Celebrities!

Its been a loooooong time since I've posted. Not that anyone has really noticed since I only have a few readers, but I still feel a little guilty. Life has been a little busy in the last few months. Just 3 short weeks after my last post I went into labor and delivered our little boy via C-section 7 weeks early. He was born on 6/8/09 at 4:53 am weighing in at 5 lbs 4 oz. No real reason for his early arrival other than I have an odd, heart shaped uterus and he seemingly ran out of room. He is very healthy and now at nearly 13 weeks old weighs in at over 12 lbs. Motherhood is trying and tiresome but I love our little boy and wouldn't change it for anything. Although I do miss seeing my pony....

In the last few weeks I've been able to find a little time here and there to sneak away and have actually been able to visit Miss Summer. She's been happily spending this summer turned out to pasture and on a full care lease to the wonderful Susan. I was a little worried at first that if I wasn't working with her she would forget everything we've accomplished over those last few months. The first ride on her though since having the baby pretty much cleared those worries right up. She was still moving off my leg, neck reining right where I left her and even seemed to be a little softer in the mouth. A little on the lazy side but still pretty much the same horse. Susan has been doing a great job working with her. Two weeks ago we even ventured outside the arena and rode around the property. We did of course start schooling in the arena as a warm up and just to make sure her head was in the game. Just to make it interesting I opened the gate on the south end of the arena before hopping on. She found this VERY distracting, especially since she could see two other horses just beyond the pasture where this gate opens up into. I started off working her on the opposite end of the arena and got some good circles, stops and backing from her. Once I felt confident she was listening there we went to work in the entire arena and I did my best to ignore the open gate but to make sure I didn't let her slow down or pay too much attention to what was outside. Occasionaly on a pass she would drop her shoulder towards the gate and almost try to dive out. A few times of this and I decided to work her right next to the gate in small circles, first going one way at a trot until she relaxed and started paying attention to me and then reversing and going the other way. It didn't take long and eventually she was completely ignoring the open gate. As soon as she was bending into the circle and collecting up nicely I slowed her to a walk and we headed for the gate. We stepped outside on a loose rein and wandered around the small pasture. I asked her for a few stops and backs, got them quickly and willingly and then moved on to a few small circles. She was light and responsive and happy to be out in the sunshine, so was I. We ducked back into the barn aisleway and rode out into the gravel parking lot and across the little road to the big hay field. Still on a loose rein but a little faster than before, we explored the big field. Summer loved it and never once stopped to eat or tried to take off in her old famous speed walk. I loved just being able to meander around and not have a death grip on the reins, checking out each and every little cluster of trees and shadows. It was a great day.

Now on to present day.....We have several new boarders at the barn and I'm really excited to get to know them. One girl has a 2 year old QH filly (if I remember correctly) named Rip'In and she seems to get along with Summer really well. I met her the other day when I was out there with the farrier having Summer shod and she seemed very nice. The newest boarders are a little like having celebrities in the barn since I've been reading her blog for at least 6 months to a year. They do alot of eventing and dressage and I'm really excited to be able to ride with them. I was leaving Monday just when they were getting their horses out so I didn't get to talk to them much but tonight when I went out to the barn I was able to meet their horses, McKinna and Pandora. They just happened to be turned out with Summer and when I pulled her out of the pasture they tried following us up to the gate. Pandora, the larger of the two, got really brave and walked so close behind Summer she could have laid her head on her rump. Summer seemed a little irritated but didn't even try to kick her. I gently shooed Pandora and McKinna away so they wouldn't slip out of the gate. They were both very polite and stood quietly to the side while I opened the gate and brought Summer out with me. It was really nice to not be crowded and not once did either of them show any aggression.

Tonight Summer and I hit another milestone. I loped her for the first time since I got pregnant and after one lap on half the arena I asked her for a jog and she actually did it! Before, loping would get her so excited and hot that if I asked her for anything slower than a lope she would go straight into her high headed, bone jarring death trot. It was awful. But not this time! And I don't even think Susan has been able to lope her in some time, other than on the lunge line. I loped her both directions in small circles and each time she would come back to me just as calm as before I asked her to lope. I was beaming! The worst part about the ride was my butt slapping the saddle several times which I'm not sure if its due to me being out of shape or the fact I was riding in Susan's saddle. Her saddle, a Crates, has a slick seat and my cheapy one has a felt type seat that seems to keep my hiney in place a little better. Next time I ride I'm going to use my saddle and see if that makes a difference. Another good part of the ride was that I actually had a looser rein while loping. Seems like both Summer and I are coming along pretty well. Hopefully soon I can get out and ride more than once a week.

HALLELUJAH!!

Yea, thats right! Those two pictures above taken with my cell phone before 7 pm this evening are proof I did not have to chase my horse tonight! She was in the furthest corner of the pasture, which she did make me walk most of the way to her, but she still closed the gap between us ON HER OWN. I didn't even have any treats with me. I am so ecstatic. I almost peed my pants a little. Ok maybe not, but I'm pregnant, so that can happen over anything.





She did get her very last spring vaccine today which was actually very entertaining. We did the intra-nasal strangles which many horses do not appreciate. I did get to watch a performance from one particular horse tonight at my barn that definitely does not enjoy having her nose violated by a long, skinny tube that shoves fluid up towards her brain. Poor Sunny (aka Squealer or Squeaky Pants as I call her) is a previously abused, high spirited Pintabian. She trusts as little as possible and did not like the idea of being held by one person and approached by another weilding the nostril invading syringe. She put up a pretty good fight and managed to drag Kristy (Barn Owner) and Rebecca (Sunny's Owner) around half of the arena, head butting them a few times as well. Meanwhile, Summer was tied on the other side casually napping, unknowingly awaiting her turn. I don't think I ever saw her flick even an ear in their direction.





Once Sunny was finished and put away we untied Summer and led her towards the middle of the arena. We rubbed her nose for a few seconds to desensitize her and I slid my hand just above her nose to help keep her still and Rebecca moved in for the kill....er I mean injection. Summer struggled a bit and at the end it looked like the tube part had come off the syringe making the whole mission a fail. Rebecca and I both stepped back and noticed that all of the vaccine was gone from the syringe. At the same time Summer stretched her neck out and lifted her lips away from her teeth and made the most hilarious face I've ever seen. She then managed to sneeze all over poor Rebecca who was still standing in front of her. We were both laughing hysterically at this point. Poor Summer.

All in all it was a good night. I rode Summer for about 45 minutes. We worked some more on having her move off my leg, neck reining, and backing. She's starting to get much better at the first 2 but the 3rd is an ongoing issue. She is still a bit hardmouthed and doesn't give to the bit as well as she should so her backing is pretty resistent. Instead of freeing up her shoulders and tucking her head when asked to back she will lean into the bit and slowly drag backwards. Tonight I saved the backing for last so that when she backed twice while giving to the bit and freeing up her shoulders I could jump off and loosen her cinch as her reward. Summer always seems to remember training sessions beter if I'm quick to reward her with a job well done. It helps us end on a high note as well. She definitely made me work tonight too. Her body control wasn't very good so I spent alot of time holding her together with my legs tonight so I'm a bit sore since I haven't actually ridden like this in a few weeks to a month. I realized though that I've been getting lazy lately when I ride and its my fault for not using my legs as much that she's having a hard time keeping it together. It'll also help my impending labor a little easier if I work with my legs more and get the muscles in better shape so that will be my new personal goal when I ride.

Off to bed now, need to feed in the morning for Kristy since they are off to a QH show this weekend. Hopefully all of you ( I think I have 3 or 4 readers now!) have a great weekend. I'm getting a new mattress and bed frame and paint for the baby's room!

Pet/Owner Look-A-Like Contest?

My horse is starting to look like me. Round. Its kind of amusing. I went out to the barn yesterday and with all of the green grass and constant turn out she is beginning to look quite, um, pregnant. Or maybe she's just gaining weight to make me feel better. Either way, her weight gain has me motivated to actually ride her tomorrow. I'm going to see if I can get her to break a sweat. Just a tiny one though. She is not going to be very happy with me. Oh well, I need the exercise too. I've been spending entirely too much time at home.
Lately when I have gone out to the pasture to bring her in she has been so stubborn I've had to chase her around a bit until she'll actually stops and stands still. This has not amused me but I'm sure Summer finds it pretty stinkin funny. Nothin like getting chased around a huge pasture by an overweight pregnant lady waving her arms and swinging a lead rope at you to keep life interesting. Its been taking less and less time when she realizes that if she just lets me catch her then I don't continuously drive her away from her "herd" until she stands still. Usually after a few rounds in the pasture she'll stop, turn slightly to face me, and stand there licking and chewing with this smug little look in her eye. I'll huff and puff up to her, trying to catch my breath after my min-marathon, and halter her while she acts like "OMG, you just got here? I never saw you there!" Yea, funny horse that one is. She definitely has my sense of humor though. I would do the exact same thing if I were her. In the last week I've finally realized that chasing her is not a good idea so I've started to cheat. Yes, I'm using treats. I know, bribery isn't the best thing and can sometimes make them lippy and grabby but I really don't want to go into early labor from going out to catch my stinking horse. When I got out to clean her stall I put her in the indoor arena. I push the wheelbarrow through there to dump it and will keep a handful of treats in my pocket. When I have to go through, if she approaches me on her own, I'll give her a treat or two to sweeten the deal. So far she has not become aggressive from this but I am keeping a very watchful eye on her. I do not tolerate bad manners and will stop the treats immediately if she starts to act that way. Its definitely made her more friendly and when I went out to the pasture yesterday to put her fly mask on she came up to me almost immediately. Yay, progress! I'm going to start cutting back on the treats and only give them every once in a while to keep from creating any bad behavior in her though, just in case. Summer enjoys her rubs and scratches so I incorporated those yesterday in the field and she followed me all the way back to the gate. This will be the majority of her "reward" for approaching me rather than the just the treats. Hopefully things will continue to improve and my barn lady won't have to look out her window and see a huge pregnant woman chasing a horse around her pasture. If she does though, I hope she gets it on video for America's Funniest Home Videos. Or at least YouTube.

Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen....

Yep, thats what happens when you're unemployed. Of course, the pregnant part happened back when I had a job, but my last day of work was April 30th so now the title of this post fits me. Sort of....I've been in the kitchen some, but as little as possible. I was working as a receptionist at a temp agency which wasn't too bad. I didn't particularly like my coworkers, but who likes everybody all the time? Our customers and employees were great though and I loved working for/with them. Unfortunately, my company was bought out completely by our sister company and they decided to merge. Lucky for me and one other coworker our sister company was already fully staffed so we got screwed out of jobs. I am currently almost 29 weeks pregnant, neat huh? I've been looking for work but who really wants to hire someone that will be taking maternity leave in 2 to 3 months? The upside is I do get unemployment which means I'll have a paid maternity leave. Bad news is we are losing about $200 a month and I'll be home enough that I'll be forced to clean the house! Not acceptable, but seriously what other choice do I have? I will get a chance to spend more time with our son though rather than rushing right back to work, which is great.

So anyways, I took a ton of pictures on friday with my cell phone and I know you are all dying to see them so here you go.....

The new baby at the barn. She is sooooo cute!

Look at that face! I may steal her.....

Summer got wormed, she was SO not thrilled with it.

Giving me the evil eye after worming her

Back in her stall trying to sniff out more treats. Look at her crazy eyes...lol

Going for the windswept look.....she wants to be a supermodel

Mad that I didn't have anymore treats so she tried to throw her grain bucket at me

Sid sunning himself in the backyard

Took the dogs down to the park near our house

Sid following Thor trying to figure out what she's staring at

Thor loves to chase the grass (yea she's a crackhead)

Silly puppies

"Mom, look how cute I am!"

Going home

A horse Owner's Worst Fear

I will be posting a bit later about my ride last night with the local Sheriff's Posse but today I checked my email (one that I don't use often) and found an email from one of my best friend's Delacy dated 2 days ago. It made me cry. As a horse owner I felt I needed to share. Just as a little background on Delacy, she works for the Oregon Department of Transportation and is currently on the night shift. We've been friends for nearly 10 years and have been through a lot together. I wrote a post a while ago about her mare Lulu. All of the text below this was written by her. My heart goes out to everyone involved with this terrible accident.



"Last night was the worst night at work I've had yet. We got a call at 4:30am about a 12-16(accident) on Hwy 58 mile post 2.5, I took the call and dispatch said it was Semi verse horses and that the horse was dead. My heart sank and I jumped in the truck lights going. When I got there I saw the horse in the middle of the road and checked to make sure she had passed. When I walked up there the sheriff pointed his flash light in the ditch to see another one standing in the ditch. I walked down to her and I recognized her. Her and her buddy are the two black horses that are on the north side of the hwy, I always see them when I go to my barn.
The Sheriff said he was trying to find the owners and I pointed to the pasture where they came from so he headed to find them. Meanwhile I call Jeff Pelton(seeing as he lives right across the street from the accident). I walked down to the mare and noticed her back leg was bleeding, As i got closer I saw what every horse lover fears, Her hoof was gone and her front fetlock flexor tendon was cut. I knew she had to be put down.
I stood there with her from that point on.
Jeff got there and he looked at her and looked at me and you know that was when you know you have the best vet in the world cause you could see the sadness in his eyes. Here we are standing here with a mare we'd never meet and our hearts were breaking. Jeff gave her a tranq and just then the sheriff showed up with the owner. He ran up and had his halter, thinking he was going to just grab her and go home. He said thank you and went to halter her. Jeff and I looked at each other and I said, "Sir, she's going to have to be put down and I pointed to her foot." He looked at us and said," If you have to'" with a question in his voice. Jeff said' " there's really no way to fix this, not to mention what other damages there were that we hadn't seen yet."
The Owner said, " ok, it has to be done." He stepped back and I held the mare's head while Jeff gave her the drugs. She went down really fast and as she took her last few breaths I held my hand over her eye and the owner, Jeff, the fire marshal, and I all cried.
In all my years of horses I've never had to see one put down. It was the saddest thing I've had to do. You know I think I could handle a fatal person crash better than that mare.
My heart goes out to him and his family. And a note to all horse owners, please make sure your fences are secure and your gates have locks that the horses can't get open!"

PICTURES

I haven't posted any pics of Summer lately so tonight when Mo and I went out to the barn to do chores I snapped some shots of the Princess in the round pen. She was pretty boring and pretty much just wanted to walk around and smell the ground where the other horses had pooped and peed. Occasionally something would smell really good and she would lift her head and and curl her top lip back, I think this is called a flehmen reaction or something. All of these pics were taken just before sunset and I was playing with the flash a bit, so sorry for the graininess and background in some of them.
Today was her day with Susan. I watched Susan lunging her today and noticed that Susan had much better body language than she has recently and that Summer was being respectful and attentive. Not once did I feel the need to step in and help. Summer kept flicking her ears back and forth at Susan listening for her next command and for the most part was keeping her attention focused on her. Previous lunging sessions consisted of Summer doing her best impression of a tree for Susan and poor Susan looking extremely flustered. At one point I even walked through the arena to find Summer standing in the middle ground tied while Susan moved some poles out of their way. She was completely still and didn't even look like she was thinking about moving. I was very proud of both of them and it was nice to see they are beginning to come to an agreement.
Sundays are my day to feed at the barn and clean stalls for my wonderful barn lady. There is absolutely no sarcasm in that, I have the greatest barn owner ever. My horse is always cared for as if she were there own and never goes without anything. They even take the time to give each horse at the barn some hands on attention and love which is something most places don't ever think about being necessary. I don't think I will ever move her unless my husband and I buy our own property and she'll be in my own backyard. Anyone in the Eugene/Springfield/Pleasant Hill area looking for a barn should check out Way To Go Ranch, they don't have openings often but they are well worth the wait. Anyways, Mo comes out on Sundays to help me clean stalls since I really shouldn't be lifting anything over 25 lbs. I fill the wheel barrows and he pushes them up the mountain of poop and dumps them for me. Its definitely nice to have the help. I love that he doesn't mind coming out to help and he's really getting some good hands on experience with the horses. He also fills water buckets and helps distribute hay and grain when needed. Good stuff to know for when we have our own property and more than one horse.
Once we get our work done we come home and make dinner, sometimes together, and then spend some time relaxing and watching our favorite tv programs. Sounds boring but I love Sundays. This Sunday though I even made it out to help my little sister look at a car she might buy, teach her to drive a manual, and walk the dogs when I got home. Oh, and I even cleaned up the house a little bit. I love days where I've actually accomplished something.

Babies and Horses

Yea I know, not a good mix. I haven't posted in a long time though and I figured for those that read this it might be about time for an update. Straight to the point....Mo and I are expecting our first baby in July! Our own cute little bundle of joy! I'm almost 12 weeks along and have known since before Thanksgiving but I am still just floored at the thought of it. I've always wanted to be a mom, but I really am not prepared for this. I think the hardest part is realizing that my lifelong dream of being a horse owner is going to be majorly affected by this. We plan on doing as much as we can to keep Summer, but I am so afraid I may have to sell her. I'm still riding, but being much more careful than before. What am I saying, I was ridiculously careful before, but now its not just my life a fall from horseback could affect. I've spoken to my doctor and since I was riding 5 to 6 days a week before she said I need to be careful and not doing anything too over the top but that I could continue to ride. Since I've been extremely tired the last few months I haven't been out there as much as I'd like. So I decided to find someone to half lease Summer. Her name is Susan and she is a middle aged re-rider. I don't believe she ever owned horses before, but much like myself she had spent as much time as possible around them in her younger days. To get her started I gave her a few "beginner" lessons with Summer and got her comfortable before turning them loose together. Susan is a super nice lady and she is being careful to continue doing everything with Summer just as I would, which I love. She also is taking lessons every Tuesday from my trainer, so I know she'll be riding Summer the way she was trained. Its still hard though, I consider Summer another one of my "fur babies" so the first day when Susan signed the lease agreement and she had her first day alone I spent forever hanging around talking because I was so nervous leaving them. I finally did and I'm sure she was glad to have me out of there. One of my biggest fears is that Summer will like Susan better than me, as silly as that seems. My other worry is that Summer will take full advantage of Susan and her inexperience, much like she did me in the beginning. I keep reminding myself that she's getting some good direction from my trainer and the other wonderful boarders but it doesn't always make things easier.
For now my plan is to continue to ride until I can no longer get in the saddle or fit in it, whichever one happens first. Hopfully I can continue to ride for several more months. If not though at least I have a back up plan and I know Summer isn't wasting away. And the nice thing is that being on a half lease helps pay part of her board, Susan is paying $100 a month to ride 3 days a week. I take care of everything else but Summer is a pretty easy keeper. The lease is up for renewal in June, at which time I'll give Susan the option of a full lease and we'll take care of vet bills for 3 to 4 months. It all depends on whether or not Susan can afford to pay for her feed and board plus worming and farrier bills.

Okay onto more baby things......I haven't had any morning sickness but like I said I've been pretty tired. Although the last week or two I've noticed it seems to be wearin off a bit and I'm getting more bursts of energy that are lasting longer. Hopefully everything goes as easily the entire pregnancy as it has this first few months. Only time will tell. I do have a condition concerning my uterus that puts me at a higher risk for preterm labor but my doctor said we'll be monitoring the baby's growth carefully and doing lots of ultrasounds as we go. My uterus is heartshaped and has a muscle that cuts off one side, although it could just be partial instead of complete. It may mean the baby might have just enough room to develop but won't be able to turn for labor and will be a breach. It could also mean that the baby will run out of room early in the pregnancy forcing my body to try and go into labor. My doctor didn't seem too worried so we're just playing the wait and see game.
We are really hoping for a boy. I think we'll be happy either way but boys just seem easier and I'm not much of a girly girl. My family and Mo's family are really excited which is helping to get me more excited as we go. This baby will be the first great-grand child on Mo's dad's side of the family which is pretty exciting. We'll be having 2 baby showers, one here in our area and one up in Washington for Mo's family. How spoiled is this kid gonna be? Ooooh and I LOVE baby shower cakes. Yum. Costco cakes with buttercream frosting....sorry I'm pregnant, I love sweets! I also can't wait to decorate the baby's room, I want to have the theme be Eeyore. Unusual I know, but Eeyore never gets enough recognition and I think he's adorable. Keep your eyes peeled for great Eeyore stuff, I want it all! I also want lots of camo stuff too, I think babies are cute in camo. And cute little baby cowboy boots and Carhartts. This kid is going to be an adorable, chubby little cowboy. Night everyone, I'll try and keep you up to date more often.