Photo Shoot

I love these pictures that my daughter Jenny took of us recently.  When she gets more downloaded, I can share some of her and her pony along with my buddy Cathy and her horse as well.

Number 2

I got to camp again this month....2 in 1 month is stretching my financial plan, but this trip was pretty inexpensive.  I am debt free other than my home, and am in the phase of saving enough cash to cover me for 3 to 6 months.  When I reach that number, then it's to pay off my home and be ready to semi retire in 2014.  Anyway, a few of us decided to camp at McCulley Farms the weekend AFTER their big fall ride.  Good decision!  We had a blast....there were only about 5 other trailers besides our group.  It was like the farm and trails along the Withlacoochie River  and Twin Rivers State Forest belonged to us.  :-)

We got to ride when we wanted, for as long as we wanted, slept in as long as we wanted and ate want we wanted.  We had fun around the campfire.... we played headbands, but ran out of headbands so I put my card in my glasses.

Stylin was still a little off from the previous camping trip so I rode my other mare Dixie.  She is such a a good old gal.  She is still going strong.  We do not have the same easy connection that Stylin and I have, but it was fun to ride her this weekend.

Cathy's horse Busta was still lame as well, so she rode my daughter's mare, Maybe.  She always enjoys little Maybe....she'll go anywhere and do almost anything  you ask of her.

From Friday thru Sunday afternoon....I relaxed and had an awesome time with my friends and horses.

Here are links to all the rest of the photos I took and that Mustang took.  Group 1   Group 2

And a parting video......  you can't see me, but you can hear my southern twang and see my mare's ears.

First Camping Trip of the Season

My riding buds and I went on our first "official" horse camping trip of the fall/winter season.  We were like little kids getting ready to go to summer camp!  This was a place that we had never ridden before and was for a good cause as well.  We went to Rock Springs Run State Reserve for a fundraising trail ride for the Children's Miracle Network.

Although the charity ride was just for Saturday, we went down on Friday to set up camp and scout out the trails.  The camping was primitive (just no electric sites) but they had a nice bath house and a barn for those who got there early enough.  We didn't, but we were able to set up around a nice oak tree and high tie the horses.

It was a 2-1/2 hour drive door to door, so that's not bad at all.  We do that occasionally for a day ride.  The trails were fun...not too much different from those at home, but we did have a little excitement.  I saw my first black bear on the trail.  We've always seen a lot of scat when riding in Central Florida, but never the actual live animal.  Cathy and I had split off from Marilyn and Mustang and were riding a parallel trail where we could just see their heads bobbing above the brush.  We heard Mustang give a squeal and wondered what she had seen or stepped in.  About that time we hear the movement in the brush between us...thinking it was just an armadillo or something small.  The noise continues and the bushes start moving...way bigger than an armadillo.  Now Cathy and I are getting a little nervous because we had seen a lot of hog sign.  We think some pigs are about to crash into the trail so we start hollering "go away.... get back....shooo".  It didn't work, but it did divert the beautiful young black bear from running right into us.  He crossed about 20 feet ahead of us and kept gettin' it across a big field of brush and palmettos.  Our ponies were champs; they didn't even care. It made my whole weekend seeing that critter and made me appreciate what I get to do with my friends and horses even more.  I am truly blessed.

As you can see by the picture above, Cathy rode my other horse Dixie for the weekend because her big guy Busta is still lame.  My 25 yr old Appy is still going strong - I was very proud of her.  She's only been camping twice before.

Here's a bunch of   PICTURES  that Mustang took during the weekend .... enjoy!

Help Me Help the Kids !

Camping weather is coming and we're so excited! Our first camping trip will be to help support the Children's Miracle Network. Any small amount will help !

Simple Pleasures

I LOVE watching my horses. I got home before dark tonight and while I cleaned their paddock I let them have a romp and some grass in the yard.  It made me smile to see them shake their heads, leap and buck and fart.  They were having FUN!  At one point Maybe couldn't decide what to do... rear and crow hop or lie down and roll.  She stopped in the middle of her hop and folded to the ground.  :-) 

While the girls continued to graze, I took two bridles into the house, sat on the couch and cleaned leather. 

What a way to unwind from a busy day at work.

Picture This

You've had a long hard week.  It's been extremely hot...you have to do outside chores real early or real late.  There is something you have to do each night of the week which keeps you from getting home until about 8pm each night.  You look forward to the weekend when you get a chance to ride your pony with friends.......

Then....you get to take your favorite horse to the beach for an evening ride on the beach.  The breeze is refreshing, you get to spend time with your friends, meet some new ones and enjoy some special time with your horse. 

I am so blessed !  As I looked at the mansions that we rode past along the beach.....I knew that I'm really the rich one. 

Soak, Pack & Repeat

Went out to feed this morning and I had a sore little red pony out there.  She did not want to move quickly and it looked like both front feet were sore.  I could feel a pulse in her pasterns, so took her temp, pulse, respiration and called the vet.

We've had a lot of rain, so her feet are a little soft, plus she is due for a reset at the end of this week.  She got ridden on Saturday and we crossed some big patches of large slag rock a couple of times, so the vet thinks she has just bruised her soft little soles.

So it's soak, pack and repeat (along with some bute) for a couple of days and keep her out of the mud.  Thank goodness she is a good patient!  As long as you pay attention to her, she will stand as long as you want.

The Ride that Sucked.....

....sucked the back boots right off my pony's feet.   :-(

We started out jsut trying to have nice little ride from the Jacksonville Equestrian Center early to beat the heat and bugs.  We made a simple 1 hour loop on the roads and marked trails and were definitely not ready to start heading back yet....so Jenny took us off roading and we hit some swampy areas.  We were going along fine...felt like the mud was about 6 inches and the standing water was about 8 to 12 inches.  I felt a hitch and heard a different slurping sound, but had to wait till we hit solid ground again to see if I lost a boot.  When I asked if I was missing a boot, 2 people told me no....you still have them on.  Marilyn commented on her Sport Boots on her mule's front feet and I said they were the same kind that I had on Stylin's rears.....she looked at me funny and said you don't have any boots on the back.....   Dang it!  $100 down the drain....  We plan on going back when it dries a little and do a search.  These are the first Cavallo boots to ever come off my horse..... the Simple Boots (the original style) have never come off.  That's what we had on the fronts.

Anyway, once we splashed our way out of the water we hit the hilly trails and had a blast climbing up and down some steep hills...not very high....maybe 20 to 25 feet or so, but fun and a change of pace.

Mustang was going to be at the Equestrian Center for the rest of the day for the swimming competitions with her daughter at the facility next door, so I brought my 25 yr old Appy, Dixie for her to ride.  The old gal cleans up nicely and gave Michelle a great ride.  I love to watch other people ride my horse and appreciate this horse more and more each year.

We finished up the ride at the Equestrian Center and had some authentic Cuban ( or was is Puerto Rican?) lunch while watching the Paso Fino Extravanza. 

Celebrity

My girl, Stylin, was used in a photo shoot recently by Bonnie Estell Photography.  She behaved very well and I think they had a successful shoot.  I hope to be able to get a full size image from the photographer soon.  My daughter bathed her and took her to the location where she helped as a wrangler and jumped up and down in the background to get her to perk her ears.

Sunshine on my Ponies Makes me Happy

Water has receded...mud should be dry in a week or so...ponies had a nice day in the sunshine mowing the back yard.

Flood Update

I unhitched my truck to drive to work this morning.  My little car made me nervous driving the flooded streets yesterday.  The rain finally stopped and I can see some sunshine this morning!  The roads are draining, but a lot of them are still closed and some are washed out.  People in a couple of areas in town are isolated and trapped by the water.

I let the girls out of the mud and into the back yard for today...I left them happily eating hay and grass.  Hopefully, we'll dry up quickly with the wind and sun that is predicted.

No One's Singing But the Frogs

Tropical Storm Debby has turned our horses' "dry lot" into a lake.  We haven't had so much water since the hurricane season of 2005.  The girls only have a small portion around their Hay Hut and the area with trees that is semi dry in their paddock.  The rain is supposed to start drying up tomorrow so maybe the water will dry up before the tadpoles hatch.  My thoughts and prayers go to the folks who have been made temporarily homeless by the floods.

You can see Maybe on the left trying to skirt the edge of the water next to the fence to come see what I have for her.

What Makes A Special Horse

I have regular blogs that I like to visit and see so much posted about what they want their horses to do, what they are afraid of doing, excuses made for bad behavior and also posts of horses that are happy in their job and make their owners very happy. I've had Stylin since 2002 when I purchased her as a 6 year old unbroken broodmare. I had a friend start her for me and since then she and I have put in a LOT of miles together. I've made mistakes, but she was forgiving and we learned in spite of my errors.

I used to compare my mare to others...but now I enjoy and appreciate her for what she is and what our partnership has become. She doesn't have a specialty, but when I started listing the reasons she's such a good horse, I found that she is pretty darn special.

Over the past 10 years together she has learned to:

• cross a creek
• swim in a lake
• climb a hill at the pace I ask
• stand still for a hug
• lie down on command
• stand tied patiently to a trailer, tree, hitching post, etc.
• hi tie quietly for camping ( to my trailer or between trees)
• lead or follow on the trail
• step over logs, fallen trees without leaping
• walk, trot, canter when asked on the lead requested
• allow me to clip, braid and foofoo on her
• load up and trailer for 20 minutes or 7 hours
• be part of a drill team
• pony her youngster on the trail
• allow me to crack a whip from her back
• go down the trail by herself, with a couple of riders or 400 riders
• be ridden with just a halter and lead rope, bosal or bit
• be stalled in a strange barn
• ride alongside a busy road
• not spook at motorcycles, trucks, deer, flushed birds
• ride in a covered arena with loudspeakers and music
• push cows
• travel happily whether barefoot, shod or in whatever boots I've put on her

There are so many more things that make her special to me. We kept riding through our issues, I faced my fears and she learned to trust me.

It didn't happen overnight but boy is it special now.

Busy Spring

I haven't been able to ride a whole lot but we've been having fun. We rode and camped at McCulley Farms again in March. I rode my Appy mare Dixie in a charity poker ride in April.

Stylin and I participated in another charity ride for Dreams Come True in April.

Then most recently, Stylin and I joined Cathy and Michelle to be the honor guard in a wedding. We escorted a Cinderella style carriage thru a neighborhood and thru the Carter estate for our friend Marilyn's son's wedding. What fun and our horses were perfect!

Nothing planned but some regular trail rides before it starts getting too hot !

Cracker Trail Video

I just found this video on YouTube from last year's Cracker Trail Ride that shows me and my friends at the start of the video. I'm on my Paint mare Stylin, then Michelle on Linc and Jenny on Maybe right behind me, then Marilyn on her little mule Bonnie come by in a few seconds. Nice way to relive a great time last year. I hope to do it again in 2013.

Smile

Digging through some old videos and this one always makes me smile.... I love cantering my pony, especially with my buds.......

Saying Hello to the New Year

I haven't been posting in some time...just taking some time off and spending quality time with my family.  I have been riding with my friends regularly but I'm only camping once a month for now.  I've committed to a financial plan to pay off all my debts and make sure I'm financially secure in case of an emergency.  It feels good to have a plan.  Here are some pictures of my recent rides.  I'm making plans to have a dream ride in 2013.... the Red Rock Ride.... it's gonna be SO fun !

My daughter Jenny and me

Me and Sarah on a walk at a local park

A fun ride with my pals at the beach

Paint ponies and friends

Who knows...but we're happy about it

Pot Springs