Catching up with the Herd

It's struggling to be fall here in the foothills of the Sacramento Valley. Trees are changing, leaves are falling, there is a cooler touch in the evening air against your skin. In the last few weeks summer coats shed, and in the last few days the horse's bodies have one by one begun to assume that slightly fuzzy outline that suggests a winter coat growing in to hide the slick of summer. Paradoxically, the thermometer still reaches the mid to high 90s during the day, and I sweat, sip, slaver, seek shade, spray sunscreen, and repeat. I'm grateful for every day with my family and creatures in our beautiful home, but I am also so very very ready for the blessing of a cool fall and an appropriately wet winter.

while tractor work is done, Desire visits the filly pasture. Rather harmonious for a mare squad! 

Scrappy keeps an eye on the ladies, who as witnessed above, don't return the interest..

 tractor work was *quite* exciting if you asked Scrap and mini Napoleon

Rushcreek Aurora, 13 months. Ever curious!

Sheza left her dinner right after this photo to come present her shoulder for scratches <3

In wiener news, boys are easily pleased and little Kodiak knows that I haven't handed over everything that's in the Petco bag...

I've been toodling around the neighborhood on Scrappy in the Sensation treeless with Skito pad off and on lately and this morning I seized the opportunity to get a few more hilly miles in at the lake. Of course it was also the hottest day of the week (at least I hope it was..) and even though we got our workout in quite quickly for our turtle selves, it was just plain HOT when we got back to the trailer. Fortunately there are a few key water troughs out on the Lake Oroville trails and even when they have the *nerve* to re-cement them in a startling new fashion, Scrappy can be convinced to drink from them. 

It looks different, I KNOW IT

 Fine, I'll drink, but my life force will be sucking backwards and my ears akimbo

 We flushed a fox, scattered some squirrels, and tiptoed past many a deer

 Scrappy wearily tanks up back at the trailer as I recline against my hubcap, slugging water and eating his carrots

I just chanced looking at the weekend forecast and am consoling myself that yes, today *was* the hottest day of the next 3..by one degree..signing off from dry, dusty, dreaming of autumn land.

Exemplary Fillies

Rushcreek Aurora, 13 months

I know, I know, the perfection won't last. Growing pains and hormones and fillies being fillies, I'll no doubt be back with some training/behavior issue posts soon. For now, I'll merely fill your eyes with my clever, good looking Arabian fillies aged 3 and 1. They were both exemplary creatures today and I'll admit it, I'm *proud* of the places I've come with both of these gals in our respective relationships. Sheza has been a wonderful test of my inner calm and patience since day one, and after almost 5 months with my junior Rushcreek I have a hunch that Rory's bold bossy attitude is going to be a great stretching of the filly raising skills that I think I now have.

Rory's getting more solid by the week! Quite a difference 5 months makes

step sisters, but the amicable kind

Rory putting herself away with Desire. 2nd time doing this routine, she's a bit of a smarty pants

 Sheza had her briefest round pen session yet, executing everything I asked calmly and lining up for her gold star the first time around. I  decided to test that patience by giving her a thorough hoof trim; aside from a discussion on pulling her hinds away it was all groovy 

Thanks for the great morning, girls! 

Saddle Fit Conclusions

1) If you didn't consider yourself a whiner before, you'll be printing yourself an official badge by the end of your struggle


2) There is not necessarily an end to your struggle..the amorphous being that is your horse might just keep it interesting and keep changing shape FOREVER. See #1


3) If you ever thought that a horse care/use question had perhaps too many answers, too much misinformation is out there, and wouldn't it be nice to just read one page that says This Is Truth, well, you've really arrived now. See #1


After months of obsess-change saddles-and repeat over the ever present dry spots behind Scrappy's wither where he had shed out bald in spring, a couple of reliable sources just recently put a bug in my ear and then I happened upon reading ex Ortho-flex guy Len Brown's site, essentially confirming what I'd been hearing. There's quite an eyeful there for reading if you can look past the very questionable site design; it's worth checking out at your leisure but here's the particular nugget I'm referencing:


" Once skin is repeatedly damaged do not expect dry areas to immediately start sweating just because you removed the pressure at that spot.

Those dry spots on the withers may be permanent or not sweat for months after rectifying the initial saddling problems. AS I SAY ON MY WEBSITE: "BRING ALONG A CRYSTAL BALL IF YOU ARE INTO READING DRY SPOTS". RECCOMMENDATION: Palpate your horse for soreness every time before [and after] you saddle up and forget chasing every dry spot."

See #1.