Saving Water

By Linda Benson


I'd like to share an easy way to save rainwater dripping off the roof of your barn, spilling out into your paddocks and making - yep - MUD.


(And in the interest of full disclosure *grin* let me just state that I love this method not so much because it's environmentally sound, but because it saves me from the task of filling water troughs with hoses.)


All you do, is extend the gutter on your roof -

so that it drips directly into your water trough. Presto - it fills itself.

This method works well if you live in a temperate climate that gets frequent rain showers at certain times of the year. Here in the Pacific Northwest, it works from October through May.

And it works well if you have one or several horses in a paddock sharing the water trough.

You might need to add elbows, or make some other small changes in your rain gutters to get this to work for you.

In my case, we move the water trough to this location when our rainy season starts (around October) and my animals have plenty of fresh water (and I never have to fill it) for 9-10 months of the year. In the summer months, we move the trough over near the fence with ready access to a hose.

Does it rain a lot where you live?

Anyone else have tips to share about saving water, or other time and chore saving tips with your horses?

Let us know!!

My On-Going Saga

My decision to bring Larry (an Oldenburg I tried out the week before) home two weeks ago was probably a knee-jerk reaction to wanting a horse to show. I made a hasty decision to lease him for 45 days to see if he would work out for me. No harm, no foul.


Sometimes life conspires in ways we can’t predict and for the short-term wouldn’t agree with. But in the long term, we’re glad things worked out the way they did. Things have a way of twisting and turning and trying to balance themselves despite our most misinformed directions.

So two weeks ago, Larry came to my barn. My trainer was to ride him a couple days a week to evaluate him as was I. Well, the Monday after he arrived, I lunged him, and he was an idiot. He finally calmed down on the lunge line, but it became obvious to me that this was a horse that hadn’t been too many places and wasn’t used to adjusting quickly to strange situations. I’d thought he’d be more bomb-proof than that.

Considering I’d broken my collarbone and two ribs years ago on a horse that was represented to be dead broke, I met Larry’s crazy antics on the lunge and the ground with fear and trepidation. He, too, was to be dead-broke, a school horse at a hunter barn. Well, Larry was an insecure soul, and perhaps, not quite what I was ready for. You see, I’d been through the ringer with my current mare, Gailey. Over the years, we’d built a definite bond and learned to deal with each other’s idiosyncrasies. And no, she wasn’t the horse who broke my bones. That was her predecessor.

Yet, I’d had to do so much with Gailey that I was looking forward to an uncomplicated, dead-broke horse. Larry was not quite that. He could be with some time and effort, but I wasn’t sure I was the person to put in the time or effort. I’d expended all my energy on Gailey.

Anyway, after my trainer rode Larry the first time, she was not impressed, but she felt he needed to have another week or so before she could determine what she had.

A week later, I had a lesson on Larry and was surprised how green he was. He was also so underweight, I felt like I was riding on a board and very unstable, nothing like my couch of a mare. I was certain if he shied one step to either side, I’d be on my butt in the dirt.

In the meantime, Larry was starting to win over my trainer. He tried hard, had an excellent attitude under saddle, and was moving better every day. He had a few physical issues which concerned her, so she suggested I have him vetted before I spent any more money on board and lessons.

The vet came out on Friday. After a short exam, he suggested I pass on Larry. He flexed lame on the front leg which had the previous injury. Also he felt he had an odd motion in his left hock. The evaluation was the horse wouldn’t hold up as an upper-level dressage horse. As a result, Larry went back to his owner. I felt bad, but I was happy that another person was waiting in the wings who knew and loved Larry from his previous barn. She wanted him for a trail horse.

In the meantime, my mare seems to be relatively sound on her arthritis medicine. My trainer is going to attempt to breed her. I’ll continue to ride her, and we’ll split the board. Once I can no longer ride her, she’ll cover all her expenses. Up until then, we’ll split them.

Remember the mare I tried out? Well, she’s now in my trainer’s barn, too. She’s taking her on as a broodmare and continuing to ride her to see if she really has soundness issues.

I’m still horse hunting, but I’ll probably wait until next year when I’ll be able to save a little more money. For what I’m looking for, I’m only having about half the money I need.

So even though I don’t have a new horse to show, things are probably working out for the best.

Why Favorite Things Help Life Move a bit More Smoothly

I really enjoyed Laura's Favorite Things Blog and it got me thinking. I had a conversation yesterday with a friend about this exact topic. The reason why we started talking about it was because I had been noticing that my writing in general seems to be harder for me to get done these days as compared to say a year ago. Granted the past year has by far been the most difficult and stressful one that I have ever endured, which led my friend to his point. He knows that my work hours have increased but he also wanted to know what was I able to do when I wrote a book last year that I am not doing as much these days. The top of the list has to be Riding. A little over a year ago when I was writing my novel "Happy Hour," (which does have some horses in it and one very sexy cowboy), I was out with the horses almost daily. Just being around them is by far my most favorite thing and without it in my daily life, I find things don't function as smoothly.

The other favorite thing that has shifted has been cooking. I LOVE to cook. It's an experience for me that I truly enjoy. These days I still do a lot of cooking but the joy has gone out of it because of the time that I don't currently have to prep and create a great meal for my family. My friend pointed out that I don't need to give all of this up, but I have to schedule it in and stay true to that schedule. He assures me that my writing will benefit from it. He's probably right. Scheduling has never been one of my greatest suits but I am going to give it a try. He suggested that instead of making gourmet meals for my family each night that I do one on the weekend. I like that idea a lot. I also may not be able to have as much time with the horses as I used to, but if I look at the schedule I can make time. I am sure in the heck going to give it a try. How about you? What makes life seem to move at a smoother pace for you? Is there something that you do that makes you really happy in life?

I also wanted to share a picture of my fuzzy girls as well as the newly redone cover of "Saddled with Trouble."

Cheers,
Michele

A Few of My Favorite Things

by Laura Crum

Its been raining a lot lately, and I haven’t gotten to do much (make that any) riding for a couple of weeks. I also haven’t been able to get out in my garden much. We had such good weather throughout January and early February (when I wrote about riding the trails and the beach) that I am really spoiled and am now whining about what is very normal spring conditions here. Anyway, I wanted to do a post about things I love about my horses and garden—just to cheer myself up.

Many of us have written on this blog about not being able to ride as much as we want (or at all) for various reasons. A bad back or other injuries, too busy, the weather, fear issues, lame horses…etc. I have been subject to all these things from time to time, and even though I love my trail rides and have written about them often, I have to say that it’s the day to day living with horses that means the most to me. Horses as part of my garden, as it were. I like feeding and doing the chores, I like watching my horses turned loose to graze on the property, and I also like puttering around on their backs, sometimes with camera in hand, snapping things that look appealing in the garden. This is something I hope I can do even when I’m old—it doesn’t take much skill or athletic ability and its lots of fun.

I know I’ve mentioned here before that I love my garden, but perhaps I haven’t happened to confess that I’m pretty obsessive about roses. My passion for old garden roses is right up there with my passion for horses. I grow over a hundred varieties of roses here in this tangled, wild garden, as well as many native Californian plants, Mediterranean plants and bulbs—just to name the main players.

So here are some photos taken before the rain started, showing my garden in early spring.

My son’s horse, Henry, grazing in our riding ring at 23 years of age. For those who have started reading this blog recently, I bought Henry when hewas 19 and he remains perfectly sound and a wonderful, bombproof riding horse for my kid. He had colic surgery right as he turned 21 to remove an enterolith that was as big as a cantalope (its on my mantel—the ten thousand dollar rock), and has been as good as ever since he came back from this. Henry is the sort of horse that is almost impossible to find. Sound, absolutely gentle and reliable, confident trail horse, with good smooth gaits. We love him to death.

My trail horse, Sunny, grazing—this is his early spring color. He’s much darker gold when he sheds out. As you can see, neither of my trail horses are anything fancy, and should probably not be spoken of in the same breath as the sort of horses that Jami, Francesca and Terri are looking at buying. Mine are just a couple of hairy, sturdy little yaks who are great on the trails. They are both quite happy to have turn out time on grass instead of being ridden, thank you very much. But when I don’t have time or the inclination for a long ride, I often climb on them and walk and jog around the place, enjoying spring in the garden. That is, when its not pouring (which it is now).

So here are a couple of my early roses, shot from Sunny’s back.

Rose “Belle Story” by my front porch. Flowers very early in the spring—every year .

Rose “Mutabilus” reaches for the sky over my back porch. This one blooms all year round here.

The pond in early spring. The water iris will bloom later. The water lilies later still.

Laura and Sunny—note the sandals and halter. This is how unprofessional I am. Just puttering around on my horse in the sunshine. It takes me right back to my teenage years, when I loved to ride bareback in shorts and a bathing suit and sandals. Of course, I don’t look quite the same. But its all in how you feel, right? My husband insisted on taking this picture because he thought I looked silly riding in sandals. Thus my somewhat sulky expression. And yes, I do realize that it is not PC attire or gear, but this is the beauty of owning a couple of truly reliable riding horses. They may not be fancy, but they are highly unlikely to dump me—even bareback and with the halter and sandals.

Are there any other rose lovers out there? And do some of you, like me, like to putter around the garden on your horses? It’s a sedate, old lady pleasure in reality, I guess. I’m not galloping along as I would have at sixteen. Still, I’m having fun. Anybody else do this?

Also, do you guys enjoy these posts that are mostly photos? I have enjoyed seeing your photos on your blogs, but haven’t posted many photos myself in the past, mostly because my old computer wasn’t up to the task. Now I have a new computer (new to me) that will post photos. (Though as you can see by the placement of Henry's photo, I still haven't quite got this process down.) So, I’m curious—are posts with photos, or posts that are mostly photos, preferred, or do you like the “writing” posts better? And if you do like photos, what sort of things do you enjoy seeing photos of? Mainly horses? Or other things, too? I know I have very much enjoyed seeing photos that showed the landscape and gave the “feeling” of the various places that people and their horses call home. But maybe I’m the only one that has this thing for looking at roses? (I confess that I go to old rose websites and browse—so I’m kind of obsessed.) Any thoughts?

Finding that perfect horse.

By Terri Rocovich

Since so many of us are on the hunt for a new mount, I thought I would share some of my thoughts and experiences on purchasing and vetting horses for myself and my clients. Let me start by saying that I may be a bit different in buying a new horse than many others since I rarely if ever sell them again if they become a part of my 4 legged family. In my life time I have sold only 1 horse that I owned (obviously I have sold many horses for clients) so when I buy a horse it is for the life of that horse. Nothing wrong with any other approach, that is just what works for me.

With that said I think that there are several things one should consider when looking for horses. You first must identify what you really want, which may not be as easy as it sounds. Do you want a horse just to learn on, one that will be competitive at your chosen discipline, one that will challenge you and perhaps take you to the next level, one that will teach you and take care of you or simply a horse to be your friend. All of this is important. Then you look at related factors that will afect the price and availablity of your dream horse.

Green vs Experienced

With a young horse you may pay less money but a horse with a career under it's belt will most likely come with some maintenance issues. I for one am looking for a horse in the age range of 4 to 6 for two reasons. First of all, an older horse with a show record and with the talent I am looking for will be way out of my price range unless I can magically win the lottery in the next few months. Also, because I buy horse's for life, I want a horse with more career in front of him than behind him. For some riders though an experienced schoolmaster type is the best way to go especially for kids that are learning and wanting to compete. What you pay out in maintenance such as joint injections, NSAIDS, or joint supplements you will make up for in the confidence gained by the rider and safety.

Strictly show or all around horse.

Many horses that are well-mannered and reliable at shows are not reliable and even down right unsafe on the trail. I for one think that being able to take a horse out in th open on a trail or even camping is good for their mental development not to mention the conditoning benefits of doing hills or riding on the beach. Over the years I have had many tell me I am nuts to take my expensive (at least for my budget) upper level dressage horse Pete out on the trail and I have taken him horse camping to the cuyamacas and to the beach on several occasions. What if he steps in a hole, spooks or gets you off and runs down the road they have all said. But by my way of thinking, anything can happen anywhere and I would rather take a calculated, limited risk and have a happier, better mentally balanced horse because of it. Not to mention how happy it makes me to be able to trail ride.

I have also had a couple of horses that I would not ride on the trail for love nor money. I learned my lesson years ago with a Dutch Warmblood that I was competing for a client. He was a bit spooky even in the show ring so I thought I could desensitive him by getting him more comfortable on the trail. Well the comfortable on the trail part just was not going to happen and after nearly being killed by him (all 17.3 hands of him) bolting on the trail from just about anything; I decided that trail riding was not for that horse. So if trail riding is on your priority list, temperment and level headedness are going to be essential qualities in the horse the horse you buy.

Soundness is relative

Although I believe that a vet check is essential no matter how much you are paying for a horse, I always approach them with a strong dose of reality and practicality. Lets face it; there is no such thing as a 100% sound horse and God knows they rarely stay that way. Hock flexions can tell you a lot but the are not a sure thing. I have had horses not test positive at all in flexions and then show significant changes in radiographs or the reverse. Radiographs (Xrays) are important but are not always afforable or within your budget. My general rule, and I try to build this into the budget, is to do at least xrays on the hocks (and stifles if I can afford it) and front feet because these are the areas that are easy to image and can most often yield career ending problems. Confirmation is also an essential element and I use as critical of an eye as possible in the area before even going to see this horse. My horse Pete has several minor conformation faults one of which is a slight toeing out on the front right foot. So it was no surprise that both his suspensory and tendon injuries (both of which he has recovered from) were in the front right.

Nothing substitutes heart

Even the best conformation and pefect soundness cannot be a substitute for heart. It is that intangible and immeasurable quality of heart that can make up for many physical faults. In my family we call it the "butt test". What does your butt tell you when you sit in the saddle and ride. I almost passed on Pete because he was not very impressive looking standing in the stall but when I sat on him I knew I was home. And it his heart and his fortitude that took him, and me with him, much farther up the levels than you would think his physical abilities could have.

If I have nagging doubts, I always tend to pass. Always go with your gut. Have I missed a few opportunities? Probabably, but I am a fatalist and I believe that what is meant to be will be.

What have you experiences been? How did you find the horse of your dreams or are you still looking?

Looking for a New Horse

Last time I wrote about my epiphany of not being ready to quit competitive dressage.


Once I’d come to this realization and had a budget to work with, and a very small budget at that, I mentioned on Facebook I was horse hunting. A trainer friend of mine, Molly, whom I’ve known for years, started sending me horses from Dream Horse. One horse in particular caught my eye. The price was in my range, though a little higher than I wanted to spend, but he looked like a sweet fellow. He’d been used as a school horse at a hunter/jumper barn for flat lessons. Molly had been considering buying him for a resale project, but she said she wouldn’t be able to look at him for a while.

I contacted the owner and made plans to see him the following weekend.

In the meantime, I had a lesson on Gailey from my instructor, Kari. In an ironic twist of fate, I’d started her on arthritis medicine, and she was sounder than she’s been in a long time. We discussed my looking for another horse. Kari mentioned that Leslie had returned the chestnut mare to Sandy because the mare had failed the flexion test. Sandy needed to cut back on her horses ASAP so Kari believed she’d offer the horse for an indefinite lease or a minimal amount of money.

Now I had two horses to look at. Of course, I’m a little nervous about the chestnut mare as she’d been vetted twice in the past six months and failed both flexion tests. Now, we’ve all heard of horses that have failed the flexion test but stayed sound forever. With the hope in mind, I tried out the mare on a Saturday. She was lovely, as I expected she would be. Perhaps, a little small for me, but she knew all the second level stuff. Yet in talking to Sandy, she never mentioned a lease, and her price was considerably higher than I’d anticipated. In fact, high enough that I couldn't afford to take a chance if the mare's soundness was questionable. Sandy told me if she couldn’t get that price, the mare would be put in a pasture because she didn't want to give her away.

That evening we went to a birthday party for a friend from the barn. My husband grilled several people on the chestnut mare, including the one who’d returned her earlier in the week. We decided the risk was too great. She was not flexing sound in the hocks, and she was only six. I was sad because she would have been a wonderful horse to have. I also feel sorry for the seller because she believes the horse doesn't have a soundness issue. She had a horse she was hoping to sell in the mid-five figures who is now priced in the mid-four figures and still isn’t selling. What if the flexion tests were wrong? What if there’s really nothing seriously wrong with this mare. She’s also had two sets of x-rays, one vet saw something, another claimed there was nothing. With all this conflicting information what is a buyer and seller to do? Did I pass on the best deal that might come along in a long time?

The next day I tried out Larry, the horse Molly had mentioned to me. Larry was also coming six, and he’d had a partial avulsion in the pastern a few years ago, which as I understand it is a tearing of the ligament which connects to the bone. Larry was bred to be a jumper but the vet recommended no jumping because of the avulsion so he was looking for a home as a dressage horse. He didn't have the dressage training the mare had. In fact, he was quite green though dead broke.

My friend and I saw something in the way he moved that seemed odd, but when he was ridden forward, it went away. Since the owner was willing to allow me to take him home for a 30-day trial, I decided to try him out at Kari’s barn with Kari riding him a few days a week. I picked him up last weekend, and it’s been sub-freezing temperatures ever since with snow on the ground so I’ve been unable to ride him. I lunged him last Monday, and he’d settled in nicely.

Kari rode him on Tuesday and felt something wasn’t quite right with him. She wanted to ride him a few more times before she made her decision, but he felt he had a flat tire. Not necessarily unsound but not right exactly. I plan on riding him tomorrow and all week so we can make our decision. Right now, I’m paying board on two horses, and I can’t afford the expense so I need to make a decision soon. If I'm keeping him, Gailey needs to go home or be leased to someone else.

So that’s where I am right now. More to come...

More Winter Musings

I am in awe of the recent blog posts from the other writers. Lengthy, interesting, and thought-provoking. My brain seems too fragmented to write on one topic. I blame it on my fragmented life, but other writers also wear many hats, yet they have no problem with a lengthy narrative. Whatever the reason, lately it seems that musings on a variety of topics seem to occupy my thoughts and seem to be what I enjoy pulling together for my own entries.

First thought: winter must be coming to an end despite the recent snow. I bought a "Small Gardens" magazine and drooled over the flowers. Every year I garden, and every year I triumph--and fail. This season I am already dreading the stink bug. A recent article in the newspaper said it will be an awful season for the destructive insects, which arrived from China in the late 90s and have spread wildly (Thanks, China.) Last week, a warm day brought them crawling from the crevices of the house where they wintered over. My crazed, murderous side (the one that loves to read violent crime novels) took over and I annihilated them all. According to the paper, though, the stink bug lays 30 to 100 eggs, which will soon be hatching. ARGH. It will be a bloody spring.

Second thought: Thursday's headlines "Rabies-infected horse spurs warning." A vet euthanized a local horse that had 'dumb' rabies, different from violent rabies. The owners had to go through the series of shots. I've been regularly getting my horses vaccinated, but a case this early is worrisome. Ticks are just around the corner as well. Last year, my old Lab got Lyme disease despite tick treatments and collars. He had to be treated twice with antibiotics. With a mild winter, ticks are going to be on my radar--along with stink bugs and rabies. I must remain vigilant!

Third musing: Ad in the Classifieds(I've got to stop reading the paper) "Wanted to Buy: Unwanted horses and ponies & used livestock trailers." This needs no explanation. My latest mystery Whirlwind is set on a rescue farm (as is the prequel Shadow Horse.) I often get email from young readers and horse lovers. The last girl told me two sad stories. One was about her favorite lesson horse she named "Oliver Pony Twist" who no one else liked. She rode him for a year and like so many young riders, loved him dearly. One day she came to the barn and found him gone. The trainer told her that he'd been sold at an auction "probably ending up on someone's dinner plate." You can imagine how this twelve-year old felt. Now she's riding an ex-racehorse named Blaze who can't whinny because "they cut his windpipe open so the air would circulate faster so he could run longer and faster." He contiually colics, she wrote, and has almost died several times. Both these stories touched my heart--even though I knew neither horse.

Okay, so it's tough to comment on random musings, although in retrospect, these do have one thing in common: stink bugs, ticks, gardens, rabies and horse abuse all get stuck in my brain and don't let go. What are the thoughts and worries that ramble through your mind as winter begins to turn to spring?