Month: February 2022

Weekend Coffee Share; My Heart Is Full

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share25 Comments
Welcome to my weekend coffee share! How are you today?

Welcome and how are you doing? Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I am doing great and am so excited because next weekend is my grandson’s second birthday. I can’t believe he will be 2 they grow so fast! My hubby and I will be traveling to Arizona so we can spend some fun family time with not only our grandson but with our granddaughter and my son and daughter-in-law! I pray that someday we won’t all be living so far apart and am thankful they are a short flight away and its not a bad drive. We will be driving there and my daughter will be joining us flying in Friday evening. 😀

They are so adorable! My granddaughter is 6 1/2 and my grandson will be 2 at end of Feb. ❤

Boy, just looking at this photo fills my heart with so much love for them. I could just stare at it all day as I miss them so very much. We do video chat, sometimes I wish we could more often but they are really busy and I will keep hoping that someday they will move closer to us, or vice versa. My son has been applying for a new job and has even mentioned maybe moving back to CA. Oh my, that would be so GRAND! But I should not get my hopes up too high as who knows where is next job will land them. He has been applying all over the Pacific Northwest.

As I am getting excited about my upcoming little vacation next weekend I wanted to share this last weekend and the fun I had with my ponies. I have been struggling a little bit with Murphy and getting him to participate more willingly in our rides. He has a bit of a stubborn streak in him, and I have been gently working with him in a positive way to keep his feet moving. I have to say my eyes opened up yesterday when I was reading Anne’s blog (HorseAddict) she shared a lesson with her trainer (her trainer is an Olympian!) She rides dressage and at the highest levels and I am just trying to get a nice walk, trot and canter in the arena.

Murphy is so young I am teaching him the basics but he would rather just stop and stand. So I asked Anne a question after watching her video and I asked her about riding with the dressage crop or whip that she carries while riding. I have one to use but it has been so long in using it I wanted to ask an expert and she gave me great advice about tapping Murphy with the whip near my leg when I cue him if he doesn’t respond immediately and it worked GREAT! I only had to use it on two different occasions, once to trot and once at a halt I asked him to walk. I barely touched his side, it seemed more like a tickle but he is sensitive enough it motivated him perfectly! I have to give her credit as it definitely helped him keep his feet moving which made my job riding him so much easier. I wasn’t so exhausted trying to push him forward. I am so excited! Thank you Anne!! Here are some photos from my weekend.

Before my rides I always get him warmed up by trotting and cantering in the arena!
I set up some trot poles that you can see in one of the photos. He did great trotting over them today!

He was such a good boy today as I was able to get him to move forward and into the bit with him being supple in his neck and he does this best at the walk. I am working on him to stay supple at the trot and having the dressage whip helps immensely and he is much better going to the right, I need to strengthen my left leg when we go to the left as he is a bit stiff. It is all a work in progress and I need to take one day at a time. But I was so impressed as he had a good attitude and moved forward more easily! YAY!

I also rode Miss Chloe today out on the trail. Her and I had a great ride!

I can’t leave out Miss Chloe. She can’t trot and canter any more with me riding her as she has a bad back leg that does fine at the walk but not so good at the faster gaits. She has an old injury in her stifle which is like our knee. She can run around free in arena with no problems but with the weight of saddle and rider it just isn’t a good idea and would put more pressure on that old injury. She does great on our trail rides! Walking is motion lotion!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know some are still really cold and living where they may even have snow on the ground. I know others across the world are still in Summer probably heading into Fall. It is fun to share my rides and my adventures with my horses. I am having to reach far back in my memory in riding now that I am starting out a young horse. He is very, very calm and doesn’t get rattled very easily. He is smart (sometimes too smart) and forgiving as I am getting in shape just as much as he is with our training. I will end with a pretty photo of Chloe as she is shedding out her winter coat and getting a nice shiny one as we get closer to Spring!

Miss Chloe looking very pretty! My heart is full!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; February Fun!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share18 Comments
My roses are blooming!

Welcome to my weekend coffee share and instead of my coffee mug I wanted to share my pretty roses as they are starting to bloom. I can still get you a cup of coffee or tea if you prefer as we sit and chat about the happenings here. We are in a mini heat wave, feels like summer has come really early! But this heat shouldn’t last too long and we are expecting some rain this coming week. It was almost 90F (32C) this whole weekend. I am praying for the rain as we never really get enough here in Southern Cali. I am thankful the winds seem to have stopped for now. We can really get some howling winds and these winds have been relentless the last few weeks. 😦

I am really late writing my coffee share this weekend and I know I’ll get late responses and I don’t mind at all. Today is Super Bowl Sunday and so I am expecting most everyone is watching. I am not a big sports nut (just a big horse sports nut! Haha) and so I have the Super Bowl on as I am writing this and I was telling my daughter that I don’t think I have ever been to a Super Bowl party, nope. My hubby is not a sports nut either, he watches and keeps track of things but we do not have party’s and I can’t remember if I’ve ever been invited to one. Maybe I have gone to my sister’s when they lived nearby many years ago, so maybe family party’s. Clearly they didn’t leave an impression because I can honestly say I can’t remember.

I asked a friend to take some photos of me and Murphy!

I have some photos to share and I zoomed in on the one above and you can see Murphy is sticking his tongue out! Haha, he is such a silly boy. Here are a few more, from afar and then I zoomed in close up!

Aww, I love this photo and the ones above. I’m not in many with Murphy!

Murphy is so much FUN! He is so tall that I can’t see over his neck, shoulders or back or rear end for that matter! 😀 He will be 4 years old this coming May 1st and he is not done growing. He has such a personality and is what I like to call a gentle giant. I am so use to handling him now that I forget how big he is (I guess I don’t forget but am use to him) I am always mindful of his size and we have a good respect for each other and our space between us. I make sure he understands what I want when I groom him and when I need to pick out his hoofs. His legs are so long and when I see others work on him I notice his hugeness. My farrier was out this weekend and he was such a good boy and when the farrier picked up his front legs with his knees bent I just stared at this huge knee! I’m in awe as I’ve never owned a horse so big!

Since I am on the subject of the farrier, I thought I would share how smart Murphy is and how with his behavior we solved a mystery. Horses love routine and with what ever routine you develop they can anticipate and start to do what you may ask them to do next. Because he is so big and so young I needed to have him be comfortable with me picking up his hoofs and holding them so that I can get the dirt out of the bottom of his hoofs. This is called hoof picking and when Murphy arrived he was a bit antsy about being groomed and getting his hoofs picked out. So I kept the same routine starting with his left front hoof working my way around counter clockwise to the back left, then back right and front right hoof.

When the farrier comes he just starts wherever usually trims the front hoofs and then finishes up with the back hoofs. He has been very good with the farrier, never tries to kick but a couple of months ago Murphy was very confused as he picked up one back hoof, then the other, and wanting to take his leg away as he wanted to pick up the opposite hoof. The farrier said maybe he is in pain? Look how every time I pick up this left back foot he picks up the right back! Something must hurt. Gosh, I know its possible but he is only 3 yrs old and it got me thinking about how horses think. That’s when I figured out the mystery. Murphy is use to my routine and so now I have asked my farrier to please trim his hoofs counter clockwise and guess what? Murphy is perfect! He has the next leg sometimes lifted waiting for the farrier. Smarty pants!! ❤ He’s my counter clockwise horse! Haha! 😀

Miss Chloe out for a run in the arena and eating her grain back at her stall! I Love her so much!

I have shared a lot about Murphy! I had some friends on Facebook ask about Miss Chloe since I’ve been sharing more Murphy photos than Chloe photos. I will try and be more mindful to share both. She has my heart too, so much so it is really good to love on another as she ages. She is doing good and I can still ride her on the trails and I ride her out with my girlfriends at the barn. I know all of you who have animals knows how hard it is when they age, and I am getting to the point with Chloe that I want to be careful and stop riding when she can no longer carry me. I will ease her in to retirement when the time is right. Having Murphy is a great distraction and my heart won’t ache quite so bad when I use her less. She is so LOVED. ❤

Thank you for sharing coffee with me as I chat away! I know I am so late in putting this together. My weekend was busy, my daughter drove home and so my Saturday was busy. I so enjoy having her home to visit and she visited her best friend here in town as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! And thank you Natalie for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare. 😀

Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow! ❤ ❤ ❤

~Diana ❤

As Odd As It Gets; Square Odd Challenge

On By DianaIn square challenges16 Comments
Three pretty roses from my garden!

Welcome to my challenge post where I am sharing all things odd. That’s right! Becky B’s square photo challenge for the month of February is in full swing and I thought I would join with some photo’s that I am deeming odd. It can be an odd number which is how I started this post with three roses, or what ever we see that we think is odd, as like beauty is in the eye’s of the beholder. Let’s see what else I can find to share and that I find is odd. 😀

My creativity for odd so far is three’s as there is three family members here at Pismo Beach!

I have to admit that I am finding this challenge, challenging. What exactly is odd? I am enjoying going through my archive of photos and the photo above is great memories when we went up north to visit my daughter and visited Pismo Beach. They have the best cinnamon rolls which is what we ate before we took this photo. I have a lot of photo’s of three people since I am usually the one taking the photograph. I won’t cheat and share too many of these. Haha, not that it’s cheating but I am trying to be creative here!

That’s odd, the fence is only posts and I counted there are 11 posts in this group! (Did you count them too?)

We got new fencing on our trails in town. Out with the old wooden post fencing and in with the new white vinyl fencing. I thought it would be fun to share the oddness of the fence as it is erected with the posts first. I took this photo a couple weeks ago knowing I could use it for this challenge. It’s fun to look for things that may be odd.

Since I am outside the stables in the photo above I figured why not share a photo of Chloe napping!

You know I always go there and yes, I thought this the perfect photo for this challenge because I try to take photos of my horses looking at me with their ears forward and those beautiful eyes staring my way. As I was getting Miss Chloe ready for a trail ride I hung her bridle on the horn of my saddle so I could go use the restroom and when I came back she was just napping away in the warm sun. What a sweet girl, and so I had to take this photo. I think it is an odd horsey photo and fits perfect here! Don’t you think?

And this is the end! And I’m thinking isn’t this an odd photo too? I deem it odd! Haha 😀

Like poetic license I am thinking that Murphy’s photo is odd, what are you looking at Murphy? He stood there for quite some time staring at the neighbors coming and goings or whatever he saw next door. He is so tall and all legs! And he is still a growing boy!! Thank you for visiting my #squareoddchallenge and I hope you enjoyed all my odd photo’s.

I enjoyed this challenge, as odd as it gets!

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Horsey Fun!

On By DianaIn Horse stories, weekly smile19 Comments
Murphy makes me smile! 😀

Welcome to my smile post as I am enjoying everything horses from this last weekend. It was a very cloudy day on Saturday, so gloomy that I actually did not feel like riding. I know a lot of people would love the cool weather but I woke up not feeling like doing much and so I went with my mood and didn’t ride. I took the opportunity to visit my horsey friend who I use to ride with and she has moved her new horse Roscoe to a new stables a few streets away but in the same town. I enjoyed my visit with her and was able to see Roscoe’s new stall and see him turned out in the arena.

As we head into Sunday I woke up to a beautiful day. The sun was bright and no clouds in sight which always makes me smile. I so enjoy sunny days and I was really motivated to do more today and ride my horses. I will tell you that I was a bit exhausted with all that I did on Sunday which is a good thing, right? I know I will sleep well. Here is all that I did as I took some photos of my day.

Murphy is tied to a hitching post/rail. I have had him here before and he is learning to stand quietly.

I usually use the cross-ties with Murphy which are ties that attach to each side of his head. This way he can’t move around as much with the sides of his head held straight. He can still turn his body but he also can’t try and bite me which I will say he doesn’t do any more. He use to try and bite me frequently because he is young and thinks it is a game to bite, like I am a herd mate which clearly I am not. He was really good tied to this rail except he was biting the lead rope and pulling on it and almost untied himself. I tied it so that it would not come off but in a safe manner (slip knot) if I needed to get it undone quickly. I’m so proud of him! ❤

Here is Murphy in the cross-ties. I thought I would share so you can see the difference in the two places they need to learn to stand and be tied.

There are horses that can’t stand tied in these cross-ties. We have some at our stables where if they are tied here they will freak out and pull back. Yes, they pull back all crazy and either snap the clips, fall down or break their halters trying to get free. It’s all a terrible mess and not safe for the horses and so those horse owners stay away from the cross-ties and never use them. It takes training and a sensible horse to learn to stand tied to any post including the first one I talked about. They can do the same thing at the straight bar hitching post and can freak out and pull back. Horses are flight animals so if they get spooked or feel trapped and feel like they need to bolt to get away, and boy they are so huge it is not fun when they get that scared. I’m very thankful that both my horses are very calm, sensible horses that do not get spooked easily and they both stand nicely tied to any cross-tie or hitching post/rail. 😀

If you are wondering what owners with horses that can’t be tied do? they teach them to ground tie, which means they teach them to stand in one place with the lead rope just hanging down to the ground. Some people just loop the rope loosely around the tie rail so they aren’t tied, but just sort of tethered loosely. Horses can feel the rope get taught, so they stand still in place. But if they get spooked and pull back the rope just slides around the rail and they are free. They don’t usually go far as they all like to stay near the herd which is all the other horses in their stalls nearby the tie area. Some people just brush and tack their horses in their stalls where there is no need to tie them to anything. These are some ways to get around complete restraint with sensitive horses that may not tie well.

Murphy after my ride standing so very tall and being a good boy!

After my ride I just had to take another photo. He can reach for the rope he is tied with and he just chews on it a little bit. (I would rather he chews the rope and not me! Haha!) He knows I need to brush him and pick out his hoofs. Then we walk to his stall so he can get his lunch. He loves food and looks forward to being done with all this nonsense of getting cleaned up! Haha, He would rather be dirty. It isn’t his favorite thing being brushed but he is getting much better and I can tell enjoys being out and hanging out with me each day. 😀 I find that routine is our best friend and he is very smart and I know that helps us bond!

The weekend was fun with my stable friends!

After taking care of Murphy and getting his lunch I got Miss Chloe out and got her ready for a trail ride with a couple of stable friends. We had a nice time and it was a gorgeous perfect day! Trail rides with friends are the best and make me smile! What makes you smile? 😀 I will end with a photo I took of Chloe and when I took the photo she was just about to sneeze! She is such a good girl, I have so many photos of her but not one where she is about to sneeze. Haha! Now I have this funny photo! Even though Saturday I didn’t feel like doing much, I ended up making up for that on Sunday where I almost did too much!

Bless you, sweet girl!

She’s just so cute and beautiful too! I hope you enjoyed my horsey post with some fun sort of educational things about how we handle the horses when needing to have them stand to be groomed and tacked up! I hope it isn’t too boring for both horse and non horsey folks. It’s so FUN to share!! I hope you all have a great week as we smile through to February!

Horse lover forever!

~Diana ❤