Ponying & Weight Gain

Griffin experienced ponying and his first 15-20 minute trail experience yesterday.  He was a very good boy.  Mayer on the other hand was a royal you-know-what.  Mares, seriously.  Ugh.

Tell me Kenai isn't the happiest damn dog you ever did see!

As you can see, I've finally figured out how to make my own watermark; I am currently playing around with three - probably more as time goes on.  I've come up with a new system for uploading photos so that I'm forced to edit a wee bit, even if it is just putting on the watermark and nothing else.  This way I can fulfill my goal to learn more about photoshop since I'm forced to work within it each time I want to upload photos.

Griffin has gained ~50lbs since the end of January when I got him.  Not quite two months.  Not too shabby!  Jeanna showed me all the areas his fat pockets are forming.  Others have pointed out how his belly has "picked up" and he's gained some height.  I'm around him a little too often to notice these changes.  I reckon I'll see a difference (I hope I will) after I get back from my week in Montana.

If a single one of you steals my sweet little compass rose w/ Arab I will find you and kick you in the shins.
That little logo took me a VERY long time to assemble.  The horse I had to hand draw in photoshop.  I love the way it turned out.  One day when Griffin is big I plan to make that our little logo for when we attend rides.

I snagged some shots of D's horse Bill finally.  I LOVE him.  He's deaf and blind in one eye, but he's wonderful and smart and an excellent pack horse - oh, and he's gaited.  Mostly I LOVE the way he's built!

And here are some more shots of Duke, that Hollywood Jack line horse.

Pretty boys.  All of them.

First trim & Congratulations

On Monday the barefoot trimmer was slated to come do Griffin’s feet.  I slipped out of work and headed straight to the barn to catch him up out of the rain and get him in, cleaned, and worked out pre-trimmer visit.  I should have known things wouldn’t go as planned.

I arrived to find D in the barn working Little Bit and all the other horses no where to be seen.  Of course.  Fortunately it looked as if they weren’t atop the hill on the other side of the creek – just the field.  Excellent, less 4-wheeling to do up that trail I dislike.  So, I donned a floor-length yellow rain coat and Kenai and I set off, him running and me on the 4-wheeler to get Griffin.

They were grazing right by the gate at the base of the big hill.  I parked and went in to get Griffin.  I whistled as I approached and talked to him, but he was still hesitant.  By the time I realized it was likely due to my large yellow-ness he – and all the other horses – had fled through the little copse of trees and up the hill into the top pasture.  Great, now I have to drive the 4-wheeler up the trail I hate.

Kenai and I set off again, took the 4-wheeler through the gate and into the field, and drove in a manner to discourage the horses to go back down the hill.  I then got off and attempted a feeble approach, talking all the while.  The other horses trusted me, but he wouldn’t.  So, despite the rain, off came the coat and off came the ball cap.  It still took some time, but he let me catch him.

Back at the barn I check my phone to find a text that the trimmer was feeling under the weather and wouldn’t be out that night.  Well, damn.  Very frustrating, but I had to make the situation positive.  Little man needed desensitized to bright yellow jackets, obviously.  I got a smaller one out at D’s suggestion and walked it to him.  Slowly moving it more, putting it on, dancing in it, and then – eventually – putting it over his head.  Good horse.  We then did a bit of work in the round pen that involved me doing crazier dancing to get him used to my spazzticness that often times happens.  

: : :

Tuesday the trimmer was able to make it out and Griffin got his first trim.  I would like to report that little man stood AMAZINGLY for his first trim.   The first foot (front left) went without any incident AT ALL.  Stood for all of it patiently.  Second foot he put it down once, but still stood beautifully.  First hind he was good with once it was up - took a moment or two to get him to put it on the stand - then he put it down twice when she had to stretch it forward to clean it up.  Last foot was about the same story as the other hind.  He got real impatient for the last 40 seconds or so.  But other than that, the whole thing went without incident.  I don't think it took more than 15 minutes or so max!  

Monday, pre-trim

Tuesday, post-trim

Great little guy.  He may not perform his halts in the round pen as quick as I'd like, but hot damn if he doesn't excel at every other challenge I toss his way so far!  He's going to get to join Mayer and I on some mini (15-20 minute) trail rides soon so he can 1. get trail experience, 2. learn to pony, 3. continue his learning and exercise!  

: : : 

CONGRATULATIONS to the boyfriend for being accepted into OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY for their hydrology master's program. && Congratulations to Kate for being accepted into University of Idaho's McCall Outdoor Science School.  So happy and proud of you two!  Guess I have more of a reason to look for jobs in the PNW now!  I think I'd like riding horses out there on all those awesome trails, too.  

: : :

Don't forget to sign up for the give-away by commenting on THIS POST!  =)

GIVE-AWAY

I'm excited to announce my first blog give-away!

This give-away is courtesy of Mountain Khakis.

TWO lucky winners will receive a $50 gift card from MK to purchase any of their products!  Pretty sweet deal, no?!

I've talked on and off about my love for MK on here and I am frequently wearing their clothing in many-a-photo of myself.  They make bomber stuff that lasts through it all.

As of this spring they have loads more to offer in their women's department - seriously, go check it out.

No, sorry, that link won't take you to "shop now"
in the MK women's department....
But THIS ONE WILL.

For men, the typical get-out-get-dirty adventurer, they offer many options - I've seen men-friends put MK stuff through the wringer and back, it seriously holds up.

My go-to pant from them, the Alpine Utility, is described as "rowdy yet refined".  Which, as I've come to discover, means that I can plow through snow, mud, dirt, rain, and thorns, while still having a form-fitting pant.  No, not a tight oh-my-god-look-I'm-a-girl pant.  A yes-I'm-a-woman-and-I'm-in-the-outdoors pant.

Black Bear Den Assessments, Winter 2011 in my Alpine Utility Pants

Bar Harbor, Maine, Summer 2010 in my Alpine Utility Pants

Labor Day 2011 in my Teton Twill Capris

Planting trees, Autumn 2011 in my Alpine Utility Pant

Hiking in Dolly Sods, Autumn 2011 in my Granite Creek (light-weight and SUPER fast-drying) Pants

I was lucky this year to be asked to be the lady ambassador feature in their 2012 award-winning catalog, which I think everyone knows about by now (I was a wee bit excited and sort of shared this everywhere).

But seriously, MK's stuff is absolutely phenomenal.  I'm really excited to be able to offer you the chance to experience it!

Now, the entry rules for this give-away.

There are FOUR ways to enter, that's right, FOUR.  Which means each of you has the option to enter FOUR times.  But you only have to do one to guarantee an entry!  =)

1. COMMENT on this post telling me what your favorite MK product is after visiting their website.
2. Go to Facebook and "Like" Mountain Khakis (https://www.facebook.com/MountainKhakis) and then comment back on this post saying you did so.
3. Share this give-away on your blog OR share about it on Facebook and comment back on this post saying you did so (with a link to the blog post if you chose that method).
4. Follow Mountain Khakis (@MountainKhakis) on Twitter and comment back on this post saying you did so.

PLEASE, do NOT comment saying you did all of those things in one comment.  Make them separate comments to be certain that you receive an entry for each!

This give-away will close and winners will be announced (per the usual random number generator) on April 1st.  Everyone will have three weeks to enter and I will (of course) remind you all about it during the in-between time between now and April 1st!

(And a reminder, winners can be from all over, not just in the US.  I know several of you that already follow my blog live in some pretty amazing places around the world and I wanted to be able to offer a give-away that everyone could enter.  Potential international winners will just have to make a quick phone call to MK Customer Service to place the order.)

Without further ado, BEST OF LUCK to EVERYONE!

Sunday Still

I'm ready for all the flowers of spring.  Not long now.

Give-away will be posted tomorrow!

Big News...FOR YOU!

I would like to announce that in the VERY NEAR future I will be doing my first blog giveaway.

There will be TWO winners.

The prizes will be something that ALL readers of this blog will enjoy - man (wait, men blogging?!) or woman or horse person or homemaker or lover of all things wonderful in life.

I am VERY EXCITED to do this for you all.

Oh, and the BEST news?  The prizes will be able to go to any country (well, any of the countries that my typical blog traffic consists of).  This makes me exceptionally happy because I read several cross-country blogs and I know several of you follow mine.

I hope to have the post that discusses this amazing opportunity written and posted by the end of the weekend, and the give-away will be open for 10-14 days to ensure everyone a chance to enter.

Get PUMPED people!  I'm so excited for you!  I wish I had the opportunity to win something so great (and versatile)!

But until then, I shall suffice you with this picture of Griffin being oh-so-cute in his brand new hand-tied halter I MADE!  ....maybe I should do another future give-away with one of these halters....

Random Facts

Fact #1: Oatmeal squares are wonderful, especially the cinnamon variety.  I just bought a box this morning and brought them to work because I am rarely hungry at the hour I wake up and force feeding myself isn’t something I’m good at doing – unless I know I’m going to be exerting a bajillion calories before noon.

Fact #2: This warmer weather and SUNSHINE are absolutely brilliant.  As per the norm, they have motivated me to clean, organize, and lighten the look of my living quarters.  I’m really loving the way my room is for the first time since moving into it in May of last year.  A clean, crisp look with things organized and not all a-clutter mean I sleep sounder, and OH have I been sleeping so well lately.  I forget what it is like to sleep that way.  Oh, bliss.

Fact #3:  There is hope for Kenai as a trail dog!  I’m still VERY cautious in this statement, but I have a wee bit of optimism now.  This weather, coupled with semi-longer days (I cannot wait for daylight savings this weekend.) has allowed me to go on two shorter trail rides the past two nights.  Mare (though in my mind its “Mayer” because I don’t like the fact that I’m calling her what she IS, she needs a semi-name) needs the exercise and  Kenai needs the practice + exercise.

The first night we just went out for 15 minutes or so.  I didn’t want to push my luck.  Last night we climbed a mountain and were out for ~30 minutes or so.  Kenai did remarkably well both nights – Mayer was better the second night.  I’m keeping treats (horse treats) in my pocket so Kenai has a little extra incentive to return to my side.  He also wears his remote collar.  There was a semi-interaction with a ruffed grouse last evening, but he was good otherwise.  A short, sharp whistle is usually enough to halt him in his tracks and cause him to pivot on his rear (am I talking about my horse or dog?  lol) to face me.  If that doesn’t work I call his name.  And if that does work he gets the warning beep.  I haven’t had to shock him yet, but that is the last line of defense.  Well, maybe not THE last.  Being a worrisome dog-mother I would likely urge Mayer into the chase and go all fox-hunt after him.  I hope it doesn’t come to that.

All in all, great little rides and I’m so excited for more.  Yay new trails!

Fact #4:  Griffin is doing great and I’m really excited for everything to come with him.  I’ve been reading more and more about Tevis (aka my sick obsession) and its getting me all jazzed to get my rear into endurance as the years progress.  I’m optimistic that Griffin will – at minimum – be a great LD horse as the years go on.  I’d really like to have another full Arab to work with and ride, too, but monetary reasons and my schedule may not allow for two horses for awhile.  We’ll see.  Either way, I’m excited for future possibilities!

W.W.: Ski Patrol: We do it safely

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KENAI!!!

*previously scheduled post is below this one*

My beautiful pup is two years old today!  Can't believe how far we've come.  It seems like just yesterday he was this:

For anyone who has ever been curious as to his lines, he has Waymar, Innisfree, Catawba, and Kristari in him. These are his parents, Shiloh (grey and white) and Dakota (black and white).

I didn't know or care about his pedigree.  I have not registered him.  I wanted a well-bred, healthy pup.  I was VERY lucky to have ended up getting him from the breeder I did.  He breeds for health and temperament among other things.  Kenai is more than I could have ever hoped for.

Happy birthday, friend of my heart.  You are truly loved by many.

Should have...

...bought/trained/leased this fellow when I had the chance.  Not certain what his bloodlines were, but I know they were pretty killer.  The only reason he wasn't "worth" much was because his face didn't look as "extreme" as his parents typically produced.  He was the last on the ground from them, I do remember that.

We called him "Kicks" for the country singer Kicks Dunn of Brooks and Dunn.  He's 3 or 4 in this photo.  He was spooky as HELL in the saddle.  When I trained Stan for the endurance race Sonya trained Kicks.  You couldn't cough, sniffle, move an arm away from your body, or switch the reins from hand to hand without him losing it and bolting.  No bucking, always bolting.

This photo was the day the trainer, Bud, decided to do something about it.  Not the most humane, I knew even then, but I had no say in things six years ago.  Kicks didn't bolt nearly as frequently after though.  He only bolted when the situation actually merited something semi-scary.

Oh, and the buckskin in the background?  She looks so awful because she was a rescue.  We called her Ethiopian for the longest time because of the malnutrition commercials about kids in Ethiopia at the time.   She filled out and became quite a beautiful filly after months of care. 

In Memory

One of my best friends and the lady I would call my "horse-mom" lost her best friend of 30 years yesterday.  I can't say it any better than she did,

Famous horse's come and go, most are loved and missed by horse-people only, some are loved and missed by the world. Today my famous horse, my best friend and companion of 30 years will be missed by my family and friends who at one time or another crossed paths with her. So, Brandy our glasses are raised to you, a horse who had strength and stamina for those awesome rides and your gentleness and patience for those who were just learning, may you run with the herd in the greener grasses of your life. Miss Poco Brandy, May 8th, 1982 - March 3rd 2012, you are MY famous horse that will be missed.

This old lady still had a LOT of life in her.  She LOVED to go-go-go.  She was 30, but this death was still unexpected.  Brandy taught me what it was like to experience barrel racing - the way it should be done.  And she proved to everyone around her that age means nothing.

Rest in peace bay-girl.  You leave this life love by so many.

Sonya  with Brandy

Doing what they loved

Film Friday + training updates

Hot off the press!  Was out there about 4 hours ago and now here's the edited video, what up productivity?!

Its a 3½ minute video that was consolidated out of a 20 minute video of our workout.  The way I rigged up the camera to get this was beyond ghetto & super creative - I'm tooting my own horn here, but this is my blog so I think I'm entitled to that once in awhile ;-)

(Sorry the loping clip ended up in their twice...  I'm not awesome at this editing thing yet.)  We have a lot of work to do still, but watching this has helped me to learn SO much about what I'm doing and NOT doing.  Its going to help me immensely.  It also helps me to really fall for this little horse that much more.  He's super stupendous with everything.

Accomplishments from today that weren't filmed:
- He nickered at me as soon as I got out of my car and started walking over.  I reinforced this with a whistle or two just to hammer that in more.
- He walked through two people doors without balking.  I've never asked him to do this before.
- He wore Orion's old frilly bonnet and didn't freak out.  However, he did manage to look a little sheepish which was amusing (yes, I'm anthropomorphizing here, but - once again - my blog, I do wha' I wan').
- Let me rasp all four hooves.  He previous wanted nothing to do with the rasp, it felt too funny or sounded too funny.  But today was a different story.  This probably had something to do with the fact that there were NO OTHER distractions and he had food to concentrate on.
- Wore hoof boots for the first time.  Same first reaction as Orion - acted as if it were old hat and didn't care at all!  Made him walk and trot out with them and he was mostly agitated that they were slightly large and made a funny noise.  He's probably going to fit a double ott, but because the trimmer hasn't made it out yet and his feet are wonky in a couple places from flaring and because I didn't want to cram on boots and freak him out too much, I put him in a pair of size ones.
- He isn't afraid of a squawking flapping freaked-out bird in his face.  Just flicked his ear.

Wait, what?  A squawking flapping freaked-out bird in his face?!  Where did I conjure that desensitizing measure?  Oh, that's right, I caught a starling today with my bare hands. 

Starling bomber.  ..and my hand a month after I accidentally rasped it.  I heal excessively slow

THE BIRD WAS NOT HARMED!  Extremely agitated, yes, but harmed, NO.

Little back story: A couple days after I picked up Kenai we were walking and he managed (on a leash) to catch and kill a starling fledgling.  Ever since he's had quite a fascination with birds.  Today I couldn't help but re-introduce him to a starling sans killing it. 

Holy laser-eyes, Batman!

Oooh, yew haz this bird for meez?

It haz pointy nose.

Iz yew shur yew izn't tricksing meez wif this?

Reery?  No tricksing?  I can haz bird?

Well okayz...

I takez bird.

But no, seriously, the bird was not harmed.  Keeny knows when he can and can't have something.  There is either YES or NO in that realm.  And if it isn't a YES then it must be a NO.  So he was pulling his whole If I openz mouf slowly and gentleez then I maybe getz this as mai ownz routine.  (He also uses this routine to try and sneak away with things he shouldn't have to hide them in a corner [does anyone else think of Dirty Dancing whenever you hear "in a corner"?  NOBODY puts Baby in a corner!  ..no?  Okay, I'm weird.])  I reprimanded his sneaky bite-grab immediately and he backed off.  Bird was no worse for the wear and was released into the wild moments later.  (I would like to point out my restraint at killing said invasive species during this encounter.  My inner nature purest was squealing to kill it, but I subdued her and set the little thing free.  It didn't even bite me - odd from my experience with starlings - so it deserved to live even more.)

Its been a great Friday so far.  Here's to the weekend!!

Happy weekending, all!

Nat'l Ski Patrol

There were a TON of us out this past weekend because my candidate class was doing phase II testing and we needed loads of patrollers to be testers, patients, and patrollers.  Nearly the entire staff (pro and volunteer) were there.

Saturday was BEYOND stressful for me.  First aid testing scenarios on the hill ... in a mother flippin' blizzard.  Cold, cold, cold.  Wind, wind, wind.  Snow, snow snow.  Normally I would whoop and cheer over this, but having to STAND AROUND in it ALL DAY changes one's opinion of "good" weather quite quickly.  Sunday was a bluebird day for the ski and toboggan (where toboggan is a SLED not a HAT) test.

Sunday (obviously)
This is just over half way up the mountain.
I had to walk/climb to the trees in the dead center of the photo.
Photo: Linda Smith

My scenarios on Saturday went fairly well.  I made one crucial - or so I thought - mistake that I thought should have failed me and began royally freaking out afterwards.  It was such a long, stressful day.  I had a wicked headache by the end.  Up at 5:30a, on the mountain in the cold from 8a - 4:45p, then sitting around waiting to "hear the news" from 4:45p - 5:15p.  I just wanted to sleep.  I didn't care about my results.  I was so exhausted.  But finding out wasn't an option.

They called me into the office second.  The two directors, the paramedic guru, and my instructor were lined up.
Paramedic: "How do you think you did?"
Me: "Mostly good."
P: "What part are you concerned about?"
Me: blah-blah-blah long-winded explanation that no one in the blogosphere cares about involving me not putting someone at the head when c-spine and spine were clear blah-blah-blah
P: "Well, it was meant to be an isolated injury, so while you should be certain to do it in the future, it wasn't an issue for this scenario.  *dramatic pause*  You passed all your scenarios.  Congratulations."
All break into grins and give me hand shakes, hugs, etc.
I cry.

End scene.

Sunday's ski and toboggan skills didn't worry me at all.  They were more fun than stressful.  I was confident in my abilities and had nothing to fear.  And,  I passed.  So what better to reward a sum total of 7 months of hard training with?  Climbing up the mountain with my skis on logically!  Right of passage.

With Kate pre-climb.

I didn't have to climb the WHOLE thing.  Just 80% of it.  Fortunately some friends were there that day with kick-wax.  They let me use it and the whole ordeal was rather painless.  I climbed in 27 minutes.  Would have taken me at least twice as long without the kick-wax.  I did get a wicked sunburn on my face though.  A large number of the patrol heckled me as I went.  Snowball throwing, water bottle giving, sunscreening (too late), and picture taking.  As I stabbed my pole into the end-point I got lots more hugs and congratulations. Pretty good feeling after burning a bajillion calories.

Getting a handshake and a hug from my instructor
Photo: Kate Hall

Climbing the rest of the way
Photo: Kate Hall

Photo: Kate Hall

Wiping the sweat
Photo: Kate Hall

Made it!
Photo: Kate Hall

Being lazy post-climb. I'm in the green.
Photo: Linda Smith

Its been a super fun and super challenging journey getting to this point.  But accomplishment feels good.  My childhood dream (one of them anyway) has been fulfilled, and another swipe off my 30 before 30 list is accomplished.  Success is a sweet, sweet nectar.