Windy, Windy

We should have named our farm "Stinking Windy Farm."
It was windy, chilly, and sunny today.
Therefore, I didn't do too much playing with the horses, just lots of hanging out with them. Eddie and I played with our canter lead changes in the pasture, I let him graze for a nice long time while I moved the t-post insulators for the track. Diesel has figured out how to get under the electric fence and graze Eddie's long grass that is in the pasture, so we have to lower the bottom line.
Anyway, Ed and I played, went for walks, and then Diesel and I went for a nice long walk around the property. They are such good boys! :-)
Then I trimmed Scout - his feet are looking GREAT! After a laminitis episode in January... they look amazing!

Well, gotta go, time to do the horse's final check.
Hope that you all had a great day!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Spring is Here!

Scout in the pine trees during our walk.

There's a warm breeze comin up from the south, and you know what that means??
SPRING!
This past week I've been taking all our horses for walks, riding in the outdoor, enduring this incessant wind, and trimming. Scout needed a bit of a trim since his laminitis and we got x-rays done of his feet too, so I trimmed to those.
Anyway, today this beautiful Sunday, we are addressing the track to get rid of all of the grass for our metabolic ponies, and I'll be playing with them all too.
I've been working on my final for my Applied Equine Podiatry online course and it is pretty challenging. I'm halfway done with it and it is already 6 pages! But today I'll take a break - I've been working on it nonstop and Sunday is a day of rest.
So, here's to more posts in the future. I know, I've been a bad blogger. But sometimes you just need a break to get a new perspective and finish up and attend to the things that really matter.

A blessed Sunday to you all!

Cold Wind

Seasons Change by Tim Cox

Yesterday's high was 17 and today's will be 28. Thank the Lord for warmer weather. Although, I had fun with the horses yesterday. I took Eddie for about an hour walk around our property and we even went for a trail ride. Yup, my first trail ride out of a paddock. At least it's my first successful trail ride. Last time Eddie dumped me in the manure heap. It was funny, but I don't have a yearnin to do it again. I just rode around by the garden and Eddie was a champ. Man, do I love that horse!
Then I took Diesel for a long walk around the property too. We avoided the windy spots and I let him graze by the raised beds in the garden. The grass was a little less lush there, so I let him graze there instead of Laminitis Lane and Founder Freeway (aka the orchard). I guess rotting apples and pears make for a pretty good fertilizer.
Anyway, today looks to be warmer, a little windy, but sunny. Hooray!

P.S. Scout is doing better and better! He was trotting around yesterday and my sister took him for a good 20 minute walk. Praise the Lord!


1 Corinthians 13:6-7
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Back to Normal

For the first time in over a week things felt like normal again. Scout was 99% better, Eddie was calm and confident and Diesel was exuberant and hyper. Oh, it was such a lovely day! It was foggy and cold - reminds me of fall.... Definitely not winter. Ah well, fall is my favorite season anyway!
So, I played with Eddie and we went for a 45 minute walk. We went all around the property, played fun little games and you know what? He was so much better when it came to our harmony. I would stop really quickly and he would walk ahead of me like, "Why'd we stop?!" Then I would run forward quickly and he would look surprised. After about ten of those all along the east side of our property, he caught on and we would run, stop, walk, stop, backup, run, walk... You name it! And he was so connected to me and eager to follow. Yippee!! :-) I love my Eddie!

Then I took Diesel for his usual power-walk all around the property. We jogged about two laps and he was having such a blast! He would wring his neck and 'strut-his-stuff.' Oh my goodness, it was so cute.

Such a fun, foggy day. Pictures to come soon! :-)

1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

A Beautiful Day!

The sun was shining, it was above 40 degrees.... It was a beautiful day!
I played with Eddie for an hour. We rode, went for walks out around the property and played out in the pasture. When I rode, we worked on lightness and feel. For about 20 minutes we played with it and by the time we were done, I could back him up with just a shift of my weight and turn him too without touching the reins. I own a pretty amazing horse.

I took Diesel out next and we went for several laps around the property, through the trees, a lap on the track, around the buildings, through the south line... We had a blast and we were so pooped when we were done. He went to take a nap and I went to go and get their hay around the the night. *sigh* have I ever said that I love the smell of hay & horses? There isn't anything better.

Scout is doing much better too. His feet are cool and he isn't shifting his weight anymore. Also, he went for a little walk today and was perfectly comfortable. Slow. But comfortable. So this evening we're going to take his pads off and let his feet air out. Also, I thought I should share this with you all... If you need any information about horse nutrition, laminitis, or really anything relating to the horse's diet, this is an excellent, excellent, excellent, resource. http://drkellon.com Take her courses, you won't be disappointed.

*whew*

You know that moment when you haven't blogged for a week or so and then you have a long list of all the things that you did...
Well... I'm havin that moment.
This past week has been pretty crazy. Long story. Here's the short version: Scout got acute laminitis and we literally caught it on the first day. We gave him bute for 3 days and took one day off. He was looking better, but then went a little downhill and we called our vet. He told us to give him bute for 1 week and that's what we are doing now. So, he's tender-footed, he doesn't have heat in his feet anymore and that's huge, he isn't shifting his weight as much and now he just gets introverted when we give him the bute. Poor thing! But, he is doing better and hopefully this bute will be accumulative and he'll just keep getting better and better.
I know you are probably thinking, 'what caused it?' Well, we got into a bale that had a tiny, itsy, bitsy, amount of alfalfa. Not much... Just a sprig here and there or an occasional stem. I guess it was just enough to set him off.

I haven't really played with Eddie much. 1) because we've been keeping an eye on Scout. And 2) it's icy out. So we've just been running around the pasture together, riding in his paddock and not doing too much. Oh yes, and going for walks, which we are officially cursed this week when it comes to walks. lol! Once it was a rogue garbage can that could have had a cougar in it. Then once it was stray cow that had gotten out at the dairy farm north of us. So, we're not really going for walks until things calm down and Eddie calms down too.

On another note, I got my first Eclectic Horseman magazine in the mail today! I've already half of it and it is really good. Like a Ray Hunt magazine! :-) Can't wait to read more!

More Snow

We got more snow two days ago which added up to about 5-6 inches of powdery snow. Not a whole lot, but enough to be pretty and fun to play in.
Yesterday I rode in the outdoor for quite a while, we took all three of the horses for walks, and we went for a whole lap around the property. Let me tell you, in 5+ inches of snow, that is very tiring! But it was so fun. The sun was shining and it was warm. It has been in the teens for the past week and it dips down to the single digits at night. So 20 degrees feels like a heatwave!
Today, I'm going to get all my playing and riding in this morning with Eddie before the rain comes. Yup. You heard right... Rain. Yuck. That means everything is going to thaw and get all muddy. Ah well, it is still only January, we could get a lot of snow between now and the end of February. I took this picture yesterday when I was going out for a walk. Tundra much? It's so pretty though!

Hope that you all are staying warm and enjoying this wonderful Sunday!

Welcome to the Artic

Today was cold, cold, cold! It was a high of 20 degrees and felt like 6 degrees. And let me tell you, it sure did feel like 6 degrees. Besides keeping warm inside and getting a TON of things done, I took Eddie and Diesel for a nice walk. Eddie and I just went in the backyard out of the wind and I let him graze for a nice long time. He was pretty spooky though, so we couldn't go everywhere, but we did have fun walking around the backyard. :-)
Then Diesel and I went for a whole lap around the property and walked a half mile. It was SO cold! lol! I was freezing by the time we were done and he was so eager to go and so hyper. It was funny... I put him away and he ran to the gate as though he didn't want me to leave. He's such a good boy!

Anyway, I sent in my homework for the KC La Pierre online course, made an appointment for the new horse I'm taking on and going to trim, and responded to all my emails!
Oh yeah! And I also made a huge ramp off of the shed today. My sister and I sledded down it today and it was so much fun. I'll post a video as soon as I upload it to youtube. :-)
Have a great week!

A 'Free' Day

Eddie didn't want to do anything structured today. It was one of those days where we could just go for a walk and he could graze the whole time. So, that's basically what we did! We went for a walk around the whole property, rode in the outdoor for a little bit and then went for another walk. :-) He has gotten so confident with going through the south line, we went back there today and he was walking through all he grass, he ate some grape vines and dead grass, oh yeah, he was having a blast! It was so fun to watch him too and walk with him. He is such a good boy!
When we were riding, he just had a look about him and felt weird to me. Almost like he was ok with me riding, but he really wanted to do something else. So I hopped off, let him get a few bites from his nibblenet and then we went back out over to the pine grove where the grass is uber long. And he was happy and content! It's so interesting how I can tell he's off just by feel. I think we've really developed our feel, sometimes I think I can even read his mind. :-) And it's such a cool feeling. <3

Christmastime

It's Christmas week!!
We've been busy baking cookies, eating cookies, playing with the horses and wading through mud. Mud? Christmas? Yup... I just put those two in the same sentence. The snow melted and left behind a brown mess. Anyway, it's been fun playing with the horses lately because they have been so hyper.
Just today I played with Eddie and he was jumping around, arching his neck, cantering over cavaletties and just being crazy. Scout was also crazy as we sprinted all around the pasture. He was cantering, bucking and he even reared up a little bit. Wowza! They are so silly!
AND Diesel was also crazy! He did a little happy dance and then I took him for a walk around the pasture. We jogged almost the whole way and he showed no signs of wanting to stop. He actually cantered a little bit and let out a buck. Yahoo!!!

So here's to a white Christmas. Let's hope we get one!


~Lea & Eddie~

Isaiah 46:9

Remember the former things of old,
      For I am God, and there is no other;
      I am God, and there is none like Me,

Tug-o-War

GAH! Haven't posted for a long time!! :-(
Well, not too much has been going on, so that's probably why.
Eddie and I have been going for walks, playing in the arena and just getting back into the swing of things. I'm pretty much recovered from my wisdom teeth, I just can't ride yet. Because if I fall, that would not be good. So! We're making the most of playing on the ground. Lots of cavaletties, walks, blind driving, and just having fun. Eddie has taken up the fun game of tug-o-war with me. It's so funny! He'll grab my lead rope (I just use that for 'encouragement' now) and hold it in his teeth. Then I'll pull back and we'll just stand there. lol! Then he lets go and I stumble back!
Oh too funny, I love my pony! <3

Here's a pic of Ed in action! He's such a good boy!


~Lea & Eddie~


Ephesians 1:18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

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.

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.

Invisastyle!

Invisible long reins.
Changing eyes.
Going for walks.
That about sums up my day with the horses!
And the first two are from Buck Brannaman's DVD on groundwork. Let me tell you, I see a difference already! Especially with the changing eyes.
Eddie had a little bit of a hard time with it at first. He didn't really get where to go or what to do. But with quick releases and lots of reassuring, he got it. If you want to know what changing eyes is, go to this website and get the DVD! Or you can just buy it from Buck. He can explain it a lot better than I can.
http://www.giddyupflix.com/detail.php?id=282
http://brannaman.com/


Then we did some long reins. INVISASTYLE!

lol!
I would walk behind Eddie (and I did it with Scout too) and direct him with subtle cues. It was really awesome and I think both of the horses liked it! It was a lot easier too because I didn't have to worry about muddy lines.
:-)
I definitely recommend trying it! It's a lot easier than it sounds and the horses love it!

I played with Scout afterwards and we ran around out in the pasture. Trot. Graze. Trot. Graze. Trot. Graze. Trot. Graze. Canter. That was Scout's mind as we played. The grass was long, lush and green and he wanted to eat it all. But we trotted over some cavaletties and then went into the outdoor to do our invisastyle reins. I think he was a little confused and was thinking "Why are you following me?!" But he did good and whoahed when I dropped my energy.

They are such good boys! It was such a nice day, it didn't rain at all!


~Lea & Eddie~

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

An Amaaazing Day!

With my friend!!! Check out her blog here: http://becnsavyllj.blogspot.com/
That's a picture of her jumping with her horse. Way to go, guys!!!

But yes, it was an amazing day!

First I played with Eddie this morning. We went for a walk around the property, played in the outdoor and he jumped a few times. Well, more like he flew over them! It was so funny! Then I hopped on and we rode around for a little bit. He was really hyper, so when we first started trotting, he was SO elevated and extended! It was like riding a dressage horse. :-)
We went for a walk around the track after that and it was raining a little bit. Oh yes, it was raining while we rode too, but we didn't mind.

So, in the afternoon I headed down to the barn and met Rebecca there. We brought down Savannah and Jigs and played in the indoor for over an hour! We would run back and forth in the arena and Jigs would just GALLOP after us. It was so fun! Savannah just stood and watched Jigs like, "What a weirdo!" Rebecca rode Savannah for a while and I laid on Jigs. He was really good and stood really well. What a good boy!
After that we went out to the outdoor and I let Jigs graze while I took lots of pictures. It was so nice out and the clouds totally cleared up. Such a beautiful day! Plus I think Jigs was happy not to be trimmed. Usually it takes me a while to trim him, so I don't have time to play. But today we had TONS of time!
I put Jigs away when he had his fill of grass and then we went into the woods. It was so pretty back there and I took lots of pictures and videos. I love to take pictures! :-)

Oh, such a fun day and such good times with my best friend! <3

~Lea & Eddie & Jigs & Rebecca & Savannah~

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.

Let's Go for a Trail Ride!

Well, sorta...

It was a blustery, chilly, and cloudy day. I walked out to the barn and was greeted by Eddie's big white blaze. I haltered him and led him out through the outdoor to the area behind it. He danced around a little bit and was quite excited to eat all the long grass.
So we just trotted around, I let him graze and then I tried to hop on.
he-he...
Well he wasn't too keen on me riding, so we went for a trail walk instead. He stood great, he just didn't want me to ride. :-) Which is understandable since it was spooky out.
After we went for a walk down the east line, we went back into the outdoor and played around in there for a little bit. I hopped on and we walked a lap in there. He was such a good boy! Very hyper, but still a good boy! <3
Hopefully it won't be so slippery out tomorrow and we can do some more things together. :-) It rained all day yesterday so it was very poor footing out there today. But like I said, hopefully tomorrow will be better.


~Lea & Eddie~

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Takin A Break

Seems like all we have been doing lately is ride... Trotting in the outdoor, trotting over the cavaletties, trotting around the corners. Been doing that for about 4-5 days.
I like variety. Eddie likes variety.
It was time to change things up.

Today was just played with the pasture and did 3 laps in the track. It was nice to take a break from riding so we could both soak up all the things that we have learned. Now I do admit that I sat on him while my mom gave him grain, but we didn't work on anything.

This breather will be fun. I'll play with him again tomorrow and then we'll probably go back to riding / playing. We cantered out in the field (which he doesn't really like right now - he gets a little nervous) but I just let him stand until he relaxed and then we did some more lunging-type things out there. Just running around, jumping over things and burning off some of his energy. :-)

So, now I just have to think of what we can work on next in our riding. Taking a step back and doing a little evaluation can sometimes make me see the holes in our relationship and horsemanship.
Hmmm.... Still evaluating... I'll get back to ya on that.

But yeah, it's so nice outside and great to be out with the horses all day. <3

~Lea & Eddie~

1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

Thursday

Yesterday was sort of a busy/sluggish day. I had a lot to do, I just did it lazily. :-/ Ever had one of those days? Felt kinda bad about it. Anywhos...
I took all the horses for walks! Scout and I went for a lap in the track and I rode. We trotted up the west line and then rode into the pasture. He was very happy for the long grass of the pasture!!

Then, Eddie and I went for a walk around the property. We went to the front yard, around the pool, down the west line and just all over! He loves to go for walks and had a blast. He is so confident now and I am so proud of how far he has come.
Last but not least, I took Diesel for a walk up and down the east line! We trotted together, he grazed and we enjoyed the time together. Our herd is so amazing. I love them all so much and they are just the best!


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~



1 John 3:16
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Summer

Wow, it's amazing how fast one week can go!
It has been hot, dry and rather July-ish. Mostly I've been keeping the horses cool, playing and riding in the mornings, and going for walks in the evenings. Oh yes, and hosing the horses off and swimming during the heat of the day! It's been fun though, lazy-ish sort of weather, too hot to trim... Speaking of which I need to trim Eddie's back feet and Scout's back feet too. :-/ I'll probably do them tomorrow, since it's only going to be 78. YAHOO!!!
Yesterday, a small storm rolled through - well actually it was a large storm. More than 800,000 people are without power in Chicago and around northern Illinois. By the grace of God, the bad wind went north and south of us. We're in the hole again! I tell ya, I'm never moving. Tornadoes and microbursts and downdrafts always seem to miss us by 5-10 miles.

Anyway, I took Eddie for a long, 45 minute walk this morning. We went by the gates, took two laps around the pumpkin field, went around the entire house, back up through the gardens and back to the paddocks! We had such a blast and he was so confident. I'm so proud of my Eddie - he has come such a long way and has truly given me his heart. Something that I am privileged to have.

:-)

Picture post on its way!


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

Matthew 4:4

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’

Warm Weather

Yesterday, no wait... Two days ago, I trimmed up Scout and took a lot of pictures of Eddie's, Scout's and Diesel's feet. They are all looking great! Today, mom and I went out to OEW's and trimmed up Jiggles. I did a full trim! Yahoo!! Jigs' feet look good, flares, but that's ok. Got em back to where they need to be. :-)

So, lately I've just been riding in the morning and hanging out in the afternoon. Today is not so hot, so I'm headed out to play with Eddie once I finish up here!

Our riding has gotten really good though. Eddie is becoming a lot more soft and light, which is really amazing. And I've also worked on becoming more soft and light and not holding any braces in my body.
We've just been having a lot of fun, keeping cool, riding and doing chores. Speaking of chores, I gotta go clean water troughs too!
Here's a pictures of Diesel and I under the apple tree two days ago. We went for a half hour walk and he loved every minute of it! Or maybe he just loved the lush grass.... Hmmm... ;-)


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel & Jigs~

Psalm 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect;
         The word of the LORD is proven;
         He is a shield to all who trust in Him.