Weekend Coffee Share; February Fun!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share
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 ❤

18 thoughts on “Weekend Coffee Share; February Fun!”

  1. I am so glad to hear how well Chloe is doing and I know it will be hard when it is time to retire her but she knows how much she is loved. Murphy is such a handsome boy and I love how he wanted the farrier to do his hoofs the way you pick them. 😀

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    1. Thank you so very much! Chloe is such a sweetheart and like you say, she knows she is loved. And that Murphy, I was surprised when my farrier thought he was in pain, I’m thinking really? But when I figured out Murphy’s thinking it all made sense. I couldn’t believe how good he is when you pick up his hoofs in the correct order with our routine! 😀🥰

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    1. We have all been grumbling at the stables with this heat!! YIKES! And thank you, the roses are so pretty, I agree! I’ll keep them watered and I really need to go get some rose food for them too. 😀 Have a great week too!! ❤️ Happy Valentine’s day! ❤️

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  3. The aging of our animal friends is so hard for me and my husband. And yet I recall that unlike our dogs, we can live with and come to terms with our grief. Our Scamper pups turn seven at the end of this year. Time has gone so very fast. I love seeing pictures of your horses and your caring for them.

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    1. Aww, it truly is very hard as we love our animals so much. Scamper is so adorable and they truly are so sweet and become such an integral part of our lives! I’m so happy you enjoy my photos and thank you so much for visiting with me! 🥰

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  4. Hi Diana, The rose in your header photo is beautiful. Murphy and Chloe are such smart animals. I can tell they love you and you love them back in the photos. Thank you for your #weekendcoffeeshare and for posting the badge on your sidebar. I hope you have a happy Valentine’s Day and a wonderful week.

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    1. Thank you Natalie so much for your wonderful kind comments. I’m so happy I figured out how to post the badge, I just Love it and I hope you have a wonderful week too. Happy Valentine’s day! ❤️

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  5. Hi Diana,

    You frequently teach me new things about horses. I would never have guessed that one could be so picky about what foot he wants worked on or the order the work would proceed. That must have been a fun discovery – but I can see it happening now and it makes some sense as you explained it.
    My sisters may have known such things – I tended to stay away from their horses.
    Arabians you know. They were all handfuls of personality and opinions.

    I too don’t think I’ve ever been to a super bowl party. I’d be deadly dull about it if I were somehow forced to go. Such a waste of time in my book.

    Hope you get that rain, It’s too early for us to be fussing with lack of water, but up here, we’re already being encouraged to conserve water. California government is useless in managing water

    Blessings

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    1. Hi Gary,
      It truly was a mystery that I needed to figure out because if it was pain, then we needed to find out why. I’m so thankful it wasn’t that at all. He’s so smart and compliant when you do things in the same order each time. Haha, my Chloe girl does not care about which leg but sadly she actually is in too much pain to pick up her back hoofs so she has different challenges when trimming her hoofs. I remember your sister’s had Arabians! 😀

      Oh and I’m glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t care for Super Bowl party’s. I was also thinking that over the years I needed to sleep in the afternoons because I worked night shift so that’s another reason I never attended one. I’ll keep praying for some rain!!

      Take care my friend, have a great week!

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  7. Howdy dudedess, Love Murphy looking like he blowing raspberry at someone & the sweet way he looks like he’s hugging you. Love love love the precious connection we have with our menagerie(whom ever they may be) & reading your blog & seeing the beautiful photos just warms my soul. The routines we create for them are funny aren’t they I am so glad you have a considerate farrier. I had a little laugh at what Murphy might have been thinking, like this bloke doesn’t even know what to do, lol. My friends horse will lift the hoof she wants the farrier to do.. posh totty. ( ; . Chloe just sweet as always. I have been to a couple of footy parties, always end up just cheering who ever scores a goal & tell everyone how clever they were, no matter the team, lol. Haven’t watched a game in years, lol. May your week ahead be full of sweet rosey moments covered in magical pony dust.

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    1. Howdy Aussie Pony Sister!
      Murphy loves it when I play with his tongue and so I’m thinking when he is relaxed he sticks it out like he’s blowing raspberries! Haha, he’s a goofy guy. I’m so happy you enjoy my ramblings and I so love to share the photos too! You always make me giggle and smile, and you warm my soul too, such wonderful comments. I hope you have a super duper fun week, and thank you again for all the smiles, you are so FUN! 🥰🐴♥️

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  8. For some of us the only thing I know of the Superbowl is the halftime show which will have people talking for a long time until probably the Oscars upstage whatever happened 🤣🤣

    Just out of curiosity any particular reason you do a counter clockwise routine 🤭 or is that your routine 🤔

    ~B

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    1. Oh yes, the half time show is always a big draw for the Super Bowl! Lol 😂
      And the reason I go counter clockwise is the way the horse is tied up I always start on their left side to groom them. We also lead them from their left side. So when I approach to pick out their hooves, I just always start on their left and then move to the back hoof and on around.
      I did have a lady at the barn say, I pick up their feet from any side which I’m sure I could do with Murphy which could take him longer to be calmer. I wanted to be really consistent with him because he’s young (and huge) And he’s so much better for the farrier now that we just keep the counter clockwise! It’s worth it to be consistent! Haha, long explanation but that’s why! 🤩🐴👍

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