More pics from October

Wishes and the Vet

You've got a complication, palpitation of the badilla-dilla, with a wicky wacky savvy of a floy joy! In other words, Wishes.....you're allergic! That's right, poor little Wishes had an allergic reaction to something unknown, and had bumps and hives all over her body. This caused some swelling in her limbs, and pustules to burst on the surface of her skin, leaving her rather grumpy and uncomfortable. Dr. Schur from Desert Pines, came out to check her out, and found she also has a heart murmur! When it rains, it pours. Hopefully, the heart murmur won't be anything major, but I need to keep an eye on it and make sure she doesn't show signs of distress when I'm working her. Anyway, the doc gave her a couple of shots and instructed me to give her some steroids for the next few days, and scrub her body well with some medicated shampoo. As you can see from the photos, she just rolls in the dust as soon as I'm finished washing her, so she never looks clean and shiny.

Could Wishes Be a Morgan???

Since Wishes was born at the Shiloh Horse Rescue in Sandy Valley, Nevada, and her mother was rescued from the Fallon Feedlot, I've never been sure of her origin. She was listed as a Quarter Horse "type". She has always been a very beautiful little filly, and I marveled at her curvy body and petite look. She has a thick, long, wavy mane and tail. Her barrel is also long and lean. She has a lovely, easy gate - not choppy, like my old quarter horse. I was told she might have some "Spanish" blood in her, so I started looking at different horse breeds to see if I could find any that matched her description. I came across a picture of a Morgan filly named "Bygone KittyHawke", and sure enough, she looks like she could be Wishes' twin sister! What do you think? Wishes is in the top picture, and Kitty is underneath.

Clinton Anderson Doesn't Like Me

If you ever meet Clinton Anderson in person, don't make the mistake of asking him if he's ever seen a UFO. So what if he lives in Stephenville, Texas, home of the 2nd largest mass sighting of UFOs in the past 10 years. He doesn't want to talk about it (note the strained expression on his face).

A Good Day for a Bath

What a miserable, hot day! How about a bath, Wishes?? Aaaah, you look soooooo beautiful! Aaagggghhhhh!!! YOU BITCH!!!!!!

Our First Official Ride

I've sat on Wishes several times already, and have walked her around in a round pen, and even trotted on her while Betsy had her on a lunge line, but Saturday, May 29, 2010 was our first OFFICIAL ride. All decked out in her English saddle and bridle, Wishes walked all around Betsy's backyard with me in the driver's seat. We kept the session pretty short (about 10-15 minutes), but she did really well. She kept a nice level head, and started catching on pretty quickly to the leg cues, once she was in motion. We just need to work on that "go" switch.

Trying Something New

Well, I've started tacking Wishes up, and getting her used to wearing gear. So far, I don' t have a bridle or bit that fits her because she's so small, so I'm using a bitless bridle. I borrowed Betsy's endurance saddle (which pinches her somewhat in the withers, so we won't be using that) and took a few pics so my 3 subscribers can see how big she is now. Ha ha ha - hi Lori, Eric and Ed. :-)

New Home, Old Friend

Well, Wishes is back in Vegas and living with her old stable mate, Calico. It's wonderful to have her so close, and to have her living with family. I even saddled her up today and Betsy's son, Dave, ride her around in the round pen while I lead her. I think she's going to catch on very fast!

Warm, Sunny February

After a month of rainy weather in January, we finally had some warm, wonderful weather last week. Here are a couple of pics of Wishes and Colbert soaking up the sunshine in their muddy pasture. That's Nasdaq on the left, joining them for breakfast.

Oh no, Wishes!

I went out to see my horses today after a wet and muddy week. I found Wishes with a nasty gash down the inside of her right hind leg. It didn't seem to bother her too much, but it looked pretty nasty. I cleaned up both horses and worked Wishes in the round pen, but did not feel up to riding today.

Cloudy Saturday

Rachel and I braved the rainy forecast to go check on Wishes and Colbert. Fortunately, we didn't get hit with any showers while there. The cloudy weather really put Wishes in a strange mood, and she spent most of the morning acting like a nervous wreck, sniffing the air and freezing in place, then snorting loudly and stomping the ground. I did a lot of groundwork with her, though, and felt like we got a lot accomplished. Her filthy tail was driving me nuts, so I soaked it in soapy water and put conditioner in it. It looked much prettier after the wash, but she hated the cold water. Rachel rode Colbert around the ranch, and we took pictures of the new little foal "Battle Born", and his mom, "Nevada." The pics I am posting are of Wishes dumping her vitamins on the ground (she just picked up the food pan with her teeth and dumped it). Wishes after her wash. Battle Born, looking adorable. And Rachel, looking beautiful.

Happy New Year

Whoops! I guess it's been awhile since I've updated this blog, huh Eric? Since you're the only one that reads it....ha ha ha. Here's a video of my two hooligans!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Colbert tried to sport a "pimp" hat, but I think Gus wore it better! Sally looking cute, and my buddy, Sharil going as a "black-eyed P". Ha ha ha!

My New Saddle

Here's a picture of my new saddle. It's really supposed to be for Wishes, but Colbert is trying it out. It comes with the CAIR system by Wintec, which allows you to change out the inner structure to fit just about any horse. Because Colbert is a Quarter Horse type, he requires a much wider bar than that of the standard English saddle. It is also made of a material that expands or deflates with air - kind of like a "Tempur-Pedic" mattress - to better fit the contours of each individual horse's back. They normally sell for over $1,000.00, but I got this one off of Ebay for $580.00, and supposedly, it had only been used 2 or 3 times previously. It was in near-perfect condition.

The other picture is Rachel saddling up Eric's (mom's) horse, Sawyer, with Eric's very awesome Aussie saddle.

Deonna and Colbert

Boy, for a blog that is supposed to be about Wishes, she never gets any ink! I just had to share this adorable pic of my good friend, Deonna Hickey, riding Colbert. This horse-sharing business is such a great idea because Colbert gets extra work-outs, and more trail experience!

My Old Saddle

Okay, one more pic. Eric took this pic of me riding Colbert out on the trail a couple of weeks ago. This is my old saddle, that was way too big for me. Good pic, though.

Horse Swappin'

Eric and I have worked out a nice little arrangement where we let each other borrow the other's horse if we want to go trail riding with a friend. Eric and I go out to Shiloh on different days now, so this little arrangement is a good way to get our horses out exercising more often during the week. Last Saturday, Betsy borrowed Eric's horse, Sawyer, and we had a BLAST riding in the desert around Shiloh. The next day, he had his lovely friend, Megan, borrow Colbert for a group ride. Here is a pic of Megan on Colbert, and dare I say, she looks better on him than I do!

Pooooor Little Weeeshes!

I went out early today to try my new saddle on Colbert, only to find my poor little Wishes had a nasty puncture wound on her right, front leg. Her leg was swollen to almost 3 times its normal size, and she could barely limp around. Once Sabine got out to the ranch, she helped me clean it up and sterilize it. Then, Jill and Sally arrived and gave her a dose of anitbiotics. She'll be on anitbiotics for the next 3 days. After giving her the medication and some "bute" to ease the pain, she was walking around much easier, and even attempted to trot (she spooks easily around the Mesquite trees).
On a lighter note: I LOVE MY NEW SADDLE!!!!! I will have to borrow Rachel's camera and take some pics tomorrow (hopefully). Colbert seemed to like it too, as he was much more calm out on the trail. He may just be getting used to trail riding, though. The saddle was so comfortable for me that I had no fatigue in my knees or seat upon my return after an hour-long ride. Yeah!!!!!

More pics from Eric!

What would I do without my buddy Eric taking all these great pics for me? I would not have a blog, that's for sure! Thanks again, Eric. You rule! Look at Wishes...as big as her boyfriend now! And here's a nice pic of Wishes and Colbert together. My two sweethearts! Is there anything better than having your own horses? I think not. Except maybe eating a candybar while you're riding your own horses - simultaneously!

BACK HOME!

It's been forever since I've posted anything on my two sweethearts, but I'm happy to report that we are back at Shiloh. The new place didn't work out, and we returned to Shiloh after just one month. I wanted to post these adorable pics that were taken by Eric and/or his friends. Wishes is enjoying a nice roll after they had just washed her off! Funny girl.