More Michigan adventures

Today my new roommate (Jae) and I headed south back into Indiana to pick up a new addition to the colorful menagerie here on the farm. I have mentioned some of the critters here, but, until now, I didn't have pics to go with my comments. I will start today's post with some pictures of the animals residing on the property.

We'll start with the llama (Snickers) and his lovely lady ewes, since I've already mentioned them. Those girls look like they are gonna pop out some babies any day now, but we're still waiting!!

There are also quite a few ducks and chickens running around. The ducks come in a variety of colors, and there are even several Muscovies.

Hershey and Cadbury are the resident meat calves, although they have a long way to go until they are big enough for the dinner plate.

Coyote is Quimby's new bff. She doesn't care so much for the Chunk, but Chunky has lots of love for the puppies of the world.

And, of course, my ponies are right at home amongst all the other creatures.

So what else could we add to the bustling little farm to make it even more colorful? What, indeed! How about this fuzzy little face?

This cute little girl was a "free to a good home" pony-sized molly mule. She's still just a baby at about a year and a half old. The guys who had her seemed to think she was crazy and flighty. Watch this video and see if you think the same thing:

The new mule (we still need a name for her) caused quite a sensation in the neighborhood. Horses and calves couldn't figure out what this strange looking beast was.

Watch the fierce, wild mule on film! And please, leave a comment if you have any suggestions for this little devil's name. One last note... she is NOT mine, she's my roommate's. So far I've refrained from adding more to my own head count!

Llama drama

Today the ponies had a new resident move into their pen. He's black and hairy with a face only a mother could love. They immediately decided he was the ugliest horse they had ever seen, an offense to their refined equine sensibilities.

Snickers, of course, didn't enjoy being the butt of horse curiosity. He just wanted to return to his beloved ewes across the fence.

Snickers is a very accomplished whiner. If you've never heard a llama whine, you can consider yourself very fortunate. It's rather grating and extremely pathetic. As my roommate puts it, "He's the whiniest damn llama I've ever known."

 Zeplin, Layla, and Jazzy converged upon poor Snickers as soon as we dragged him into their domain. I think he was convinced that they were a special breed of llama-eating horses. Zeplin especially wanted to know what he was about, even talking to him face-to-face in spite of Snickers's weak attempts at spitting at him in the cold winter air. Layla took offense that something so ugly wanted HER hay, so she pinned her ears back and charged at him whenever he got close.

When I fed the ponies their evening grain, Snickers was able to take a few minutes while they were distracted to grab a couple mouthfuls of hay. Then it was back to running away from monstrous horses.

I guess we'll see tomorrow if any attitudes have changed overnight...

Zeplin

My boy doesn't like me at all :-) (Notice how Jazzy is moving pretty quickly at first, then she decides that's a complete waste of her precious energy).

Working those furry butts

Yesterday after work I headed south to where my ponies currently reside. I plan anything specifically; I just wanted to work both Layla and Zeplin. Weather in the mid 80s with moderate humidity was a definite improvement over the extended heat wave and high humidity of a couple weeks ago.

I took my time grooming each horse, using several brushes to dig out the grime and polish their sleek coats. Zeplin stretched out with a rapturous look on his silly face, urging me to ease the worst of his itches. Layla allowed my ministrations but did not relax until I started singing softly and applied the softest body brush along her long neck and back.

The late afternoon stretched into evening as I combed out knotted manes and tails. Layla's mane was impossible to untangle without any type of product, so I merely tidied what I could. Both were saddled and then worked individually.

I asked both Layla and Zeplin to canter a lot on the longeline. We were all a dripping, sweaty mess by the time we finished, but I had a chance to observe their gaits and attitudes.

Layla and I need plenty of time together to bond. Zeplin oozes confidence, but he still isn't sure he really wants to commit to serious effort or if he just wants to play. Mental maturity (if such a thing can be acheived by a gelding!) will help stabilize his goofy streak and cement our partnership. I'm certainly looking forward to endless hours riding my lovely Ay-rab mounts!

Here is some footage I took on my phone a different day when I longed Layla. I tried the same day to record some of Zep's session, but he required more attention and both hands to keep his silly feet moving.

Arab picket line

Anyone feel like riding an Arab?

These lovely ponies are ready and waiting! Operators are standing by, so call now!!

A few horse pictures

Just wanted to share a few July pictures. Not much to say, so enjoy!

Latest horse pics

I took the time last night when I was feeding the ponies to snap a few quick pictures with my cell phone.
I can't believe how mature my Zeplin looks now! So hard to grasp how far he's come from the gangly yearling colt I obtained four years ago!

Jazzy is a bit more difficult to photograph because the other two like to get in the way:

Another challenge is trying to take a picture of Layla without her head down to eat. She certainly doesn't miss a meal! No wonder she gets along so well with Jazzy... Ignore the sunbleaching and the dreadlocked mane.

By the way, in case you were wondering--my house didn't get flooded in Iowa, but I am still trying to figure out when I will get back there to clean everything back up and list it for sale. Things at work hardly ever seem to slow down! Very frustrating, because before I took my emergency trip out there, I had been trying since last October to find time to go.

I am back

I have been told by some good friends that they really miss reading my blog. Thanks, you guys, you are awesome :-) It's wonderful to have friends like that!

There hasn't been much to comment on the last few months. The weather has looked like this:

MARCH (flooding from snow melt and rain)

APRIL (more rain)

MAY (even more rain--does it ever end??)

After three months of rain and flooding, you can see from a couple of these pictures what my horses' pasture looks like. The ponies themselves cannot escape the mud. I am ready for more than just an afternoon at a time of sunshine!!!

Hopefully it dries up soon so I can put the kids back to work. In the meantime, enjoy the many pics of mud and rain I shall be posting.

I assure you, I am still alive!

Wow, I survived January! And what a crazy, insanely busy month it was! I have plenty to tell, but I lack the energy to type it all out at the moment. Suffice it to say that I am hoping against hope that February will be a bit more relaxed. I'm not holding my breath though--the first week was hectic and this coming week my company is hosting a meeting for some of the managers of all locations here in Indiana.

We have been slammed with several storms lately, as has most of the rest of the country. Last Tuesday brought an actual blizzard to the plains of Indiana. We buckled down under pounding snow and sleet, while further south they struggled through inches of ice and freezing rain. Driving to the place where my ponies currently reside, I encountered ice-coated roads like this:

Reports from nearby TV stations claim this to be one of the top five snowiest winters (Dec-Jan-Feb) since such records were kept.

The horses were none the worse for wear. They seemed resigned to weathering through the rest of what winter has to offer, as we have no other choice. So long as they have plenty of delicious grass hay, water, and grain, they ignore the challenges tossed out by a cantankerous Mother Nature.

The kittens remain in high spirits, enjoying the warmth of our cozy home and the company of my now unemployed roommate. Hancock (Hank) enjoys cleaning in the sink, while Murphy crashes after experiencing a catnip high. Blue came special delivery, FedEx.

That's my update for now. I think I've run out of steam and I need to get this office cleaned yet today. Stay warm and keep spring in your sites!

Welcome 2011!

The year 2010 was full of turmoil and change for me. A year ago today, I could not have foreseen the twists and turns my life was about to take. I certainly never imagined that I would ever move back to Indiana (I'm still coming to grips with this). Yet there were some wonderful events to balance out some of the more devastating occurrences. I made new friends and acquired a gorgeous black Arabian mare I absolutely adore.

I was determined to start this new year out right. To that end, I decided I had to work with the ponies today. My best friend Julie sent me a saddle for Christmas (curse you, Julie, you shouldn't have spent so much on me!) because she knew that my dressage saddle no longer fit the horses. Here is the saddle, an Abetta Endurance (synthetic) with the Arabian tree:

 The last couple of days, the weather finally warmed up enough to melt the snow that had been hanging around uninvited since the beginning of December. Of course this resulted in a soupy, swampy mess where the horse pasture used to be.

My poor ponies have to slop around in this, with few areas clear of any kind of clinging muck. I think Zeplin takes some kind of perverse pleasure in his filth.

My stinky boy wonder didn't want to slog his way into the barn so I could work with him (and try out the new saddle on him). Instead, I caught up my lovely black mare and brought her out of the barn into the rapidly cooling afternoon air. Man was she a mess!

It's difficult to see the mud against her dark coat from this cell phone pic, but trust me... it's there!! I quickly groomed as much of the dried mud out of her hair as I could with rapidly numbing fingers.

Better, but not perfect. Cursed Indiana mud season!

Next it was time for some longeing before I saddled her. She was acting a little nervous, and I wanted to find her brains through moving her feet. We still don't know each other well and have not had the chance to bond. I found through our primary session that she is lacking in some ground manners. She did listen good enough for today.

After reducing Layla's energy level a little, I worked some on desensitizing her. She was a bit jumpy when my rope gently coiled around her, especially her back feet. She has some scarring from previous rope burn, so that is understandable.

In spite of Layla's reputation for being difficult to cinch, I didn't have a problem with that today (knock on wood). Maybe she was too busy trying to snatch what few blades of grass she could reach. The new saddle fit handily!

Some more longeing, and we were ready to rock (although the sun was quickly setting)!

It was a brief ride, but definitely a bright start to a new year :-)