Sunni and Beauty on a warm winter day

Sometimes I just go up to the ranch and let a couple of horses out together in the arena. Beauty and Sunni get along very well. They are both 4 years old (Sunni will be 5 in May) and are both quarter horses. Here they are enjoying our warm winter sunshine. It was 70 in the desert and about 60 up in the mountains yesterday. Typical Southern California winter weather!

Cali's training (and mine!)

I haven't been able to do much with our horses for the last several months because of the pinched nerve in my back. Some days, I wasn't even able to move or walk. Now that I've had my two cortisone shots, my leg is pretty much back to normal. My back never hurt; it was my left leg that cramped up so I couldn't move! Then my left foot got numb and tingling and it felt like it was asleep 24/7. Sometimes I stumbled around. I frequently stepped on my students' feet and I couldn't even feel them! There was NO WAY I could handle a 1,000 horse! If I tripped or stumbled....well...you get the picture!

So, when the ferrier came last week, even HE couldn't get Cali to stand still and he announced I needed to work with her before he comes on Thursday this next week. OKAY! So yesterday I bundled up in layers (t-shirt, vest, coat) and went out in the 40+mph winds and worked with Cali for about 20 minutes. She was kinda getting it at the end, but I need to work with her again today. Are there some horses that just won't stand still? She's very good natured, and she's very laid back (i.e. LAZY), so I was surprised to find that she actually doesn't stand still like all our other horses! I praised, praised, praised her when she DID stand still and she can even ground tie, but the minute I tried to lift her foot, she moved off! Any ideas/suggestions? I worked with Sunni yesterday (who snorted at the ferrier and ran off twice!) and he was a perfect gentleman! Once he figured out what I was doing, he calmly stayed in one place (I didn't even have to tie him!) and lifted all his feet for me! Go figure! Hubby is still too weak to do anything except stand briefly, so I gave him my camera and he took these photos. It was so cold, he had to go sit in the car! He's getting over a 10-day bout of a cold/bronchitis and he still doesn't have his strength back yet.

Beauty and I (or Beauty and THE BEAST!)

I went through my photos last night and found these of Beauty that hubby took when she was at my cousin's ranch last summer. I thought I'd post it since some of us are "outing" ourselves! HA! She looks gorgeous! I look....FAT! Since then, I've changed my eating habits and have lost 16 pounds!~ I am still eating healthy, raw food (NO sugar, no soda, no white flour, less processed foods, NO RED MEAT, lots of stir fry and fresh vegetables and sprouts)...(you can read about my food journey at: http://rawfoodjourneyca.blogspot.com/) I'm losing 1 pound a week, which is a healthy weight loss. My energy level is now back to normal, after all my leg problems! I SHOULD be able to ride Beauty again by June, when Valerie moves her own horses back up to the mountains and she'll then be 10 minutes away from me! We've talked and I'll be sending Gigondas over to her ranch this summer for her final "tune up" and trail training! Right now Valerie is working on the desert trails. She clears boulders (YES!) and trims back trees and shrubs so that the horses can get through them. Some even have been blocked off, so she works with landowners and gets them to agree to allow horses through their land! She's INCREDIBLE! Anyway...I thought I'd share this with 'ya all! Have a great weekend! I'm going up to work with Sunni and Cali on their manners and standing still so that the ferrier can come back to do Cali's feet next week. Sunni was a "drama queen" and snorted and ran off and acted like a teenager, so I need to do some work with him. I also need to treat him for thrush. He's "thrushy"! Gigondas and Beauty, my two feedlot rescue horses, were absolute ladies and stood still! Go figure!~

Feather clouds: Skywatch Friday, January 9, 2009

When I'm at home in the desert, I never really know what kind of weather I'll encounter up at the horse ranch in the mountains. Sometimes it is foggy and misting, sometimes it is cold and windy, and sometimes there is snow! That's one of the joys of my horses being there! So, on my last day of "freedom" last Sunday, before returning to school on Monday morning, I looked up and saw these "feather clouds" and the moon. Aren't they pretty? They were soon gone, but I enjoyed seeing them before they disappeared, like my vacation! For more Skywatch photos, please visit: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Ferrier visit

Okay. I admit it. With all my own medical problems, I've neglected my horses' feet. So yesterday the ferrier came out to trim as many as he could while there was still daylight. My appointment was 4:00 p.m., so I zipped out of school and drove up the hill. It took me an hour and 15 minutes, from school to the ranch. I was tired. I was having difficulty staying awake and on that mountain road, that is deadly. But, I made it! Due to technical difficulties with my little Nikon camera (apparently I didn't have the memory card all the way in), my photos didn't come out! DARN! Beauty was a perfect lady. "Ho-hum". She didn't need much of a trim. Sunni was his usual "drama queen". He REALLY needed a trim! Gigondas didn't even move one leg! What a good girl! She tends to drag her back legs and so she didn't need much of a trim and it has been a WHILE since she was last done! By the time he got to the mustangs, it was too dark to trim them, so he will come back next week. What's funny is that after that, I wasn't tired and the drive home was effortless! I got home and warmed up some chicken parmesean from last night and went to bed! What a life, eh? I only got a couple of photos of Beauty yesterday and these were taken after the ferrier was done.

Rommel and "the herd"

I had to take my German Shepherd in for a checkup and a refill of his meds Saturday, so we stopped by the ranch to see "the herd". The horses there have 4 dogs that live at the ranch, including a furry Dachshund puppy! She's so cute (and tiny!) But Rommel hasn't been around the horses that much and he really enjoys visiting them! As a shepherd, he tries to keep his eyes on ALL of them at once! HA! He got to slurp their beet pulp and meet the other dogs! And, he got to meet Beauty! I guess the whole trip wore him out! He jumped into the car and slept the entire way down the hill! Poor baby...just too much excitement for the old guy!

The herd! New Year's Eve Day

When I go up to visit the horses, Beauty is the first one to acknowledge me. She's very curious and friendly. She will nicker as soon as she sees my car and then Sunni will join in! Here they are on the last day of the year. The babies don't nicker, but they always stick their heads over the corral. Look how fuzzy Gigondas is!