KD's Day Off

I've come to really appreciate a good vacation day.  Started off this morning with an early morning vet call for spring shots and then spent an hour shooting the breeze with him.

Got a little housework done, then picked up a round bale for the girls.  I use a Hay Hut to protect the round bale and try to keep them from wasting so much hay.  It's a little unwieldy for me to tip over by myself, but I can still do it.

My two little hens are laying well again and I found a dozen eggs in the soft bed of hay pieces left in the Hay Hut.

After sifting thru the hay for the eggs, I rolled the new bale out of my truck bed and with much grunting, tipped the  Hay Hut back over the new bale of hay.  Then I noticed that I forgot to cut the twine off the dang bale, so had to reach through the windows to get that done...didn't want to flip the hut again.  The horses still pull hay out of the windows and stomp on it, but much less is wasted than with a traditional hay ring.

Next in line was to meet my daughter to go check out a wedding venue at one of our favorite places to ride...Diamond D Ranch.  Jenny and I used to rent horses there when she was just a little kid, and during her teen years she worked there as a Summer Horse Camp Counselor.  The Griffin family has always treated her  as part of the Ranch "family".  They've built a wedding pavilion that is really lovely and we are considering it for Jenny's wedding this year.  Here's what it looks like at night.....you can go as casual or as fancy dancy as you like.

A quick sandwich from a local Subway, then Jenny and I went to pick up her new Lab puppy.  Jenny has been involved with the pups since they were born  - the bitch belongs to a good friend of hers and the male is a proven working duck dog from GA.  My new grand pup is soooo cute and smart too!  Now she has to get a name to suit her.

After saying good bye to Jen and the pup, I headed home to feed the crew and relax for a while.

This is Dixie, my 26 year old Appy that gets prettier every year.

Stylin had to work for her alfalfa cube treat and performed for the camera.  I was a little close and it was a little hard to fit her in the frame while I asked her to lie down, but we got it.

What an awesome day !   

Looking Back on the Cracker Trail

Warning up front......  lots of pictures follow.

I've been back from the Florida Cracker Trail Ride for 3 weeks now and am taking the time to post some great memories.  The ride was a little less stressful for me this time because I knew what to expect having been once before in 2011.  I had a wonderful group of ladies riding and camping with me and it was an adventure that I'll never forget.  Starting outside of Bradenton, FL and ending up in Ft. Pierce 7 days and 120 miles later is a fantastic way to recreate and honor Florida's history.  To share it with my daughter, Jenny and my friends Cathy, Michelle and Christina made it more special.  Another friend, Marilyn, who has done this ride each year since 2005, was there as well sheparding a newbie to the Cracker Trail.  My pony, Stylin, was awesome!  She carried my big ole butt everyday without complaint and finished up looking and feeling great.  The week started bone chilling cold in the high 20's and ended up in the mid 80's.  I had to pack plenty of clothes for me and Stylin.  I clipped her 2 weeks before the ride because it usually runs pretty warm this time of year.  Started the week with her medium weight blanket, switched to her canvas sheet and she ended up naked at the end of the week.  Her short coat made it much easier to keep her groomed and comfortable during the day.  I did practice my whip cracking skills and can now crack two 8 foot whips at the same time.  :-)

The photos following are in no particular order...........   :-)

 Chilly breakfast at Bar Crescent S Ranch

 Stylin loves to scrub her butt in the sand and play in the water

 Christina and Jenny at Ft Pierce

 Frosty morning window

 Bundled up with hot coffee- Christina, Cathy, Me and Muleman

Me, Cathy and Christina cooling off later in week

Parading for the kids at Cracker Trail Elementary 

 Cathy and Jenny at the school

 Yummy dinner

 Gathering at Hickory Hammock State Park

 Jenny, Lumir and Jen-O at Ft Pierce

 Jenny tries out a real Cracker Horse

 Jenny cracks her whip for the kids

 Marilyn and Elizabeth on their pretty mules

 Jenny and Maybe in shallow lake

 Donald and his mini mule Luna - they led the ride

 The kids loved the mini mule

 Michelle, Christina, Cathy, Me and Jenny

 Riding the historic Cracker Trail

 Mr. Bill hitches a ride with Busta and Cathy....Oh No !

 Through the fragrant orange groves

 Parked the horses to have lunch in Ft Pierce

 Parked at local accomodating bar

 Mobile porta potties followed us

 Road riding

 Ranch riding

Jenny, Michelle and Christina warm their hand

More road riding - Elizabeth on left, me on right 

Working the crowd in Ft Pierce after the parade- Michelle and Stylin's son Ranger next to us

Stylin is a good ambassador!

Stylin and Ranger get ready for the parade through Ft Pierce

Video showing Jenny and Christina cracking their whips in the parade

This one shows me, Michelle and Cathy ...you can hear us whooping.  :-)

And this last one is of me and Michelle messing with the whips at camp.... the sound is much louder and similar to a 22 gun shot in person.         HAPPY TRAILS

Happy Hoofwear Shoes

I'm so pleased with the poly shoes by Happy Hoofwear that we are currently using.  Stylin moves out so confidently since she's been wearing them and we just completed the Florida Cracker Trail across the State of Florida in a pair that was already 14 weeks old and had been reset 2 times.  Here's a video that Sylvia Norris, CEO of the company made with me, my daughter and our horses.

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.

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!

Withlacoochee Fall Trail Ride

My friends and I had a great weekend near Jasper, FL riding along the Withlacoochee River and the Twin Rivers State Park. We went to McCulley Farms for their annual fall ride along with about 200 other like minded folks. We had wonderful cool weather, warm campfires, entertainment and great food to boot!
I got graphics put on my trailer to match our brand while I was there and I really like it. We joined their long guided ride on Saturday with 32 other riders and enjoyed a 4-5 hour ride along the river and sinks. We stopped at a spring along the way for a catered lunch....yum, yum!

Several different groups met up for lunch and then continued on their separate ways to meet back up at the ranch for a tack/yard sale. I was able to sell my Australian saddle in less than 5 minutes of setting it out! It paid for my weekend and my graphics - what a deal!

Due to the major flooding earlier in the year, we passed a refrigerator in one tree and a recliner in another. The McCulleys have a wonderful place and are very gracious hosts - if you ever get a chance, join them for one of their special rides or you can camp quietly any other weekend during the year. There are plenty of trails and you can camp with electricity or primitive.

Here are the rest of the photos that my friends and I took during the weekend.