The Long Lost Blog... update

Long time, no blog… Life has been full of lots of stuff and blogging went to the back burner. Blog or not to blog… only God knows if there will be time for it




Snipper- The little horse has been doing REALLY well, Praise God. Since my last blog, we have ridden at The Davis’ and gone on a trail ride. He was a little wild on the trail ride and a little bit sticky in the round pen. But I was pushing his envelope, as they say, so it is to be expected. We will see how much he retains.



Horses in General: I am very blessed to look be able to look out my window and see such nice horses. God has not blessed everyone with such. We traveled several hours to a ranch to look at some really “well-bred” horses…. Sadly they were small, and as far as horse flesh goes… they weren’t much to look at despite their bloodlines. This too is of the Lord.



Blanketing fiasco: No matter how many times I blanket …always seems someone will have an “issue”. Yesterday Lily was the culprit. I don’t think she has ever been blanketed, but her two siblings took to it fine. I spent 20 or so minutes trying to get her to except the blanket and in the end I quite with the blanket in the dirt and her standing over it. I think she’s just not into blanketing or she really doesn’t care for me…. Or both. Oh well, Todiyah and Suriyah will have something to work on everyone else for the most part is ready to winter the “BIG” Storm…if it should ever come to pass that is



Building Projects: Well even though there is a house “in the works” … there are so many ranch structures that seem to take precedence. With only one of Aaron (with an occasional hand from Grandpa or Jesse) and so many projects….pasture, fencing, shelters, pens, arena, house, etc. Things are slow going. But it is a blessing to see what God has allowed us to complete…and in the ranch life there will always be something that needs building.



Farm Baby Blurp: The kiddos are growing everyday it seems like. Bowen and I (with a little help from Dani) planted some starter seeds in a little green house deal. We are hoping to have healthy seedlings to start in the backyard when spring rolls around. Bowen is always very excited to water and watch them grow… it is a good lesson on waiting on the Lord, for He is the only one to cause them to sprout.

Speaking of which… better open the curtains so the little seeds get as much day light as they can



MOM: We all miss my mom, and will be glad to have her face around again. MooMoo says “MaaMa...houwse...beads…” every other day seems like. I hope that she has a fun trip and will travel safely back. It is a joy to have her around.



The Lord Gives and Takes away…. A stray mama dog wandered in one cold day and had a litter of 11 pups in Friday’s dog house. Although, not all of them survived…we do have 7 fat as tick “Round (Rottweiler X hound)” Pups. But the ranch (namely Ez) lost Bow. She was the last of the grandma dogs (by personality, more than age). She had been struggling with some undetermined ailment and breathed her last as they attempted to load her up to go to the vet. Such sorrow in life…. Although not much of a trade off…God decides these things.

Snip ....the training continues

Today was an easy day for Snip. I saddled him, did a few things to check him out and then headed to the back forty...or hundred. We had a little hitch in our departure from the hay barn (snacking, it seems, is always on his mind). But as we passed the cow pen and headed down the hollow[ar] and back up to the top of the hill, he moved out freely at a trot and seemed eager to go. It is amazing how they figure out the way things go. We did some loping, a little log and brush jumping and a few collected circles of lateral and vertical flexion and back home. A little more hesitation at the pile of shed carcasses, with miscellaneous metal sheeting blowing in the breeze. Nothing significant, just a hesitation. So on down the road, past the site of the attempted ravine jump from a few weeks ago, and around the corner. He slowed down and calmly walked up the road. I use the sides of the road, lined with trees and fencing to initiate the beginning steps of a roll back. Also, along the road a few one rein stops and backing, with a few subtle rein cues for flexion here and there. He did really well and was quite sweaty due to his long coat and the warm, slightly more humid weather.


I was so blessed by the day, the trail, and thankful for Snips good behavior, that I quit at the gate and walked him back to the tack room. It proved to be good timing, baby Sara was just waking up from her nap in the stroller and Aaron wouldn't have to hold her for long. I unsaddled, let Snip finish the scraps in the hay cart and then went to turn him loose. I remembered that I had some horse cookies in the tack room (Aaron was kind enough to let me purchase them at TS...even though I know he thinks they are ridiculous.) Come to find out as I offer one of the cookies to Snip and he spits them to the dirt that he hates them. He even turned his lip up. Oh well, good ol' Bella gobbled them up, at least one of them is sure to eat them.

Ranch Babby Blurp

The Lord has blessed us with some very nice weather in Oklahoma.  After the bitter cold a few weeks ago and being snuggled in the house, the kiddos and I ventured out.  It was nearly 50 and very  warm when the sunshine peeked from between the clouds. We tractored and dug in the round pen sand, watched Aaron and the kids ride, visited the mamma hound and her pups and played in the hay barn. It was nice to be outside!

A gate to the face...

It is always interesting to be aboard a young horse as they experience new things. Today, instead of getting on Snip in the round pen, I intended to ride to the round pen…just for the adventure. Aaron had the girls in the stroller and Bowen was tootling along with a shovel in hand. The days have been mild and about 50 degrees, such nice weather…especially for the middle of winter. What a blessing. So Aaron went through the first gate…and I was hoping he would hold the gate as I navigated Snip through. We had good forward motion, until Aaron let the gate go and the wind caught it and the next thing it crashed into Snips’ nose. Of course, he went flying away from the insult. Thankfully, I went flying with him, instead of flying the opposite direction. He trotted off, but came back to me pretty quick. He was very apprehensive when I turned him back toward the gate that had just attacked him... when he was close enough to see he could make it through he bolted and tucked his tail. Poor little horse. We worked on staying away from the other horses in one of the big pens, he figured it out pretty fast, but I opted to get off and lead him into the round pen. It gave me a chance to tighten the cinch … which never got real tight due to the fact my over pad got drenched in the miscellaneous Oklahoma rain. Some day we may get accustomed to rain proofing no matter what the weather “seems” to be. Finally, we worked on freeing up, loping and flexion circles in the round pen. Snip, much like his mother, is always trying to beat you to what you might ask him. So, now every time we stop and I cue him behind the back cinch, he backs up, moves his hip, and then finally when I cluck he will move forward. It makes me realize that I must be very in tune to the little cues that I am giving him. In this instance, I will use his sensitivity to my advantage I will use this as a backing cue and to cue forward motion move my legs more forward at the front cinch. We’ll see how the Lord works it out. Am very thankful to have the opportunity to ride Snip like I do…God is kind.

Snip At the Oaks...

Snip seemed a little tired today... so I planned not to do too much.  Plus, the sand in the Davis's indoor arena is really deep. My goal was to work on the little tantrum he had when loping in the round pen.  The open space really helped he loped off well each time  I asked.  So  for the rest of the ride i worked on circles, shoulders hips and a little stop and back. He is really a good little horse... I am very blessed.  At the end of the day I turned him loose and he rolled in the sand at least 10 times. Ahhh... the ponies like to roll in the sand.

Snipperific

Yesterday was another exciting day in the life of Snip... The girls and I headed out on the trail. Sierra was a little soar footed, so we just took the short trail. Up on the top of the hill, where Bro in law, Jesse, has a level pad for his shop, we worked on flexion, backing and making circles at a walk. I loped around a little and then we headed home. We then went into the round pen, worked on some more flexion and on not being sooo sticky at the gate and the other horses. We did run into a little young horse rebellion. In trying to keep him “freed up” and practicing loping he started to kick out. It is a common problem that you can run into with the youngsters. In Snips case it only occurred in the round pen and going to the left. As I would cue him with a smack on the butt he would kick out at my gesture. He was being pretty defiant and getting more and more stuck. Soooo.... I set it up to be the easiest scenario. And instead of using my normal cue, I resorted to the use of the end of my rein. One strong smack with the end of that and he was "freed up". He loped off for four of five strides and I let him come to a stop. I pet him and quite there. Hopefully, we will get to work on it another day. I think that the round pen situation, and the fact that it was at the end of a ride, may have contributed to the kicking out. We are hoping to ride at Coyote Ridge Ranch at the Oaks. The full size arena will help Snip feel like he has somewhere to go. We will see what tomorrow has in store for us.

Snip on the Trail...

It had been almost a week since my last Snip adventure, but the opportunity arose and I was able to squeeze in a little time outside. I was blessed to be able to go with my cousin, she decided to ride Sierra (the Master Merada mare that we call Sierra now that we have a daughter named Sara Keeps things simple). We saddle up and I decided to move Snip out a little in the round pen. You never really know how a young horse will be after so much time off. Suprisingly, he seemed better than I left him. It’s amazing when that happens. So, I decided he was ready to go.

I lead him out of the round pen and on to the road. We goat on and headed out…well sort of… both the horses were reluctant to go anywhere. It seemed like a half and hour before we turned the corner. Once we did however it was far from smooth sailing. I tend to ride really relaxed out on the trail. I like to give the young horses a lot of leeway to get the feel of a rider on their back at various gaits and over differing terrain without having much tension on the reins. Usually, I feel I have enough control even on a loose rein to keep them out of trouble, or have the dexterity to shorten up if we get into trouble. Well, Snip had a plan C and dove to the right and attempted to jump a rocky ditch next to the road…. I say attempted because he didn’t quiet make it to the other side. He hit the other side funny and then fell to his knees. I felt a face plant into the rocks was indefinite as he began to fall to his side… but somehow, by God’s mercy and kindness, Snip was able to regain his footing and catch me in mid-expulsion, putting me back in the saddle. Thankfully we were both fine, but now we are on the other side of the ditch and Snip is not willing to do a repeat act to get back to the other side. In the mean time as I am trying to get the chicken to cross the road, Sam was almost squashed by a speeding UPS man. They really drive fast on these roads. I finally had to get off Snip and show him how to get back to the other side.






I remounted and we were going again, past the green gate and over toward the Beautiful valley …or Filthy valley depending on who you are talking to The rest of the ride was great…Sam thought she got us lost, but the Lord directed our paths and we ended up where we were supposed to be in the end. Snip is real nice to ride and feels like a big horse under ya. I think he will make someone a great horse.






Hopefully, today will hold more Adventures of Snip…according to the Lords will. It is supposed to be sunny again and its already 32 degrees and its only 9 am… Toasty






Here is a picture of Snipperton about a month ago…. He is really going through a growth stage and looks like he has a foal body on four adult horse legs. Hopefully, He will balance out before the sale…or I will have to put “giraffe” somewhere in his ad…