Late this year, but...

...As the saying goes, "better late than never." I always send out a picture collage for Christmas to close friends and family. I showed last year's result in this post. I finally chose my design to use this year. Hopefully my cards will reach everyone before the new year. All of the pictures I used (except for the very nice Layla pic) can be found in the blog in one post or another. Enjoy!

Like it or not, winter is here...

...And I fall into the not liking it category. While I'm not a huge fan of the state of Indiana, one thing I did look forward to was a milder winter than what comes with the territory in Iowa. After the four blizzards of last winter and the mental and emotional tolls of a long winter combined with the loss of a beautiful filly, I was completely ready to leave northern climates behind. Of course, I only made it as far south as Indiana.

Of course, this year had to be the year that temperatures dropped and it snowed sooner in Indiana than Iowa. Figures. I am so not ready for this!

Last week the first snows drifted down from the cloudy skies and refused to budge. They were joined by more a couple days later, and then a little more. Not a lot at a time, but enough to cause slick roads and cover hazardous black ice. The ponies didn't mind, and at least I got new tires on the work truck on Wednesday (Dec 1) when it all started.

Zeplin, of course, always has to be the first to come up to me when he sees me pull up at the barn.

 How would I ever get by without this silly face to greet me every evening at feeding time? Speaking of feeding time...

...grain time is everyone's favorite time of day!! Well, except for mine, because I have to stand out in the cold waiting for them to finish so I can remove the feed bags.

We'll get by. We always do. Layla will make sure of it. Right, girl?

Mud ponies

In the miserable depths of wet, cold Northern Indiana lurk three disheveled and hairy beasts. These fierce and dangerous creatures dwell within a slippery, slimey mess of deep black mud.

They may look harmless, but you are warned: do not approach!

Do not look them in the eyes!

They will get you!

I should know. They already got me!!!

Goat in the house!

When I said my new roommate (Michael) is an animal person, I truly meant it. He was excited to have me bring the goat to the house. He had never been around goats (grew up a city boy) and wanted to learn more about them. I warned him about some of the peculiarities of my goat in particular. Such as how she would climb on the roof if possible. He thought she sounded pretty cool.

I brought Molly over on Saturday in the cold, dark and rainy early evening. My roommate had already fallen asleep when I arrived at the house, so I put Molly in the barn with hay, water and a ticked-off Quimby to keep her company in her new environment.

The next morning, dreary and frigid weather kept me in bed late. Finally, I dragged myself out from under the warm covers to let Quimby and the goat out of the barn. Michael had gone on his weekly Sunday morning breakfast run to McDonalds. I threw on a sweatshirt and some pajama bottoms and slipped outside into the grey chilliness of late fall.

Molly and Quimby burst through the door of the barn as soon as I flung it open. I didn't linger, as the cold was seeping through my inadequate clothing. Molly followed me back through the open garage door and up the two stairs to the "mud room." I left her outside while Quimby and I entered the house.

Michael arrived home not long after, surprised by a hairy beast with curved horns charging at him upon his entrance to the garage.

Michael's dogs and cats were instantly fascinated by this strange-looking dog with horns. He allowed Molly to come into the house (well aware that she was not house-trained) to check out her new surroundings. She stuck pretty close to me, at first. She guarded the kitchen from the unknown animals while I peeled apples to make an apple pie.

Eventually, Molly felt comfortable enough to lay down in the hall outside the kitchen entry. Occasionally, one or two of Michael's dogs would bark at her. The kittens were transfixed, as you can tell from this picture with three kittens staring at Molly standing on the landing of the stairs.

I headed out later in the afternoon to wash my laundry and check on the ponies. When I returned, well after the roommate's bedtime, Molly was laying outside the closed door to his room. I ushered her out the door and into the mud room, afraid she might try to climb into bed with me if I kept her inside the house. I didn't fancy the idea of my goat trying to squeeze enough space at the foot of the bed to sleep next to Quimby. There wouldn't be room left for me!

I'm sure I'll come home to a goat in the house many times this winter, as Michael doesn't like the idea of her getting cold out in the barn by herself. I don't care, as long as she doesn't try to sleep in my room and I'm not expected to clean up any mess! This should make for many interesting stories and photo opportunities...

Quimby's new pack

I moved not long ago into a house in the country. My new landlord/roommate is a huge animal person. Along with a whole herd of cats (one of whom adopted me already), he has a pack of 5 dogs. Three are black lab/pit bull mix brothers rescued together. The other two are Amerian-bred dingoes, more rescues.

It did not take Quimby long to integrate into the pack. She loves other dogs, although she can be very bossy. She enjoys playing with the boys (only one of the other dogs is another female).

It also didn't take Quimbalina long to gain the affection of not one, not two, but THREE of her new pals. With three boyfriends, she gets plenty of action! At the end of the day, though, Quimby is the happiest pup in the world with her new family.

Three's company

I think I called my new mare "Layla" in my last blog without mentioning that this would be her new name. Layla in Arabic means "dark beauty," and it's very appropriate for my lovely black Arab.

Last weekend, I allowed all of my ponies in together. Zeplin had already spent a week in the same pasture as Layla. Jazzy and Layla were acquainted over the fence. I wanted to make sure when I introduced them into one group that I had plenty of time to observe.

My troika of horses trotted all over the pasture together when I allowed Jazzy in with the others. I took some pictures and videos with my phone (since my regular camera is not yet fixed).

I was pleased to find no arguing when I threw them some hay. Layla is very submissive and will move to a different hay pile if another horse pushes her away. Zeplin sometimes moves her to prove his dominance, although he himself is quick to step out of Jazzy's way when those ears go back.

While Zeplin might push Layla away from his pile, Jazzy doesn't mind sharing her own hay with Layla. I think these two mares will bond very well.

Comet update

Remember when I mentioned Zeplin's little brother Comet? I have been corresponding with the lady who raised him. She also had his mother for awhile, and she sent me baby pics of Comet next to his spotted mama. Comet and the related mare she also had for sale, Star, have found a new home. I thought I'd post some pictures their former owner sent to me.

Here is a picture of Zeplin's and Comet's mother, Lilac

Lilac's registered name is CR Lady Lilac. Lilac is 98.4% Arabian. She came from a Pintabian breeding program, and she has a full brother living in Canada (CR Royale Coppersin).
Here are some pictures of Lilac and Comet when Comet was a foal.

Comet's former owner also sent me a series of pictures of him checking out a cat on the fence. His expressions remind me so much of my own boy!

Jazzy time

Sunday I was determined to work with chubby Miss Jazzy. She had lazed off the entire summer and most of the spring barely breaking a sweat. My new roommate, however, assures me that he wants to whip her into shape. That means that I need to get her to a place where a new rider can hop on in confidence. While he doesn't fear anything she might throw his way, I don't want him to be injured or to risk my mare through lack of preparation.

That meant that Jazzy needs to pack around my not-so-small ass on her rotund back to gain some experience.

I started with some easy groundwork to make sure she was listening. I saddled her and put her through her paces a second time. I found that when I tried to slide the leathers through the girth, I had difficulty stretching it across her ample chest. Porker.

I slipped the brass holders through the first hole in each side of the girth then tightened it from there. She hunched up, tucked her huge bum underneath her, and bounced a couple times at the canter when the saddle slid forward. While her bucks aren't particularly impressive, I'm not a particularly impressive rider myself and prefer not to test my own ability to remain seated through her tiny, half-hearted fits. I pushed the saddle back and tightened the girth a little more.

Then Jazzy and I took a walk down the road. I wish I had someone remaining behind to record Zeplin flying up and down the fenceline, hollering like his world had shattered. Layla trotted and huffed a bit, but poor Zep thought his herd had been ripped apart.

Jazzy behaved well on our walk, aside from some initial pushiness. That disappeared quickly when I informed her it wouldn't be tolerated. I had not intended to actually ride yet, but she seemed to be doing great. I decided I would hop on her back and see what she did. Before climbing aboard, I alerted the lady who owns the property that I would be attempting to ride Jazzy, and I wanted her to watch out to make sure I wasn't left bleeding and broken on the ground.

Jazzy stood perfectly for mounting, remembering her earlier training. I slid aboard easily. I felt her tense up, a powder keg of powerful Quarter Horse muscle. She had not been ridden since her April adventure with my friend Sudhir and his entourage. I had never ridden her outside of my round pen before.

I didn't push her hard at first, just circled her and tried to keep her feet moving so that she wouldn't worry. We stayed near the other ponies and walked around the small garden plot. Jazzy moved out nicely, albeit much slower than what I'm used to with the Arabs. I felt I had good enough steering and response to try to make a circuit of the hay field.

In spite of my apprehensions, Jazzy moved away from the other two horses without a backward glance. She moved at a steady pace, although she started a couple times when the wind whipped through the trees and brush separating the hay pasture from the neighboring farm land. I didn't have to nag her at all.

With Quimby dancing in front of us, Jazzy and I mosied to the back of the field . She became "stuck" briefly when something in the brush worried her (the downed tree maybe?). She nosed my foot, but I gently pressed against her sides with my legs to ask her forward while turning in the opposite direction. She considered blowing up, briefly, but decided it was too much work. She sighed, dropped her neck while chewing thoughtfully, and continued on toward the far end of the field.

My only goal for the ride was to get Jazzy to relax and steer. She did both, although she was clearly very stiff on the right side. I felt tremendously proud of my stout red mare. She remembered her manners and performed very well, even after vacationing for half a year between rides.

This girl is definitely going to be a reliable one for the roommate, nieces, and nephews!

Happy Anniversary, blog!

It's been one year since I started this blog. Wow, how things have changed in that time span! I would never have predicted the course of the year's events. Some of the major changes:

- I never desired to live in Indiana ever again, yet here I am. Hopefully not forever, but I do like my new job so far and want to see where I can go with the company.

- Lost one beautiful half-Arab bay filly (R.I.P., Caly girl) and gained a gorgeous black purebred Arab mare.

- I did find a good job before I became unable to pay for my house, but I still have that lovely house for sale in Iowa (anyone? see video and pics).

- Survived the worst winter I can ever remember followed by one of the most miserable hot, humid summers ever. It doesn't seem to matter that my horses remained in Iowa all summer, since I wouldn't have been able to tolerate being outside long enough to ride anyways!

- Out of medical research and back into poultry. What can I say, you go where there are opportunities!

- Moved far away from wonderful old friends (miss you guys a lot!) but made new ones in the process (which did lead to acquisition of the aforementioned black mare).

- Have a non-family roommate for the first time ever (not counting the few months in Russia where I shared a room at the hostal with a prissy vegetarian). He seems pretty cool so far, and he's as much of an animal lover as I am. Hopefully it works out, and I continue to feel comfortable living there while balancing both a mortgage and rent. Quimby likes him!

Those are just some of the major changes. Lots of little things changed as well, some for the better and some not. I'll keep working on a brighter future and writing about my own experiences, past and present. Feel free to make "requests" of me if you would like for me to write about a specific topic.

Zeplin's new girlfriend

She's here!!

Let me introduce you (or rather re-introduce, as she's already been mentioned here and here) to Starlite Duchess. This dark beauty is the latest addition to the family. I will go into more of her story later. Today is about introductions and the love of geldings for pretty mares. Well, ok, maybe just the love of one gelding in particular.

Zeplin couldn't keep his eyes off her from the moment she stepped off the trailer. Jazzy enjoyed meeting the new herd member as well.

Zeplin appeared determined to check her out thoroughly, even if it meant pushing through the fencing separating them. We decided to put him in with her to see what happened (under our supervision).

Zeplin quickly let her know who was in charge, but then they settled down to share some hay. I think my enlarged herd should work out well!

Addendum to Idaho part III

In my rush to post the pretty pictures taken along the drive, I neglected to mention the worst part of the trek.

Our rental car reeked of gas.

Can you imagine spending 3 hours trapped in the small confines of a little Kia Sorrento choking on fumes of gasoline? Rolling down the windows did not help much and only led to complaints from the back passengers. We hoped the smell would disappate by the time we reached our destination, but it remained strong and whole for the entire duration of the trip. I felt nauseated.

The driver of the Explorer had arranged the rental from Budget. He called a branch located in Twin Falls (we planned to visit Shoshone Falls before heading to the hotel). The people at that branch were very nice and willing to help out in any way they could. I hopped into the Explorer and he drove the Sorrento over to the branch while the rest of us headed to Shoshone.

Long story short, he was unable to trade the vehicle for a new one because the people who owned the branch in SLC were uncooperative. The rest of the trip I did not ride in that car.

Stay tuned for lovely pics of Shoshone Falls.

Trip to Idaho for work, part III

See here for part I and here for part II.

Warning: this whole post will basically be pictures. Not much to discuss about the drive itself. We got into the two cars. We drove for a few hours. We got out of the cars. Exciting story, right? So enjoy these pictures of Utah & Idaho countryside.

I do have to note that this was my favorite picture. You can see how small and insignificant the horses look against the rising expanse of the mountain behind.

So that was the drive. A very alien landscape to someone who grew up in the Midwest, but beautiful in its own right. I hope my pictures conveyed some of the variety of landscape.

To be continued...