Pictures of Bo Jumping!

Kelsey, the lovely girl who owns my old horse, Bo, sent me some pictures of him over fences to share...
My favorite one first... This is Bo and Kelsey at an AA show in St. Louis the first weekend of July.

Another one from the same show... (What a brave pony, not even bothered by those scary ferns!)

Here are a few of Kelsey schooling Bo... Love this one!

Bo seems to be thinking "Where's the ground?" in this one!

Thanks so much to Kelsey for sharing!

You know you're a redneck if...

Your "arena" is filled with "horse jumps" that look like these...

Sorry, I couldn't resist. The horse looks nice, but I think he needs an upgrade. Nice shorts, btw. Original ad here.

Bodgit Be Tru

Kelsey, the girl who owns my old horse Chevy (now known as Bo) sent me some pictures of him out in her pasture. What a handsome man! I am sooo happy to know he found a good home! His registered name is Bodgit be Tru, by Captain Bodgit.

My Pony Got A Puncture Wound!

Last night, I had my Shetland pony, Pete, in the barn, picking out his feet. My barn is old, but I had gone through it and tried to make it as "horse-proof" as possible. Well, apparently, I missed a freaking nail, and, of course, Pete found it and stabbed himself on it! Arrgghhh!!!

A rusty, old nail stabbed him on his off-side hind foot, right on his heel, where the coronary band meets the hoof.

It went in almost 1/2 an inch! I freaked out, knowing the risks of a puncture wound in a horse! Tetanus, lock jaw, infection, abscesses! Yikes! Pete had his Equine 5-way shot back in April, with a Tetanus antitoxin, so that was relief, but what else should I do? Does he need a booster? I called Fair Grove Vet this morning, who I use for my horses, and they were most helpful, as usual.
They recommended I give Pete a Tetanus Booster shot (thankfully, it is an inter muscular shot, as I am not comfortable giving IV shots.) They also told me to start him on a round of Penicillin, 20 mm a day for 4 or 5 days (also an IM shot, thankfully!) Also, I am to buy a Betadine/Iodine soak and soak his little foot for 4-5 days. Poor Petey, he will be super mad!

Peter is really not the best little patient, as he has no patience. I just hope I can avoid an abscess or an infection. He lives out on pasture 24/7, so I really worry about him. Poor little guy!
As an update, he did loose all 4 of his front teeth, (milk teeth), his gums are heeled and look much better. I joke that Peter is getting his man teeth!

Good News!

My Mom and I bought a confirmation hunter prospect, Chevy, 2 years ago.

Here is his picture from when I had him. Well, I had traded him for Tango, my old horse appx. a year ago. Last night, I got a letter in the mail from a girl named Kelsey, who is Chevy's new owner! His name is now "Bo" and he is doing low hunters on the "AA" show circuit. He will be showing indoors this winter at Lake St. Louis! I am so happy to hear that he has a good Mom who loves him!

It is wonderful to hear about how an old horse is doing, you always wonder what happened to them, if they got a good home, etc. Well, after going to Iowa, he is now back in Missouri and doing great! Thanks so much to Kelsey for an update!

I Love LOL Cats!

www.icanhascheezburger.com

Talbot Trailride Sunday 10-19-08

My friend Tara and I took our horses, Margo and Amber, to Talbot Conservation Area yesterday for a ride. Talbot is two sections totaling appx 5,000 acres near Mt. Vernon, MO.

We met at 11 a.m. at a parking lot in the southern section. There were already two horse trailers there when we arrived. The weather was wonderful, sun shining, a little crisp, a bit of a breeze blowing. The horses love this weather and they were impatient to be off.

We explored a wooded section that I had never been through, which was fun. The leaves were crunchy and the dappled shade made for a nice atmosphere.

We had one big spook out of our horses when a turkey broke cover and flew off, maybe 20 yards in front of us. A bit of whirling and side dancing, but everyone was fine.

Even with the spook, I think this was my best ride so far on my mare Margo. We are really starting to get to a point where I can anticipate what her reaction is to different things, and I really feel I can trust her. Tara and I were able to enjoy two long streches of trail at a canter, which was super fun! Tara's horse, Amber, is a gaited mare and her canter is gorgeous to watch (out of the corner of my eye!) Her neck was beautifully arched and she struck out her front legs with such elevation it was super pretty!

Here are some photos of the area. Tara commented how lucky we are to be able to ride such varied terrain. Compair these to the ones below of Stockton Lake. All in all, it was a great day! I had so much fun, and I know our horses really enjoyed it by their happy expressions and ears pricked all day!

Pretty views and a Red Tail Hawk (just a speck in the sky in this photo, but he flew quite close to us on the trail)


Here is a shot of a creek that runs through the area, there are a lot of ponds at Talbot, as well.


(Amber's ears improve any photo!)


Lots of fun places to canter around!

Craigslist Disasters

One of my favorite blogs Fugly Horse of the Day covers a lot of stuff like this, but I just cannot resist! There are so many scary things on craigslist.org's farm and garden listings concerning horses that it makes me want to puke! Yuk! Plus, I regularly check, not only Springfield's postings, but also Kansas City and St. Louis's farm and garden section, so the horrors are tripled!

Let me start with the least offensive offense. Copied straight from one of today's postings:
"I have a 3 year old Paint gelding that is for sale. He will be 4 in Jan.09. He is broke to ride. Will stand for farrier and lift all four very easy. Has allot of spirit and is willing to learn new things. Likes dogs and other barn animals.He is Black and White with four White socks. He is up to date on all of his shots and was just clipped. He stands about 14.5 right now but will mature to around 15.5.He was broke and trained at K-State's equine program.He loves attention and being brushed."

Most non-horse people wouldn't notice anything, but horses are measured by hands. A hand is 4 inches. A horse is measured from the ground to the top of their withers (the base of the horse's neck, or where the mane ends.) So, a horse could be 14 hands, 14.1 hands, 14.2 hands, or 14.3 hands. The next size up is 15 hands. So to say a horse is 14.5 hands is impossible. He would then actually be 15.1 hands. But this horse is expected to grow to 15.5 hands! Err! Maybe this is nit-picking, but it really bugs me! Here is the sell photo they offer... Another Yuck! Atleast take the horse out of the nasty pen!

The second offense is this: (pulled directly from another horse for sale ad on craigslist)

Why do people do this? To show how safe the horse is? All this shows me is that you are not very smart. Even the safest horse in the world could simply take a step and leave you with something broken!

Here is the last and worst offense: (taken word for word, this is what Fugly Horse of the Day is trying to fight across the country)

"I have some pretty pony mares for sale.......
3yr old dark sorrel, 13hh,very sweet, has been sat on...asking $350 ********** 2yr old sorrel paint, 4 socks & blaze, very friendly...asking $250 ************ 2yr old black, 4 white socks, small star, very friendly...asking $250 ******** 8yr old grey, 10.2 hh...asking $200.
All have been running with a proven 10hh Black & White Paint Stallion.
Will sell one or all, MAKE REASONABLE OFFER"

This makes me sick! If none of you ponies are worth more than $350, then WHY, WHY, WHY??? are they running with a stud to produce more worthless ponies??? I also like how only one of this person's four mares for sale has been "sat on." So basically, this person has four little mares with no training, that he is breeding to a stud, who most likely has no training. If none are worth more than $350, then what are their babies going to be worth? Also no mention of any of these animals being registered! Wonderful! This guy is basically breeding ponies for the kill buyer to haul to Mexico to be tortured to death. That's just great!

Hulston Mill Trail Ride

My friend Tara and I took our horses to Hulston Mill, up on Stockton Lake for a trail ride on Sunday. Here are some pictures of the trail, you can catch an idea of how nice it was. Can't wait to go back when the trees have changed color!
Heading down the trail...

A view of the lake through the trees...

Margo and I...

Down by the lake...

You used to be able to walk out on that rock, but it recently broke off!

Rough terrain (and Amber's ears!)

Four happy girls!

The trail out...

* Not pictured is the tree that stabbed my thigh and pushed me out of the saddle as Margo kept walking, unaware... :) Never say trail riding isn't a rough sport! Ha! I tried to take a picture of my bruise, but the camera couldn't capture the true gore!
Thanks to Tara for sharing her pictures!

I sold my old horse trailer today! Woo-Hoo! Went riding with my old neighbor Sharon on her horse, Windy, at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.

It was a bloody battle out there. Just kidding! It was really nice, great weather, LOTS of people out with their ponies. We got lapped 3 times (!) by some guy on a black Missouri Foxtotter. Freaking A! Not only are we slooow, we could only handle one lap! The trail out there is a good couple of miles, not sure exactly. Fun, fun! I'm going out again tomorrow with Tara on her horse Amber. Got to love these fall weekends, before the deer hunters come out!