Help

When one starts to help someone there is an implied agreement not to forsake them.

A few years ago we had one dog in the litter that was born different. Everything was a struggle.
He couldn't suckle so he was hand feed until he could suckle a bit but always had to have some hand feeding.He was one of the first to eat solid food but it had to be set up just right so he could work on the corners of the food. For the first couple of months it was touch and go with seizures that would happen at anytime. The wife took and made him a home in one of her old oversized purses and he was with her 24/7. He never learned to walk but could prance all over the place, high stepping it where his paws would almost hit his chin. At 5 months he had hormonal overdrive and at 6 months he was healthy enough to be fixed. Things went along pretty good and we thought he was out of the woods. His seizures got lighter and less frequent. A real dog personality was developing. We were begining to hold onto the idea that he would make it. At 8 months he passed away. At the beginning we knew his chances were very slim so was it right to euthanize him or go to what some consider extreme effort to try and help this pup. Right or wrong our belief is that one good day of life is better than none at all. It is remarkable that through this whole process there was a feeling of peace about what was happening. The will to live and grow is so strong that to be part of this will affect one at levels not often visited.

   And when you do not forsake them the rewards will change you. Good or bad it's your choice.

        

I try

One of the bloggers I read just rescued a horse. From the accounts it would seem to be a nice horse but. The prior owner had issues with the horse kicking them. I posted to please find out what caused the horse to kick the prior owner. For the second time another blogger I'll call her L seemed to think my post was wrong and it was the prior owner and not the horse. L may be 6 years my senoir but enough. A horse for any reason that has kicked someone needs to be evaluated on why. It usually doesn't take much to get a seemingly gentle horse to stop kicking but until that quirk is worked through they can be dangerious (PERIOD)

 When my oldest daughter was about nine we went to a horse auction and happened to buy a seeminly nice green broke 2 year old gelding. He was real gentle and loaded into the trailer very nicely. We got him home we unloaded him and were so happy with this gentle sweet...........well I go to lead him to his new corral and in the process he reached up with his hind leg and kicked me in the kidney. I was at his shoulders and went immediately to my knee with pain and the wind knocked out of me. This horse knew exactly what he was doing and I am sure it wasn't the first time. After a short time working with him he has never offered to kick again. He has been my oldest daughters' best horse friend now for twenty years.

Even though it is easy to blame a prior owner for a bad quirk just because you  are better, new owner, nicer, or more knowledgable Forwarned is the opertunity to know where and how to start.

  My lovely wife riding her first MT State OMOKSEE in 2006.
                           She has come a long ways since then :)

Listening is sometimes hard

Last Sunday it was a balmy 18 degrees here so we decided to take a nice Sunday drive north about a 120 miles to see how Mojo was doing with the trainer. We get up there and the snow is melting and 45+ degrees. The trainer has Mojo saddled up and already had been riddin but was just calmly standing there waiting. The trainer got on Mojo and showed us what he has been working on for the last two weeks. Mojo has made some good improvements in a short time between the -too cold days. Then we are all standing there talking and I ask 'well what do you think now that you've rode him.' I am a firm believer in when I hire someone to do something to take heed on there counsel. The first thing out of the trainers mouth was 'He's a real sweet boy'. Of course my heart sank at that catch all phrase that is used when there isn't much other to say. A little further in the conversation the trainer said that he would make an excellent kids horse. Another hard swallow. Twenty years of breeding horses with the goal of having good level headed athletic fast horses and I seem to have only gotten the first part right. How does one take and have good running lineage on the top and bottom and produce 'a real sweet boy' as his best and only quality. Luck of the draw.........maybe. On the way home we had some indepth and long discussions. An interesting pattern developed the mares are fire breathing speedsters with a controllable amount of attitude but all the geldings seem to be of the pocket pet mentality.
I have the two year old filly to break this spring so we will see if that theory holds. We can always use another horse for lessons but his younger brother may have to go if he follows the pocket pet mentality. As with any of this only time will tell.

                                            
   The lemonade in all this:
                                           Mojo's future jockey (in 8 years:)

Lifes left turns

Over the years I have sent horses to various people for training. I'll admit I have holes in my ability and as time has gone on it has become more of a time and size issue than ability. To correct the situation my oldest and I planned to have her do the training and me take care of the rest. Her with daughters (3 and 1) it became very evident that life loves to get in the way of plans. Mojo had been slated to be kept a stud and run barrel futurities. So when we had Jon a futurity trainer come out to assess Mojo we had some reality checks that were not rosy. Jon has been doing this with fairly good success for years so when he said that Mojo wasn't where he should be and that it would be difficult to catch up and also if he couldn't be at the top of the heap not to bother keeping him a stud. So off to the vet Mojo went to get fixed. Then we would send him up to Justin (reigner/reigning cattle trainer). Again life intercedes and due to infections and such we're set back another 3 months. For the last 2 months MoJo has been at our best friends parent's place where he is being rode daily (when it is above 15 degrees F). Now MoJo is fine and Justin has recovered from AQHA world so off he goes this weekend. In this whole ordeal what makes me sad is since we don't keep studs that we had a stud that was probably better mannered than any other horse we have. It took a lot of work to get him there but very little to keep him there. A program that we have been working on for some 20 years this one was a keeper. If life treats him well he will probably be the wife's last mount. Dear he is one of the smoothest riding horses we have and he will take care of you.

Below is a 2009 picture of our extended family friend who has helped us so much on a horse out of our mare and their stud doing poles low 20's all day long without pushing. Now if she (the horse silly) would just do barrels :)

Pride in one's Self

My wife is a therapist specializing in bonding and attachment for a non-profit organization that deals with pregnant teens. These girls come from all sorts of backgrounds. The one common feature is that they are unsure of their future and their soon to be born child. I don't blame them; I'd be just plain scared if I was in their situation.

Once a week some of the girls with their newborns come to the barn to get some horse time. Helping my wife is our horse lady friend (mother of the barrel racer shown in an earlier post and licensed riding instructor). I go out to feed the horses and on the other side of the wall I can hear the girls, their kids and staff giggling and laughing. For a short time life is without care and fun as it should be. At the end, one of the girls from an inter-city background calls me over she is so proud of herself. There is a twinkle in her eyes where suspicion used to dwell. She got to trot bareback on my horse. Before coming out here she had never touched a horse. In a short couple of months she now is riding. For these things I am thankful, it truly is about the kids.

  Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Mojo 4, Granddaughter 3 (2009)

Quick Note

Sorry to those about my not posting. This is turning out to be a busy time....seems to be a common theme :)

I am trying to get the fencing shored up so the horses can go out into the hay field.
We have 2 green broke geldings, a yearling and a weanling we are working with and I am in the process of upgrading a pasture pet into my competition horse for next year. My trusty boy that I have rode for the last eight years is being retired into a lesson horse. It is so hard to start over once you have a horse that will take care of you in any situation. He is retiring from speed events strong and healthy which is good but hard not just to grab him to go run when things don't go well with the mare. It is kind of a hard decision for the mare is faster and I could be more competitive but she can also eat my lunch at the drop of a hat. The one green broke gelding is to the point where my wife can now ride him which is a real good sign. He will be going off to training in two weeks so that will help in our trying to manage our time. Well at least it is a thought.

Hope things are going well with you.

Tuff as a 3yr old

A Sad Day

In our household the rule was trophies and awards could only adorn the mantle for a month and then had to be put in storage (the girl's bedroom if they wished)

After a bad run only up to 15 minutes of quiet time allowed then back to family and friends.

Thus after my whine; time to remove my comment.
Now that I have had my say time to move on for a better day.

2009 NSCA Nationals