Rainbow Days

We finally had some rain late yesterday afternoon. One of the things we love about where we live is we often get great rainbows. When we have these afternoon rain storms the sun sets to the West behind our house and we face East toward the Sandia Mountains. The rain often goes up the valley between us and the mountains and, when it does, we get great rainbows.

This one was a full rainbow where we could see it all from end to end. Like this one, they often are double rainbows. I wish I had a wide-angle lens for my camera so I could catch the whole rainbow, but I don't and probably never will.

Rainbows always lift our spirits as they're a reminder of God's promises, especially the promise He made that He would no longer judge the world through floods like the one Noah and family sailed through on the ark.

In closing, let me give you an old Irish blessing:

May God give you...

For every storm a rainbow,
For every tear a smile,
For every care a promise,
And a blessing in every trial.

For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh a sweet song,
And an answer for every prayer.

Today is June 30 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Michael Phelps (Gold medal Olympic swimmer), Fantasia Barrino (2004 American Idol winner), Mike Tyson (professional boxer and famous ear biter), Harry Blackstone, Jr. (magician), Susan Hayward (actress - "Demetrius and the Gladiators"), Lena Horne (singer - "Stormy Weather"), Robert Ballard (explorer - discovered the Titanic), Dorothy Malone (actress - "Peyton Place"), and Adolf Furtwangler (German archaeologist).

When We Are Old

I modified the following poem, "When I Am Old," by an unknown author to be inclusive of both Betty and me.

"When We Are Old"

When we are old
We shall wear diamonds and wide brimmed straw hats
With silver and leather on it,
And we shall spend our Social Security
On white wine and carrots,
And sit in the alley of our stable
And listen to Gletta and Morgunn breathe.

We will sneak out
In the middle of a summer's night
And ride our Icelandic Horses
Across the moonstruck meadow
If our old bones will allow.

When people come to call we will smile and nod
As we walk them past the courtyard gardens to the stable
And show, instead, the beauty growing there
In stalls fresh with grain and hay.
We will shovel and sweat and
Wear hay in our hair as if it were a jewel.

And we will be an embarrassment to all
Who look down on us.
They've not yet found the peace in being free
To love a horse as a friend,
A friend who waits at midnight hour
With nuzzle and nicker and patient eyes
For the kind of old man and woman
We will be when we are old.

Today is June 29 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Fred Gandy (actor - Gopher on "The Love Boat"), Richard Lewis (comedian), Gary Busey (actor - "The Buddy Holly Story"), Slim Pickens (actor - "Dr. Strangelove"), Little Eva (singer - "Locomotion"), and Ray Harryhausen (stop motion artist - "Clash of Titans").

Happy Birthday Morgunn!

On June 28, 1999, an Icelandic colt was born in Corrales, New Mexico and he was given the name "Morgunn" which is Icelandic for "Morning." His owner was a woman named Mary Ross.

This is a picture of the brand new Morgunn shortly after he was born. The person in the picture is our good friend Eleanor Bravo who rode with us in the Bosque yesterday.

In 1999, Betty and I were still living in Loveland, Ohio and I was still working for Procter & Gamble. We were just beginning to think about retiring in a year or so. Little did we know that an event across the nation in New Mexico was happening that would eventually have such an impact on my life.

When we moved to New Mexico in 2004, we were serious about getting our own horses, but we decided to wait a year to be sure we knew what we were getting into. Through a trainer friend, we actually met Morgunn and rode him a couple of times, but he wasn't for sale.

On June 30, 2005, our trainer friend called and said he had just talked to Morgunn's owner, Mary, and she tearfully said that she needed to thin her herd down from 4 horses to 2. She didn't have the time to give them the work and attention they all needed. So, she wanted to sell Morgunn and his younger brother, Digger. Morgunn had just turned six years old.

We called Mary and immediately went over to see her. The next day, July 1, 2005 (which was our 38th wedding anniversary) Morgunn joined our family and my life has never been the same. Here's a picture of Morgunn on the day we bought him.

So, Morgunn, on your 9th birthday here are some of my favorite pictures among many that we have taken over the last 3 years.

Morgunn's personality is very, very friendly and he loves to check out whatever is going on.


Morgunn's favorite past time is eating and he's always in his stall waiting impatiently.


He often tells Betty, "What took you so long to bring my food?"


As we've shared before, he loves to supervise whenever we're clipping Gletta - "I think you missed a spot. Yep, I'm pretty sure you did. Hey, are you listening to me?"


I'm glad we don't get much snow, but I think Morgunn would love more. I guess it's his Icelandic genes.


Other than eating, he loves to be out riding with his best friend, Gletta.

So, Morgunn, on your 9th birthday we all wish you a Happy Birthday! Maybe I'll peel a carrot as a special treat for you today.


Today is June 28 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Morgunn (wonder horse and all around great companion), John Cusack (actor), John Elway (Denver Broncos Super Bowl Champion quarterback), Gilda Radner (comedian - "Saturday Night Live"), Pat Morita (actor - "Karate Kid"), Mel Brooks (comedian/director - "Blazing Saddles," "Space Balls," "Young Frankenstein"), Richard Rodgers (composer), and John Wesley (English clergyman and founder of Methodism).

Bosque Ride

Today was another first for us since Betty's accident almost 7 months ago. We trailered Morgunn and Gletta down to our good friend Eleanor's house where we joined her and her Icelandic Horse. We rode down into the Bosque, the woods along the Rio Grande River. The morning was cooler than it has been so it was a delightful ride. We even tolted several times through the woods which was great fun.


Here are a few pictures from our ride this morning.

The view of the trail ahead through Morgunn's alert ears.

A quick picture back behind me at Betty and Eleanor.

A very nicely posed picture of Betty and me by Eleanor who is an excellent photographer.

It was a great ride and another good confidence booster for Betty on Gletta. She's doing great and is really focusing on becoming a much better rider than she's ever been.

On the ride home as we turned onto our street we saw a Quail mother or father with some of her or his newly hatched chicks. There were more than these two, but they had already run into the sage...

One, two three... "Awwwwwwwwwww, how cute!"

Today is June 27 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Tobey Maguire (actor - "Spiderman"), H. Ross Perot (millionaire with big ears who ran for President), Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangroo and Clarabelle the Clown on "The Howdy Doody Show"), Helen Keller (deaf and blind - became influential person - protrayed in the movie "The Miracle Worker"), Trisha Yearwood (country singer), and Charles IX and Louis XII (both Kings of France).

Gone With the Wind

Yesterday, we were sitting in our living room reading and watching TV (and I can do both at the same time). Suddenly, Betty said, "Oh my goodness, look at that!"

I looked out the front windows and just down the way from us was a large dust devil. We see a lot of dust devils where we live, but what made this one different is it must have hit a place where a bunch of tumbleweeds had collected. Tumbleweeds were flying everywhere and way up into the air. Many of them hung in the air for several minutes.

By the time I grabbed my camera it had died down a little, but was still worthy of a picture.

It even caught Morgunn and Gletta's attention.


Today is June 26 and if today is your Birthday you share your day with: Derek Jeter (New York Yankees shortstop), Shannon Sharpe (professional football player), Greg LeMond (first American bicyclist to win the Tour de France), Peter Lorre (actor - "Casablanca"), Jay Silverheels (actor - Tonto on "The Lone Ranger"), Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis Presley's manager), Pearl S. Buck (author - "The Good Earth"), and Abner Doubleday (inventor of baseball).

Good Ride

We had a good ride this morning. We trailered Morgunn and Gletta down to the public arena in Corrales with the objective that we were going to do some work with the horses before taking a trail ride along one of the irrigation ditches.

This was another milestone for Betty as all of our riding to date has been walking. Today she wanted to tolt again with Gletta. For those who may not know, a tolt is the Icelandic Horse's special gait - a fast walk. The arena was a good place to work on moving the horses up to a faster gait.

We all were rusty as it has been 7 months since we have ridden Morgunn and Gletta this way. Betty and Gletta got into riding form quicker than I did with Morgunn. There were some other horses around and Morgunn was full of himself. I had to do some groundwork with him to get him to settle down. Once he did, he was fine.

We rode in the arena for about 20 minutes and then we went on to the irrigation ditch trail that runs right behind the arena. We walked about a mile down the trail and back.

Betty had an interesting experience on the ride and handled it very well. While walking, Gletta stumbled and almost went down on her front knees. Betty did a super job of keeping her balance and didn't let the experience get her rattled. As a result Gletta just regained her balance and didn't spook at all.

Betty really is a good horse person and takes her learning and growth very seriously. Her hard work and determination to continually improve sets a great example for me and challenges me to do my best.

A good day. I'm sorry I forgot to take our camera.

Today is June 25 and if today is your Birthday you share your day with: Marie Cooksey (our wonderful daughter-in-law, wife to our son Wade Daniel, and mother to our beautiful granddaughter Juliet), George Michael (pop singer), Jimmy Walker (comedian - "Dy-no-mite!"), Phyliss George (Miss America 1971), Carly Simon (singer - "You're So Vain"), June Lockhart (actress - "Lost in Space"), George Orwell (author - "1984"), Danica Patrick (race car driver), Tom Glavine (pitcher - Atlanta Braves), Sarah Jessica Parker (actress - "Sex and the City"), Aretha Franklin (singer - "RESPECT"), James Lovell (astronaut - Apollo 13), Howard Cosell (commentator - Monday Night Football), and Henry II (King of England 1154 - 1189).

The Ear of the Horse

A while back I wrote about what I learned about the eyes of the horse. Today it's the ear of the horse.

A horse has two ears. OK, you already knew that, but did you know that a horse 'talks' with his ears. You can also tell his temperature through his ears. And, if you know what you're doing, they make pretty good handles in a pinch.

Horses hear pretty well, but not really that much better than we humans do. They can hear more sounds in the higher ranges, but our hearing in the lower ranges is better. If you talk real low and soft to a horse he may not hear you. It's better to speak in a normal voice.

Even though the horses hearing is pretty good it's not precise. When he hears something it's hard for him to identify the exact location of what he's hearing. That's why some horses will spook at an unexpected sound. They can hear it, but they're not sure where it's coming from - and, of course, whatever is making the sound definitely wants to eat them so they better get ready to get out of Dodge.

How we speak can affect our relationship with our horses. If we speak in a normal, calm and steady voice then they are more likely to trust us. If we speak firmly they will know we mean what we're saying. If we speak uncertainly, our horses may decide that we're not a good leader and not very trustworthy. If we get excited in our speech then they will also get excited. If our horse does something unexpected, it's best to deal with it without making a sound - if that's possible. Sometimes it's hard to keep that scream from coming out.

Horses 'talk' to us through their ears by their direction and placement. If a horses ears are casually moving about, he's usually relaxed and just keeping in touch with what's going on around him. If both ears point forward in a direct, attentive way he has heard something - most likely a bear who wants to eat him - and he's trying to locate it. If he pins his ears back he's not a happy camper. Something is bothering him and if it does not go away soon he may have to do something about it such as a kick or a bite.

Normally, a horses ears are cool. However, if he has a temperature you can feel the heat in his ears. It's a quick and dirty way to check his temperature before resorting to that awful thermometer which has to go you know where (horses don't do well holding a thermometer in their mouths).

It's an old cowboy trick, but you can restrain a horse by holding onto his ears. It's important how it's done. You don't grab them hard and jerk them around. But, if the ears are grasped gently but firmly and pressure is applied and released, the horse will pay attention to what you're doing and calm down.

Another of Gods pretty good inventions. Ear! Ear!

Today is June 24 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Mick Fleetwood (musician and founder of group, "Fleetwood Mac"), Jack Dempsey (professional boxing Champion), Al Molinaro (actor - Al on "Happy Days"), and Chief Dan George (actor - "Little Big Man"),

One More Time

Dum de dum dum - dum, de dum. Dum de dum dum - dum de dum, dum, dum.

In case you didn't recognize that, it's the theme song for the Indiana Jones movies.

Betty and I went to see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" this afternoon. That's what you can do when you're retired. We enjoy movies - mostly through Netflix - but we rarely go to the big screen movies anymore even though we can get in for Senior prices.

However, there are some movies that need to be seen on the big screen and any Indiana Jones movie fits that category. The first movie, "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" was great because it was so unique and fun. We saw it with our two sons and we all loved it. The second, "Temple of Doom" was the worst. It was gory, gruesome and had very little fun in it. I hated it and to this day still refuse to watch it again. The third, "The Last Crusade" recaptured a lot of the original fun of the first movie and Sean Connery was great as Indie's Dad.

This movie, "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," in our humble opinion captures the same fun as the first and third movies. What was fun for us was seeing an older Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is actually 3 years older than we are and they did not do anything to make him look younger which was a wise decision. There was still a lot of action and Harrison Ford obviously did some of his own stunts so he made all of us older folks feel good about ourselves.

So, what does this have to do with horses? Very little other than Indiana rode horses in the first and third movies, but not this one. And Harrison Ford is a pretty good rider.

You have to suspend your disbelief and just go see it for what it is - a fun, action movie.

Today is June 23 and if today is your Birthday you share your day with: June Carter Cash (country singer and wife of Johnny Cash), Bob Fosse (choreographer), Clarence Thomas (US Supreme Court Justice), Edward VIII (King of England who gave up his throne to marry an American divorcee), Johannes Gutenberg (inventor of the moveable type printing press - Gutenberg Bible), and George Sax (inventor of the Saxophone).

My Day Is Ending

Lord,
You have been with me all through this day,
stay with me now.
As the shadows lengthen into darkness
let the noisy world grow quiet,
let its feverish concerns be stilled,
its voices silenced.
In the final moments of this day
remind me of what is Real.

But let me not forget
that you were as present in
the stresses of the day just past
as you are now
in the silence of this night.

You have made me for
day and for night,
for work and for rest,
for both heaven and earth.

Here in this night
let me embrace and not regret
the mysterious beauty of my humanity.
Keep me in the embrace of your Reality through the night,
and the day to come.
Surround me with your silence
and give me the rest that only you can give--
Real peace,
now and forever.

- Evelyn Underhill

Today is June 22 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Kurt Warner (Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Cardinals quarterback and devout Christian), Amy Brennaman (actress - "Judging Amy" TV show), Meryl Streep (actress - "Sophie's Choice"), Lindsay Wagner (actress - "Bionic Woman"), Kris Kristofferson (actor - "Billy the Kid"), Billy Wilder (movie director - "Some Like It Hot"), and John Dillinger (bank robber).

Good Day With Horses

Today was a good day for us with horses. This morning Betty and I worked Gletta and Morgunn in the round pen. Gletta is not an easy horse to work with in the round pen and Betty does a great job with her. She's very patient and, at the end of her session, Gletta was following Betty which is a sign that she trusts Betty. When I asked Morgunn to first move out, he kicked his heels and started galloping around the pen. He settled into a steady canter for a good 10 or so rounds. We think he just wanted to get out some energy as we haven't ridden them for several weeks. Once he settled down he was great. We hope to ride them tomorrow morning as we're going to our church's new Sunday night service to check it out.

Later this morning we headed over to Galloping Grace Youth Ranch to help Max and Michelle with a Birthday party. Most of the kids were anywhere from 3 years old to about 8 years old with most being around 5. We had two horses in the round pen, Red and BeBe, and Betty and I worked together to give the kids a ride around the pen with us leading them. It was a lot of fun and great to see kids have such a good time around horses.

Here are some pictures from today's party at the Ranch.

Betty leading one of the older girls riding on BeBe.
Me walking one of the little boys back to his parents after his ride on Red.
Betty and Me posing with the Birthday girl, Lauren on BeBe.
All the 'volunteers' from today's party - one of the things that makes it such a good experience is getting to know these good folks. Max is the good looking guy to my left. Michelle is taking the picture and is so pretty she doesn't want to embarrass the rest of us by putting her picture on the blog.
Another great day.

Today is June 21 (longest day of the year) and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Prince William (heir to the throne of England), Meredith Baxter (actress - Mother on "Family Ties" TV show), Michael Gross (actor - Father on "Family Ties" TV show), Jane Russell (actress - "The Outlaws"), Al Hirschfeld (caricaturist), Rick Sutcliffe (Pitcher - Chicago Cubs), Daniel Carter Beard (founder of the Boy Scouts), and Martha Washington (President Washington's wife).

Visiting the Old West

Even though I would probably never be a member, I enjoy going to the End of Trail competition for the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS). It's held every June at Founders Ranch which is South of I-40 out towards Edgewood.

It's a beautiful setting with plenty of safe areas for the shooting competitions, an Old West town with plenty of merchants with a lot of items you won't find anywhere else, and a very nice arena for the mounted shooting competitions.

Betty and I went out this morning and got there about 9:30 AM and it was a pleasant morning with a nice cool breeze. We visited all of the merchants, but didn't buy anything. I was hoping to find a pair of leather chaps for riding, but I guess I will keep on looking. My skinny frame makes it hard to find what I want in a size that will fit me.

Toward the latter part of the morning we went over to the arena and watched the mounted shooting. They have to navigate a course not to dissimilar to barrel racers. Along the course are balloons that they shoot with blank charges. If there aim is good the balloon will break from the force of the exploding charge. Their score is a combination of time and accuracy. There was one 14-year old girl who was deadly accurate and blazed around the course with a reckless abandon that you only find in the young.

Here are some pictures from our adventure this morning.

Some SASS participants outside one of the merchant tents.

One of the shooting competition sites.

A Wells Fargo stage going over the hill.

The mounted shooters getting last minute instructions.

You don't want to mess with this lady.

Taking aim and getting ready to shoot.

Other contestants waiting for their turn.

We really had a good time and enjoyed being with people who really enjoy doing what they do. It appeals to the frustrated cowboy in me.

Today is June 20 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Nicole Kidman (actress - former wife of Tom Cruise - and she's probably glad about that), John Goodman (comedian/actor), Lionel Richie (singer/composer), Anne Murray (singer/composer - "Snowbird"), Brian Wilson (singer - founder of "The Beach Boys"), Martin Landeau (actor - "Mission Impossible" TV series), Chet Atkins (guitarist), Audie Murphy (actor - "To Hell and Back" - most decorated soldier in World War II, including Congressional Medal of Honor), Errol Flynn (actor - "Robin Hood"), Michael Landon (actor - "Bonanza" and strong Christian), Cyndi Lauper (singer - "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), and Bob Vila (carpenter - "This Old House").

Thursday at the Ranch

On most Thursday mornings you can find me at the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch which is run by our friends, Max and Michelle Wade. I originally volunteered to come out each Thursday to work the horses - round penning, riding out problems, whatever. However, some days you just need to do what is needed.

I could only stay until Noon today as our farrier came this afternoon. When I arrived about 9:30 AM, Max was on the phone. So, I grabbed a trash sack and picked up some trash left over from a party yesterday (Happy Birthday again, Brooke - from the looks of the trash it was a good time for all). I'm glad I got it all picked up as Max's Dad came driving up and this was the first time he had seen the ranch so it was nice for him to see it reasonably clean.

After that, I shoveled some manure which is God's way of keeping our feet on the ground - the Bible calls this humility which is an appropriate word as it comes from the same root for 'humus' which means ground or dirt.

Then I helped Max move a generator to a water tank so we could use a sump pump to pump water through a hose to water some of the trees - those the hose could reach. After getting the easy ones, I used a bucket to water some more trees. Anyone who raves about the "Good Ol' Days" has never carried water in a bucket for any length of time.

Finally, just before I had to go I got five horses from the corral and brought them out so Max could work with the kids who were there for the day.

I enjoy being at the ranch for three reasons: (1) it's great to see kids around horses, (2) Max and Michelle are good people with gentle spirits who love the Lord, and (3) God is there because the ranch is doing His work.

On Saturday, Betty and I will go out to the ranch to help out with a Birthday party. It should be a lot of fun.

Today is June 19 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Paula Abdul (singer - judge on "American Idol"), Kathleen Turner (actress - "Body Heat" which I didn't see - too 'adult' for me), Phylicia Rashid (actress - Claire Huxtable on "The Cosby Show"), Pat Butram (comic sidekick to Gene Autry and Mr. Haney on "The Green Acres" TV show), Lou Gehrig (pro ball player - died of ALS and had the disease named after him), Guy Lombardo (band leader - "And a one, and a two..."), Moe Howard (comic - lead of "The Three Stooges"), and Blaise Pascal (French mathmetician and devoted Christian).

Hot Days = Clipping Days

The arrival of hot (mid-90 degrees) June days means it's time to clip Morgunn and Gletta again. It's not our most favorite job (unless you like kneeling and squatting with horse hair getting into your mouth, eyes and ears), but it's one we're glad to do because we know it makes them more comfortable when the weather gets this warm.

Here are some pictures from our work today...

Morgunn checking out the clipper before we begin... maybe something good to eat? Naahhh.

Betty and Gletta getting started on her cut.

Working on Gletta's belly where most of her body heat goes.

Morgunn showing up and volunteering to help in any way he can.

Yep, I think you missed a spot here on Gletta's rump... you definitely need to do this over... are you listening to me?

Dan taking over to work on Gletta's lower parts.

Wait a minute. Those aren't Betty's feet. They're too big!

Hey, now you're working on me!

You're looking a little warm there, Danny boy. Let me remove your cap for you.

Always an adventure.

Today is June 18 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Carol Kane (comedian/actress - "Princess Bride"), Isabella Rossellini (actress - Ingrid Bergman's daughter), Roger Ebert (movie critic), Jeanette MacDonald (singer/actress with Nelson Eddy - "I Am Calling You"), Kurt Browning (Gold medal Olympian ice skater), Paul McCartney (singer - "The Beatles"), Richard Boone (actor - "Have Gun Will Travel"), and Red Adair (oil well fire fighter).

We're Home

We got home this evening and all I have time and energy to do is post one more picture of our Colorado cutie...


Today is June 17 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Venus Williams (tennis pro - sister of Serena Williams), Dan Jansen (Olympic gold medalist speed skater), Joe Piscopo (comedian - "Saturday Night Live"), Newt Gingrich (former Speaker of the House), Ralph Bellamy (actor), M. C. Escher (artist who made impossible designs), Igor Stravinsky (composer), Barry Manilow (singer), James Brown (singer - Ambassador of Soul), and William Hooper (attorney and signer of the Declaration of Independence).

Heading Home Tomorrow

We're heading home tomorrow, Tuesday, so there will be no Tuesday post. We plan to clip the horses again on Wednesday morning so that will probably be the topic for our post that day.

Until then, here's one more picture of our Colorado sweetie sleeping in her Nana's arms...


Today is June 16 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Phil Mickelson (pro golfer), Joan Van Ark (actress - "Dallas"), Jean Peugeot (automobile manufacturer), Stan Laurel (comedian - "Laurel and Hardy"), and Nathaniel Schnittelbach (composer).

Happy Father's Day from Fort Collins

Happy Father's Day to all - especially to Max and Mark our blogging buddies and to Chris and Wade Daniel our sons who are both first time fathers this year. You guys are going to be great Dad's to Javier and Juliet.

We spent today at a local park in Fort Collins. This city is the most people friendly city in the world with great parks and other family friendly amenities. Betty and I along with Wade Daniel, Marie, and Juliet joined Marie's sister, Melissa, her husband, Nick, and their two children, Maggie and Kaley at the park. We were also joined by Marie's parents, Nancy Jo and Gary, who drove up from Denver.

We had fried chicken, potato salad and fruit salad - all the great picnic fixings. For dessert Betty fixed a couple of chocolate pies which are delicious.

Here are some pictures from today...

Getting all the food settled as we arrive at the park pavillion.

Marie and Juliet with Juliet's cousins, Maggie and Kaley, looking for fish in the lake.

Marie, Wade Daniel and Juliet enjoying the wading pools close to where we ate.

Wade Daniel holding Juliet's feet to the little water fall in the wading pools.

Wade Daniel and Juliet being greeted by their dog Kona after coming back from the wading pool.

It was a great day and a great way to spend Father's Day.

Today is June 15 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Courteney Cox (actress - "Friends"), Helen Hunt (actress - "Twister"), Jim Belushi (comedian), Neal Patrick Harris (actor - "Doogie Howser"), Brett Butler (actress/comedian - "Grace Under Fire"), Dusty Baker (professional baseball player/Cincinnati Reds manager), Waylon Jennings (country singer), and Rachael Donelson Jackson (wife of President Andrew Jackson).

Saturday in Fort Collins

Yesterday, Friday, June 13 was our son and daughter-in-law's 10th wedding anniversary. Wade Daniel gave Marie a Wii game console and she gave him a beautiful photo book with pictures from their 10 years of marriage. They went out to dinner last night at a Melting Pot while we stayed home with Juliet who was asleep the whole time.

Today we went to lunch at a Mongolian beef place (which was great). Then we walked around Old Town, looking at old cars in a car show. We also stopped at a Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream. Yum!

All in all a great day. Here are some pictures from our day...


Today is June 14 and if your Birthday is today you share your day with: Steffi Graf (German tennis pro), Boy George (???), Donald Trump (famous hair stylist), Gene Barry (actor - "Bat Masterson"), Burl Ives (folksinger), Harriet Beecher Stowe (author - "Uncle Tom's Cabin"), Che Guevera (revolutionary murderer), Lash Larue (cowboy actor), and Charles Augustin-de Coulomb (formulated "Coulomb's Law")

Friday the 13th Oh My

Lions, tigers and bears, Oh my! It's Friday the 13th!

So, what!? I absolutely refuse to give any credence to the superstitions that surround Friday the 13th. Besides being a scary movie, it's just another day. God's still in charge. I probably won't take up sky diving or bungee jumping today, but that's because I'm a coward and has nothing to do with today being Friday the 13th.

Betty and I made a safe trip yesterday to Fort Collins, Colorado to visit with our son Wade, daughter-in-law Marie, and granddaughter Juliet. The weather was great and I love the scenery up through Northern New Mexico into Southern Colorado. We saw lots of Pronghorn Antelope in Northern New Mexico. We stopped at a great tack shop in Brighton, Colorado, but all I bought was a magazine.

I hope to have some pictures of Juliet up either later today or tomorrow.

UPDATE:

I made it today. Here are a couple of pictures from this afternoon:




Have a great day.

Today is June 13 and if your Birthday is today you share your day with: Mary-Kate and Ashely Olson (famous twins and supposed actresses), Ally Sheedy (actress - "The Breakfast Club"), Tim Allen (comedian - Tim Taylor on "Home Improvement"), Richard Thomas (actor - John boy on "The Waltons"), William Butler Yeats (Irish poet), Ben Johnson (actor - "Chisum" and real cowboy before becoming an actor), Red Grange (football player - "The Galloping Ghost"), and Charles Algernon Parsons (British inventor who invented the steam turbine).

Party at the Ranch

Betty and I went out to Galloping Grace Youth Ranch this afternoon to help Max and Michelle Wade with a party for about 16 kids between 3 and 6 years old. As you can see from the picture below, Max and Michelle were meeting themselves trying to be in three places at once.



There was a place where the kids could paint pictures on one of the white horses (Cochise), they could throw horse shoes. They could ride a horse in the arena or in the round pen. And, they could learn how to groom a horse and give them treats.

It was a lot of fun for the kids and for us. It's great to see kids get exposed to horses and how much fun they can have with them.

For those of you who may read this blog, please know that we are heading for Fort Collins, Colorado tomorrow (Thursday) to see our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. We'll be gone until next Tuesday evening. We'll try to post a few times while we're there, but we may miss a day or two - priorities, you know.

Today is June 11 and if your Birthday is today you share your day with: Shia LeBeouf (actor - "Transformers"), Hugh Laurie (actor - "House"), Joe Montana (quarterback, San Franciso 49ers), Gene Wilder (actor - "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles"),Vince Lombardi (professional football coach - Green Bay Packers), Jacques Cousteau (underseas explorer), and Javier Benavides (our 17 year old grandson).

The Eyes Of A Horse

It is said that our eyes are the windows to our soul. I believe that is also true of a horse's eyes. We can often tell a lot about what's going on with Morgunn and Gletta just by seeing their eyes. We also get clues from their ears, tails and body posture, but the eyes tell us a lot.

It is interesting to study how God made eyes for the horse. Here are a few things that I have learned.

Almost 360 degree vision - Horses' eyes are placed on the side of their heads rather than together on their face like our eyes. This means that they can see almost everything that is going on around them. Their only blind spots are directly in front of their noses and directly behind their tails for up to about 6 feet. That's why you don't want to approach a horse directly from the front or directly from the rear - they can't see you. When kids come up to horses they love to reach to the horses' nose to pet him or her. Often the horse will shy away and that's just because they couldn't see the hand it touched him or her and it's often a surprise.

They see most things with only one eye at a time - They have monocular vision instead of binocular vision like we have. They see most things with only one eye at a time. That's why a horse may spook at something on one side and then spook again when it's on his left side. He's seeing it again 'for the first time' with the other eye. This also explains why we have to train horses from both sides. You can train a horse to do something from one side and then when you walk around to the other side it's like he has no idea what you want. He has to be trained on that side with that eye as well as the other.

He has only two ways to bring things into focus - The horse can change the shape of his eye with tiny eye muscles, but the most common thing a horse will do is to move his head to see something better. When he sees something far away he will raise his head and perhaps turn his head slightly to bring one eye to bear. When he wants to concentrate on something close he will lower his head. That's why our horses will raise and lower their heads when they first see something for the first time. He will raise his head to focus on something initially and lower it as he approaches it. It's important for us to allow him to do this so he will feel comfortable with what he is seeing.

He has the largest eyeball of any land mammal - This large eyeball allows him to magnify things and see them 50 percent larger than we do. This helps his distant vision and that's why he can see things long before we do (as well as hear and smell). It also explains why horses have such good vision at night. A horse's vision is even better than a cat's night time vision.

Most of all, I love the eyes of our horses. Except when they are fearful, their eyes are usually soft and show an impressive depth of awareness to everything going on around them.

"A dog looks up to a man.
A cat looks down on a man.
A horse looks a man in the eye and sees an equal."
--Anonymous

Today is June 10 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Tara Lapinski (Olympic gold medal ice skater), Elizabeth Hurley (actress - "Austin Powers"), John Edwards (former Senator and perennial presidential candidate), F. Lee Bailey (attorney), Maurice Sendak (children's book author - "Where The Wild Things Are"), Judy Garland (actress/singer - "Wizard of Oz"), Bobby Jindall (Governor of Louisiana), and Hattie McDaniel (actress - 1st Black to win an Oscar for "Gone With The Wind").


PS: There's a post on today's Galloping Grace Youth Ranch blog that everyone should read to help you better understand the grace of God.

Sunset Ride

For the first time, Betty and I decided to do a ride in the evening. We usually ride first thing in the mornings when it's cooler, but even then it can be pretty warm in the open sunny areas. So tonight was our first sunset ride.

We fed the horses an hour earlier and we went out to get them ready for the ride about 7:20 PM. The sun was already low in the Western sky. I don't know if Morgunn and Gletta were sure what was going on as this was a first for them as well.

The grooming and saddling went fine. After a short warm up in the back paddock, we took to the road. We rode up to the end of our road where we could enter the open sage area.


The air was definitely cooler and we saw that in Morgunn and Gletta's energy level as the ride went on. We had to periodically work them to get them to relax and slow down.


It was nice riding through the open sage with the Sandia Mountains beginning to get their evening glow.


We had to work a little bit, but all in all it was a good ride.

Today is June 9 and if today is your Birthday you share your day with: Michael J. Fox (actor - "Back to the Future"), Natalie Portman (actress - "Star Wars"), Johnny Depp (actor - "Pirates of the Caribbean"), Les Paul (guitarist), Cole Porter (musician/composer), and Fred Waring (musician/composer/inventor of Waring Blender).

Poll is Over

Well, only two people voted in the "Favorite Horse Movie" poll. Michelle voted for Seabiscuit and my son Wade Daniel voted for "Dreamer" which happens to be my favorite movie as well. I was hoping for more votes, but so did Hillary.

Oh, well.

Today is June 8 and if your Birthday is today you share your day with: Nancy Sinatra (singer - "These Boots Are Made For Walking"), Joan Rivers (comedian), Jerry Stiller (comedian and father of Ben Stiller), Barbara Bush (wife of George H. Bush and mother of George W.), Robert Preston (actor - "The Music Man"), and Frank Lloyd Wright (architect)

Big Brown - What Could Have Been

Betty and I just finished watching the Belmont Stakes, the third crown of the Triple Crown in horse racing. Everyone in the whole world expected Big Brown, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, to win today and be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed won it in 1978 - 30 years ago.

But, it was not to be. For some reason Big Brown didn't have it today. It was hot (about 94 degrees) and humid. The Belmont is also the longest of the three races - a mile and a half. To his credit, his jockey pulled him up when it was obvious (in his words) that "he didn't have a horse today." Initial reports are that Big Brown was not injured.

We know from our horses, Gletta and Morgunn, that some times they just have an off day - they're not at their best. That's something we accept as our horses are living, breathing beings with physical and emotional ups and downs just as we have.

Perhaps Big Brown just had an off day.

Today is June 7 and if your Birthday is today you share your day with: Anna Kournikova (professional tennis player), Prince (supposedly a singer), Ken Osmond (actor - Eddie Haskel in "Leave it to Beaver"), Liam Neeson (actor - "Schindler's List"), Tom Jones (singer), Dean Martin (singer/actor with Jerry Lewis), Jessica Tandy (actress - "Driving Miss Daisy"), and Paul Gauguin (painter).

Your Favorite Horse Movie

I added a poll (above) that will run for a couple of days to find out what your favorite horse movie is. I put in some of the classics, but you have the choice of "Other" and you can put your choice into the comments.

Let me know which horse movie you like the best.

Today is June 6 and if you today is your Birthday you share your day with: Jim Wade (Betty's younger brother), Bjorn Borg (champion tennis player), Max Casella (actor - Vinnie on "Doogie Howser, MD"), Dana Carvey (comic - "Saturday Night Live," " Wayne's World"), Robert Englund (actor - "Freddy Kruger"), and Pearl S. Buck (novelist).

Grace Really Does Gallop

One of the joys of my life is going to Galloping Grace Youth Ranch and helping out in any way that I can. Our friends, Max and Michelle Wade, run it as a place where kids can come FREE and experience the joy of horses. Check out their link on the left of this blog to read about what they're doing and enjoy Michelle's slightly twisted sense of humor (and I mean that as a compliment).

I try to go out on Thursdays to work with the horses or shovel manure or whatever. It was raining first thing this morning and I didn't think I would get to go. However, it stopped and I decided to go out. I'm really glad I did.

There is a program for girls that comes out on a regular basis and they bring some the girls who are experiencing various problems in their lives. Only two girls came out today. After lunch, Max worked with one girl in the arena as she rode Black, a gentle, experienced horse. I worked with the other girl in the round pen teaching her how horses communicate and how we can use groundwork to gain their respect and trust.

It was great to see these young girls get an 1,100 pound horse follow them around the round pen without any lead rope. The horse, through the ground work, had learned to respect and trust them which may be pretty rare in their lives.

Galloping Grace Youth Ranch is a place where kids can come to be loved and respected - both by Max and Michelle and also by the horses.

One of my favorite places.

Today is June 5 and if your Birthday is today you share you day with: Michael Winans (Gospel singer - "The Winans"), Kenny G. (saxophonist), William Boyd (Cowboy actor - "Hopalong Cassidy"), Igor Stravinsky (composer), and Pancho Villa (Mexican activist/bandit).

Another Book

Awhile back we shared Mark Rashid's books that we enjoyed and that influenced how we think about horses. Here's another book that has had an influence - "True Horsemanship Through Feel" by Bill Dorrance (told to Leslie Desmond).

First, a little about Bill. He was born near Enterprise, Orgegon on January 19, 1906. Bill spent 80 plus years working with horse, cattle and doing general ranching. He died at age 93, just before this book was published. Bill was still riding and teaching riding through feel at age 92.

The heart of this book is a quote from Bill, "I've always liked horses and I've always wanted to help them do their job better, whatever it is they had to do." He chose the title because he felt that 'feel' was the horse's true language. They communicate with each other through feel and, if we want to communicate with our horses, we need to do it through feel.

One of the difficulties of the book is Leslie Desmond wrote it as Bill spoke - with all of his ranch vocabulary and vernacular. Sometimes you have to read something more than once to fully understand what he's saying. Here's an example.

"There's some horses that will let you have all the chances you want. That kind of horse is just waiting for you to get things sorted out, and it's real helpful to be around a horse like this when you haven't got much experience. A fella's guesswork isn't a threat to a horse like this. And a horse like we're speaking about now isn't apt to bring your own feelings of self-preservation to the surface. The thing to remember is that there's all kinds of exceptions to anything that a person could say or show you about this."

Besides the concept of feel, one of the things I learned from this book is the importance of patience, or as Bill would say, "going slow."

"This approach has to be taught going real slow from the start and staying slow enough to where that slowness has some actual value. It can be done right or not, even if it's slow. But the chance of a horse remembering what he's supposed to be learning is a lot better when a person isn't trying to rush the results."

A good book if you have the time to read it - and sometimes re-read it again and again.

Today is June 4 and if today is your Birthday then you share your day with: Angelina Jolie (actress - "Laura Croft and the Tomb Raider"), Noah Wylie (actor - "ER"), Michelle Phillips (singer - "The Mamas and the Papas"), Dennis Weaver (actor - Chester on "Gunsmoke"), Rosalind Russell (actress - "Mame"), and George III (English king during American Revolution).

No Horses Today - Just a Cutie

Today has been a fairly busy day so nothing complicated or deep about us or our horses. However, we want to share a recent picture of our granddaughter Juliet that we received from our son and daughter-in-law.


Is that a great picture or what? See you tomorrow.

Today is June 3 and if today is your Birthday you share your day with: Colleen Dewhurst (actress), Tony Curtis (actor - "Some Like It Hot"), Tom Arnold (actor), Larry McMurtry (author - "Lonesome Dove"), and Jefferson Davis (Confederate President during the Civil War).

Horse Addiction

I found this and thought I would share it with all of you who, like us, find that your horses have an undue effect upon your lives...

The Twelve Steps of Horse Addiction

1. We admit we are powerless under the rule of our horses - that our lives have become periods of servitude interspersed with occasional chances to purchase new play things for the horses that "own" us.

2. We have come to believe that there is no power greater than our horses that will keep us sane and happy.

3. We made a conscious decision that we have turned our will and our lives over to the care and entertainment of our horses.

4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our barn and still think we might have room for just one more horse.

5. We admitted to God, ourselves and our friends that our shoes will always be muddy and there will be horsehair and horse snot on our clothes.

6. We were entirely ready to remove all these defects of character, but decided against it when our horse nickered and nuzzled us.

7. We humbly asked for removal of our shortcomings - so we could have more time to spend with our horses.

8. We made a list of all persons we had slighted when we were late because of chores or a long trail ride and became willing to make amends to them all - even though they still didn't want to hear about our horses.

9. We made direct amends to these people wherever possible, except when they didn't want to help us unload the feed bags or 100 bales of hay.

10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it to our horse... who knew it from the start and had been telling us that all along.

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our horses as we understood them, praying only for knowledge of their will for us and the power to carry that will out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we will carry this message to those faced with Horse Addiction and practice these principles in all our affairs.

Take it one day at a time, folks!

Today is June 2 and if it's your Birthday you share your day with: Wayne Brady (comic, TV host), Dana Carvey (comic - "Saturday Night Live"), Jerry Mathers (actor - The Beaver on "Leave It To Beaver"), Sally Kellerman (actress - Hot Lips in "M.A.S.H."), Johnny Weismuller (actor - Tarzan), and Henry VIII (King of England - notorious beheader of his wives).

Changing Dreams

I was born in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. My childhood years were in the late 40's and early to mid 50's. Me and my childhood friends played four games -baseball, football, army, and cowboys. The baseball and football were pick up games in the neighborhood. Playing army was influenced by our closeness to the end of the war. My father had a war dependent job so he didn't serve, but many of our family friends did. Conversations about Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge were common. However, my favorite games had to do with cowboys.

Wanting to be a cowboy came from those Saturday afternoon matinees where for a quarter you could see two of the old (late 30's to early 50's) Westerns and several cartoons. I never wanted to be Daffy Duck, but I did want to be Roy Rogers when I grew up.

There were many great movie cowboys during those days - Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, Lash Larue, Bob Steel, Randolph Scott, Harry Carey (Sr. and Jr.), the Cisco Kid, the Lone Ranger, Red Ryder, and, of course, John Wayne.

But, to my boyish imagination there was only one King of the Cowboys and that was Roy Rogers with his magnificent horse, Trigger. This was before the TV series when Dale Evans became his partner.

I don't remember if I had all the outfit, but I do remember getting a Roy Rogers gun and holster (cap gun of course) for Christmas when I was about 6 years old (1951).

A little Roy Rogers triva: Question: What was Roy Rogers real name? Answer: Leonard Slye. Question: Where was he born? Answer: Cincinnati, Ohio. His boyhood home is right about where the Cincinnati Reds baseball stadium now stands along the Ohio River. Question: What was Trigger's original name? Answer: Golden Cloud. Question: What movie was Golden Cloud in before he became Trigger? Answer: Robin Hood with Errol Flynn. Golden Cloud/Trigger was Maid Marian's horse. Question: How much did Roy pay for Trigger? Answer: $2,500. He later spent $5,000 for a saddle and tack with gold and silver appointments. In today's dollars that would be like spending $22,000 for Trigger and $44,000 for his saddle and tack. Question: Was Trigger a Tennessee Walking Horse? Answer: No. This is a common myth. His sire was a Thoroughbred and his dam a Quarter Horse.

Roy Rogers had several side kicks in his movies and Pat Buttram in the TV show with his jeep, Nellie Belle. However, one sidekick was with him more than others and that was George "Gabby"Hayes. I actually met Gabby Hayes when I was about 7 years old. Our neighbor owned a furniture store in Nashville, Tennessee and was an early local sponsor of the Gabby Hayes TV show which aired from 1950 to 1954. Gabby Hayes came to Nashville to shoot a local TV promotion and I got to go to the TV studio to watch and meet him. Quite a thrill for a 7 year old boy of that era.

I don't think I grew out of those early cowboy days, but the entertainment industry did away with cowboy movies and TV shows as I grew out of childhood. Over the years, I have learned that I still had that deep dream of being a cowboy, even if I finally realized that I would never be Roy Rogers. So, when Betty and I took up horseback riding about 13 years ago at age 50, my dream of becoming a cowboy seemed to be coming true.

However, as I learned more about horses and we eventually got our own horses, Gletta and Morgunn, I realized this dream would never come true. A hard fact that I have learned and come to accept is that cowboys are people on horseback who make their living by moving and working cows. I have 'played' working cows on horseback several times, but that's the extent of my being a play cowboy.

The good news is that as I have had to give up the dream of becoming a cowboy, a new dream is taking it's place - one that is realistic. My dream now is to become the best horseman that I can be. I still have a long way to go, but I know this dream is attainable. I will never be really good, but I am a better horseman than I was last year and I'm working to be a better horseman next year.

All in all, not a bad dream to have in the latter part of my life.

Today is June 1 and if your birthday is today you share you day with: Morgan Freeman (actor), Pat Boone (singer), Andy Griffith (actor), and Marilyn Monroe (actress).