A Little Humor

Just a funny little comic.

Christmas Stockings

I finished the horse's christmas stockings. I hung them on their saddles since they don't have stalls.

Snow!

Went out to the ranch today to visit with the boys. I thought maybe there'd be some horsin' around in the snow but everyone was pretty mellow, standing in the sun and napping. Cody and Corey were even eating together! Cody is really fitting into the herd. I think he might even be trying to inch himself higher in the rankings. Meanwhile, Axel seems to be a bit on the depressed side. He doesn't seem to hang out with the group as much.

When I got there today Axel was hiding behind a tree. I ended up grooming him right there, since he seemed prety comfortable. I groomed Cody in the pasture as well. When I brought out the Axel's bridle to go for a ride, Axel wised up and moved to the opposite side of the tree. I guess he didn't want to go for a ride. He actually went up to see if he could get some protection from Kalani. He did give in and we went for a quick ride around the pasture. Bareback is the only way to go when it's cold out, that's for sure.

After I had helped Jacque with her computer for a while I noticed Cody was actually laying down in the pasture, along with Rusty, and the rest of the horses standing by. I haven't seen either of the boys lay down yet, so that was pretty exciting. I ran out and took some photos. So Cody is definitely feeling at home. Oh, and Cody's leg is doing fine. He was being chased around a bit while I was there, and he wasn't limping at all. Jacque said after two days he seemed to be back in good shape.

Holiday Preview

Happy Thanksgiving! I don't think the boys will be having any turkey today, though Jeff might sneak them a chicken nugget when I am not looking. It's pretty darn windy out there, so hopefully they are keeping warm in the barn or under the overhang. In the meant time here's a couple more photos.

Cody's Doing Well

Got an update on Cody this morning. He's doing pretty good. Much
less limping going on now. So definitely in a few days he'll be back
to his old self. As a side note, Jacque said she saw Axel, Cody, and
Corey all eating at the hay feeder together. So that is quite the
news. I forgot to mention that when we got the ranch on Sunday, Corey
had a huge bite on his flank. It was almost like he got scalped. And
there were chunks of hair in the paddock. We're not sure who got him,
but maybe that's the cause of the new eating arrangement that was
witnessed this morning.

Cody's Injury

Heard from Jacque this morning. They tried to put Cody in the barn last night with Beau to keep him from running around and hurting himself more, and to keep him off the slippery mud. But instead he just chased Beau around, so they let him back out. He really doesn't like to be separated from the majority of the herd. Even if it means a nice warm barn to sleep in. Goofy horse. He was still limping this morning so he got some more bute but they didn't find any heat in his leg anywhere. I imagine in another day or two he should be back to his old self. He'll probably get more bute tomorrow morning just to make sure he gets the full benefit of it. I guess he showed me, "take me away from my friends and I'll show you by hurting myself!" Of course that just makes me thing he and I need to spend more time away from the herd. ;)

Sunday Photoshoot

Well so much for the weather report of Sunday being the nicer of the two days. Atleast Saturday it was sunny for a few minutes while I was out. It was just dreary and cold. We cleaned off more mud the best we could but besides mud, there's sand and dust and it seems like the more you brush the dirtier they look. We took a few photos, poor boys were probably humiliated, put santa hats on them and everything. But they were cute. Hopefully we'll get a couple good ones out of it.

After we were done playing dress up, I got up on Axel, as graceful as ever, so we could get a few silly photos. Then we saddled up and went out for a little trail ride. Jeff rode Axel and I rode Cody. It's been quite a while since I had someone to go with so I haven't ridden Cody in a long time. He wasn't really thrilled about leaving his herd. And Kakei spent the whole time back at the barn, screaming and snorting because we left. We did the usual loop up the back hill. Cody was a little more than excited. He wouldn't walk up or down any of the hills. It was run run run! He had been limping a little bit so I planned to *make* him walk up the last hill but Jeff went ahead of us and trotted Axel up the hill so Cody wanted to follow. I did my best to hold him back but instead of walking he just bounced. Straight up and down the whole way up the hill. It was mighty difficult to sit that trot to say the least.

By the time we made it to the top of the hill and started walking, Cody was lame. I got off and walked him back to the barn and he was really favoring his left front. Jacque came out and took a look but we couldn't find any thing obviously wrong. Not blood or bumps or broken bones. We're guessing he either stepped on something, pulled a muscle, or twisted something. So he got some bute to help out a bit. In any case, his sore leg didn't stop him from finding his way to the hay that Jeff brought out as a treat.

The Joys of Pasture Board

Mud, mud, and more mud. I went out to visit the boys for a bit. Everyone was hanging out in the paddock, covered in mud. Actually, Cody was pretty clean, he must not have rolled like the others. So after I chiseled all the mud off of Axel, and brushed Cody, I rode around in the front pasture for a while. Getting on Axel with no saddle is quite the feat, atleast for me. I climbed up on the fence and realized he just wasn't close enough to me. I couldn't get him any closer so I just went for it. Of course he stepped away just as I launched off the fence. I managed to stay on luckily. Axel was a little distracted with the other horses playing in the pasture right next to us. We walked around for a little while and also stood and watched Kalani and Rusty play. After that it was corn cobs all around.

I'll dig up a photo or two when I get a chance.

Rainy Saturday

It was sort of nice out when I left the house this morning but by the time I got to the ranch it was raining. It wasn't raining too bad so I went and brought Cody up to groom. Corey and the girls followed us up but they got bored and left. That left just me and Cody and I think Cody thinks I'm invisible. He was very unhappy with being up there all alone. I couldn't get him to stand still tied so I decided maybe we could work in the round pen. My thought was that he could run around a bit and calm himself down then we could groom and all that fun stuff. Well he did run around but that was it. Around and around and around looking for his herd. Guess we've got a bit more work to do on that front.

So after I let Cody gallop down to his friends I went and got Axel. Atleast he knows I'm there. Hehe. I groomed him real quick and grabbed his bridle. We went into the round pen and after I got him to stand still for more than a second, I climbed up on a barrel and got on bareback. We probably just rode around for 10 minutes or so in the round pen. But I've never really ridden bareback so that was good enough for one day. It's pretty different being able to feel all the horse's movements. And let me tell ya, Axel may have a cubby butt but his spine is not!

Here's hoping for no rain tomorrow.

A Visit From the Vet

The boys had a visit from the vet today for their fall shots. Since we had given them a 6-way before they moved all they needed was a rabies shot. Heck, I didn't even know they gave horses rabies shots. Jacque said they did very well. I guess Cody crinkled up his neck though, he must not have really wanted to get a shot, go figure. Everyone was tied up at their buckets and I guess Axel untied himself and wandered around checking things out, helping where needed, I'm sure. The vet said they looked good, he didn't get a chance to peek at their teeth though, maybe next time.

Parents Meet the Grandchildren

So my parents made it out to meet the boys today. We got to witness the thundering hooves when all 8 horses ran up the hill to see what all the whistling was about. We just hung around with the horses slobbering all over us. Then we took a walk across the creek and up the hill to check out the view. It woulda been a great day for riding but I guess I'm not convincing enough because Mom and Dad didn't seem like they wanted to ride ;)

Happy Birthday!

This afternoon Cody and Axel got to participate in a 6 year old girl's birthday party. Jacque's neighbor girls like to come visit all the horses and bring them grass clippings and treats and things. At one time the one little girl was taking some riding lessons from Jacque. So her big treat for her birthday is to come out and ride the horses. 4 little girls, 2 little boys, 2 moms and a dad all came out for the party. Cody got to wear a very tiny little western saddle. I think he might have been a little embarassed though.

First everyone got on a horse and lined up for a photo. The birthday girl sat on Axel bareback. They told me that he is just like Black Beauty and the Black Stallion. :) The other party goers sat on Cody, Kiko, Beau, Rusty, and Corey for the big group photo. I was helping hold horses and whatnot so I didn't get any photos of the actual party. I'll have to see if I can get a copy of some from someone.

Then the kids took turns riding Corey and Cody around the round pen. First with us leading and then trying to steer on their own. We just used clip on reins on the halters instead of bits and bridles. I think Cody was a little bit confused, and he really wanted to keep his eye on Axel who was on the outside of the pen watching. So at first I'd have to drag Cody around the ring until we turned to face where Cody could see Axel and then he'd move out a bit more. He did start figuring it out a bit more by the end but we couldn't get him to trot he just looked at me confused as to why I'd want him to trot around in a circle, going no where.

When the kids were done riding and their interest had turned to climbing on the hay bales, the dad decided he wanted to try and ride one of the horses bareback. So we got out a bridle and brought Axel into the ring. He jumped on up and rode around the ring on Axel. And Axel did so well, he really moved out and was pretty attentive. I'm definitely going to have to ride him bareback this winter (when there's soft snow to fall on). They also got the two moms up on Axel bareback. Axel didn't seem to mind walking in circles like Cody did. And all that concern Cody had for Axel while he was in the ring, Cody was no where to be found while we were playing with Axel, goofy horses.

So while the big kids were playing in the round pen the kids had decided that the horses needed some hay. Normally they get fed twice a day with both their grain and hay at those times. So hay in the middle of the day is kind of a treat. When we were done in the ring and came back into the barn, I peeked over the small barn door to see what was going on. There was a pile of hay so big you could barely open the door. The horses, of course, did mind and were in 7th heaven. When I left the barn and turned the corner there was another pile of hay that the rest of the horses were gorging themselves on. Those little kids probably carried a full bale if not more, piece by piece, out for the horses to eat. The horses were very pleased, but I imagine when they don't get hay for dinner tonight they might not be so happy!

After all the horsing around we all went inside for some hot chocolate and cookies. I've decided that my next birthday party might have to be out at the ranch too.

Zahr Retires in Style

So this isn't related to the boys but it is horse related. My favorite horse from WCR got to retire last night. I went out to see him moving into his new place. He's got a new girlfriend named Razzie and two young human friends to keep him in carrots and other treats.