Lotsa Cows

I have had an epic realization lately and I haven't really blogged about it at all. Yet.
You see, Eddie likes to be the herd leader. He liked to literally herd the ponies. He just did it today when we brought them in off of pasture. He runs behind Scout or Diesel and chases them/moves them to where he wants them to go. Also, he did it yesterday. I was inside, but mom said that he herded Scout into his own paddock and kept him there.
He knows this stuff. He gets it and does it naturally.
So, why not encourage it? I've been teaching him some cutting moves on the ground. Just basic things like rollbacks, fast back and forth movements and such. But hey, he can do it so much better without me teaching him! He just does it!
I'm really hoping that in a few years Eddie and I can go to a Buck Brannaman clinic. My mom and I really like his stuff and we're keeping each other grounded. We're not going to put Buck on a pedestal like what we did with Parelli. There are other great horsemen out there and I would just as soon go to a Mark Rashid clinic too. Only Buck has cows. Lotsa cows!

In order to go to one of his clinics though I need:
1. Money (lol!)
2. A Trailer
3. Eddie to be able to go alone and be ok with that
4. Prepare for it by going to a Martin Black clinic or going to the forest preserve a bunch of times.

And I know this isn't going to happen overnight. Heck, it's probably not going to happen for a few years. But God knows and I'm just trusting that some day Ed and I will be able to go to one. It's my new dream. :-)

A friend said on my facebook:
Once the horse knows to hook on to the cow, all you do is hang on and don't take you eyes off the cow!
Very cool.
I suggest that you all go to amazon and buy Buck's documentary. I've watched it twice and could watch it over and over again!

hehe, I also have to get myself a ropin' rope!


~Lea & Eddie~

Pictures!

Well, I can't ride & can't play so I might as well take some pictures of the horses! (hehe! 84 total!)

Open Wide

Most teens my age have to have one big thing done after they get their braces off.
Any guesses?
They're big.
They're annoying.
And they have to come out.
You guessed it!
Wisdom teeth!


Today was my lucky day and I got they pulled this morning. I actually feel pretty good! Lots of jello, frozen pea ice packs and watching Buck Brannaman's documentary on the tv.

So hopefully I'll be able to get back to normal soon. I haven't seen the horses since this morning, but that's ok. It's one day. And besides, they ran around enough yesterday to tire them out today!

As I was watching Buck, I got the 'rancher' itch. Me, Eddie and a herd of cows. Some day, some day....


~Lea

Wind + Cold Weather + Combines = Hyper Horses!

What a crazy last couple of days!
See, now I have a reason to be behind on blogging... We're mudding & sanding our ceilings.
We've lived here for 7 years and we're finally gettin' er done. So I've been helping mom with the mudding and painting and such. It's really exciting to almost be done with the inside of the house. Just trim and carpet and we're done! Yahoo!!
Now, on to horsey things!
It's been windy and chilly and the combines have been out like crazy. Mix it all together and you get hyper ponies. :-)

Oh yeah! lol!
But Eddie and Scout and I have been doing small things. Ed & I have been working on cutting game, (I run around back and forth and he cuts me like a cow. It's really fun! I have to get a video of it... :) and then we've also been going for walks. He's been spooky with all the stuff going on outside, so it's like our trail riding prep. hehe!
Then Scout and I have been going for walks too. Today we trotted around the ENTIRE pasture. It was really fun to jog with him. And if we go around the pasture 5 times, then it's a mile! Yehaw! So, we'll have to work up to walking a mile together. It's good for Scouty and me too! lol!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
         Be acceptable in Your sight,
         O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

I Always Do This...

... I always skip blogging for a long time, and then it hits me. Like an avalanche. After a total dry spell, I'm flooded with new things to blog about.
So here it goes... My attempt to catch up! :-)

A Camera? YES! Mom surprised us and bought the camera from amazon on sale. It's an amazing camera and we've already taken somewhere around 300 pictures with it. I love it and the horses look so pretty with the clear resolution.

Ok, next thing to tell you!
I got my senior pictures done!

My sister took them and we just walked around the property, stopping to take pics with the pretty, fall trees. I have yet to take some with Eddie because he has been pretty spooky lately. So we'll get the rest of them done when it's sunny out again! :-)

One more thing!

I've learned something lately.
Contentedness.
Well, I've actually been thinking about something lately. Horse people all around the world have their own 'discipline.' You know, cutting, reining, pleasure, trail riding, dressage, show jumping, eventing, you name it. And I don't do any of that with Eddie. *long pause* But it's not like it's a bad thing, in fact I'm quite content with it. But there's always been something in me that says, "Shouldn't I be doing one of those?" And I can't quite answer that. I would say yes, because I believe horses like to have a job. And I would say no, because there's a middle road and we're pretty much ridin' on it. We're not competitive. We don't go places to compete. I think we're more like horsemanship gurus. lol! Like the above Ray Hunt quote. We do horsemanship. And perhaps down the road that will come in handy. I can't see that right now. Cause that's up to God. But I'm just trusting God, He knows our future. <3 Like my Bible Verse a Day that just so happens to be the below verse!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF33ga1vlHQ


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~
Horsemanship Gurus :-)

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Blind Driving & Riding

Thank the Lord, it has been SUCH beautiful weather!
I am so thankful for it, I've been able to play with Eddie and Scout and even Diesel every day. Today, I played with Diesel's mouth since we have to flush it every so often. See, he's a 'packer' and packs food up in his mouth. So we have a tube and just squirt water into his mouth. He didn't like it at first, but once we let him see what it was, he was totally fine with it! He is such a smart cookie. All our horses are so much smarter than we give them credit for.
Scout and I went on an amazing walk today. We went around the ENTIRE property and he was just having a blast. Scout was kinda hyper, so we did some circles. Just so that he could get some of his energy out. But I think he was just excited. What's more fun than going for a walk? After we did another lap around the whole property, we went into the outdoor and I rode to the gate, opened it and then we went in his stall. ;-) hehe! It's interesting to ride in a stall. I thought to myself, "Hey, an indoor arena!" lol!
Eddie and I played in the outdoor in the morning and rode too. We did some more blind driving. He is REALLY getting the hang of it! All I have to do is hold up my hand and he will turn like a pro. I am so proud of him. =-) After we did that for a little bit, I hopped on and we rode for a while. We trotted, did a few laps, played with some side passes (which looked really pretty, btw!) and just had fun. I was going to play with him again tonight, but he and his herd were all running around quite a bit. So he got his exercise, for sure! They were really huffing and puffing.
It was such a lovely day and it was very fun to play with all the horses.
Getting off topic a little bit but... We're redoing our bathroom and painting it for the first time since we moved here. It is so pretty and so nice to have it almost finished. Yes, in between playing with the horses we were painting all day. It was fun!


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

Proverbs 19:20-21

Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
      That you may be wise in your latter days.
       There are many plans in a man’s heart,
      Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.

Learning A Bunch!

Well, the reason I haven't posted much this month is because every time I sit down to the computer, my time is taken up with answering homework questions for the online course I am taking. What kind of online course? HOOVES! =-)
http://www.appliedequinepodiatry.org/iaep/on_line.html
I'm taking KC La Pierre's Online course and it is amazing! The questions are really hard, but they are really good. Gets me thinking and makes me remember my answers and reasoning. Right now I'm doing 2, 500 word essays. It's going really well!

Anyway, on to what Eddie and Scout and I have been doing!


~Lea

Lovely Weather!

A little warm, but sunny, windy and beautiful!
Naturally, I played with all the horses today! First it was Eddie, then I played with Scout and took him for a walk and then I took Diesel for a walk. They all loved it!
So, it was exercise time with Eddie out in the pasture! We cantered around together, jumped a few things, did some cavaletties and then we went for a long walk in the track. The leaves were blowing everywhere and it was so pretty! We just took our time and he nibbled on some leaves.

Then Eddie and I went back into the pasture and did some sidepasses at the trot. I thought, oh, why not?! So we worked on it for a while and he really got it! It took some time and patience because he kept wanting to trot forward. But he sidepassed at the trot twice and I was very proud of him! I have to let him come forward a little bit, or else it would be too hard for him. He's such a good boy!

Next it was Scouty's turn!! We did some cavaletties out in the pasture and trotted around together. Well... We actually raced! lol! It was fun! Then we went out to the 'wild' aka outside of the fences and we went around the whole property. He LOVES going for walks. I wish we could take them up to Deer Run or Oak Ridge. They are both really nice trails only 5 minutes away from us. But alas... No trailer. Once I start trimming and save up enough for one, I'll buy the trailer and mom will buy the truck! :-) Anywhos...
We went for a nice walk and then I took Diesel out for a graze up by the house. He found the nicest patch of clover and wouldn't move from it! lol! Such a silly boy!
Overall, it was such a lovely fall day. This whole week looks to be beautiful too!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

Isaiah 43:11-12
I, even I, am the LORD,
      And besides Me there is no savior.
       I have declared and saved,
      I have proclaimed,
      And there was no foreign god among you;
      Therefore you are My witnesses,”
      Says the LORD, “that I am God.

Vet Visit

On Tuesday, the horses got their teeth floated!

Scout was up first and then Eddie and Diesel was last. They did very well. They all did fine with the sedation and came out of it fine. Our vet said that their teeth look good too.
Eddie's teeth were awesome, a little sharp, but he hasn't been done for over a year. Scout had a 'ramp' in his teeth and our vet was able to make most of his teeth level (he will do the rest next fall). And Diesel has some issues. Not too bad, just things we need to be aware of. He's a 'packer' which means that he packs all his food up in between his cheek and teeth.

So, we may have to flush his mouth every now and then or help him get the packed food out. But he hasn't packed at all since Tuesday, so that is a good thing! :-)
They were all so dopey and sleepy afterwards. Eddie took the longest to come out of it. I think it was just because his bite felt so off to him. But by the end of the day he was totally fine.

Here are our sleepy boys. <3
I'm so glad that their teeth are all taken care of for the year.

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

Isaiah 26:4

Trust in the LORD forever,
      for the LORD, is everlasting strength

Picture Post!

 Eddie grazing out in the pasture!

 Yummy grass! <3

 The ponies out on the track.

 Look how beautiful that sky is! Clear, cool and crisp.
It's FALL!

Eddie itching his noise on the grass! :-)

A Video!

I Can Fly!

...Right into the manure heap!

???
Say what?!
???

I decided to go for a trail ride with Eddie today. Our first every trail ride if you can believe it. Well, we've gone on the track and stuff but not out of the pens.
So, all was swell and I was riding up the north line of the outdoor. To the north and east of our outdoor, the manure heap sits. Ruminates. Whatever. The gate was open in the north east corner of the outdoor. Eddie saw that the gate was open and was like, "SCORE! GRASS!" So he was pulling in that direction. I stopped him and tried to turn him.
"Nuh-uh!"
Eddie plowed through the gate, turned sharply, I had to bring my leg up and over the post and I think that spooked him. That and going somewhere we have never been on horseback before.
He trotted.
He bucked.
He bucked again.
And I went flying off.
INTO THE MUCK HEAP!
I rolled, got yucky shavings all over me and jumped up.
There goes Eddie!
Cantering through the pumpkin field!
Around the silo! And he stopped and hid behind it.
:-/ Okay.... I ran after him and caught him. No big deal. The funny thing was he was SO sleepy beforehand. I thought it was a perfect day for a trail ride. Oh well, I'm not hurt, he's not hurt and we'll try again some other time. I was kind of funny. Although I do feel sorry for him, I think he got pretty shaken up/nervous.
What a day, what a day! Don't you just love those horse?!

~Lea & Eddie~

Proverbs 29:25

The fear of man brings a snare,
      But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

Don't you just love fall?!

Eddie does!
And so do I!

It was a lovely day to ride. So we did! Eddie and I rode in the outdoor for a nice long time. We played with some silly/random things and just had fun. :-) Then I let he and Scout together in the outdoor at liberty so they could play. Well, so Eddie could play. Scout just ran away. Poor Scout.
We went for a walk around the property, took the ponies for a few laps and then Al and I went on a nice bike ride down to the cottonwood tree. The fall colors are really starting to come in. It's SO pretty outside! There wasn't a cloud in the sky today.

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~