My Application Was Accepted!

My parents and I decided that it would be a good idea for me to apply to Colorado State University using the early action option, which means I needed to apply before December 1st to be an incoming freshman for the Fall 2012 semester.  The application process was a lot of work, especially for Momma, since she had to pull together a high school transcript for me.  However, we were able to send my application in before the deadline, and I have been waiting on CSU's verdict ever since.

Today, Daddy asked me if I had checked on my application status lately, and I said no.  I didn't think there was any way I'd know so soon, but since he brought it up I decided to have a look anyway.  To my surprise, I found that I have been accepted!  This is very exciting news for my family.  Now I am starting the application process for a scholarship.  If I am given a good scholarship, I'll be able to be a full-time student at CSU right away.  Otherwise, I'll need to become a part-time student, because we can't afford the out-of-state tuition and I won't be an official resident of Colorado until I have lived there for a year.

Needless to say, I'm very excited.  I didn't know I'd have this assurance so soon.  God is so good!  Now we just need to sell the house so we can actually move to Colorado.... :)

Many Happenings

Things have changed a lot since I last posted.  God is preparing us for our move to Colorado, and the preparations have been rapid lately.  Some of them have also been very painful.

My sweet dog, Abby, had to be put to sleep two weeks ago.  She had many health problems, including mammary cancer, a brain tumor, and severe arthritis, and she was beginning to really suffer.  Abby was 13 years old, and I had owned her for almost 6 years.  She was the best dog ever, and I never regretted owning her.  I miss her very much.  Her pals Bunny and Aaron miss her, too.  They were both quite depressed for a while after Abby died.  Someday I hope to own another Golden Retriever, perhaps a puppy, but I will have to wait a while.

The day after Abby died, we took my old mare, Poco, to her new home.  She seemed to settle in well there, which was a relief to me.  Poco doesn't always transition well into new environments, so I had some anxiety about her.

On Saturday, we delivered the remaining three horses, Peg, Ginger, and Rusty, to their new home.  Their new owners had been working hard to prepare their property for horses, and they had made a nice barn and a well-fenced pasture for their new pets.  When the horses arrived there, they seemed to appreciate their new living space.  We have had several updates from the new owners, and it sounds like all is going very well.  I am so thankful that the horses are able to bless others as they have blessed us.

It is pretty weird to no longer have horses to care for over here.  I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have to go and feed.  I miss my Peg.  He was a close friend of mine if ever an animal could be one.  Between Peg and Abby, I was very seldom without my animal companions, and it seems lonely now without either one.  I have had a furry friend to help me with my loneliness, though.  The dog from next door, Harleigh, has been spending all her time here with me.  She is a good dog, and she is good company.  I don't know why she spends all her time with me when she has a perfectly good home, but there she is.  Maybe God sent her to help ease the pain of losing Abby.  I don't know.

Some other happenings have been much happier.  We sold our horse trailer two days after we sent our last horses away, and someone came to look at our house.  We are getting closer and closer to our move to Colorado!

A Home for Poco

Poco has a home!  A kind friend of ours has offered to take her and put her out on his 100 acre pasture with his broodmares and babies.  Our agreement with him is that if she cannot find another home by the time we sell our trailer, he will let us bring her to him.  His name is Mr. John, and he is the man from whom we bought Peg, Jack, and Buddy.  He does an excellent job of caring for his horses, and he has a really nice pasture.  I know Poco will love it there.  Maybe she will even be able to be a broodmare for Mr. John.  This is a true answer to prayer, and I am so thankful.

Now we just need to find a place for Rusty.  I know God has a plan for him, too.  He has provided great homes for 5 out of our 6, so I can trust him to do the same for our old man Rusty.

An Update on the Horses




It has been a while since I posted an update on my charges.  Therefore, here are some current photos of the three horses under my care, as well as current information.



Poco



Poco is now 21 years and four months old.  She is retired but sound and healthy.  Poco needs to find a new home before we move to Colorado, so I am working on that.  So far, no one seems interested, but in the meantime, I am enjoying my old girl.



Ginger



 Ginger, now four years of age, is coming along well in her training, in spite of the fact that her trainer doesn't have much time to spend with her.  :) She is now able to lope, and she is continuing to blossom into a gentle, sweet, calm little girl.  I rode her this afternoon, and at the end of the ride I was able to stand up straight and tall on her back.  It didn't bother her one bit.  She has found a wonderful home with some friends of ours, but I get to keep her around for a little bit longer.

Ginger showing off



Peg on the move

 Peg is doing very well, and he is in good health at age 11.  We took him to the vet school on Thursday to get some dental work done, and the vet who worked on him told me Peg looks great.  He has found a home with the same family that is taking Ginger, so they will get to stay together.  Peg's schedule has been quite full lately with teaching riding lessons, giving equine therapy, and keeping my girls in line.  However, he still finds the time to play around like a colt, as you can see in these pictures.  

Up, up...

 

And away!



I haven't had much opportunity to ride him since his schedule filled up, but we still spend quality time together. Today that involved a quick nap, because I noticed him sound asleep on the grass in his pasture and went out to join him. He let me lay down on top of him, and we sunned ourselves for about 5 minutes. Then Peg decided to roll over and I had to remind him that I was there. :)

As you can see, my horsey crew is doing fine.  They are really enjoying this cooler weather we've had for the past few days.  Ginger is starting to look like a little pinto wooly mammoth.  I am so thankful that I have been blessed with the opportunity to own and care for these horses, and they have been a lot of fun as well as a chance to learn a great deal.

The Colorado Trip

We all enjoyed our trip to Colorado, and we feel that we learned a lot about the area to which we will be moving.  I, for one, am becoming very excited about it.

Remember, once we are there, we will have an open door policy.  Any of our friends are welcome to drop in any time.  We'd love to see you and show you around!

Riding the Cog Railroad to the Summit of Pike's Peak

We all enjoyed our ride on the cog railroad.  It has an interesting history, as it has been climbing the mountain since 1890.  The locomotives have changed through the years, but the track has stayed the same.  Some parts of the track are the original rails laid down in 1890.

The views from the train were spectacular.  It wasn't a perfectly clear day, but one could still see for miles.  The summit of Pike's Peak is at elevation 14,110 feet, and the air is very thin.  We experienced difficulty breathing as we approached the top.

The temperature at the summit was 25 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of 19 degrees.  However, the air was so dry that it did not feel that cold.  There were clouds covering most of the peak, but in a few places one could look down on the world below.  On a clear day it is said that you can see seven states from Pike's Peak. 

We really enjoyed the trip up the mountain.  At the top there was a gift shop and restaurant that served fresh donuts and hot chocolate, and it all smelled incredibly good.  Annie ordered a cup of steaming hot chocolate, and Momma and Daddy each had a fudge dipped donut.  I wanted some, but they hadn't provided anything for people with dairy allergies. 

We were given about thirty minutes at the summit, and then our train headed back down to the base of the mountain.  The views on the way down were even better than we saw on the way up.  We got to have a close look at some yellow bellied marmots that were out sunning themselves on the rocks.  Annie and I thought the marmots resembled Spunkabitty.

Our ride on the cog railway was a grand opportunity to see the awesomeness of God's creation.

Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, CO

We drove on to Colorado Springs on Thursday, because we wanted to see Pike's Peak and the Garden of the Gods.  Pike's Peak was scheduled for the next day, so we decided to explore the Garden a bit.  This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  It impressed me strongly, and I couldn't get enough of the sights.  I could have spent days there, walking the trails and taking pictures.  Breathtaking!  All the rock formations have names, but I was unable to keep them straight. 

As one drives into the valley containing the Garden of the Gods, these red rocks suddenly come into view.  It is quite a sight, especially since all the surrounding mountains are rather ordinary in shape and color.  One gets the impression that the red rocks were just set down in the middle of it all, instead of belonging there.





Balanced Rock

The Hike to Greyrock Mountain

On Wednesday, we decided to go explore Poudre Canyon, which is very near Fort Collins.  We planned a hike there to Greyrock Mountain.  It rained all morning, so we entertained ourselves by driving up the canyon to the Continental Divide.  The scenery was lovely in spite of the rain. 

When the rain stopped after lunch, we drove back to Greyrock to try to do our hike.  It was filled with beautiful views, but the trail itself was quite rough and difficult.  We ended up losing the trail briefly, but we found our trail again when we decided to backtrack.  We had come to a switchback and kept going across the side of the mountain instead of turning.  Simple mistake, right?  It could have been serious.  It did cost us any possibility we might have had of making it to our destination, Greyrock Mountain.  We had just made it to the place where we could catch a glimpse of Greyrock when it was time to turn back.  On our way down the mountain, we noticed the chokecherry bushes growing on the edge of the trail.  Chokecherries are edible, and they are similar to plums in taste.  Some of them were ripe, so we all tasted the fruit.  It was delicious!  Apparently, birds, deer, squirrels, and even coyotes like them, too.  We saw signs of all of those critters.

I hope we are able to go back and try Greyrock Mountain again someday.  I want to finish the hike and see what it is like from the top.  It was a pretty neat hike, and I'd like to see what the surroundings look like on a sunny day.

Annie and I are looking at the trail map and information board.

Annie taking in the view

Touring Houses in Fort Collins



the first house we visited

We spent Tuesday of our trip to Fort Collins touring houses.  We are not ready to buy yet, but we wanted to look so that we and our realtor could have a better idea of what we will want in a house when we are ready.  It was a productive tour, and we definitely learned some things about Fort Collins real estate.  Architecture is just not the same in Colorado as it is in the South.  We missed the big porches, high ceilings, and that southern style of decor.  However, it is nice in Fort Collins, and we will get used to it, I'm sure.

house # 2

Digger, an occupant of house # 2

At house number two a special greeter met us at the door.  His name was Digger, as we discovered when we read the tag on his collar.  Digger was a huge long-haired cat (The picture doesn't do his size justice.) with the sweetest personality.  He let us hold him, rub his belly, and pet him.  For the record, we did look at the house, too.  It just wasn't as interesting as the cat. :)

one of the houses we toured



Get Service

I know this isn't the next update on our trip, but this video has a powerful message.  It really got me thinking, and I hope it does the same for you.

Our Hike to Lulu City and Little Yellowstone - Rocky Mountain National Park

Our traditional photograph of the trail sign

On Monday, we rose early and met up with my cousin Sarah at Rocky Mountain National Park for the hike to Lulu City.  We were all pretty excited about this hike, because we had heard good things about it on a hiker's blog. 

The trail to Lulu City is fairly smooth and broad, and it climbs slowly and gently as it winds through its lovely scenery.  Most of the hike follows the Colorado River, which is a small and unassuming stream at that point.

A pool alongside the river in the little mountain meadow

This little guy really wanted our lunches, but he couldn't quite get up the courage to come close.  He would sneak up to within 2-3 feet of one of us, then dash away like mad.

We stopped for lunch here at the site of Lulu City.  Lulu City was a small mining town in the 1800's, with a population of 200.  Only a few logs from the foundations of two of the cabins are visible.  We did see some of the silver-mining equipment along the trail, but it wasn't much.  The views of the mountains and the Colorado River were splendid, however.

Another view from our lunch stop.  That water was cold!

After lunch, we discussed the possibility of continuing on to Little Yellowstone Canyon.  We had heard that it was worth seeing, and we were only a mile or so from it.  The unanimous decision was to push on to Little Yellowstone, and we are very glad we did.  It offered some interesting adventures.

Annie is making her way across the stream on the rocks.  There is supposed to be a bridge here.

On the way up, we encountered a pair of hikers who informed us that, "The bridge is out, but it is easy to get across anyway."  Well, the bridge was out- actually several bridges were out!  During the spring snowmelt, the Colorado had experienced a flash flood that sent uprooted trees, boulders, rocks, and gravel down the river.  The bridges could be seen in most cases, and we could even walk on them.  The problem was that they pointed downstream instead of across.  Not a big deal, though, because the same flood had left plenty of rocks to cross on.  Nobody fell in, much to the disappointment of some of our party.

In this picture, you can see one of the "altered" bridges amid the debris.  This must have been quite a flood.

Looking up Little Yellowstone Canyon

We made it to Little Yellowstone Canyon after a slightly more strenuous hike.  It was well worth it, though we didn't obtain any pictures that do it justice.  What you can see in the above photo is only half the depth of the canyon.  Below the trees, it plunges down to the river in steep cliffs.  We all walked out to the rim to get a better look.  Annie and Sarah sat right on the edge, and Daddy walked out there to see what he could see.  Being afraid of heights, I didn't go quite so close.  I did, however, get a fine view, and so did Momma.

The total mileage of our hike ended up slightly over 10 miles, and we were pretty tired at the end.  Daddy took us to eat at a restaurant in Grand Lake, which was near our trailhead.  The food was great, but we'd have enjoyed it even if it wasn't.  Momma, Daddy, and I each got a burger, Sarah had a grilled salmon sandwich, and Annie ordered a salad.  Mmmm!  Before we headed back to Fort Collins, we found a coffee shop.  Perfect.

Fort Collins: Horsetooth Reservoir

On Sunday, after we visited a nice church in Fort Collins, we decided to go out to Horsetooth Reservoir County Park to take a little stroll.  Horsetooth is just a few minutes outside of Fort Collins, and it is a lovely place.  The reservoir is large and scenic, and there were many boats on it while we were there.  It is surrounded by land with beautiful hiking opportunities, and last time we were in Fort Collins we did a real hike there.  On this trip, we contented ourselves with a 1.2 mile walk down to the reservoir and back.

The weather was cool, sunny, and breezy.  People were out on the water, skiing, swimming, tubing, and sitting on party barges.  It looked like lots of fun.  We sat under the tree in the above picture to watch the action on the water.

The photo above gives you an idea of the terrain in Horsetooth Park and the area around Fort Collins.  I think it is a beautiful sight. 

The American Quarter Horse Museum

On the way up to Fort Collins, we stopped at the American Quarter Horse Museum in Amarillo, TX.  Being Quarter Horse lovers and owners,  we really enjoyed exploring the museum!  In front of the building were displayed several larger-than-life bronze statues of different riding disciplines and horses influential to the breed.  They were beautiful, and we had fun studying the details and reading the plaques at their bases.

This is the statue that greeted us as we entered the museum.  This larger-than-life sculpture depicts the ideal Quarter Horse. (We thought it resembled our gelding, Rusty.)

We enjoyed our visit to the museum, but not only because of its horsey theme.  The building is truly beautiful with its stone columns, stained wood, and soaring ceiling.  An extra special part of our tour was that the annual "America's Horse in Art" exhibit and show was on display at the time.  I saw so many pieces that I wanted to take home with me, but they were all too expensive. :(

There was a grand hall (pictured above) with photographs of all the equine and human hall-of-fame inductees displayed along the side walls. We found many of our horses' ancestors in the hall of fame.  On the floor, the foundation bloodlines of the Quarter Horse breed were mapped out in a giant chart on which I had fun tracing out Poco's ancestry.

There were displays from the Quarter Horse's colorful history on both floors, including a fully equipped chuck wagon and many saddles of various styles, ages, and functions.  The timeline for the breed, with pictures and interesting facts, was fascinating to me.

The museum had a large children's room with interactive exhibits to help teach kids about horses.  It had booths with grooming tools, saddles, feed, and horse videos.  Even though I am not a child, I admit to having fun with all of it.  But of course, I am pretty horsey. ;)

I am so thankful that we were able to see the museum.  I didn't think I would ever get the chance to do so, and it more than met my expectations.  If you are ever passing through Amarillo, I would definitely recommend touring the American Quarter Horse Museum.

We are back!

I know, I told you all that I would post updates throughout our trip to Colorado.  However, as always, we crammed our days full of activities and had little time for such things.  Momma did take lots of pictures, so I will post all about the trip as soon as I get settled again.

It was a lot of fun, and we did lots of exploring.  I can't wait to show you all that we saw!

Upcoming Trip to Colorado

On Friday, we are heading out on a business/vacation trip to Colorado.  On the way up, we are going to stop by the American Quarter Horse Museum in Amarillo, TX.  Then we'll continue through Denver, where we will meet up with my cousin Sarah and visit her new home.  We'll then drive to Fort Collins and spend several days there hiking, touring houses, getting familiar with the area, and enjoying ourselves.  After that, we are heading to Colorado Springs for a little fun and exploration.  Daddy has planned a ride on the cog railroad up to Pike's Peak, and we are also going to visit a place called the Garden of the Gods.  It should all be very interesting!

We have spent the past few days preparing for our trip.  Ms. Rae and Ms. Carol will care for the animals as usual, with help from some other friends of ours.  It is easier to set the horses up when there are only four of them.  However, we do have two rather fragile critters this time.  Rusty is really struggling with his heaves, and Abby has a brain tumor.  We are trusting the Lord that all will go well while we are away. 

The hotels in which we are planning to stay all have free wireless internet, so I am hoping to be able to post updates during our trip.  Momma has promised to take an abundance of pictures.

Four Caterwauling Cats and Their Difficult Morning

Today Momma, Annie, and I took our four cats to the vet for their annual vaccines and checkup.  We decided to take all of them at once to avoid the extra time spent on two trips, but we forgot one minor detail:  we only have three cat carriers.

The time of departure arrived.  I don't know about your cats, but ours know what a carrier means.  "A trip to the vet!!  Everykitty scatter and hide!"  We knew that would be the case, so we had brought all our furry critters inside and closed all the bedrooms (the best cat hideouts) earlier in the morning.  We hauled out the carriers and grabbed cats in one smooth move.  Spunkabitty protested, but he found himself stuffed unceremoniously into his large carrier anyway.  Resistance is futile on vet day.

Momma had decided that we should put Aaron, Flea, and Bitty in our three carriers and let Nancy Drew ride free in the car with us.  The plan was to put Nancy in a cardboard box when we arrived at the vet's office.  Nancy wasn't too concerned about her ride in the car.  She kept looking out the window and climbing around among the seats.  The chorus of distressed meows from the other three cats was loud and persistent. 

When we made it to the vet's office, I located Nancy and placed her in her box.  As I left the car, I realized this wasn't going to be an easy job.  Nancy suddenly popped her little fuzzy grey head out of her conveyance and tried to hop out.  No, you don't!  I shoved her back inside and held the top of the box firmly, but I could hear her rattling around in there.

Once inside the waiting area, which we thankfully had to ourselves, I told Momma that our plan wasn't going to work.  We made Nancy and Aaron trade places, and Momma actually held Aaron in her lap most of the time.

In the end, all the cats got their shots and checkups, and they were all pretty healthy.  We are thankful for that and for the fact that they (and we) all survived and made it home.  And they have forgiven us for what we did to them this morning, as well.

By the way, next time we go to Wal-mart, guess what we are purchasing?  Another cat carrier. :)

This Particular Adventure

Our family has some big news.  God has prompted us through many circumstances to leave our little Southern home and move to Colorado!  We are calling our endeavor "this particular adventure" (T.P.A.).How did this happen? 

This particular idea started with us all dreaming out loud about where we would like to live if we could live anywhere in the U.S.  We talked about Montana and Wyoming, but soon the conversation turned to Colorado.  As the days went by after our discussion, the idea persisted.  We began to realize that God had put this dream in our hearts and minds, and we started researching the area.  Soon it became clear that we should head in that direction, so we took a trip to the city in which we will live. 

In the meantime, I was feeling God's direction to continue to learn about horses so that I can use them for His glory. I found out that Colorado State University, located in "our" city, has the best equine science program in the country, and it offers courses in everything I want to learn. I am going to enroll there after we move.

Annie is not yet sure what she is going to pursue in Colorado.  She is still praying, thinking, and researching her options.  She is looking forward to taking her Pit Bull, Bunny, to Colorado and hiking/walking with her.  Bunny is learning to have manners and be a civilised doggie in preparation for her new city lifestyle.

The city and surrounding area are lovely, and there are abundant biking, walking, and hiking opportunities. The city is just one hour from Rocky Mountain National Park! We love to hike and backpack, so we're rather excited about that.

We feel that it is important to be part of a solid, bible-believing church. On our exploratory trip, we visited a church that seems to be the type we will be looking for. The members were quite welcoming and friendly.

One of the sad and difficult parts of our move preparations is that we are in the process of selling our sweet horses.  Since we'll be moving into the city, we'll have no place for them.  The transition would be hard on them, anyway.  God blessed us with a wonderful home for Buddy and Jack with an equine veterinarian, and some friends of ours are praying about taking one or more of our remaining four.  Parting with our special pets is hard to do.  I think we have all cried about it, and I know I'll cry more before the whole thing is over.

I am especially concerned about my old mare, Poco.  She is going to be a challenge to re-home.  She can no longer be ridden, and I don't know if she could be used for breeding.  Poco really needs a quiet pasture and a person who has no expectations of being able to do something with her.  That could be difficult to find, and  I have to remind myself that nothing is impossible with God.  Does anyone have any ideas?

Right now, we are getting everything lined up so that when it is time to move we will be ready.  We are planning to put our house up for sale in January, and we want to have the horses and everything else we are selling gone by then.  We have already had a garage sale, and I have put several items up on Craigslist.  All these preparation are exciting! 

I will try to do a better job keeping my blog updated from now on, but who knows?  It is getting pretty crazy over here...

Inspiring Ride 2

This is video number two.  Stacy Westfall is a Christian woman, homeschooling mother, and partner in a horse training business with her husband.  In this video, she is the first person to ever compete in reining while riding bareback and bridleless.  It is amazing!  I'd love to do this someday (perhaps not in front of a big crowd, though).

Inspiring Ride 1

In my pursuit of horse information and such, I have come across several videos of horses and their riders doing various things.  Two, however, stand out to me as excellent examples of the amazing things a human can achieve with a horse.  The above video is one of them. 

I'd love to be able to ride a horse like Moorlands Totilas with the skill and precision displayed by Edward Gal.  Maybe someday I will gain the knowledge to do so.  In the meantime, I can enjoy just watching performances such as this one.

Tomorrow I'll post the other video, which I actually think is better and more inspiring.  I know that few (if any) of my readers will be as interested in this as I am, but I did want to share, anyway. :)

Happy Independence Day!

How did you spend yours?

We had friends over this morning to ride horses.  They arrived at about 8:30 and stayed until almost noon.  I had a great time supervising rides for the children and watching the adults ride, as well.  Pegasus was the noble steed of the day, and he thoroughly enjoyed his job.  He has learned that he likes to give rides.

Then I settled down on the couch with a new book to read.  Daddy took a long nap, and Momma and Annie were busy in other parts of the house.  It was quiet and peaceful, and I especially enjoyed having my sweet doggy snoring at my feet.

Momma and I ventured out into the jungle (otherwise known as the watermelon patch), and I hunted for ripe melons.  The rewards for our labors were two huge Ali Baba watermelons, two little Golden Midget watermelons, and a French Charentais cantaloupe.  We brought them all inside and immediately sliced one of the big melons up for supper.  It was delicious!  We fed the melon rinds to the horses, who expressed slobbery delight over their treat.

After supper, we were seated in the living room talking when we were charmed to hear the clear call of the bobwhite.  We had never heard this bird on our property before, so we all enjoyed the experience.

Now we are preparing for bed so that we can play a game together this evening.  The game we will play has not been decided upon yet, but we are discussing Mexican Train dominoes, Hearts, Spades, or Pictionary. 

Another Day at the Pond

We are on our way to the pond!

In the pond together

One Sunday, our whole family went back to our neighbor's pond for more water adventures.  Annie rode Buddy again, I rode Poco, and Daddy rode Jack.  Momma was with us, too, but she didn't ride.  I am beginning to think she doesn't want to get wet ... However, she did take lots of pictures.

Poco and I were swimming

Poco is a great, confident water horse.  She marched right in and went swimming with me.  Her previous owner told me once that she used to take Poco swimming and use her for a diving board.  After the fun I had riding Poco on Sunday, I can definitely picture that.

Daddy didn't take Jack into the water, because he had his saddle on.  Daddy has never ridden bareback, and Jack wasn't about to get into the pond without quite a bit of convincing.  Daddy was afraid that something might go wrong.  He did take Jack for a gallop across our neighbor's big, open pasture, and they both seemed to enjoy their run.  Jack can sure stretch out and run, and he is really fast!



Daddy and Jack



After Daddy had ridden Jack for a while, and Poco had become bored with the pond,  I stripped off Jack's saddle and rode him to the edge of the water.  Several minutes later, after many attempts, Jack hopped/slid boldly into the pond.  To his surprise, he liked the water.  Jack amused himself by dunking his whole muzzle into the water up to his eyes and blowing bubbles.  Then he pawed and splashed a bit.  I decided it was time to try the deep end, so we headed that way.  I was a little worried that I was about to repeat Annie's experience of the first day, but Jack did quite well.  He always has to do things differently than the other horses, so he didn't swim at all.  Instead, he let his legs hang limp and floated, bobbing up and down with the movement of the water.  He makes a good raft.  We drifted over where his hooves could touch the bottom, and he waded out of the water.  Good boy, Jack!

Jack likes to stick his nose in the water and splash!

 In the meantime, Annie and Buddy had an adventure again.  As I was walking Poco out of the pond, she stepped in a patch of soft mud and made a hole.  Buddy, who was following right behind her, got one of his legs stuck in the hole and jumped to get free.  As he did so, -well, I'll just let you see what happened by watching the video!



    



Ginger's Big Day

For the past several weeks, we have brought Ginger to GaitWay along with the grown-up horses.  We have done this for two reasons: 1) Ginger needed experience with going new places and doing new things. 2) We had hopes that someday Ginger could do GaitWay as well.  Last time we went to GaitWay, I even rode Ginger around in the arena, and she did quite well.

Today at GaitWay a very exciting thing happened (in my opinion).  Ginger was used in one of the therapeutic riding lessons!  We explained to Grace, Ginger's rider, that this was her first time to give a therapy ride, and that the little girl needed to be gentle and quiet with her. Grace enjoyed her ride on "Princess Gingersnap" and they did a lot of fun things together.  They walked, trotted, played  a game called Red Light, Green Light, tossed beanbags into a bucket, and had a short trail ride at the end of the lesson.  After Grace dismounted, she fed Ginger a carrot.  Now, Ginger has always refused to eat carrots in the past, with only one exception, a carrot fed by a little girl called Lyla.  I fully expected her to refuse Grace's carrot, but she accepted it and ate it.  I guess that Ginger only eats carrots from little girls...

Swimming with the Horses!

Into the pond we go!

 Our neighbor down the road has a lovely pond that is clean and free of obstacles.  It is the perfect place to go swimming with one's horse on a hot summer day, and we gained permission to play there recently.  Annie and I took Buddy and Peg to the pond for a swim on Saturday afternoon.  Momma drove over with us to take pictures and see the fun, and the dogs went with her.  We had a wonderful time. 

This was our first time to actually swim with the horses, although we have gone wading with them several times.  We rode bareback and with halters, and all four of us (Buddy, Peg, Annie, and I) got quite wet.  Bunny the Pit Bull, who loves to swim and wallow in the mud, thought it was fun that we finally joined her in the water.  She became extremely excited and jumped and splashed around in the shallows.


Peg has reached the deep water, and he is swimming.  Buddy is still walking.

  Peg loves to swim, and he is very good at it.  We spent lots of time in the pond.  Buddy thought it was fun, too, and he got a little overconfident.  He forgot that he had never been in deep water before, and he rushed Annie out into the swimming area.  Then....


Oh, no!

 When Buddy's feet could no longer touch, he lunged forward and slipped.  Annie flew onto his neck, grabbed it, and slid off sideways, pulling him off balance.  She ended up accidentally dunking his head under the water.


"I'm getting out of here!" says Buddy.  "I've got water in my ears!"

  Buddy decided that he was through with Annie riding him in the pond.  He swam out of there without waiting to see if she was okay, and she had to swim out alone.  Meanwhile, Peg was just a-swimmin'.  (I think he was laughing at Buddy.)


Try, try again

  Annie was able to convince Buddy that she didn't duck him on purpose, and they enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in the pond.


"Sorry, Buddy."