Yesterday was the culmination of a very frustrating experience.  From now one I am going to make a gift of a big, black hairy spider to inattentive owners. 

I am seeing regularly the necessity to help people pull their head out of their donkey (ass).

Naturally, that leads me to self assess….no pun intended…and try to figure out how I can handle a similar situation later to a better conclusion.

The details of this situation are going to repeat.

As a trainer and farrier, now I get to handle all manner of problems.  I’ve found that people tend to blame trainers just as much as they blame farriers.

Now, let’s get a scope here.  You have a horse and you have problems.

You have a talented trainer (enter me) and farrier (enter me) that agrees to help you.

Talented trainer says, I can fix this problem but I need a committment.

You say, “I commit.”  (You’ll forget that part later).

Trainer and farrier go to work and warn you that the process won’t be an overnight success. 

You say, that’s OK.  I understand.  Do your thing.  (You won’t remember saying that later).

Talented farrier addresses the horrendous and atrocious condition of your horses hooves first, warning…”Your horse that your never ride is going to be sore.  This will last a couple of weeks.”

Talented trainer explains why the horse will be sore.  In detail.  And tells you that regular visits with Talented farrier will be part of your committment.

You know you told the Talented trainer that you see your farrier frequently, but Talented farrier can see by your horses hooves that you are not telling a straight truth.  Talented farrier pushes for your committment.

You say, “I understand.  I don’t want my horse to be sore.  I want my horse to be healthy.”

Talented farrier says, “That’s good, because your horse is going to be sore before it gets better.”

Talented farrier explains why and what to expect, then finishes the trim. 

Talented farrier video tapes the hoof for future reference, making note that this is one of the worst hooves Talented farrier has seen in awhile.

Talented trainer, content with the matter, leaves instructions for you to call if you have any questions or concerns.  Talented trainer also tells you not to exercise the horse and to call for a boot fitting if the horse becomes unusually sore.

You look straight into Talented farriers eyes and promise to do so.  You acknowledge the instruction you’ve been given.

The next day you say, “I am going to use this horse.”  You do and find that the horse is sore.

You call the vet.  The vet isn’t familiar with natural hoof care.  They also aren’t farriers or trainers.

You then call all of your friends after the vet tells you that the quarters of your horse’s hooves are too short.

You forget that you’ve been told by talented farrier that relieving the quarters is the first step toward relieving excess pressure on the hoof wall and coronet band.

You tell all of your friends that the Talented farrier “butchered” your horse.

You then call your old farrier.  The one that screwed up the horse up in the first place and ask their opinion.

They of course tell you that the Talented farrier doesn’t have a clue about good hoof care.

Talented farrier, unaware of any of this because You haven’t called her to discuss your concerns, then calls you two weeks later to follow-up with you.

Remember, psychic, Talented farrier told you that your horse would be sore and in detail told you why and what to do.

Talented farrier listens as you give them a load of crap about the fact that you are a butcher.

Talented farrier listens, without interrupting.  Then reiterates why seperated laminae, flares, bruising, nails left in hoof walls by before mentioned farrier are all reasons for alarm and concern.

Talented farrier listens as you berate, alleging attrocities and blaming you for the horse being sore.

Talented farrier’s heart sinks because it becomes very clear what EXACTLY the horse’s problem is (and it isn’t rotten hooves or behavioral issues) and offers to give you and your friends a free hoof care clinic.

You scream at the Talented farrier that you would never consider such a thing.  You have twenty five years experience riding horses.

Talented farrier then feels the pain of your horse and offers to give you and your friends three free trims under the condition that you be present for each trim and observe the changes and listen to and explore the advice, links and education you will receive.

You scream that you will never allow Talented farrier on to your property, even if you are paid.

Talented farrier then replies that yhou obviously don’t understand that Talented farrier was the one who pointed out that your horse had contracted heels, an underdeveloped frog, flared walls, seperation of the laminae, an unmistakable prolapse of the coffin bone and physical ailments all related to the problems you’ve been having and totally reversible with knowledgeable hoof care.  And that these problems were inherited, not caused by Talented farrier.

You then accuse the Talented farrier of criticizing your beloved farrier.

Talented trainer replies that pointing out facts is not criticism.

You yell that previous farrier has never made your horse sore.

Talented farrier points out that soundness is a broad picture.  Horses with flares and long hoof walls don’t contact the ground with their frog, which is why they aren’t sore but also the reason why horses develope laminitis, navicular, founder and other lameness issues.

You tell Talented farrier that you would never allow talented farrier to touch your horse again.  You ignore the fact that Talented farrier found your horse in this condition and out of care and concern, tried to help you with it without calling you an idiot.

Talented farrier points out that if you aren’t knowledgeable enough to understand that flares, bruises, contracted heels and underdeveloped frogs are problematic before you contacted Talented farrier that you aren’t qualified to make judgement on the changes made by Talented farrier.

That makes you mad and you call the Talented farrier worthless, pushy, bitchy, and a few other choice R-rated names.

Talented farrier sighs knowing that this conversation is going nowhere.

You fire off emails to all of your friends and save the last bit of your angry strength to tell Talented farrier (that’s still me) that you are going to call the police if Talented farrier every emails, calls or tries to communicate with you ever again.

Talented farrier retires, sick to her stomach knowing there is another horse isuffering and  that she is now powerless to help.

Talented farrier wishes to be granted the patience to deal with stupid people and prays they would be bitten by a big black hairy spider the day after they pissed her off.  May they be bitten twice.

“I should have liked to draw the attention of the whole learned fraternity of blacksmiths, who mutilate horses, the world over.  The hoofs were as solid and as sound as ivory, without a crack or wrong growth of any sort.  It is noticeable that the equine race, in its wild state, has none of the ills of the species of domesticated.  The sorrows of horse flesh are the fruits of civilization.  By the study of the imitation of nature’s methods, we could greatly increas the usefulness of these valuable servants, and remove temptation from the path of many men who lead blameless lives, except in the single matter of horse-trades.” - W.E. Webb (1872)

This week has been a blur with 40+ new horses on our trimming schedule and 2 new horses in for training.  But Colorado’s weather has really cooperated, giving us daily doses of sunshine.

Kirk and I traveled out to Ruby Ranch Horse Rescue and trimmed 13 horses and brought home a lovely paint arabian mare named Cindy and a beautiful bay pony mare named Ginger.

We took them out the next day up to the neighbor’s indoor arena and introduced them to obstacles.  Today they leanrned how to pony beside our horses and tomorrow they will get an introduction to saddle and bridle and if all goes well, we will ride them out on the trail for the first time.

People ask me all of the time why I leave the safety of the round pen so soon.  Most people spend hours working in the round pen or arena.

I don’t.

Balls to the wall, I like letting the horses own curiosity move them out down the trail.  It’s not the best philosophy probably but I’ve had less trouble starting horses this way than working them over and over in the round pen and arena.

Horses that get to move out naturally tap into their own instinct to explore and move.

Of course there are obstacles.  Other horses, dogs, traffic.

Horses new to these often need lots of support. 

We usually ride out in a group and take mature horses with us.  But sometimes that still isn’t enough.  Horses new in training will sometime spook.  Sometimes they freeze.

It’s a risk any way you look at it but if I’ve built a raport with the horse like I should it really isn’t. 

Growing up we didn’t have a round pen.  We had a corral.  I never even knew what a round pen was until my twenties. 

Growing up you worked get a horse looking at you like a friend and then it was several miles from the corral to the fence.  By the time you reached the fence the horse was turning left, right, able to make circles, able to whoa and back up.  They did so without trouble or resistance. 

Horses look for leadership and if they have a little trouble with this, I always say, there is no dishonor in dismount.

Horses happy with their handlers naturally look for leadership.  Being on the ground in front of them puts you back in that position if they are insecure.  When they gain more confidence you can mount back up again.

Today I took our neighbor’s TB out for his first outdoor ride.  He was a tense ball of nerves but he was far better behaved than when I rode him in the indoor arena yesterday.  I think this was because his mind was stimulated by his natural desire to move and explore.  After he was comfortable inspecting the uneven ground with this nose and hooves he relaxed quite a bit and we had a very nice ride.  He’s going to be a trooper. 

Tomorrow will be the two new rescue horses.

It may be unconventional, but I swear, I am more comfortable channeling a horses natural instincts than I am pushing and riding every step in an indoor.

Technology has given us many things.  Last post I discussed the benefits of progesterone cream.  This week I am going to write about Natural Hoof Care.

A majority of people still rely on traditional farrier care and a majority of farriers haven’t yet updated their education of the horse’s hoof.

Five years ago my partner turned my world on end when he challenged me to question.

“Why I would put shoes on a perfectly good horse?”

Good question.  I’d never really thought about it that way before.

My horse’s hooves were in good shape.  Why couldn’t I use her without shoes?

As a kid I grew up riding and using my horse and never put a shoe on her.  My grandpa worked cattle and his horse wasn’t shod either.  My Uncle and my cousins roped and worked cattle daily.  Their horses rarely wore shoes.

Then, when I left home and started working in different barns I saw lots of people put shoes on their horse.  Pretty soon, so was I.

Why?

Kirk’s always been good at asking probing questions.  He thinks in large, spacious patterns and this question brought me back in touch with what I knew intuitively.  That natural is better.

This month Kirk and I have trimmed some 60 horses and it’s been interesting to compare hooves in Colorado to those we used to see in Maine.  The hooves here condition faster due to the fact that Colorado is dry.  The hooves wear more evenly too since the soil here in Colorado is not muddy but gritty and abrasive.

We’ve opened up a dialogue with our clients that is going to lead to some interesting changes in the horse industry.  But the conversation isn’t a new one.  It’s been ongoing for years. 

Jaime Jackson, a well known natural farrier raised the question and challenged the racing industry, the spanish riding school and dressage disciplines.

Pete Ramey took the conversation further by comparing today’s domestic horses with wild mustangs and proving that domestic horses can and will develope mustang-like hooves if given the proper care.

As hoof care practitioners we have the opportunity every day to see people get excited about the positive changes they see in their horses as a result of natural hoof care.  They get excited as I did when searching for an answer to Kirk’s question, I retraced my roots and once again embraced the natural practice of hoof care. 

I’ve seen a lot of changes in the horse industry over the last twenty years.  As people question tradition, they make improvements and in the coming years I think that Kirk and I are going to get to be an important part of a new revolution in the horse industry.

We are going to see trainers race horses barefoot.  We will see horses compete in dressage barefoot.  We’ll see even more endurance horses race barefoot.  Olympic jumpers will jump barefoot.

I’m excited that Kirk started the ball rolling by challenging me with that important question five years ago.  His question prompted me to re-study my philosophies and ultimately use technology to re-alter my knowledge regarding horses and to study the hoof in such a way as to realize that the hoof isn’t just a part of the horse.  It is the horse.

The hoof allows the horse to move long distances over difficult terrain.

The hoof acts as a second heart, pumping blood and detoxifying.

The hoof is nature’s perfect shock absorber.

The hoof…is nothing short of a miracle.

Not too many days ago I was swapping stories with my favorite Uncle and Aunt and asked their advice as I often do.

Now before I continue this story there is one thing you should know.  My Aunt and Uncle practically raised me and I credit them for teaching me much of what I know about horses.

My Aunt and Uncle are the kind of people that make up camp fire stories.  They are legends.  Truly.

They’ve been the character inspirations for stories told by Cowboy Bard, Waddie Mitchell.  They’ve influenced the cowboy art of William Matthews.  They’ve ranch bossed the big ones….like The Ocatillo and the King Ranch.  They’ve managed ranches for big corporations and even John Wayne.  They’re the real deal. 

Like characters out of the 1800’s they’ve lived their lives ranching and cowboying.  Eighty percent of their lives have been spent bunking in cabins without electricity or running water.  They take to the mountains and live months in just a ‘Mountain Teepee’ and the clothes on their back.

At seventy three and seventy one, they still swing a leg over a horse.  In fact, when my Uncle turned seventy-three this month I called to wish him Happy Birthday. 

“What are you doing to celebrate such a milestone?” I asked.

“Well….nothing much different.  I saddled up this morning and gathered 400 strays and your Aunt Taffy made me a real nice lunch.”

Yep.  That’s what I’m shootin’ for!  Still riding and punchin’ cattle at seventy-three!

My Uncle’s mentors include a man he regulary brands with.  An ol’ cowboy, 84 years old…who still rides his horse every day and brands his own cattle.

“You are only as old as you feel.” is some of the best advice my dear Aunt and Uncle have given me.  In their seventies, their eyes still sparkle and their  footsteps are still youthful.  But by today’s standards, they’re salty ol’ individuals and I take every oppportunity I can to learn from them.

So on this visit, which I greatly enjoyed, my Uncle gave me some parting wisdom in answer to my questions, “What’s one of the horse industries greatest advancements?”

You see we’d spent the better part of two days going over training philosophies, bits, spurs, cow camp stories, mishaps and horsemanship.  We’d talked about clinicians from Ray Hunt to Brian Neupert, Pat and Linda Parelli and everything in between. 

I’d absorbed their opinions with every once of brain matter and written quite a few of their ideas down.  They make a living on the back of a horse and I can only hope to be as artistic as they are when I sit my butt in the saddle.

“Your Aunt started to go through the ‘change of life’” My Uncle said.  “And being out packin’ is a lot of hard work.  So when we sleep, we sleep.  About four months of your Aunt throwing off the covers and yellin’ “Ahhhh!  it’s HOT!” I had just about had it.  That’s when she started doing her research.

My Aunt is a regular Dr. Quinn.  She knows her herbs!

“She started concocting her remedies but nothing was working and both of us were getting frustrated.”

I listened with rapt attention.  My Aunt once healed me after a horse had bitten through 1/2 my neck.  I thought I would be disfigured but her herbal compress applied every day for 3 weeks had healed my wound and today I don’t even have a scar.  I couldn’t wait to hear what she’d found.  The change of life is in my future after all.

“There’s this stuff they make…some doctor formulated called progesterone cream.”  My Uncle wiped his mustache, something he does just before he says something you really want to remember.

“This stuff saved our marriage.”

Now that’s profound!  They’ve been married 53 years!

“And I gotta tell ya.  If I ever meet that man I am going to give him a kiss!”

Now mind you, my Uncle’s old school.  He has some very macho ideas about man to man relationships so this really surprised me.

“But only on the cheek.”  And he gave me that wink that told me he was very serious but full of mischief at the same time.  The ol’ twinkle of the eye that relayed his strength and wisdom.

“And that’s the most important invention I can think of ’cause your Aunt and me can still take off for th hills and BOTH of us can stay warm at nigh!”

Yep, the wisdom of a salty ol’ cowboy.

It seems this year that the theme has been, A Season of Giving.  Each time I do a life review of the past 12 months I cannot begin to count the number of ways people in our lives have reached out to give.

Selfless acts of kindness.  They should be given and received.

Yesterday Kirk and I visited our old friends Pat Miller and Roger Kavan at their horse rescue, Ruby Ranch Horse Rescue (www.rrhr.net). 

Pat and Roger embrace everyone who visits and they show a level of love and concern  for their animals that I’ve never witnessed at a rescue before.  The animals at RRHR are lulled by the calm and patient people that Pat and Roger are.  It is an environment that envelopes you the minute you enter the gate.

While we were there yesterday Kirk and I put our backs to good use and trimmed as many horses as we could while we were there.  Every one of them has a story.  Some have been abandoned, some shown and some have congenital defects but every one is a precious life to Pat and Roger.  Attentive and hard working these people give every day of themselves in ways that would put most of us to shame.

Having operated a farm we know the long hard hours of dedication that running a rescue must require.  Especially one that doesn’t cut the corners.  Pat and Roger spend countless hours each day making sure each horse is individually cared for.

If you don’t have a cause please support RRHR. 

They are doing the job of a 100 people and in this economy need all of the love, help and support from us that we can give.

For a hard headed Taurus (bull…not the car!) personality like me, it’s no surprise that it’s taken me nearly 40 years to master technology.  By rights I am atrologically designed to stay set in my ways and resist change.  However, I’ve never rightfully fit my astrological profile.

Taurus individuals are earthy.  That fits.  But they are also known to be set in their ways.  That doesn’t fit.

The past 15 years of my life reads like a soap opera.  It’s crossed my mind that this is the Universe’s way of tempering me.  Throw enough drama at a person and anyone is bound to adapt!  

This week I’ve decided that if life is going to include drama then I might as well be the director.

Thanks to my patient significant other I was treated to a crash course in the now nearly two year old technology we invested in to bring my many fans (note my optimism!) access to my work. 

This week I learned how to manipulate video from the camera to the computer and then….awestruck….I watched as we edited the material into bite sized pieces!

Halleleuja!  I’m not religious but I swear I heard the angels sing!

I also have adopted a presence on facebook and tonight, low and behold, I uploaded a video all by myself!  Then, just because I could, I linked BOTH my facebook and YouTube accounts!

See?  I’m not set in my ways!  I may be slow to learn technology (I have a good excuse) but I can learn new tricks even if 40 is staring me in the face!  Oh yeah, and if you want to know what my good excuse is you’ll have to read my book.

That’s next weeks project.  I’ll be sure to let you know when you can get it.

Today I happened upon a great idea.  But it is an idea that requires National attention and interest and of course, participation.

What if, like on television, we were given cue cards for life?

Joke coming….and just before someone next to you holds up a sign that says, ‘laugh now!’.

Important time to listen to someone…and they hold up a card that says, ‘nod your head in agreement’.

I think its a great idea!

Jeff Foxworthy, the noted comedian has made a fortune out of giving people their own sign for the stupid things that they do.

I am proposing we give them a sign BEFORE they do anything stupid.

Like today. 

Kirk and I were asked to trim yet another horse with farrier anxiety.

In case you don’t know what farrier anxiety is, it’s when the horse panics at the sight of an object that triggers a bad memory.  In this case, the horse’s eyes go wide and the nostrils flare at the sight of our farrier chaps and hoofjack. 

Sometimes this farrier anxiety is minor.  Today it was not.

The poor young horse with the PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) went google eyed and vowed not to let either one of us touch his back hooves without a fight.

We were told by his owner that the horse has reacted this way ever since (at 5 months of age) his impatient farrier whacked him with a rasp.

Farrier, I’d like to say, ‘here’s your sign.  Don’t whack horses with your rasp!’.

Admittedly, sometimes it is necessary to discpline a horse when it knows better.  But at 5 months of age  doubt very much that this little horse knew how to stand for long periods of time.  Or for that matter, short periods of time!  Now at 5, he’s a problem and tries to kick your head off while defending himself from being smacked with a rasp.  Poor boy.

Thankfully, some careful patient work later (it took all of 15 minutes to unravel this horses phobia) the now 5 year old stallion let us pull his shoes and trim his feet. 

But that whole incident raises my hackles and that is why I am on a tangent with this post.  I have a lot of signs I’d like to hand out.

I toyed with the idea of creating a deck of cards with signs on them, like:

‘Don’t be an obnoxious jerk.’  …On this one I’d like a consequence.  If you see the sign and are a jerk anyway, be prepared to get a swift kick in the butt.

‘Smile!’

‘Take a deep breath’

‘You aren’t God.’

‘Think about others (this includes animals!) before yourself’

‘Give away good things.  FYI — Grief isn’t a good thing’

There.  I’ve had my rant.  More later on what you can do as an owner to give your horse this sign…

‘Be prepared to be happy’.

Every year when Thankgiving rolls around, good or bad, I am grateful to reflect on the previous years Thanksgivings. 

I call them Thanksgivings because truly, when I am the most realistic, there isn’t one thing about my life that I cannot be thankful for.

Now that’s a bold statement isn’t it?  How can one be thankful for everything?!  Trust me, its possible. 

The good stuff we can understand.  The bad stuff, well, it’s hard sometimes to be grateful much less thankful for the bad.  So now that I’ve made that statement, let me show you what I mean. 

No snickers please.  I am writing the rest of this fully aware that many people have seen me struggle with my Thanksgivings.  Just know that the effort really is in the journey and I truly do try to reflect knowing that in this world there is always someone who has it waaaaaay worse than I do at any given moment.  That being said, I’ve covered my butt from any finger pointing…right?

This year had its full share of ups and downs for me.  The year started with tons of snow.  More snow than I’ve seen in quite some time.  My normally busy horse business ground to a halt and January and February drove home the irony of living in paradise.  Paradise isn’t all its cracked up to be sometimes. 

Lakeside living in Maine suddenly became a solitary adventure.  Nobody moves further than they have to in the dead of winter in Maine!  This means if you have a horse business you go to the client.  If you cannot get to the client, your appointments wait until the weather clears!  If you don’t have an indoor, you don’t ride.  If you do have an indoor, you still may not be able to ride if its too cold.  Even the horses abandon the idea of outdoor living.  Why be outdoors when you can have a personal butler (that would be Kirk and I) deliver hay, treats, supplements, salt and water?  While the horses loved the rich grass and ample pasture, January and February found them huddled in stalls.  Horses in stalls still poop.

Enter the joyful task of shoveling and cleaning frozen poop, bedding and urine, breaking ice out of buckets and worrying sick about the fact one of the horses might slip on the ice if they did go outside and hurt themselves not to mention having to  lug heavy muck bucket after muck bucket of steaming poo out to the pile after you’ve shoveled out the barn door and made sure the path was clear to the poo pile.  If I was lucky it hadn’t melted and iced.  If not, on went the YakTrax to make sure I had at least a prayer of footing.  Of course mounding poop without a tractor knowing that you were just going to have to move it again because the current poo pile was a temporary pile that would need to be moved again was a thought that I tried to avoid.  Not have proper poo storage is, well, a pain in the ass.  No pun intended.  But mounding mounds of poop has its benefits.  It keeps you warm. 

Bonus one.

Then there were the sheep.  They lambed on the coldest day of the year (of course!) and Kirk and I stayed up night and day to keep the tiny lambs alive.  Literally, against all odds our ewes went into labor within 15 minutes of each other.  It was steamy, icey cold in the barn.  Not the best combination by any means.  Especially since I am particulary opposed to being so cold.  As a kid I frostbit my feet and my fingers so extreme cold always make me ache.  Nevertheless, seeing those little slimey creatures bah for the first time warmed me with such excitement that I can honestly say I thought I should sell tickets to the next sheep birthing event. 

Bonus two.  Hardship does breed wild and crazy out of the box ideas which someday I may capitalize on if I can ever stay in one spot long enough.

Which brings me to the next Thanksgiving.

Makeover.  No, I decided I would stay in one spot for a change.  Ten years on the road makes one happy to stay at home.  Building our farrier business, tending to the small flock of birthing ewes, bottle feeding calves, raising turkeys and chickens was turning out to be a lot of work and a lot of fun and profitable!  But try as I might one thing led to another and I found myself taming not one, but seven wild mustangs!  Of course this was bold and extremely taxing given the full fledged farm operation that blossomed from our hard work of the year before.

Bonus Three.  Keeping up with the farm work I lost weight and slept really well.  Exhaustion isn’t all bad. 

Ok, now I know reflecting on this that this life sounds like an absolute heaven for some.  No deaths.  No health issues.

I’ve always been thankful for my health and the fact that my immediate family and all of my close friends are still here on this earth where I can love them.

It goes without saying that I am thankful for those thanksgivings.  I give thanks for that every day and almost every hour.

But this past year wasn’t all roses or playing with animals.

Kirk lost his business to thieves stealing his patents.

I lost my business trying to do the right thing.

The events are too painful and detailed to reiterate here.   But I’ve found something thanksgiving in these events too.

The end of this year found us jobless and homeless and mourning the loss of some friendships we thought we could trust.  Now how can this be a thanksgiving?

Through it all we found new strengths and learned more about our weaknesses.  We learned new ways to cope with stress and with the pressure that often comes from living life with passion.  We found this through the beautiful friendships that showed themselves to be true, supportive, loving and mentoring.  And along the way learned some valuable lessons.

Neither Kirk or I are people who admit we need help very often.  We are young, strong, healthy and ambitious.  That used to be enough.  But this year, we found out new ways to give and new ways to receive.  New ways to measure ones success and new ways to build relationships that last.  And I found that there isn’t anything better you can do sometimes than to just have a good old fashioned estrogen laced cry session.

It’s a bittersweet breath of air that is taken when in the depths of something really difficult somebody says to you, “You’re important.  You matter.  We love you.  And what can we do to help?”

More people did that for us this year than has happened in my entire life.  I am humbled, grateful and just a little bit past thankful.  I’m thanksgivings!

Pass it on.

Happy Thanksgivings!

Can animals conspire together toward the benefit of a common goal?  I think its possible.  We’ve been here all of six weeks and the horses and the deer have formed an alliance I think.

For getting to eat their hay the deer have agreed to run through the fence, freeing the horses so that they can partake of the neighbors generous outdoor hay supply and enjoy new equine social connections.

Since the horse across the street has been whining incessantly since we arrived with our horses giving him answers back occassionally, I think he put the deer up to it.

He secretely whispered into their ear that he had an ample stash of premium hay knowing full well that the deer would gossip to the neighbor horses (that’s us).

It’s a perfect explanation for why over the past 6 weeks the deer have wandered casually and aimlessly all over, around and through dell (the farm) without the slightest bump of a fence.  Morning, day or night the fences have stayed strong.  Then suddenly, the last two nights, the deer have taken to running through our fence, taking it down for stem to stern.

The horses of course bolted.   In the middle of the night during a category 2 snow storm.  After hours of searching and one bloody tumble down an embankment and into a yucca plant (be careful they stick!) we found them tucked safely behind a knoll.  Be still my beating heart.  Not only from the fear of losing our beloved horses but also from the exertion of traipsing uphill and downill at a mile plus in altitude (the air is thin out here!) through the whipping wind and snow and imagining all kinds of tragedies if they wandered out onto the busy near by road.

Aemelie, in her customary fashion whinnied and trotted up to me happy that we had finally joined the party!

Put away, fed and watered behind repaired fence we slept well.  Only to wake up and realize that once again the horses were out and this time they did discover the busy road!  Tell tale hoof prints in the show gave them away.

Does drama on the farm ever cease?

This time our hearty crew found solace in the hay pile of our neighbor and comfort in the fact that all of her horses are comfortable and well fed so surely it was a good place to make camp overnight!

The way I see it, every animal benefitted.  The deer ate our horses hay after they bolted to the neighbors and our horses ate her hay pile because here horse already had hay.  We got a lot of exercise which keeps us healthy.  Funny how nature keeps itself in balance.

Eat,drink and be merry seems to be the theme here.  Although the merry part eludes me, unless you consider that eating a drinking is guiltfree after you’ve trudged several miles through snow in pursuit of horses.  Or that one does feel quite merry when one finds said elusive horses after several hours of panic-stricken, fear laced searching.

Oh well.  The thought can be pondered.  It’s off to fix fence…and come up with a peace offering for the deer.  They’re obviously the ones in charge here.

Ha!  I’ve gone and done it.  I have now blogged twice in one week!  It’s easy.  Get up, exercise, drink coffee religiously, then….say phhhhhhhhhlt! to the day and sit down to write.  Ok gang.  It’s coming to me now.

For those of you still shocked at the fact you aren’t having to reread last years post for the 100th time I have a surprise for you.

We (Kirk and I) have a new project. 

Ok.  So you aren’t surprised.  It seems the last year has been a continuous round of new projects.  Let me begin by saying….much of them were not be choice but reactionary to the economy, circumstance and well…you get it…life.

Yesterday we knocked off at around 3:30 to load up the horses and go for a ride at my dear friends house.  She is one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met.  We met over a rank mare she had rescued and we’ve been fast friends ever since.  She’s given of her home, her facilities, her time and her energy in the 5 years I’ve known her and she is one amazing individual.

Several months ago she called to see if we would take on another project.  One dear to her heart.  After hearing the story we couldn’t say no.  So, last night, in addition to riding until my eyelids began to fall (yes we rode until 1:00 a.m.!) we had the chance to review our new project.  It’s exciting.

But before I go any further, I have homework to do.  I have to figure out how to best approach this venture.  I need to write a business plan and keep the home fires burning.  I have family to attend, animals to tend and and new business to tend.  I have friendships to keep and hearts to warm with hugs and kind words.  I have much to do and you know what???  Plenty of time to do it in.

That’s my new philosophy.  After a decade of run fast, can’t get there fast enough the lesson my horse has been trying to teach me is sinking in.  Do less sooner.  Patience.  Slow down to speed up.

Aemelie, my poor girl, has been my everyone’s standby.  She impatiently waits for her time with me.  Last night I rode her and she she sighed great big contented sighs, did everything I asked and was completely herself to the end.  She rocked the trailer back and forth all the way home (an annoying habit I am trying to correct because she literally can move the whole truck along with the trailer with her anxious hooves…not great for night driving in narrow lanes of traffic), impatient because she was so hungry.  That’s Aemelie, but during our time together, she shined.  That’s Aemelie.  And next time, I won’t forget the hay bag.

Let’s see if I can keep on that track.  Slow down, plan well, make progress.  So far its working.  The house is almost painted (last month’s goal…I am a bit behind but let’s face it, the project is a huge one!) and next, I tackle to office.  An even more huge project.

And then….our new project.  More later.