Exciting news!

Well - exciting to Furry Husband and I anyway. Probably NOT so exciting for anyone else.

We get a new roof today!

For once, having aged, out-dated, old, dilapidated stuff worked in our favor! Long story short, we have t-lock shingles on our roof - they don't make t-lock shingles anymore and our roof needs to be replaced so insurance will cover it!

Of course I tend to have champagne taste on a tap-water budget... I wanted a metal roof. Furry Husband was in charge of getting quotes and talking to contractors. He found a friend of a friend who gave us a "friend of a friend quote" for a metal roof. We'll still have to pay around $1,000 out of pocket, but because metal roofs are green and environmentally friendly, we'll get a tax credit and still come out about $100 ahead.

YAHOO! We found a way to get that metal roof!

They just arrived at our house and when I get home... we'll have a new, metal roof.

Is that exciting or what?

oh.

I bet our dogs and cats livin' inside aren't going to enjoy the process..... Hang in there guys, it's only for today!

The Angry Chicken

We took our holiday Christmas picture Saturday morning. We used our white chicken "Salt" cuz we thought she'd show up the best. She was SCREAMING the entire time. Ear shattering, can't hear yourself think, full-on hysterical chicken screaming.

She was a very angry chicken. This is an angry chicken and an out of focus angry chicken that for some reason makes me laugh...

And then our picture taker, Panzee, decides to take one of me looking like this. I think I'm dreaming of sugar plums in betwixt all the chicken screaming. Maybe my eardrums ruptured and are bleeding. I don't really know....
Then our picture taker, the funny and sardonic Panzee took this picture of Sammy looking ... well, frankly looking like he's pleading with someone to save him from this debacle. Can you see the plea in his eyes?

Until finally we have our Christmas picture! (we cropped out the hay pallets for our card, but you guys can have the full on country effect...)

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Toe is WAY focused on the screaming chicken.... he'd like to make that chicken stop screaming in his special bird-dog way.

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Brandon, the horse, is 33 this year... and you can almost see him thinking "Oh the humanity.... I live 33 yrs on this Earth for ... ?"

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Our little cattle dog... - wait - ... dachshund mix (from dna cheek swab results - hiliarious) is 12 this year. How can she be 12? We adopted her when we got back from our honeymoon and we've loved her ever since... do they have to get old?

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Our doe, Spot, has her 3 coats on... a blue long sleeve fleece, a grey fleece vest and finally a lovely red ensemble. The cold bothers her much more than any of our other goats. I looked into mini horse coats or goat coats.... it's cheaper to stop by the thrift store and outfit her with some lovely fleecewear. (she wears a women's XL if anyone is wondering)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Fuzz-butt, dirty, little, stump wagger

I took Toe to his second Rally class last Friday.

He wasn't as excited this time and thought, "ohhhhh - new place! I think I'm going to sniff over here... and wow this is a good spot to investigate .... and oh, look! what's that over there? What? Whozzat? Who's there? Is that my owner talking to me?"

I got lost on course once the first time through. Mildly. I remembered my name and where I was. I didn't have to look at the information tag pinned to my shirt should I go wandering off....

Furry Husband came to watch.

He wanted to see what this Rally bid'ness was about and figured it'd be a bonus to see me turning circles looking for the next number. He's supportive like that and of course, anything I can do to keep him entertained....

After my turn, the other dogs were going through the course - Golden Retrievers, Cavalier Spaniels, German Shepherd, Boxer, a couple of very pretty mix breed dogs...

I leaned over and whispered to Furry Husband, "Honey, snookums, sweetie-pie? (that's how we talk to each other... really....) Look at all the dogs... Toe is the dirtiest, scruffiest dog here!"

Furry leaned over and looked down the line of dogs waiting their turn. He looked at Toe, raised his eyebrows and started laughing.

Toe lives on our little farm-ette, he runs around outside, he comes to the barn with me to help clean stalls or hang out while I ride. He rolls around in the oiled sand arena....wrassles with the barn dogs, eats choice horse turds...

I try to groom him once a month since the hair is always growing, growing, growing and the dirt piles on in layers, layers, layers.

I think I forgot November.

Well, he is clean and de-fuzzed now. He doesn't look like he's been on the streets anymore. How much you wanna bet no one will recognize him at Rally Friday?

Rosso

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

I had a lesson Saturday on...... Rosso! Yup. I did! Me. The big yeller chicken.

I'd been taking him up to the barn on my cleaning night to let him hang out, stand like a polite member of horse society, then tacking him up and lunging him in the indoor before taking him home.

I rode him before I began showing Sera this summer but my tiny pea brain couldn't focus on a youngster that I was having brain bugs about AND work toward Sera's tests and movements and shows.

Saturday I brought him up, tacked him up with shaky fingers... told myself. "Self. Hey - pay attention. Is he doing any thing that causes you to worry?"

"No." I replied to myself.

"O.K. then. You have to trust he knows his job, he doesn't have the pain in his back anymore, he is being a model equine citizen. You have to extend trust!"

Sigh. "O.K., O.K., O.K. self - quit nagging"

I led him into the indoor, lunged him for a bit, put the lunge line away, led him to the middle of the arena.

"Here goes Self!"

Up I went. Settled into the saddle. Rosso stood stock still. Good boy! I scritched his withers, rubbed his neck. Wiggled around in the saddle... let him stand and let both of us relax a minute.

I asked him to go forward. He did with a nice, springy, forward walk. It felt like a walk you'd see in a Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder movie... Yeah. I'm bad. I'm cool. I'm bad.

We did lots of changes of direction, 3 loop serpentines, diagonals... bumped it up to trot. Very even, rhythmic, forward... some slight spiral in on a 20m circle and leg yield out.... shallow loops down the long side.... then some shallow loop with leg yielding back to the wall.... all went very well. I was relaxed, he was relaxed - nice floppy ears.

Then I had no horse left. He was tired... I had to drive him forward - he went - I just had to put a lot more effort into it and then I was tired. We pushed him for a bit longer and ended the lesson there.

I didn't want to get down! Such a nice ride and I wasn't afraid and all went well...

So I stayed up there.

For the rest of the weekend.

Rode him into work today. In fact, I'm typing this from a laptop up in my saddle. Getting him up the stairwell was hard, but worth it. Good thing I have a big cubicle.

Our buck finally gets some lovin'

Princess, the doe brought to us for breeding, came into heat today.

Shew!

Our buck is overjoyed. He is fulfilling his sole purpose in life today.

bow chicka chicka bowwwww -

sky rockets in flight... afternoon delight...aaaaaaaaaaaafternoon delight....


great. now I have that wierd afternoon delight song stuck in my head going round and round...
*head hitting desk*

Rally?

Now that Toe has his tracking title, I'm movin' on to Rally.

I wanted to try different dog performance things with the little fella... this one is next on my list.

I was learning formal obedience when Rally arrived on the scene and I know a lot of traditional obedience people sort of poo-poo'd it.

However, I think it does have practicality behind it. Your dog goes into a ring on lead with you, the lead stays loose at all times, you are allowed to talk to your dog and the two of you perform obedience maneuvers while following a numbered course with pictures at each number of the movement you are expected to perform.

I think it's a great way to introduce dogs to working in a ring with everything that happens at a dog show going on all around... it keeps things upbeat, happy and fun and once Toe gets his Rally title, we'll move into the more formal obedience world for his first obedience title.

I have to laugh at myself tho because I know I've told you all what a klutz I am. Well, I'm also very directionally challenged.

I'm not at all used to following the numbers or signs in a ring. In formal obedience, the judge tells you what you'll be doing next and you do it. You don't walk a course looking for which number is next...

I get a little lost and corn-fused. Turning in circles looking for the next number... are we on 8 or 10? Did I just go right at 12 and where is 13??

It's like a jumper course.

I never could remember which jump came next when I was young and fearless.

I'm afraid I'm struggling in Rally the same way. Tomorrow is our second class and I'm sure after some more practice I'll figure it out and look a little less confused. Turn fewer circles looking for the next number... right?

Right??

Geez. I sure hope so!

Controversial therapy?

I told my boss about my dream - coming to work without pants and with really hairy man legs. I don't think he knew what to do with that information. It's good to keep management guessing.

I called my horse chiropractor/acupuncture vet yesterday. I like to have her visit about two times a year. Rosso is starting back up to work and while lunging was having a hard time in right lead canter. He kept falling out or switching behind.... wanted to get him checked out before anything goes amiss and he's in pain and I end up back on the ground.

Also figured I'd have Sera checked over. We are starting a winter clinic series December 8 and her work level is going to increase in difficulty while we learn Third Level movements.

Was glad I had Dr. M out. She teaches a course at CSU for the vet students there and I think she is pretty reasonable. She charges roughly $75 per horse, more if acupuncture is needed, less if a horse is fine and needs minimal work. That includes the farm call and a good 30-40 min going over each horse from ears to tail.

Turns out Rosso had some soreness in his right SI joint and left hock. Not enough soreness to show any lameness - just sore enough to show a little discomfort with hard prodding and groping.

He went through our tape fence a month or two ago - think he went ass over tea kettle - but I wasn't there to see it. We had just fed, went back in the house and I heard a big commotion outside followed by galloping hoof beats.

I went out to see what was going on. Our tape fence was down and Rosso was in the front pasture running scared. Our other two horses were watching him like he was insane. I'd love to know what happened but none of them are talkin'. Anyway - she thinks he may have hyper extended something... we'll give him some oral anti-inflammatory for a couple months and she adjusted his SI so there was no more discomfort. She didn't think he needed rest per se, but we'll work him walk/trot and over ground poles to build up some core strength before he does much canter work for the next 4-6 weeks.

Sera was in pretty good shape... she had a bit of pain in her left SI which was adjusted out and she was stiff in her first two neck vertebrae which was able to be worked out as well. I was a little bummed out because Dr. M found some discomfort on the right side of Sera's withers and in her left lumbar area that may be due to saddle issues. I had my saddle re-evaluated and re-flocked for Sera at the end of summer.... something to keep an eye on anyway.

Always something.

Dr. M didn't need to stick anyone full of acupuncture needles as all the sore spots could be adjusted away. It's pretty interesting to watch her work and how the horses respond.

I know it's a a little on the controversial side o' things ... and yet I truly believe I see positive differences in my horses for it.

Have any of you had any good, bad, indifferent experiences with this sort of treatment?