Buying Land

What a task....I have been looking for property for 5 long years, it has always been something. The land had floodplain, wrong location, etc.. Funding was not available or if it was it was for the wrong properties.  So I have these huge property folders where i have printed off my Favs.  I have paid off all our credit card debt and our vehicles, now we try again. I found a piece of land that has potential. We will now find out if it's possible to have our small and what may seem irrelevant dream to most which is to have a place for our rescued equine to call home and a place where we can still see the stars shine for our kids, before they are grown.  I have been on edge awaiting the results.  I don't have a plan B but I feel I can come up with other ideas rather quickly.  The toughest part really is the down payment. They want so much for land as opposed to buying the typical urban home and no incentives at all.  So I await the start  of my american dream.... 

Everette

I noticed the horses all excited in the pasture.  I walked out to the first gate and listened...I didn't hear or see anything. Must be the cows or deer I thought. I walked to the next gate, the horses are blasting around, but not blowing and snorting, huh?  As I turned to walk back up to the house I saw a donkey in my neighbor's pasture. Then I saw my neighbor.  She said I rescued this donkey.  He's a Jack. I commented on how cute he was and the little guy was playing and having fun with her big paint gelding. I walked back to the house glad to know what the horses were so excited about. I was working in the office a while later when I heard the loudest (and longest bray) I've ever listened to. It wasn't just the neighbor's rescued donkey it was one of mine too.  Willie was up in the front of our property and he and the nieghbor's little donkey had just discovered each other.  WOW, it was like they were long lost friends. I had never witnessed anything like this, braying as loud as possible without even taking a breath.  Waylon who hasn't brayed since he was gelded just watched shoulder to shoulder with Willie, he was taking it all in.  Willie who only brays occasionally was proving he was very long winded. We finally broke up the meeting of the donkeys and went back to work.  a few minutes later I looked out the window and the new little donkey was in our yard playing with Willie and Waylon.   I walked out and my neighbor was standing at the fence.  She said I'm sorry he got through the fence, which neither of us really wanted to fix right at the moment.  This poor fence has been through horses, dogs, and the hurricane and it still does a good job of keeping our animals on the correct side, but this donkey, the fence was no match for him.  I told her just let him stay, they are having fun.  She said he wasn't easy to catch and he kicks.  So for the next 24 hours he just hung out with Waylon and Willie. The next morning we decided to put him a pen to give Willie  a break.  How do we catch him? Well we'll rope him.  So my son gets the rope around his neck and away they go, it looked my on was water skiing. After a couple of laps around the yard, he was finally able to get his nose tipped around and his hindquarters to disengage, then he just stopped.  We slipped on a halter and just petted him, he was sweet, just afraid.  We led him to the pen and he walked very politely with us. We limited his play time as to give Willie a break,since he was recently gelded.  Some of our neighbors have a female donkey that they wanted to breed so their jenny could have a companion and they could raise and love a baby donkey. I don't normally promote breeding but the (baby and) mother have a great home for life.  So Everette is currently with Jenny and they are courting.  Everette will come back to us to be gelded and trained. 



Everette's Rendevouz



The First Mini

Sparkle was my first miniature horse in alot of ways.  She was my first horse as a christmas gift. She was my first horse to give birth to a mule. She was my first horse to choke (and go to the vet on emergency). She was my first horse to have a seizure.  She was my first grey horse.  She was the first horse I put a harness on.  She was my first horse to kick me. Now she is 21 years old and a very special friend.  She is high in the herd. We separate her to feed her and hang out with her at meals. She is groomed and clipped to maintain her beauty.  Saprkle can read my mind and know when I want  her and will come out of the herd to me.  She is much slower now than she used to be.  I think all the years of having babies took a toll on her somewhat. 

In this photo, she is the first horse I went through a hurricane with.  Note the tag in her mane with our contact info. I even shaved our phone number on her body which on a mini took her whole body all the way around. 

Waylon Nelson tales of the Pink Donkey

Waylon is a large Standard Donkey.  He is a beautiful Pink Donkey not a common color bit still an approved Donkey Color.  It's not important where he has been, and there's no way to know.  He didn't have a name and 2 of his feet were in bad shape.  It didn't take him long to warm up to us.  His feet have been trimmed and the damage from white line disease cut away.  Waylon is on the road to recovery.  He is young maybe 1 or 2 and deserved a chance to be healthy and loved. Waylon is friends with every Equine he meets.  He is playful and shy.  We are honored to know him.  The picture above shows what a Donkey's hoof  SHOULD NOT look like! He lost most of the outer wall and it could take up to a year for him to grow a new hoof.  When he's feeling better he will be gelded. Until then lots of love, rest, good nutrition, and hanging out with his Donkey buddies. Get well wishes Waylon Nelson the Pink Donkey.

Little Jasper

I had several trade offers for Jasper.  The one that sounded the best for Jasper was a man that had 30 acres in Waller.  On the other hand the pony he was trading me was a 6 month old Welsh cross gelding.  I thought OK, he can grow up with the kids.  The man delivered him one morning.  I didn't know the pony had not been weaned.  I didn't know he had not been handled much and was not familiar with a halter.  I'm being really nice here to this guy. The man unloaded this crazy pony and I walked my calm beautiful appaloosa onto the trailer dumbfounded.  He asked do you want to trade? I though too late now....my horse is in the trailer and this pony is running around like he's crazy with no halter on ?!  Then I thought about the 30 acres Jasper would get to roam on and though he would rather that lifestyle....loose on all that land with no kids. 

As the man got in his truck he said by the way he's part mustang too.  I watched the trailer go down the street.  Then the persistant nickering snapped me to attention.  I needed to get this baby in the pasture before he breaks a fence. The pasture fence is much more solid.  So I opened all gates leading to the pasture and began to walk that way.  He decided to go behind my husbands shops which was a narrow path between the shop and the neighbor's fence.  He decided to take this path at full gallop.  To get tot he gate he needed to take a left behind the shop and the gate would be on the right which leads to the small pasture.  Instead he decided to go straight and hit the small pasture fence and flipped over.  I ran as fast as I could to him and just before I got to his side he jumped up and ran to the back of the small pasture.  The poor scared baby.  I got him some hay and our relationship began.  He never suffered any ill effect from flipping over the fence.  Although, he was much more aware when he ran around and careful of the fencing. 

I knew this was pony was not going to work for me.  I even quit watching training tapes because I couldn't get near him and my knowledge of training was very low.  I placed another ad this time for a mini only and I was trading a Welch Mustang cross. I continued to try everyday to touch this baby.  He began to associate me with food and in the beginning he stayed his distance in no time he was the opposite and was all over me at feeding time.  Finally, on Thanksgiving Day I touched him and haltered him for the first time.  A couple of days later my ad was answered.

My ad was answered by a man's wife that said he needed a project and they were geting out of breeding minis.  The had a small herd of mustangs so her husband was knowledgeable in their training.  They offered me a 16 year old mini mare. It was a trade.

Jasper

In 2004, I was getting in the car at the food store after picking up some chicken food. My kids said look look at that appaloosa in the horse trailer.  My kids knew my favorite horse was an appaloosa and I had always hoped to own one.  I looked across the parking lot at an open stock trailer with a red roan appaloosa looking back at me.  The lady that owned him was coming out of the feed store and heard my kids talking about him, it was early fall and we had the windows down on the car.  She walked over to me and said he is for sale, we were on our way to the auction with him.  She said she would much rather him got to a home instead of possibly getting bought by the meat buyer at the auction.  I asked her how much do you want for him ( I expected to hear a price that was high for me like $1200) the lady replied $400.  I thought for a moment.... that my husband would throw a fit...then I though about my dream right in front of my for a price I could afford.  I asked her would you deliver him?  She said YES I asked if she could wait while I got the money out of the ATM....She said YES☺

Within 45 minutes I was the proud owner of a 2 year old appaloosa gelding.  My husband came home and actually though this was neat.  Jasper was his name and he spent the rest of the day enjoying a pile of hay while we groomed him.  The next morning we went hurriedly out to see Jasper and feed him.  He came right to us from across his pasture but he seemed to be much more alert and didn't seem to like the kids too much.  It didn't take me long to realize he must have been sedated for the auction.  I had heard of people doing this when selling a horse but why me?   The dream horse..my appaloosa... I've waited 20 years for.  Well, he will need to be trained I thought.  I began reading everything I could find on horse training from the internet and library.  I watched some John Lyons videos and ordered his series of books.  I checked out a Parelli video at the Library and was instantly hooked.  I became the house wife horse trainer. 

When I owned horses as a kid they all did what we wanted and we rode all over, went swimming in creeks and spent the whole day in the saddle everyday.  I don't really remember much about training them.  We just rode and it worked?! 

So I trained with Jasper everday and he improved alot but he still didn't like kids and tried to bite them.  My husband said why don't you get a pony or a mini the kids can enjoy too.  The kids are such a big part of my life that I thought about my Dream horse and decided to do what is best for the family.  Another Dream Appaloosa will come into my life again one day if it meant to be.  So I set about the task of trading Jasper for a pony or mini. 

Why Blog?

The reason I started this blog was to create a Journal of life with my equine friends.I actually just found out about blogging last year.  I enjoy writing and this give me a way to document memory pages I can look back on in years to come as well as share with my family.  I also don't have paperwork everywhere and the blods stay so organized by date.  Since the beginning I have been writing about this or that but I should write about how each of these special creatures, My Herd, have come into my life.  Let the real blogging begin.

Spring Ideas...Unicorns

The days have been so nice but with this nice weather also comes the blooming of plants and pollination as well.  I have had allergy symptoms for days and have been cooped up avoiding the pollen.  After more than enough rest it must be time to get creative.  So I came up with unicorns....as close to the real thing as possible.☺  The minis are very co-operative while we play dress up.  Now I can say unicorns have walked on Texas soil.

Freindship

♥ Destiny came to us very thin and I wondered if she still had a will to live.  She has a petite frame and seemed so frail.  Each day she seemed to get a little stronger.  One day she began kicking and hurling herself at the buddy she came with, who's weight was good.  I knew that of the small amount of food they were getting he ate the most by his body condition.  When I first met them and they first came to live here they were inseperable.  Destiny followed Kiwi like a shadow.  Then the day of strength must have came for her and she let Kiwi know he would never eat all the food again.  For me it was a relief, the first sign she did have a will to live.  To this day she has to be separated at feeding time, which is most of the time according to her and has only been allowed surpervised visits with some of the younger geldings.  When my mare Sparkle had the seizure and went on a special diet I began separating her with Destiny.  Sparkle is 21 now and is the lead mare of the senior herd but now she needed rest and a break from leadership for awhile.  Destiny who is 5 immediately made it clear she was to be the boss in their herd of 2, unusual for Sparkle she accepted this and let Destiny be in charge.  They have been together for several weeks now and I've not seen any sign they were becoming friends or even liked each other.  As I was leaving for my afternoon errand I noticed Destiny mouthing Sparkle's neck and back.  I backed out slowly because I wasn't sure if Ishould see what they were up to and break them up in case Destiny was picking on Sparkle.  I kept watching and Destiny switched sides while Sparkle just stood there.  I realized that Destiny was going to groom her, that friendly scratch horses give each other on the withers. I watched them intently as my son closed the gate. I felt so happy for Destiny she now had a freind or a buddy at least.  She really didn't seem to know what to do at first but Sparkle patiently showed her and tolerated her clumsiness. ♥

Sparkle

Sparkle was my first mini horse.  I got her when she was 16 years old ironically 16 years after I had seen a miniature horse for the first time.  Today Sparkle is 21 and counting!  Recently she had a seizure.  She was twitching and couldn't stand up without help but at 250# it wasn't easy to help.  I couldn't imagine if this was happening to a full size horse.  I now empathize with those that have HYPP positive horses and appreciate how important their diet is to them.  After our emergency trip to the vet and some bloodwork results the solution was simple?! Karo syrup as she had a low blood sugar level.  Total opposite of what some of my other minis have trouble with which is insulin resistance, with spikes in blood sugar.  This has all set in motion countless hours of research on equine nutrition, diabetes, hypoglaucemia, vitamins, minerals, holistic treatments, etc......I really love it. Sparkle is now on a special diet I have developed for her and has not had another seizure or a need for more Karo Syrup.

This is my favorite picture of Sparkle and her mini mule son Echo with Thibideaux his Dad in the background. The only baby she ever got to keep! She had 6 owners previous to me and was a broodmare. Around here she is our special girl and Echo is her constant companion and friend. Echo is believed to be the reason she had low blood sugar as he is 4 years old and was still nursing...now he is being weaned by us because for whatever reason Sparkle has not made him stop. I never worried about it since she was not going to be bred again until the night of the seizure.  She is just too good of a mommy. Currently Echo is hanging out with his Dad, Tibby.

Horses are not so easy to feed and care for as they are grazers yet have small stomachs and miles of intestines.  I find the challenge of feeding each one as an individual very gratifying.  Funny though the kids and I still like junk food and don't spend half as much time worrying about our own nutrition.  I think that's because we don't really want to hear about the things we shouldn't eat since some things are too good to resist even if we could make better choices.  I have a couple of minis that feel this way too and I'm thankful they don't know about Sonic and those shakes or what french fries and hamburgers are. 

Brandy

Well tonite we got a call from Down Under Horsemanship and they selected another horse, although Brandy is still on the back-up list.  I actually feel good about this because she must not be naughty enough for a Demo Horse.  I've been to Parelli and Clinton Anderson tours and think Clinton Anderson picks some really tough Demo horses.  The best trailer loading demonstration I've ever seen (and learned from) was at a Clinton Anderson tour and I've seen a 3+ hour trailer loading demonstration by Linda Parelli.   Not that that says alot because they are all my favorite trainers. 

I think I will take the money I would have spent on taking Brandy to the tour and invest it in some Clinton Anderson DVD's.  I already own about everything Parelli has done and last year I began following Down Under Horsemanship but have only purchased a couple of halters for Brandy and Dancer and an absolute must, an Aussie Tie Ring.  I still have a collection of John Lyons books I enjoy reading and drawing information from but I saw him do a demonstration once and unfortunately it put me to sleep, so I will stick to his books.

We will resume Brandy's training with the Down Under method and see how it goes.....it will give me something to blog about.

Demo Horse

Our mare Brandy is in the selection process to be a Demo horse at the Clinton Anderson tour stop in Texas.  Brandy is the reason people prefer geldings.... personally I like mares...even night-mares.  I will find out soon if she is selected. 

Brandy was purchased at the auction not because we were going to buy another horse, we actually went to see the tack auction which preceeds the horses.  I was still intently eating my nachos when the first horse came out, it was Brandy.  I noticed the auctioneer point my direction, I was not even mildly interested at the time then he pointed my direction again. I looked over to my husband and said someone near us must be bidding on that filly.  My husband smiled and the lady behind me said your husband is bidding on her.  I was speechless and the only thing I could think of to say to time is you don't have a number (you have to sign in and get a # to bid). Then the auctioneer said sold and pointed directly at my husband, asked for our # which we didn't have called security and laughed.  My husband promptly got up and went to the window to pay for the filly he just bought.  I sat there in shock until he returned and then he said let's go home and get the trailer.  We got back to the auction with the trailer and presented our paperwork to the handler at the gate and he said 1 of you can go in and get her out cuz the auction is still on.  I looked at my husband and he said you go get her. Great, I though! She was tied really short to a corral panel in a pen that probably was 10x10 or less, next to what must have been her buddy, a nice appaloosa gelding that was older and sold as a riding horse.  I saw him auctioned while my husband was paying for Brandy.  I had to go behind him in tight quarters to get to Brandy.  I untied her and led her through the small space behind her buddy.  As soon as we got through the gate the appaloosa started to nicker.  She answered.  This went on all the way to my trailer and the farther away from him we got the louder and more aggitated the nickers became from both of them.  It was heartbreaking!  Brandy didn't want to go into the 2 horse bumper pull, I took the divider out so it would be roomy and no way!, she could hear her buddy.  The auction ended and all sorts of horses began to nicker, sadly, as some of their lives were changing if they sold.  They may have been losing friends or even family members just like Brandy. Finally after much patience and all sorts of food bribery she went in the trailer.  We had gone about a 2 miles when a deer ran into the front side corner of my truck, by this time it was almost midnight.  It really didn't phase my truck as it was a small deer.  What an adventure! At last home!  She unloaded beautifully and we let her stay with Dancer and her family the very first night as we didn't want Brandy to be alone. She was just turning 2.  She was scrawany and small.  It didn't take long for her to bloom and today at 4 she is beautiful!

Brandy is the kind of girl that doesn't like other horses and has broken fences, gates and ruined corral panels to get at another horse (PMS).  She does have her friends, 3 mares and a mule gelding she likes to pick on.  Although some horses she wants to attack?! She has some trailering issues (Brandy was born in Montana)and round pen issues so if she is chosen I hope this is what she will be the Demo horse for.  Just to have a top trainer consider her is an honor beyond belief and if she's not chosen, we will still use Clinton Andersons program to train her and of course we will always love her the way she is.  I've been told to sell her, but that could become her life.  One home after another.....or worse.....slaughter...She deserves more.  We will keep her and all her strife's.  She just turning 4 and is still a young girl.  Besides she's pretty to look at. 

  Her best buddy is Dancer and they live together just fine.  Brandy spends her nights with Dancer and her days with her "family"; Dancer, Dancer's mom Silver and Dancer's sister Tango, of course Brandy has to be the leader but they all put up with her.  In time and with lots of patience and training I feel she will get over her problems.  Brandy's goal is to become a 4-H horse.

Time Flys

This year is moving fast!  It has been a cold miserably wet winter.  To keep the horses in good cheer we've added some special hay varieties, timothy, orchard grass, and alalfa.  The quality and price of coastal hay is always poor this time of year.  Apples and carrots are sure to bring some excitement even on the coldest of days.  Some of the seniors  have worn their coats for those chilly nights more often than usual love to have a good roll on the days they get to have them off.  I believe we've had 10+   freezes this year.  Amazing for Texas...Spring is on the way, the horses have started shedding their winter  woolies.  The lillies will bloom soon. This is also when I start to watch the oak trees.  Overnight it seems, the brand new leaves will appear which will eventually shade us this summer.  The horses have been very playful this week with the sun during the day and cold at night.  This combination gets everyone spunky in the morning. The donkeys are especilly fun to watch play. They bite at each others knees to bring their oponent to the ground.  The donkey that hits the ground lost that match and another match begins immediately so LOOK OUT!  The horses just like to blast around the place and seem to avoid any physical contact.  Just a good ol' run.  The mini mule always corners one of his pals and engages insome ruff housing just for the fun of it.  As soon as they see me, almost as if I rang a dinner bell they stop and come right  to me ready for their morning pats and breakfast. On the sunny days breakfast is followed by nap all stretched out in the bright morning sun.

Winter Thyme January 2010

The blues were about to set in when these glorious warm sunny days showed up.  We've been toting buckets of water out of the house and hand watering the horses daily.  They're buckets haven't completely thawed in two weeks even with the recent sunshine.  Most of the horses are unimpressed with my efforts.  Although, There are 3 that really enjoy the lukewarm water from the house.  Brandy who always loves to be hosed off in the summer, Tango who spends most warm days with her feet in the trough and Willie.  Willie the donkey who was afraid of buckets loves them now.  Just don't change the color....then he has to get used to it again.  He likes red and dark green buckets, even lime green buckets, but blue or...?!  I brought him water in a hot pink bucket today and after a few sniffs he took a long drink.  Now that the pastures are drying up it is suppose to rain again.