More than riding

So I surpassed yesterday's goal, I groomed Diva and Mojito!  Trimmed tails and shortened manes, curried and brushed, it was a good day!  Diva was a good girl (as expected) and stood mostly still, we even did and little walk and hand graze and found out that last summer's fear of cows has been over come.

Just chillin' with the baby cows

She also spent quality time with Pat the cat.  Pat has found that standing on the tie rail with a horse is great because he gets back rubs.  He has done this for the last 8 years with every horse, some he only tried it once with and found them too aggressive for his liking.  Diva was very gentle and I think they are becoming fast friends.

Rubs

Mojito blew me away!  He was so grown up and so calm.  I.Can't.wait.to.ride.him!  He is a very fat boy at the moment, but I like that considering we are coming off the 2nd coldest January on record for this area.  I believe that it will be very attainable to get to some shows with him.

Mojito love

I also worked on breaking in my new Blundstones today.  Shoutout to my dad here for a great Christmas present.  My mom gave me a new helmet that I haven't had the pleasure of using yet (again due to such a terrible January).  I love my blunnies, this will be my fourth or fifth pair!

Boot love

I guess you know you are a horse person when new boots get set on the kitchen table for a photo shoot!  I was at Pony Club tonight teaching about conditioning, it is fun to mentor the next generation of riders.  I was a bit disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for learning.  I offered encouragement to them to scroll through eventing nation or some similar website to try and learn something new each day and to think of questions for future sessions.  Some of the girls there have very nice horses and I would love for them to become well rounded knowledgeable horse people not just decent riders.  I even pulled out my copy of Training the Three-day Event Horse by Jimmy Wofford for them to look at.  Flipping through the pages was a fun trip down memory lane as I have underlined and written notes in many places.  What a great book, Mr. Wofford is a consummate horseman.

Plans

Here I sit, wondering what to write?  I made some biscuits today and they were pretty tasty, but the recipe still needs some tweaking before I post it.  I am trying to recreate the cheddar biscuits at Nick and Jim's (a great BBQ place we frequent when in Aurora, Colorado.  So almost but not quite, I will tell you they do involve buttermilk, Yum!!

I am continuing to enjoy the milder weather that we are experiencing here in the Treasure Valley.  There is still some snow and ice, and paddocks are starting to look like lakes/quagmires, but it is warm.

Baby Paul and Ricky are off to the cowboy to get started this week.  This is something that my husband and I or my husband and John usually do, different plans this year since he is still in SanFran.  This cowboy is awesome!  The first time I ever saw him was at the track, he was leading a young race horse with a halter and lead rope.  Suddenly a horse gets loose on the track and starts galloping down the chute towards the barns where we are (I am on a racehorse at this point), and I'm thinking how is this going to end : / ?  *cue some wild west music here* the cowboy lithely swings onto the horse he is leading and gallops onto the track and catches the loose horse! *shock awe shock* No bridle, no saddle, young horse, OMG.  Turns out he is a really nice guy as well, one of those people that is more comfortable on the back of a horse than on his own two feet.  When he is done with a horse they go up and down mountains, cross rivers, load in trailers, etc etc.

I have also been thinking about some attainable goals this year involving my horses, yes mine.  I have the best horses I have ever owned and last year they were all on the back burner due to the racehorses and my client horses, this year no bueno.  For Diva I want to hit as much local stuff as I can, I don't really think she needs to travel far and wide since she is only 4.  Mojito I want to go to a real deal USEA event towards the end of summer.  I haven't been to a USEA event since 2009, where I ran two novice and a training with three OTTB's at Galway.  I am itching to get back to it, life has just had the terrible habit of getting in the way.  I have competed and worked on my dressage with  a lovely Andalusian named AYA Aero, he is an equine knight in shining armor.

Please excuse my tipped forward stance here (posting not sitting this lengthening)

Sexy beast

I have been working with this guy since his walk trot days.  He is also part of my goals this year since last year was slow for him too, I refuse to spread my self so thin this year that my favorite horses get ignored (this is my true goal for the future).

Signing off for the night with a step forward planned for tomorrow...a pulled mane for miss Diva!

Smiles

Quick post today, I managed to catch this shot yesterday and can't stop giggling.

I needed a good giggle after yesterday's unexplained terrible stomach cramps, yuck!  I also got one other picture that I love because this horse has been notoriously wild and he is now letting me pet him all over and take close up pics!  His Jockey Club name is Ninetyinasixtyfive, he will get started this year.

Barn name: Baby Paul

So not much for tonight, but I will be trying some new foods and posting pics with recipes soon, stay tuned:)

A Sunday in the Sun

Thank the Lord, the sun shone today.  It got to a balmy 32 degrees and I got horse dirt under my fingernails, yes that means I did some grooming without gloves, joy of joys!  The day started off with some tasty coffee at a local joint that seems to channel my own personal music choices,

 then it was off to do some ground work and grooming with a client's halflingers,

 I moved some hay and finally finished off the evening with dinner and friends (including sprinklerbandit).  While turning my eyes towards the glorious golden orb in the sky I waxed a bit poetic: as the sun touched her cheeks with a rosy paintbrush her woes and worries drifted away and dreams again rose to the surface.
While it was still cold I was able to capture one more great frost shot.

Winner winner chicken dinner (blue and red blinkers)

And finally for a wonderful finish for the day my husband won a race at Golden Gate Fields with Lookn Wild!
So the sun came out and life rocked.

School

Well after a nail biting down to the wire decision  BSU decided to turn a blind eye to an old bill so that I could continue on in my pursuit of brainiacness.  I am chocking it up to the motivating letter I sent: "I have a hold on my account due to money owed.  I was wondering if there is anyway that I could register for classes as I have financial aid available for this semester.  I have tried to scrape together enough money to pay off the old bill but finances are tight (barely able to pay power and groceries tight).  I really want to finish with school (I only have two semesters left) so that I can look towards a future of being able to pay bills and not be in debt.  I know it is always a risk for you to extend a favor like this, but I would not be accruing any more debt (due to available financial aid), and really it is an investment towards my being able to pay this bill.  If I can't finish school the chances of my making more money in the future are dismal.  I look forward to hearing from you and hope we can work something out."   So it worked, and on the first day of classes I registered!  Surprisingly I have gotten into all the classes I needed.  This semester and next and I am done with my undergraduate degree in Biology with a human emphasis!!!  The classes I plan to rock  this spring are Organic Evolution (Biol 400), Human Physiology (Zoology 401), Organic Chemistry (Chemistry 309), and Human Development (Biology 451).  Whew!  No fun literature or philosophy classes left in my schedule which is a right brain tragedy, but alas someday I will have money enough to take the occasional lit class just for fun.  I also plan to write books, compete at the top levels of eventing, and have grand adventures with my husband.  Right now, I'm focusing on getting to a Masters of Physician's Assistant and then a great job so I can buy a 5-point breastplate and goose-neck living quarters trailer!  It is strange to finally be a college senior, it has been a long time coming.  I took my first college classes in the spring of 2007, a year and half after finishing high school.  There have been adventures, good times, and heartbreak throughout but I wouldn't trade a day, I wouldn't change the process, I treasure the wisdom gained and time spent growing up.  I have a lot more wisdom to gain and I look forward to it.  My mom always says that 'tough times are character building,' at times I feel that if this is the case I must have character oozing out my ears, but then I look around and realize that each and every person around me has their own struggles and triumphs.  I realize that each day is a journey and each moment should be relished, it is often the times that feel insignificant that end up shaping us.

Frosted world

No surprise here, it was cold again today.  It started out around -2 and reached a toasty 15 (and yes we are talking Fahrenheit here).  The overnight freezing fog made for an incredible landscape.  It looked like every inch of outside space had been flocked like a Christmas tree.  Even the horses were frosted.  The beauty of the landscape seemed to try to make amends for the liberties this weather is taking with my mental health.  I'm tired of hauling buckets, I'm tired of breaking ice, I'm tired of falling on the ice (yes I've done this multiple times), I'm tired of the mystery of frozen water valves.  I apologize, I really shouldn't complain things could be so much worse.  What the real problem here is, is that I can't ride in this frozen tundra and it is grating on my nerves.  Solace, peace, wholeness, rhythm, and groundedness are hard to find without the back of a horse.  The steady sounds of hoof falls, the steady puffs of steamy breath, the way the horses sides give strength to your legs, the oneness of being partners with such a magnificent and noble creature, these are the things I miss when I can't ride.  I guess I could ride, but slipping around on ice and snow risking the health of the horse and myself does not seem like a good gamble, I can wait (barely).  So today I took advantage of some pony snuggles and kisses, as always they were quite therapeutic.

Car-sicles

Valladara in a frosty frame

Roanie pony

Roanie pony with frost (and horse
 of different color  Photoshoping)

Sarrow in a frosty frame

 I played with some Photoshop effects on the pictures.
I also took advantage of some Lester the cat and Charlie the dog cuddles!

My animals crack me up!

Lester rocking his signature 'flat ear' look

The things we do

I'm sitting here waiting to go pick up my husband at the airport.  He has been out of town since August, I have gone to see him a handful of times, but school prevents too many trips.  I am thrilled to have him home for a few days, it gets old rattling around the house by myself.  I have to brag a little here while I'm on the subject of my husband as I believe I won the husband lotto!  Yes we have arguments, and with the rather red hair color on both of us tempers flare, but that aside he is great.  I'm always hearing and reading things about how women wish their husbands would do this or wouldn't do that, nearly every time I notice that Mr. Eugene already does or doesn't do those things.  Wow!  Not only that he is horsey, I mean seriously horsey. We are talking teeth floating, hoof trimming, IV shot giving, hay bucking, lameness assessing, racehorse training horsey.  I could go on but I don't want slapped by the next woman I see;)  Ok one more thing, he kisses and hugs horses as much as I do (he would probably prefer I didn't write that here, my bad).

Just messing around

Reenacting the proposal

Eugene and Mojito

Sunny day in San Francisco

Thanks for the pics Alyssa!