14 Carrot Gold

What is this face looking for?

Betty and I rode Gletta and Morgunn in our paddock this morning to do some basic work with them. The only time we give them a treat is when they work. We tried apples which they hated - wouldn't even touch them. We didn't want to give them processed treats as we didn't know what was in them. We found the answer - something they absolutely love - CARROTS! They love carrots.

Morgunn gets his carrot in a tub. If I feed him a carrot by hand that encourages him to be 'mouthy.' He has always been mouthy since I got him, but I have trained him to be less so. I occasionally have to remind him to wait on his carrot and not get pushy. I'll back him up and, when he settles down, I'll give him his carrot.






Once he's reminded of his manners, Morgunn does a good job of enjoying his carrot.

Gletta on the other hand...



Gletta gets her carrot by hand. She is not mouthy at all so Betty can easily feed her carrot by hand. Since Gletta is a little on the shy side - OK, she's a lot on the shy side - Betty works on getting Gletta to come to her. She'll offer the carrot and ask Gletta to walk to her. When she first started she had to be only about 3 feet away and Gletta would stretch her neck as far as possible rather than take a step toward Betty. Now Betty can be 10 or more feet away and Gletta will come up to her to get her carrot. She still stretches her neck a little, but nothing like before.

They love their carrots.

Food, Glorious Food

Bringing horses into our lives has brought a daily structure. One part of that daily structure is feeding Morgunn and Gletta. Besides sleeping and pooping, horses love to eat. We feed our horses three times a day - in the morning about 6:30 AM, around Noon, and in the evening about 5:30 PM. They get hay at all three feedings - each getting 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. Gletta also gets some Senior feed at each feeding to help her keep her weight up. As horses get older they need additional calories to maintain their weight. Morgunn gets grain in the evening feeding. They both get supplements with their evening feeding.

One of the complications to feeding Morgunn and Gletta is that Morgunn, being younger and larger, eats about twice as fast as Gletta. So we have to feed them in separate stalls and lock Gletta's run out gate so Morgunn won't finish his food and then go in to eat the rest of her food.



Here's what a typical feeding day looks like.


Betty's heading out to the stable for the evening feeding. Morgunn is very, very happy. He knows that he needs to head for an empty stall. Gletta is already in the furthest stall which is usually where she is at every feeding time.













Here's Gletta patiently waiting for Betty to bring her Senior feed and hay and Morgunn heading into his stall. If Gletta happened to choose that stall he would have gone into the other. He's a real gentleman and always lets Gletta choose her own stall.










Both horses get supplements with their evening meal -added to their grain. They both get garlic powder (good for cholesterol and healthy blood), ground flax and black oil sunflower seeds (lots of Omega 3 and good for hoofs and coats), and diatomaceous earth (good for preventing intestinal parasites). In addition, Gletta gets an enzyme called Prozyme to help her digestion.










Morgunn waiting impatiently for Betty to bring his hay and feed. "Feed me, feed me Seymour." (For those who don't know that's a line from the "Rocky Horror Show.") Correction: My oldest son who is much wiser than I reminded me, respectfully of course, that the above line comes from "The Little Shop of Horrors." He's right of course as he usually is. I guess I'm getting old, but I knew "Horror" was in there somewhere. Thanks, Wade Daniel.













Betty giving Gletta her feed and then her hay. Gletta loves her Senior feed and will always eat it first before touching her hay.













Morgunn greets Betty with a look of "What's taking you so long?" Finally, he gets his grain.

Three hours later, we open Gletta's gate and Morgunn joins her to finish up what little bit of hay that she has left.



And that's one more feeding done and the next one comes at 6:30 AM tomorrow morning. (Oh, that sounds so early.)

Simone Update

Simone, our resident Roadrunner, continues to roost in the stable every single night - 74 nights in a row now. She hasn't missed a single night.

She comes in about 30 - 45 minutes before sunset and leaves about 30 - 45 minutes after sunrise. We walk all around her doing our usual work for the horses and nothing seems to cause her any concern.

We often see her in our courtyard as she hunts for lizards. Roadrunners are carnivorous. They'll eat anything - including birds.

Several times we had birds - usually Finches and Sparrows - run into our windows. Usually they're just stunned and fly off. However, there were times some were killed.

Three times Simone would rush up from her hiding place in the bushes, grab the dead bird, and return to her place to pluck and have a free dinner.


Not very pretty, but she's just doing what God created her to do.

We really thought she might stop roosting in the stable once it turned warmer, but we guess she's found a home.

She's welcome as long as she wants to stay.

Horses In Heaven

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. ...and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean." (Revelation 19:11-21)

If God's word is true, and I believe it is, then there are horses in heaven - perhaps all are pure white. When we die, scripture says we will have a new body in heaven. Maybe horses have a new body as well - all white.

Clearly, my main reason for looking forward to going to heaven is to be in the presence of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However, it will be great if there are a couple of white horses there for Betty and me to ride all over heaven.

Wouldn't it be great to go for a ride with Jesus!

Have a wonderful Lord's day.

Top 10 Spooky Things to a Horse

As horse folks, we work with our horses to help them deal with things that surprise them - the term we use is "spook." A well trained horse will spook in place when he/she is surprised. In other words, he/she won't run out from under us when a bird flies up from a sage brush and leave us sitting on our sore butts.

To help you understand what a horse sees as spooky, here are the Top 10 Spooky Things to a Horse.

10. Blowing Paper: "At any moment it could whip up into our faces, covering our noses. We could suffocate. And don't try to tell us you'd do CPR."

9. Barking Dogs: "What? You've never read Steven King's 'CUJO'?"

8. Puddles of Water: "Quicksand 10 feet deep - no question about it."

7. Trash Cans: "They've been known to swallow horses and transport them into another dimension - never to return."

6. Babies and Little Kids: "Long lost tribe of horse-eating, ankle-biting pygmies."

5. Plaid Horse Blankets:"Hey, when was the last time you wore plaid? It adds 100 lbs."

4. Ropes and Hoses on the Ground: "Dreaded North American Trail Snakes just waiting to swallow us whole."

3. Ponies: "Cute, cleaver, hardy, but devious and deceptive. They really want to take over the world."

2. Windy Days: "Two words: Impending tornado. Besides, it messes up our manes."

1. Carts and Wagons: "Look. You put a human on our backs, we can always buck them off. But tying a horse to a wheeled object that keeps chasing him all over the place? It's just not natural."

Hair, Long, Beautiful Hair

Having been in college in the middle 1960's, the musical "Hair" was a part of the culture then. Somehow, we thought long hair was something cool and special. I know, it sounds dumb now, but, hey, it was the 60's.

Now, when you mention long hair to a horse person, they immediately think of spring shed.

Morgunn and especially Gletta are shedding enough hair to make two or three sweaters if we had the spinning wheel necessary to do the work.

Hair gets into our clothes, into our eyes, into our ears, and worst of all, into our mouths. You just touch them and you get hair all over your hands.

In a couple of weeks we'll do a full body clip and this problem will be gone, but, until then - "Hair, long, beautiful hair."

Back in the Saddle Again - Part 2

After riding yesterday in our paddock, we took off for a ride through our neighborhood.

Gletta and Morgunn were glad to be going out together. For the past two months I have ridden each of them separately and they much prefer being together.

We rode for about 25 minutes which was plenty at this point. Betty is still regaining her stamina and is making progress almost every day.

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then hopefully it's clear that Betty is enjoying being out again with her special horse, Gletta.

Back in the Saddle Again

Today was Betty's first day back in the saddle with Gletta since her accident last Fall. We took several precautions - helmet and riding safety vest - to give Betty all help she needed. As it turned out she got on Gletta and rode her around our back paddock just as if nothing had ever happened. She spent time working on flexing Gletta's neck and head to soften her and reconnect with her from the saddle. She rode for about 20 minutes with no problems at all.

Here are some pictures.

Betty has just started her ride and is flexing Gletta's neck to begin softening her body.

After riding to the back of the paddock Betty stopped to flex Gletta again.

Betty is walking Gletta on a relaxed rein and both seem to be enjoying the ride. Both of their postures are easy and relaxed.

Walking along the back - again with an easy, relaxed posture.

Toward the end of the ride, coming along the fence and the round pen, both seem to be doing fine.

I could tell by the expression on Betty's face that she was doing just fine with this first ride.

Many people have real problems with a serious fall from their horse and find it difficult to get back into the saddle again - especially after such a long time. However, Betty from the beginning said she was going to ride again. She wouldn't say this, but I will - she has so much courage and love for Gletta that she was not going to let anything keep her from riding her again.

She's my hero!

Starting on the Road Back

As most of you know (at least the two or three of you who read this blog), Betty is coming back from an accident last Fall. Her recovery has been amazing and she's able to do most anything now, but still has to rest occasionally as her strength is coming back.

From the very beginning she has always said she planned to ride again. That started today as she decided t0 do some ground work with Gletta in the round pen to reconnect with her as a starting point. Here are some pictures from her work this morning.

Betty is moving Gletta around the round pen just by her body position and body posture:

Gletta finally gave Betty an indication (licking her lips and a relaxed head and neck) that she's ready to join up with her and she's coming toward Betty's inviting body posture:



Betty is moving around the round pen and Gletta is following her every move:


This was a good reconnect for both of them and Betty will try riding Gletta tomorrow morning.

We'll let you know how it goes.

Busy Day

Today was just a little too busy to do a post today, so this is just to say "Hi!"

Icelandic Horse Trivia

We love our Icelandic Horses - Morgunn on the left and Gletta on the right. It has been said that the Icelandic Horse is the purest breed in the world.

They were first brought to Iceland in about 900 - 1,000 AD by the Vikings. They are the original Viking horse.

In 1,100 AD Iceland made a law that said no other horses could be brought into Iceland and, if an Icelandic Horse ever leaves, then it can never return. The breed is still genetically true to the original Viking horses. It has never been cross bred with any other horse breed.

Icelandic Horses are short, but stocky in stature. Many old-timers use the rule of thumb that if a horse is less than 14.2 hands high at the withers then they would call it a pony. However, newer guidelines look more at the horse as a breed. There are many pony breeds - Shetland, etc. - that are true pony breeds with a distinct pony conformation. However, the Icelandic Horse has none of the conformation characteristics of a pony and, by its conformation, is considered a true horse. When you ride a pony you know it. The feel and movement are different from a horse's feel and movement. When you ride an Icelandic Horse if feels like any other horse you can ride.

Icelandic Horses have the normal gaits as any other horse - walk, trot and canter. However, they have an inbred fourth and sometimes fifth gait. Almost all Icelandics have a fast walking gait called a tolt. It is fast and smooth gait that is a delight to ride. Most horses have to canter to keep up with an Icelandic doing a tolt. Some Icelandics have a fifth gait called a flying pace which is like riding a rocket at full blast. It is a short distance gait, but it is incredibly exciting to ride.

Icelandic Horses rarely ever kick. They are born and raised in the wild in Iceland. During the extreme winters they will group together to keep warm and kicking is discouraged as it disturbs the cohesion of the group and the warmth it can generate.

Because of the purity of the breed it is a long-lived horse. Most Icelandics will live into their 40's and can be ridden well into their 30's. The oldest Icelandic Horse lived to be 57. Betty's horse, Gletta, is 26, yet she has more get up and go and stamina than Dan's gelding, Morgunn, who is 9 years old.

Finally, Icelandics are easy keepers. They rarely get sick and, if treated well, require little maintenance other than good, common-sense horse care.

There are only about 3,500 Icelandic Horses in the US. Corrales, New Mexico where we live has about 12 or so Icelandics.

We feel we are blessed to have our two Icelandic Horses.

Horse Prayer

Dearest God in Heaven,

Give us the strength to guide our horses, make our hands soft and our heads clear.
Let our horses understand us and we them.

You have blessed our hearts with a special love for these animals- let us never lose sight of it.
Our souls you have gifted with a deep need for them, let that need never lessen.
May our breath always catch as the sun gleams on an elegant head.
May our throats always tighten at the sound of a gentle nicker.

Let the scent of fresh hay and a new bag of grain always be sweet to us.
Let the warm touch of a soft nose on our hands always bring a smile.
We adore the joy of a warm day in the paddock.
The grace and splendor of a running horse, the thunder of it's hooves,
makes our eyes tear and our hearts soar. May it always be so.

Dearest God,
Grant us patience for horses are harnessed wind and wind can be flighty.
Let us not frighten or harm them. Instead show us ways to understand them.
When we pass from this world, send our souls to no Heaven without them.
For this love you have given us graces our existence
and we shall cherish it, and praise You for it, for all time.

Amen

Home Again, Home Again - Jiggedy Jig

It's a long trip from Fort Collins, Colorado to Corrales, New Mexico - 9 hours - but we made it home OK. Here's a final picture of all of us taken just before we left:


That's it for today. We're tired and going to bed early.

Thursday in Colorado - Last Day

Today was our last day with our son, Wade Daniel, daughter-in-law, Marie, and granddaughter, Juliet. It has been a great visit.

Wade Daniel and Marie went to see the Blue Man Group last night. During the show, they wanted two people to come up and they selected Wade Daniel as one of the two. They put a blue t-shirt onto Wade Daniel. One of the Blue Men threw paint balls to another who caught them in his mouth, squeezed them and then spit the colors out onto the t-shirt creating this work of art and great souvenir:


The last thing he did was to spit a blue paint ball onto his hand and left a hand print on Wade Daniel's right shoulder. Here's a close up of their Blue Man signature:


Wade Daniel wore the t-shirt the rest of the night and was a hero to the rest of the crowd. He said that when they came over to him and Marie he was thinking, "No, no, not me." Afterwards he was glad he was picked because it was so much fun.

We had lunch with Wade Daniel and Marie at Chili's today and that was a lot of fun.

When Juliet came home Betty was holding her. Wade Daniel was getting their dog, Kona, to do tricks. She will sit, give a high five with both paws, lay down, play dead, roll over, and spin around. Every time she spun around Juliet started laughing and giggling. This was the first time she has laughed so obviously at something without being tickled. We were glad that we were here for that first in her young life.

We head back home tomorrow, Friday, so we'll be on the road all day so no post tomorrow. We'll try to get back to it on Saturday.

We'll show one more picture of Juliet:


Since this is a blog about horses, we'll close with a picture we got from a friend in England, Geoff Box. Geoff has a great horse named Dyce. This is the picture we received today showing Dyce at the beach ready for his swim:



Have a great day and God's blessings to everyone.

Wednesday in Colorado

A short post today. Betty and I went to Old Town in Fort Collins to have lunch at the Coopersmith Pub - a Fort Collins tradition. It was a very good lunch. We did a little shopping. There's a great home and kitchen place, The Cupboard, and Betty was able to find several things that are difficult to find elsewhere.

Wade Danie and Marie go to see the Blue Man Group tonight and we'll watch Juliet - although she'll probably be asleep most of the time they're gone.

One more picture of Juliet:

Tuesday in Colorado

Both Wade Daniel and Marie had to work today. To stay on her regular schedule, Juliet went to her daycare which is great and she loves it, so we had the day to ourselves.

After sleeping in a little we drove up to a canyon along the Poudre (pronounced 'pooder') River. It's a mountain river that goes for about 50 or more miles and is a beautiful drive.

Here's a picture of Betty along the Poudre on one of our rest stops:


We drove up to a place called Sleeping Elephant Peak (which did look like a big, sleeping elephant or beast of some kind). At that elevation the snow was still pretty deep in the shady areas. Here's a picture of the river close to where we turned around before heading back:


We got back home about 3:00 PM. Wade Daniel came home from work after picking up Juliet from daycare. Since Marie wasn't home yet, Betty got to feed Juliet which made her very happy:


All in all another good, Colorado day.

Monday in Colorado

A beautiful day in Fort Collins - mid-70 degrees and sunny. Our son, Wade Daniel, had to work, but it was a day off for Marie. She stays home on Mondays and Fridays to be with Juliet and works on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I went out to do a little Dan-shopping. I went to a local outdoors store and found some new sheep-skin slippers for next winter. Then I went to a feed and supply store to get some new work gloves. I have small hands and it's hard to find men's gloves in Small. I found exactly what I needed which is why I like to go there. I also found a great horse anatomy book and a great book on horse colors which, at least for me, can be confusing. These books will be good reference books for our horse library.

Juliet has started 'talking' - at least in baby jabber - while we have been here. She will jabber and squeal and she seems to delight in hearing her own voice. She's such a happy baby. Wade Daniel and Marie are really good parents and it shows.

We'll close Monday out with another Juliet picture:

Sunday In Colorado

Betty's sister and stepmother left for home this morning. We went to church with Wade Daniel, Marie and Juliet. Quiet day today so, other than another picture of Juliet, this is it for today's post:

Saturday in Colorado

Saturday started out a nicer day than the previous days so far. It was sunny - still on the cold side - but sunny. The day started with Wade Daniel and Marie giving Betty an early Mother's Day/Birthday present - a beautiful pair of boot slippers:


Later that morning we drove up to Estes Park, Colorado. On the way up we ran across some Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep grazing next to the road:


We stopped for lunch at a lodge next to a lake and had some really good food. Here's a couple pictures from that lunch:


Here's a picture of Wade Daniel, Marie and Juliet crossing the street (jaywalking of course) in Estes Park:


We also saw a herd of elk right in the middle of town in the city park. Wade Daniel is approaching to get a better shot:

Finally, a picture of the celebrity herself - Miss Juliet in her shades:


All in all, a good day.