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Apple and Casey’s Big Adventure

June 17, 2013

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On Sunday we decided not to take care of the long list of things to do and instead go for a trail ride.  Green Lane Park  is about a 20 min drive from the farm. It has many trails for 2 legs, 4 legs and wheels.  We opted to go around the lake, which was a 15 mile adventure that took us a little less than 5 hours.  Before we left we brushed them and applied fly spray.  My 2 seasoned  geldings loaded the trailer like champs.  I rarely take them off the property so it is great to see that they remember and are ok with being trailered.

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Getting tacked up at the trailer.

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Are ya coming?  Casey is a much slower walker than Apple so we were often trotting to catch up.

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I was told that there are not enough pics of me in the blog (because i am always the one taking them).  So here ya go.

2013-06-16_11-39-50_299Put your ears forward Casey – Pretend like you like it.

2013-06-16_11-45-25_722Through the open areas

2013-06-16_12-26-40_20Across the bridge, past the fishermen, to the other side of the lake.

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Through the forest.  This part was only for advanced riders.  As we had to go down and up many steep embankments with a stream at the bottom.  A fun adrenalin rush as you are putting all your trust in to the horse.  They did great!

2013-06-16_14-19-36_662 2013-06-16_14-19-26_107Around the lake.  It was such a pretty day, not too hot with a cool breeze.

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Smile for the Camera.  I love that Apple and Casey’s ears are pricked forward for this pic.  They were checking out the other horses approaching us.

2013-06-16_15-16-17_942 2013-06-16_15-16-22_362Stopped at the bridge by the gas station for a break.  We needed to re-hydrate.   The nice man at the shop behind Casey, offered the horses some water.

2013-06-16_15-51-02_701 2013-06-16_15.50.53Almost there.  The last hour of the ride my bum started to hurt so I decided to ride side saddle.  Look ma no hands.  Casey was such a good boy that for the most part I didn’t have to do much, no steering and no stirrups.   The only thing I had to watch for was when he walked to close to the tree and tried to constantly take out my left leg.

It was a great day out!  So much better than working.

Farm Therapy

June 10, 2013

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Have you hugged a horse today?

Farm therapy is the best kind of therapy.

Petting animals can reduce your stress levels.  Check out this article on 27 ways pets can improve your life.  This past weekend a farm family friend and I went to the barn at night for some horse therapy. We were hugging and loving on Nash & Casey. Nash was giving me kisses and my friend was giving Nash a massage. We loved the quiet time with my boys.

Mucking stalls allows me to think.  If I ever need to clear my head I muck stalls.  It is a rhythmical task that allows for the thought process to open up.  I make my best decisions when cleaning stalls

Riding horse forces me not to think.  If I need to “get out of my own head” for a while I get on a horse.  There is so much going on while riding that I am not allowed to let the pesky issue seep in.

Lover boy
Hugs

Special Delivery

June 5, 2013

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What does a cowgirl do before prom?  

Take prom pictures with her horse in her cowgirl boots.

Prom Pics

GSF’s Prom Princess did not have time to come to the farm before prom for pictures with Dalton. So we brought her horse to her!  Thanks to the farm family and her boyfriend they clean him up while I was finishing up my work (real job).  Then we loaded him up in my trailer and drove him to her parent’s house (which is also a goat farm).

She was absolutely thrilled  to have Dalton part of her big dayand surprised to see me as I said I would not be able to get out of work early.  The pictures turned out great!  Dalton was even in her friends pictures who stopped by for group photos.  Where else would you have the opportunity to have prom pics with a horse!

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What are you afraid of?

June 3, 2013

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What are you afraid of?.

Great post by a fellow blogger.  Enjoy!

Frolicing in the Field

May 30, 2013

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Last weekend the horses got to go out in the back pasture.  They were so excited that they had to run around like nuts for a few minutes.  I don’t know what it is about new fresh grass but you would think they would want to start munching right away.  Instead they have a good romp then get down to the business of eating.

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I have 2 fields in the pasture management rotation.  They do not go out on these till the grass has grown to 6 inches for a second time. I cut it down to 3 at the beginning of May and then it grew back to six lusher and fuller.  The sand lot behind the barn is known as an Animal Concentration Area (ACA). We don’t expect this area to grow much and they are fed hay while out there.

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Follow up on pelleted bedding in the stalls

May 30, 2013

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Follow up on pelleted bedding in the stalls

Three months ago I switched from pine shavings to pelleted bedding. The farm used 93 bags of the bedding.  I decided to do a cost analysis to see if I was saving money in the switch. The cost for pellets turned out to be $177 per month and the shavings averaged out over the year (2012) to be $123 per month.  So at $54 more per month I am not seeing the cost savings.  However there are factors in there that I can’t quanify:

  • Time savings: the stalls are a lot easier to clean.  
  • The 3 months we used pellets were during the winter when the horses are in a lot more
  • Now all the stalls have horses in them: 8 stalls using the bedding,
  • Last year we had times when not all the stalls utilized and the donkeys had one stall. They don’t use much bedding at all. 
  • When I switched to pellets the cost of shavings from my provider doubled, so if I did the analysis based on that I would definitely be saving money

So bottom line I will keep using the pellets and try again maybe in 3 more month to see if the monthly usage cost has gone down.

20 Ways Horse Riding Becomes Life Itself

May 22, 2013

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Great blog post.  Horses and my farm is my life.  I pick out the one related to most.

“Horse riding becomes life when…

1. The patience you develop working with your horse becomes the patience you use with your friends and colleagues.

4. Heavy lifting/pulling/pushing/hoof cleaning develops your strength enough to allow you to fluidly function under heavy loads when needed.

5. Facing your fears while on another’s four legs teaches you how to have courage in the face of life’s many difficulties.

8. The self-confidence you develop from knowing you can influence a powerful animal seeps into every interaction you have with people.

9. You learn from horses that it’s okay for things to get worse, because after things get worse, they always get better.

12. Sometimes, you just have to let go (especially when the horse bucks and bucks)!

13. In general, riding (life) isn’t about brute strength – it’s about gentle technique and strategy.

14. There is no such thing as a day off – you begin to value the rewards that hard work reaps.

17. There is no such thing as instant gratification. There is only hard work and step-by-step development.

18. Perfection is always aspired to, but rarely reached!

19. The path is more important than the end result.

20. Although we all have our own “conformation faults” that might work against us, we can overcome almost anything with some time and effort.”

via 20 Ways Horse Riding Becomes Life Itself.

Save Nash Flyer

May 22, 2013

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Save Nash Flyer_v3 p2

I am so excited to announce the save Nash flyer is done.  It was a collaborative effort of many people.  Thank you all for your help. It looks great!

Save Nash Flyer_v3 p1

Nash update from New Bolton Center

May 22, 2013

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Nash update from New Bolton Center

I just got off the phone with Dr Eric Parente.  He was very nice, explained everything and took the time to look a the hernia pics that I conveniently posted here in the plog.  I took notes of the conversation so wanted to share with you the positive news.

Nash would be admitted to the hospital for 4 – 5 days. On the first day Dr Eric would ultrasound it to find the margins and how close the hernia is to the last rib.  He will use the ultrasound to figure out what to anchor the surgical mesh to.  If it is close enough he might even use the rib for anchoring.  

The surgery would consist of general anesthesia and the insertion of the mesh.  After the surgery he would have a belly bandage for support.  They would use IV antibiotics followed by oral antibiotics.   Once Nash is home he would have to be in the stall for 2 -3  weeks with only limited hand walking.  This will allow time for the important scar tissue to form.

The end result is that the mesh would provide support from it getting bigger.  The results would not be flat against the stomach because it will have a round shape as the scar tissue fills in.

I asked about the risks:

  • What are the risks of having the surgery?  There is very minimal risks to the surgery itself.  The only one would be infection.  This is a low risk as this site of herniation has never been exposed to the outside world.  The fear is that there would be a low grade infection inside the hernia now and that would be opened up in the surgical process.  If the does occur then the mesh would have to be remove and the surgery would have to be performed again. 
  • What if we didn’t have the surgery?  It would continue to get bigger and not necessarily rupture but get to the point where it could become traumatized.  Meaning that if it was big enough it could be accidentally cut open and risk infection.
  • What is the risk of the surgery not working?  If we stick to the recovery plan, the risk of reherniation 

So good news all around. Back to fundraising!

Something Different

May 20, 2013

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So this weekend was a wash – literally, it rained almost the whole time.  I should not be complaining because I heard we need the rain but it did mess up some plans:

  • I couldn’t let the horses out the pastures.  The 2 rotation pastures are finally ready for grazing. The conditions have to be just right. If the ground is too soft they tear it up and create divots with their hooves.
  • I had to cancel one of my lessons

But it did clear up enough to bring Heather over to the neighbor’s  for pony rides at the kid’s party.2013-05-18_13-50-55_437 2013-05-18_13-51-49_262As you can see the good ol’ Heather was an Angel.  She walked around the yard while the kids got their pony ride.  For many of them it was their first time on a horse.  They were so cute and in awe of the experience.

Part 2 of the weekend as all about Compost!  As you can see my manure pile is growing so I posted an ad on Craigslist for free fertilizer.  We delivered one truck load, for the price of gas and another gardner stopped by to pick up her own truck load.

 

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