Happy New Years!!

I'm gonna keep this short and my resolutions to myself!!  I know that you are all relieved!!  LOL!!

I hope everyone has a great 2010!!

We can only be what we give ourselves the power to be.
                                                               Unknown

Pardon Me While I Get On My Soap Box...

Now that I am up here, I have to vent.

I am admitting to being VERY thankful that Chad and I's small business is surviving in these less than wonderful times.  I feel VERY bad for those who are struggling...I help where I can, when I can, and who I can.  My family has NOT been spared from this crisis we are in as a nation.
We are NOT rich, if we were, we would NOT be living at the land lords place!!  And the shop wouldn't be paying rent...that being said, here's what has been spinning my screw...

We have had several people of varying ages come through the door lately asking for a business card.  I say "may I ask why", they say "I need it for my unemployment".  I say, "are you looking for a job"?  They say "yes".  I say "I would be more than happy to set you up with a job interview with Chad.  We have a full time swing shift position open, we are willing to train the "right" person, and wages are D.O.E".  They say "OK, but can I have a card?"  I say, "nope, not until after the job interview."  They say, "Can I talk to the owner or manager."  I say, "I am the owner."  They say, "Oh."  Then they leave.  REALLY PEOPLE?!  Give me an F-ing break!!  Get off of your lazy asses and give something else a shot!!  If you are trying to get your extension on your unemployment, there is a good chance that job isn't going to be there in another 20-52 weeks any way!!  Are we really that lazy as a nation?  Good grief...

My sister has one better though, I need to share (this is what spawned this blog today)...

She got a call yesterday afternoon from a man who wanted to use them as a reference for his unemployment.  She asked him if he was actually looking for a job.  He said yes, so she said come on in anytime after 2:00 pm today and we will interview you for the position we have open.  He asked what the position was and she said that they were looking for someone to wash the cars on the lot and also to detail them.  He hung up on her.  He called from his home phone.  She wrote down his name, number, and some short notes on their conversation in case the dummy tries to use them and she does get a call from unemployment.  My sister is 8 months pregnant and she is the one who washes and details the cars on their small family owned and operated used car lot.  She does this all year long...if its warm enough for the water to run and not freeze to the car, she washes them...now in a short time, they will need someone in all honesty.  Her estimation is for 3-4 months...maybe less...but if you do a good job, and have the aptitude for it, who says he couldn't have been selling cars by then?  Maybe he could have started doing their in house re-po's...maybe he could have started doing the paper work and ended up running the place while Mindy and Fred are on vacation?  We will never know...he will never know...this guy is too good to even come in and interview for the job.  Really?  But he is not too good to file an extension when his benefits run out.  He is too good to take a minimum wage job....Really?  Are you?  At what point to you just grab yourself by the boot straps and say, I will find another way to make a living?  Guess he and many like him just aren't there yet. 

Nummnummmnummnummmnumm!!

The boys looking for their Christmas goodies!!!

Oh, sweet gingerbread house....

Your tastey goodness is mine....

I will savor you for.....

...well as long as my brother lets me!!

Mmmmm Patron like cookie house!!!

Nummnummnummnumm!!!

Christmas treats are good!!!

I saw this quote and it totally made me think of the hee-haws!!  So here goes!!

The door to happiness opens outward.

                              Soren Kierkegaard (I have may spelled this wrong...I can't read my own handwriting...can you believe it?) 

Glimpse Of Our Christmas!

A few pictures of our Christmas in Small Town USA!  ( :

Chad got me a Spork for X-mas!!  My mom in the back ground with Kage!

I saved all my extra pennies for Chad's gift!!  I think he likes it!

My dad and his "new" hand cuffs!  My great e-bay find!!

Mom!!!

Mindy, Fred, and Abbi.

Walking "up the lane"....

Mr. Dog, Kage, and Abbi.

Abbi, Hank, Dufuss, Kage, and Mr. Dog...Oh and dad and Mindy!

Kage and Abbi.

Carter and his helicopter.

Bradly, Fred, and Kiahana.

Dad and Kiahana heading to her house with the opened gifts.

 Kiahana, "brother" Brad, his wife Caroline, and Steve in the back.

The Greer Grade...looking down towards Orofino.

And we are done here!!  There were several places we went, that we didn't take pictures...but this is the jist of our visit with the family... 

Hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas!!  We did!!

Merry Christmas!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas !!  I 'm heading to my parents for a couple of days with Chad and the dogs...  Its been a rough fall for our family with sickness, death, and loss of work...  We have decided that this is going to be a Christmas that we are all just happy to be together, and what we do not have as far as the latest and the greatest gadgets and toys really doesn't matter...because we have each other and this time together!

Live well.
Laugh often.
Love much!

A Girl Named Jamison

This lovely filly/mare is the land lords second attempt at raising a home bred horse.  Jamison had a full brother that died of a broken leg...some day I may or may not get to that story...we will see.  At any rate Jamison is out of another OTTB mare, this ones name is Spicy Act.  She had a lot less baggage than Marve's dam and a pretty pleasant mare all the way around.

Jamison's sire is also a stallion from Ireland.  He is not Chippason, but a stallion called Ricardo Z.  Now this is all hear say as she isn't registered and the land lord has no paperwork proving said stallions swimmers were brought over here in a straw for his use.  Ricardo Z is a big deal in the circles he travels I guess you'd say...sort of like a Frenchmans Guy or Firewater Flit to us barrel horse lovers.  He is syndicated and babies sell for tons and tons of cash.  I can attest to the fact that Jamison is 100 times the athlete of Mave and any other horse out here...mine girls included.  This goofy girl can do things that make you shake your head...her movements are effortless and astounding.  If I were better versed in English gaits and riding, I would be able to better explain what she can and does do.

Now when Chad and I first got together was around the time that Jamison was due to be foaled and the land lord was all worried that I would pack up and leave him with a new foal on the place and no one around that could help him...Mave was a two year old at the time and he was wrapped up in trying to get her started under saddle...  So he offered me 1/3 ownership in this foal if I would stay until she was a 3 year old and help him raise her.  I will say this as matter of fact as possible.  It was a disaster for me.  Anything I did, I felt like he undid...he would ask for my advice and then turn right, even though I said left was what I saw as a better option.  I spent time and money and time and more time on her....and after her fifth birthday and the last giant vet bill, I sold my 1/3 of her to the land lord for $1500...as they say, nothing is free...and I am sure glad that I didn't keep track of how much time I spent doctoring her, working with her, and money spent on her or I would be crying on my keyboard right now!!  ( :  But that's why we love our horses isn't it?

Me and Jamison at a Greg Elliel clinic...it did us both a lot of good...too bad the land lord didn't come and learn something!  If you like ground work, you'll LOVE Greg!

Sadly Jamison is also a horse that doesn't do well in small places (stalls), changes in her surroundings bother her, and the only way to truly keep her...mmm...progressing  I guess you'd say is with consistent handling.  She is hot..really, really, really hot.  Unlike Mave she is honest under saddle and tries hard.  She tries so hard that she will fail...so she needs someone who can give her support.  She is unsure of herself and very insecure...but I really like her.  Again several trainers have messed with her, and I am quite sure that this has done her no favors as I am certain that she needs consistency on all levels (and the land lord is anything but), but her confusion hasn't soured her...just really made her mind a mess, but not what I'd call a lost cause...  She is for sale and supposedly there are a few women who ride for "real" that are looking at her.  When I say ride for "real" I mean people who compete at high levels...and win.  I truly hope one of them takes Jamison to a place where she can flourish...

This mare/filly has had some serious injuries...everything from torn ligaments, to wire cuts, to cellutiuse, to an open skull fracture...all freak injuries, averaging one a year, but in 2010, its the land lords problems all on his own.  Of course I will care for her, but her will get charged for it this time,( in hours against rent of course)...I am listing the skull fracture's pictures on this post and warning everyone that they are pretty graphic.  I learned a lot from it though.  The vet was great and chatted her way through the diagnosis and treatment process. ***Some people don't care for this specific vets office, but I love them!  I'd rather spend a few extra dollars and get good service at the drop of a hat....around here I need.  Its better to me to have someone on call 24/7 than save a wee bit and not be able to reach my regular vets office when I need them!  One of the cheapo neighbors suggested a vet to the land lord...he used her a couple of times and likes her.  I have used her once, and she gave me some good tips and service....but then I called her after one of my girls got a significant cut...we can safely call it an emergency call.  That was in September, she still hasn't called me back....Dr. Peters called me right back and Fiona was treated and sent home in about 3 hours...including drive time!!Rant end.*** 


So if you don't like blood and bone, don't scroll down. I will let you know right now that this is the end of this little post.  With the exception of the gore pictures!! 

Flap up, the dent is the point of impact...she ran head long into a 3/8 cable that the land lord had hanging from a beaver slide he used to put up hay with when he hayed with the mules...long before my time there...after this he finally allowed Chad and I to take it down....takes a lot for that man some days!!

Flap down after scrubbing...she had apparently went ass over tea kettle as there were leaves from the tree that was near the beaver slide inside the wound...along with a few small rocks and dirt.

Up close shot of the fracture...vet said overall it was a good fracture.  We were told to watch for signs of breathing problems and discomfort.  She did have it abcess once (which the vet had said may happen), but it healed nicely over all.

All sewn up with the drain noodle in place...it was trimmed up before we went home.  If I remember right it stayed in for a week is all...

Not a great close up picture of her head, but you can see that its not any worse for wear.  She did have a bout or two with being head shy, but we are long past that now!!

Toodles and thanks for looking at the filly's busted head!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I don't mean to be a whiner, but I'd much rather have snow than rain right now!  A white Christmas would be nice...and knowing that the ponies have a good place to take a nap would make me happy too!!  Right now, there's not much high ground for them.

The big pasture rolls...and all the low spots have filled up with water right now.  Ugh...have a fencing project going on in the pond pasture...and Tony likes to try and fight the neighbor horses...so letting them in the trees isn't an option right now!

If this keeps up...water will be running down this road straight into the barn yard!!

Yep...I'd rather be getting a bit of snow!  Hope its snowing in the higher elevations, for our snow pack this next year!!

Queen Mave

Mave is the land lords first try and breeding horses and well, his baby.  No matter what she does, he adores her.  Mave is out of an OTTB mare called Dolly and a stallion from Ireland called Chippason. (Not sure if I spelled it correctly.)

I have no idea what Dolly did before I met her, but she was definately a horse who was torminted.  I moved out to the farm about 3 months before Dolly foaled and it took me the entire time before foaling to get her to trust me enough to brush her.  She would act as though I was either going to kill her, or she was going to kill me.  Once we got past the trust issues, we got along pretty well.  I did find that she was a horse that could not be tied up under any circumstances.  When she realized you had tied her she would test the line with a small head jerk, then take a step or two back, give another head jerk, and then take yet another step back followed by yet another head jerk.  Once she was sure that she was at the end of her slack, she would set back eyes rolled into the back of her head and whip and jerk her  entire body around until either the rope or the halter would give.  It was absolutely the scariest thing I had seen a horse do to itself with such calculation.  It took only once for me to choak back the involuntary vomit crawling up my throat as she tumbled to the ground 11 months pregnant to know that this mare was dangerous to herself and everyone around her if she felt threatened or uncomfortable.  I have to add that the land lord had not told me that mare was anyting but sweet...um yeah.

Besides being violent when tied, Dolly also cribbed like the earth would stop turning if she didn't.  She would do it in the stall, in the horse trailer, out in the pasture, and with the cribbing collar on.  I had no experience with a cribber before meeting her and had to have the neighbor show me how tight the collar needed to be to be effective...but she would still try over and over again.  It was awful to watch.
When Dolly foaled it took no time to find out she wasn't really cut out to be a mother.  She was fine to be around if she trusted you, so I had no problems with that, but she milked like a gold fish.  Mave was skinny and ended up getting pneumonia at about 2 months old...in August...when it was REALLY hot!  So I got to be Maves nurse mommy....we spent a lot of time together...mostly me nursing her along.  So she and I have a complex relationship 7 years later.

Due to her favorite child status, the land lord has let her become a 17hh brat, but 10 minutes of me reminding her I am not him and we move along fine...on the ground any ways.  Just about anyone who has any presence on the ground can get her in line...she stands well for grooming and some clipping.  He is pretty spurratic with it and I am not always around when he does this stuff...but anytime I have seen him do the briddle path, she is good.  He doesn't do around her eyes, ears, or muzzle...nor her legs...she did however come back from a trianer body clipped once, and she said that the mare did really well with it. 
I am happy to say that this mare doesn't crib even though she was with her dam for 6 months who like I said cribbed constantly....she also tieds well....thank God!!  She really has a calm nature...and as long as things are going her way, quite loving.  She may be one of those mares that gives mares a bad name now that I think about it...hehehe!!

The land lord does know that he is not the man to start his young horses so he has sent Mave to a few different trainers.  (Let me go on the record as saying that of the three trainers that I have met, only one would I let have any of my horses and I also feel that the more training and riding styles your horse is taught the harder its going to be for you to ride it...especially when you are not being schooled along with the horse... I am not so sure that that many different "trainers" and styles hasn't helped lead to her being basically soured.) When she is under saddle, nothing about her is "straight".  She moves arced one way or another...I have seen people ride her other than the land lord and they have to work really hard to straighten her out, and then she just pops out again. She just doesn't seem to be happy under saddle although when she gets to jump, her attitude seems lighter than when he is trying to school her or just out hacking.  (I don't ride her, don't want to.)  She has been to the chiropracter...three different ones actually...and they say shes fine.  I think she doesn't want to work or have a job and she is just going to work on letting everyone around her know!  She will also duck out from under you if she feels like she can...and she bucks.

I don't really know a lot about her daddy, but the land lord says he is a great performing stallion (maybe I will google him...that would be a good idea...) and Mave is the only get he has on American soil.  She is super handy and fun to watch when she is playing, but under saddle, she is a different beast. 
Oh, and she is the alfa mare...some days with a vengance.  I feel bad for my girls when they feel her wrath...but what can you do when you have to live by someone elses rules?  None of my mares are really interested in being alfa, so thats good...and if she tells the donkeys something they don't like, they basically tell her to drop dead.  There is nothing funnier than a mini donkey kicking a large horse in the chest between its front legs and the horse backing off...so proud of my boys!!  ( :  Oh, and did I mention she maybe one other those mares that gives mares a bad name?  ( :

I like Mave...she's my adopted kid...Rumor has it that the land lord is going to breed her this year...to who I don't know.  I will keep you posted!

Tuesday....

On Tuesday little sweet Lucifer is going to enter a new stage of his life....

Its the stage where he becomes an it...

No more juevos for the kitten!! 

M-Kitty will be glad....he won't be "practicing" on her any more...

And maybe peace will reign at our house...
Well maybe!!!