had discussed bringing him here to either a. recoup on our hilly pasture where he will be forced to move or b. sell him. Then we would bring Shakirah to Kadras house so I can use their trails and Weyerhauser roads to actually wear her out.  We had decided to wait a little while until she could get the vet out.

So back to the text I get it and call Jake. I had been out of cell signal so I was REALLY confused. It turns out our friend Brad had to go get one of his horses he had sold and was going to have the trailer and was going to drop the horse and Kadra and James house. So they decided to do the trade since he was there with the trailer (neither of us own one yet). So by the time I got home Sebastian was unloaded and they were ready to let him out. We went and grabbed Shakiah loaded her in the trailer and then I jumped in the car and headed to Jakes ASM's house to go riding.

I don't mind too much :) Now Kadra and I have ANOTHER reason to spend time with each other lol

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Gotta post some pictures of Jackies feet :)

 Now jackie is a 9 year old mare we ended up keeping. We are working on getting her feet in working order so here are before and after photos of her trim (and a shot of when we first got her)

 
Above is about 2 weeks after we got her
Below Left is before we trimmed her and Right is afterwards. Notice the more relaxed body posture, the lowered head and she isnt standing underneath herself as much. She has also gained a lot of weight!

Left is a before shot Right is after


Before the trim, notice the flared back feet?


And after the trim, notice the flares are gone and she is standing better. Will keep posting pictures! Shakirah is next, cant wait to see her feet change!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sunday Stills (ok just one!)


My friends arabian gelding sebastian. What a good boy!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Whats going on with us


First, after some not so fun things happening at our house in Onalaska we moved to Chehalis. Awesome landlord, cute house with 6 acres!  


 Front of the house facing the road
 The view from the master bedroom balcony
 Living room
 Kitchen
 Kitchen
 Side of house. You can see our french doors and balcony off the master bedroom
The field across from our house

So besides the move, I am going to school full time at Centralia College. I am studying for my LPN. Jake is now the Coffee Lead at his store and working on his Coffee Master. He is waiting for a Shift Supervisor position to open up so he can move up. The kids are in an amazing Christian day care! I love having them come home talking about Bible stories! We still have the horses. Shakirah and Mystic anyway. CW (the big appy) went to a new home last month.
We are really enjoying being closer to town with still a country feel to it! We get to see a red tail hawk that hunts in the pasture across the street. That and there is an indoor riding arena at the end of the road I have access to!
I am training Shakirah for a 25 mile endurance ride in May. I am looking at doing the Mt. Adams Endurance Ride in Trout Lake, WA and hopefully the Renegade Rendezvous in Whenatchee in June. I am very excited. I am getting more and more horses in for training which is really nice, I am staying busy and getting to know a lot of people in the process. I also get to ride a lot of different horses in the process, which I have always enjoyed doing.

Last night we had a scare when Shakirah choked. This is bad for horses because they don't have the same abilities to clear their throat as we do. That and you can't give the horse the Heimlich. So instead of going to wednesday night services we were standing outside with a hose in her mouth trying to flush everything out. Had the vet out this morning and she had cleared most of it, and he did the rest. The danger of choke is not losing the ability to breathe, but the ability to eat or drink. If you don't catch it your horse can become very sick. She can eat and everything now, just has to be on penicillin for the next 3 days to make sure she doesn't get an infection. Talk about a scare. I am totally calm when its any other horse, but its my horse? All brains go out the window and I panic. Ugh....  

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Trying to be positive

I have been reading blogs, facebook statuses and hearing people lately and alls I hear are complaints! I read blog where its nothing but whining about how their life isnt going to plan, and how they are just sure that things are going to go wrong.

PLEASE people. Be content. Enjoy the snow while it is here for the beauty that it gives. Enjoy the time it allows you to spend with your family. If you aren't happy with your living situation DO something to change it! Be grateful for what you have, and don't whine about what you don't. Every single person in the world wishes they had something that they don't. Remember that THINGS don't make us happy.

Some of the happiest people I know have second hand cars, second hand furniture and not so many nice things. But they are happy with WHAT they have. Instead of putting yourself into debt trying to keep up with the jones', why don't you not spend as much, get something nice, but cheaper and ENJOY life.

This is something I have worked hard to understand and accomplish. Is to be thankful for what I have. Do I have new cars? No. But they were bought and paid with cash. Is our furniture new? No, but its comfortable and if the kids spill something on it, oh well. We don't own our house because we are still in transition and once I buy I plan to stay there my whole life, so why buy now when we can't afford what I really want? Instead I'll rent and be content where I am in life. If I never get to buy a home, thats ok. I would rather spend time with my family.

So as I said lets all work on being content with what we have, be grateful when we get something new and really work on not being so whiny all the time :)

Monday, January 30, 2012

Thoughts

You know I really dont understand how some people can sit there and judge others repeatedly while at the same time making note that they don't like being judged and dont like being expected to be perfect. Can you say hypocritical?! If you don't want people to think your perfect and don't want to be judged, why don't YOU start by not judging others!!!!

I know its a rant but a certain someone I know has made their life by judging me. They deny fervently, but it happens over and over again. And then they go off on how they don't like to be judged.

Blows my mind.....

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

10 reasons why you should 4x4 on horse back

10 reasons why you should 4x4 on horse back

1. You wont EVER run out of gas. There is refueling stations every 3 feet (or less) on the trail
2. You wont ever high center, this 4x4 can JUMP with out a ramp
3. Mud bogging? As long as its below your horses belly go for it!
4. Water crossing arent normally a problem. Most horses can be convinced to cross, and when it gets too deep, SWIM!
5. We can go up trails other 4x4's cant as we have the ultimate traction
6. Rock crawler? No problem, and no special modifications needed!
7. Brush hogging? No problem. Horse will crash though anything and those hidden stumps wont flip you
8. Want to do cookies? You can do that too, with no danger of crashing (ok a little danger when your horse decides that snowball at the edge of the road is going to eat it)
9. Get tired of riding? You can get off and walk, and your little 4x4 will follow you!
10. Nothing is better than seeing wildlife out on the trail while your with your best buddies!