After suffering from back problems since January from a fall in the pasture and ongoing Spinal Stenosis I am finally free from pain...not that I do not ache and hurt  BUT it is not the constant burning pain that I had. It took about 6 weeks of therapy and ongoing therapy myself at home.

We had a mild Winter and lots of rain causing Dry Creek to be Wet Creek or Muddy Creek...take your choice. In March we went out and bought about 11 more round pen panels and added them to what we had making the West pasture into a riding coral. What is needed now are a few tons of sand similar to beach sand but sadly it has to wait till funds miraculously appear. This should solve the riding problem as even in Winter the sand will not turn to mud. At least that is the hope and dream.

Lat year was supposed to be my year for riding but it never happened and my courage and confidence went further South. When the pain set in so did depression and the thoughts of giving up. But I did rally bought a new saddle which has a higher pommel that kind of encloses me and a higher cantle which intimidates me LOL. It leaves the problem of throwing the leg over it.  Jim has rallied and made me a portable mounting block to take IF we camp or trail ride....big IF. Anyway I now have this miracle block in the coral allowing me to get on there instead of outside the fenced area by the barn then fighting her to get her in. It works wonders and by the time I get where I need to be I am not a nervous wreck. I mount, flex my horse and que her on. Yeah! AND I have had three sessions....successful ones now so about 3 hours under saddle this May. And oh how she has given her best to discourage me under saddle. On ground work I win and she does just what I want and seems to like it but once in the saddle it is like her saying" OK these are my feet and we go where I want".. The first two secessions she had me a nervous wreck fighting all left turns , wanting to stay with Cody or stay at the gate. I was begining to think it was her bit till friend and trainer Amanda Tidwell told me I was training her to do it by releasing the pressure on her.  Horses learn  from the release of pressure not the pressure itself ...so every time I gave in to her she figured that was what she should do...refuse. On the third day I put her in what is called a Bozal....no bit similar to the way an Indian would ride. Knowing this also could break her nose with bad pressure I have to exaggerate my turning and whoa till both of us are used to it. So there is no hard pull going on but to her surprise when she refused to turn left I held the pressure the same as when she refused to go right or turn away from Cody...thus by the end of the session she was turning and doing what I wanted not what she wanted.

Sadly it rained off and on making it to muddy to ride off and on now for the weekend so she has gotten three days of rest. I need to get back on and continue my confidence course.

We also took landscape ties and cones and set up obstacle courses in the coral which I have found she loves to do and Jim worked Cody and I worked Lady at the same time. Thus she has to keep her attention on me not him which she did. Yeah! I figure if I can get at least two weeks doing this I might feel confident to jog then lope. Jim took her one of the days she was giving me greif to see if it was her or me. She gave him trouble but he stayed on and kept up the pressure then he went into a jog and kissed and a lope it was awesome she was so very smooth and he hardly ever left the saddle, so I am looking forward to that experience.

Goal is to get them ready and me ready LOL so that the kids can ride them in the coral this Summer when they visit. Also it would be cool to go camping with them. I think the horses will love the experience as both love trail riding.

Cathing up

Ok OK I know it was November 2012 for my last post. No Excuse except I just forget to post.  Then Winter on the ranch can be very boring. Not that we do not have work we have lots of it and this year lots of cold, lots of rain and lots and lots of mud. I think this has been the worst for mud.

We pulled the shoes off the kids in December and just now had the farrier out. Ricky came out last Friday and trimmed and rolled Lady's hooves..hoofs whatever LOL. We'll be back on 6-8 weeks now and probably put shoes on "once" the mud goes away.

Lets see what is new here. Jim had his second knee replaced on Feb. 4th and is now doing great. Five days in the hospital and a week in the Rehab hospital and is now going to outpatient rehab three times a week. Like the last one he is recuperating nicely.

I took over AM and PM feedings and we now have hay feeders and heated water buckets in the barn which means they hang in the barn more and means I also have to muck out the barn two to three times a day, plus haul 2 5 gal buckets of water to the barn. Lots and lots of work but I like it better knowing they will pretty much stay in the barn during real bad weather. They seem to appreciate the work their Dad did building it.

He did get a little more done upstairs at least framed and two walls are covered with plywood and Tyvec and hopefully in a few weeks the other will have plywood and Tyvec and the back wall just Tyvec..this is because it will eventually be the entrance to the other room which comes when we do the second have of the barn....which I hope is this Spring. I can't wait to have it completed. I love barns.

I opened the other pasture for a few hours the other day to let them have some grass and dry land to walk on. The were so happy each one took time to roll  and take a nap and while they did I opened the shuttered windows in the barn to air out and I completely mucked out all three stalls. Cut sown their nite feed to a handful since they had grass well I wouldn't call it grass more forage as it hasn't grown much over the winter..but it's green tufts and a change for them. They are only getting a tiny time their for now.

Christmas was pretty nice this year we did exchange a few gifts..we usually do not as we have everything LOL. I had my friend Amanda who works at the coop come out with two saddles to try on Lady and bought one for Christmas for myself. Lady has a very small back, is gaited (when she wants) and is a hard fit. Settled on a beauty two toned gaited saddle with a big pommel and higher cantle. It will be a challenge for me to get up into it but it is comfortable and I think I will have more confidence with the close contact of that pommel. It fits her too which was a big plus. She was so good when we tried them on her over and over ...like us trying on shoes LOLIf I didn't know better I'd say she was enjoying every minute and loved her new saddle.

I had one bad episode just before Jim went to the hospital. I was in the pasture trying to break up a tree limb when suddenly I found myself flat on my back . Somehow slipped I guess and wnet flat on my back hitting my head really bad. I was dizzy and had a headache for a few days so I went to the ER for a Catscan and x-rays. I was afraid of fluid on the brain..even though I wasn't sure I had a brain. Good news no injury and  I do have a brain. I was so worried of the head that I didn't pay any attention to the rest of my body and it was less than a week I realized.  that I was having trouble in my left side leg and hip area that is still continuing so when Jim goes in for his next check I have an appointment to have an xray as I am thinking it could be another replacement needed this time on my left side.

The end of next week we are going to have our grandson (Jims) come for a visit and to help Jim. He's one kid I do not mind coming as he really is a pleasure and help. So we are both looking forward to the visit and hope he comes again for a bit this summer. I hope to have the kids ready to ride too.
                       

Wow it's been forever since I blogged and lots has happened. Jim's grand-kids and his daughter came and went LOL. We had a great visit and we took the kids horseback ridding at Land Between the Lakes plus viewed the cabin and farm there.
Jim went into the hospital October first and had his knee replaced and did just great. He went to rehab after the hospital for another week and they discharged him to out patient rehab 3 days a week and he is now down to two days. By about the third week he was walking without a cane and has gotten approval to do his regular routine which means he is back to early AM feedings while I do PM feedings and he is driving.

Yesterday he closed in the back of the barn...at least the first half of the barn so that the"kids" have closed in stalls. It is looking great and They are very happy..no trouble at all with them going into there own stalls. Molly has a temporary stall of her own till the second part of the barn is completed. The upstairs is yet to be finished too, but in time all will be done. It will give us a store room work area for Jim  and 4 stalls or three and a tack room depending on if we add another horse or not.


Our little ranch on Dry Creek is slowly coming to frutition bit by bit when $$$ allow. After or even before the barn is finished whichever lol will be the purchase of more round pen panels and setting them up in the far pasture so we will have a riding arena. When these are done Beachnut Stables and Dry Creek Ranch will be our Dreams come True. Having the barn and the arena will make  it just about complete.

 Jim getting ready for surgery

 Next day after surgery Jim makes the rounds with his PT girls

 and  41 days later he's back to building our barn

 Gotta Love him.  I know I do and so do his 4 legged kids.

We brought Cody in first showed him his stall going in and leading him to the right then out and back in to the left and out. Put a cookie in his bucket and he pranced right in for it while Lady and Molly stuck their heads in and liiked around.

By feeing time every one of them went to their correct stalls with out hesitation. I am thinking they love what their daddy did for them. Molly will be in her temp stall till the second mirror half of the barn is done and then that will be taken down and she will have a larger stall of her own..

Another fun time we have had is the company of Tracy and T and sometimes Colten and their dogs who will ride over in the evening on horseback and we will cook out over a fire or even just have a marshmallow roast and drinks.

Colten enjoying a snack in front of the fire

 Tracy creating her marshmallow treat

A marshmallow in the makes

even Duke enjoys the fire

Jim and T sit with Duke in the fire's warmth

Tracy and T mount up for the ride home and Colten rides the 4 wheeler home after a nice evening.











Via condios my friends......till we meet again

Quiet time on the ranch. Forth of July has come and gone and I hate to admit "we did nothing". I watched the series John Adams all day on HBO and Jim fooled around on his computer. NADA accomplished on the ranch except watering and feeding LOL. Hey everyone needs a day to chill.

It has been over 100 degrees for over a week, now. The horses seem ok have plenty of water and chill out in Ladies stall as she has the only fan for the time being. They , Lady and Cody have fly masks on and realizing that they help love to have them put on and willingly taken off every night. Amazing how quick they learn

With the heat all training has come to a standstill as well as my recovery  and confidence riding. Lots of time comparing notes with DUH ( Down Under Horsemanship) friends and watching DUH videos too. Thankful that I have the tools on which to build on. My friend Amanda and the others agree I need "lots of roundpen work" me too. LOL. I just wish I had more room to work ing as both of us get frustrated going round and round..figure 8's and circles all in a tight area...but getting Lady to mind is frustrating at best. She remembers my handicap I am sure and is unwilling to relinquish control which is necessary in our relationship. Ground work does go well even though she anticipates me a lot.

The ranch is getting ready for Jim's family's annual visit. The kids are so looking forward to it but I wish the horses would be ready...they aren't and we can't afford to take them riding elsewhere. Last year , of course, the horses were at J Bar so it was a daily trip to visit and hang around the barn. I am hoping to at least duplicate the atmosphere here.  Thinking maybe some type of crafts with the kids and ..grooming of horses..walking them etc. My goal is to have the horses ready..next vacation to maybe even having all of us go camping at Land Between the Lakes. This year it maybe only a visit there and hopefully ride at their stables.

Just came in. I went out at 7:40 and I worked both horses for about 45 mins. Then we saddled up and rode in the pasture area and round pen till 10 AM. We took the horses out unsaddled and let them eat grass and since it was so hot we decided to introduce them to the hose. They absolutely loved their shower and kept munching grass all the while. We put them back in and let them go instead of tying them..since they had had their quiet think time. Lady promptly rolled in the dirt...."Bless her heart"

updates

 Day one and two


 

 


 

I have had a very busy two days. Yesterday we cleaned tack and worked the "kids" Jim rode Cody but I couldn't get myself to get on even though I had her saddled and ready while I worked her. I told Jim I couldn't do it in the afternoon while I thought about it all day and my feet getting heavier and heavier. So this AM we got up early 6:30 and I went out to feed. At 7:45 I went out and cleaned Lady and took her to the round pen to work. When Jim came out he got the tack out and I returned and brushed her and saddled her up. I still have bridle trouble so Jim did do that for me. I worked her with the saddle then walked her out the gate with Cody. I put on my helmet walked her to the mounting block and before my brain could kick in I threw my leg over and got on. This is a first..no hesitation no pain. I also had shorts on so my pants were not hampering me and I think I'll ride this way for a bit till my leg and hip can take this action. We went across the yard and started out to cross the street when they both heard Molly running and he hawing and both jumped and almost spooked. Heart pounding I was ready to bail and I knew if I did I'd never ever ride again. So I straightened her out she calmed down and off we went on a half hour ride around the neighbors "lake". It's a pond very large and we refer to it as 'Lake Chuck" after the guy who owns the property. He has given Jim and I permission to ride there in exchange of free "fertilizer" LOL. Lady did her typical oooh , oooh look at that , what's that as she was really excited to be going somewhere. I think this will continue till I put more hours on her and she is used to getting away from the pasture. I need to do more work with her till she pays attention "to me" not her surroundings. She needs to "listen". So if all goes well more work tomorrow under saddle. Jim and I caught by the security camera heading out.

 

 Day two was more of the same working both horses then saddled up and rode the round pen alone then with  Cody and Jim. We need more of this. Happy to report she and I did AWESOME...she started to listen and I got a bit braver.

Now the average reader wouldn't get all this...just get on and ride and maybe the average horse person too unless they understood the background here. Beside having my hip operated on a few years ago and being in pain for nigh two years then getting on last year for the first time in welllllllyears and falling off twice..my fault and being almost  a month short of 70 yrs old I am a basket case when it comes to riding. Love my horse...work with my horse buuuuuutttttt get on and it's hear in throat and palpitations that you wouldn't believe.....so for me this is a great DEAL.

 So it's yeah Lady and yeah me!!!


 Day 3

 Fathers Day

Fun for us. Jim's knees are really bad though. I worked Lady per my schedule then he hooked up the trailer for another Cody lesson. Cody took one look at him bringing the truck and trailer around and started running away to the back of the pasture. Jim could not catch him. I had to get him and Jim walked him to the round pen for a lesson in humility. Cody was real bad. Making his butt turn in on his turns and kicking up "saying kiss my big paint BUTT" so I went in as Jim's knees couldn't take it and he couldn't move to make Cody go. Luckily I now can . He did the same to me so I ran his big paint butt. Since he was so inclined to do so. I would turn and make him go the other way and if he didn't turn in to me I made him turn and run some more. I then stood passive and watched him..tried to coax him in ...but he wasn't paying attention...the suddenly he did and as soon as he did I turned him and encouraged him off again turning him to go the other way. Once he started paying attention he figured out I didn't want him to gallop just slow lope turn when I ask and go the other way and then I would call him in to rest. I then flexed the heck out of him till he was quite humble and willing to behave. Jim then walked him out and right in the trailer. We then loaded Lady and took them for a ride so they would know the trailer did not have to mean Vet or that bad place from last summer. Both behaved and were quite relaxed so we stopped at Wal-Mart took their picture bought some soda and brought them home. Both backed off relaxed ate grass then got tied to their learning poles where Jim put hay bags and water for them. After work they get tied to think. We went in and had lunch then I went out and let them loose, they got cookies for being good and both had real soft "love you Mommy" looks in their eyes.  All this is in prep for when my skills are honed and we can take them off site to either camp or ride. Baby steps and learning for the four of us.
Who says Horses do not shop at Wal-Mart



OK so we didn't ride but it is a very good day.

All of the days above and today are ending in hours in the pool where we loll around , exercise my legs and just all out relax.  The days for trail and camp will be soon.

Barn building is on a sort of standstill. Jim still needs more lumber and I think MoJo. LOL Plus it's either gonna rain or it's too hot. He wants to get it done for when his grand-kids show up this summer, so they can sleep in the room above the barn. I also need room to store some things to make a place in the spare room. I hate having people sleep in my living room. I  must say however his daughter Lisa is an easy guest as are her children. Still it's so much easier to have a bedroom and a living room. LOL

We ordered are work shirts yesterday one a Wrangler short sleeve with just Dry Creek Ranch for Jim that we kinda got a deal on as they came in for Loretta Lynn's ranch and were turned down because they are 100% cotton. They are making a patch to go over Loretta's name and adding Dry Creek and putting Jim's name on the other side. I also ordered red man's shirts with a pocket for my stable and  Irish green ones without pockets for me and visors. Cool look. We got them in town and they were quite reasonable. His daughter and kids wanted shirts so I ordered them ones too. Breigs will have red and Lisa and Lauryen a green one.

My new logo will be on the back and a smaller one on the front.

Jim is having stick on cutouts for his truck made and we will also order ones for the jeep...no more magnetic crap that blows off.