Tag: #horsefriends

Weekend Coffee Share; Trail Riding Success!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, weekend coffee share12 Comments

Weekend Coffee share is a time for us to take a break out of our busy lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)! Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? any weekend plans?

I am completely enjoying this month as we move into fall. You can smell it in the air as we cool down especially at night so the mornings stay fairly cool for many hours. The nights will start to dip down into the 50’s soon a very welcome reprieve from the summer months. I often mention how time flies as we get older, it just goes by faster each year so it seems. I really do try and savor each day. I have dreams for the future that sometimes feel out of reach, so instead of getting frustrated I try and concentrate on each day to each week. It does make life more fulfilling this way in my eyes! How is your coffee this morning? I had a delicious cup with my oatmeal and english muffin. Or maybe you are drinking tea? I have been having a wonderful time this last month trail riding on my horses, and it took some experimenting but I figured out a way to pony Zack next to Chloe with little to no biting. I’ll explain!

Miss Chloe and Zack, I ride Chloe and have Zack follow on the lead line. This is SO DIFFERENT for me and my youth training of riding Hunter/ Jumpers. This is a whole new discipline of riding that I am enjoying very much! ❤
I ride Miss Chloe with a short rein that is easy to hold, since I have to hold Zack’s lead rope as well. I am getting very comfortable with them both. TONS OF FUN!
I bought a trail riding muzzle, not very successful! He can still be annoying!

When I started on my trail rides ponying Zack I started with just his blue halter with a stud shank (the chain that is attached to the halter) and the lead rope. For those of you who do not know horses, the stud shank chain adds a bit of strength for us puny humans. Most horses weigh around 1,000 pounds give or take 100 pounds. (Zack weighs about 1,000 pounds, Chloe weighs just over 1,200 pounds. We use a tape that measures their height on one side of the tape and measures their weight on the other side that goes around their barrel/belly and approximates how much they weigh. We use it for treatment purposes, as I have to watch Zack’s weight because he has Insulin resistance a metabolic syndrome older horses sometimes acquire as they age. It is nice to have if you want to see how tall your horse is too!)

Zack knows his strength and my sister and I have had him just put his head down with us holding the lead rope while we lead him and he would trot off pulling us on the other end! He is too strong and he knows exactly what he is doing and so we have to let go or be dragged. I have been working on his ground manners with GREAT SUCCESS! And he hasn’t tried to “run off” like that in some years. But I do not want to lose him on the trail, should he shy or spook at something I want as much control of him as I can while riding Chloe. This chain works PERFECT! It goes over their nose and up the side and they have nerves on their nose which when pressured applied, they will comply. It doesn’t hurt him unless he tries to pull away. He actually LOVES Chloe so he stays pretty close, but that’s where the biting comes into play. He just nips and bites her butt, side or my leg as I ride! He is such a brat!!!

He can actually bite the lead rope through the muzzle I bought him which I show in the last photo above. He can grab the lead rope with the muzzle and lead rope in his mouth and then pull and pull on my arm. UGH! He then bumps Chloe trying to bite her through the muzzle which after awhile she gets VERY ANNOYED! STOP IT ZACK!!

I decided to try a bridle with a bit and I took off the reins. Low and behold he is so much happier with the bit in his mouth. He has an oral fixation and just chews and chews on the bit and rarely tries to bite as we ride along. I finally found a solution to my problem as the trail rides were getting more and more annoying with all the nipping and biting. I was about to give up, but it is absolutely the best thing I started doing because I can exercise both horses at the same time and he really needs the exercise! It is usually 30 up to 50 minutes of walking depending on the trails we choose to ride on any given day.

I am a happy cowgirl, thankful for my ponies and the fun and joy they bring to my life. I was asked on my weekly smile to share a photo of my haircut. So I will share what I took here. 😀 weekly smile

I didn’t share because I thought it was a little blurry in the background. I love my color as it always comes out great. Thank you Preference by L’Oreal! Hehe!
I can barely braid it now that its cut, but a small braid is better than none. I like a braid for the stables as I ride with a helmet. So now I have a short braid, better than no braid at all! Haha!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thank you for stopping by my weekend coffee share! I am heading to the stables and am thinking this will be bath day for my ponies. Zack is starting to grow his winter coat and each year I always pray it won’t grow to thick. I know I am hoping for a miracle because he just grows a super thick coat like he lives in Alaska or something. I will just shave the hair off once November arrives. It is just to hard to manage in this warm winter climate here in So Cal. Chloe does not grow a long coat, Love that girl! ❤

Happy trail riding Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Sept. 18, 2019

On By dprastkaIn Living life, Smiles, weekly smile9 Comments
What makes you smile? This is my weekly smile hosted by my blogging friend Trent! Thank you Trent as I just Love everyone’s Smile!

This week I am smiling because after two years I finally got my hair cut. I know I make a big deal about my hair. Part of me loves my long hair but I do not like spending money on my hair because if you were a horse owner you would know that all our money goes to our horses. It is one of the most expensive hobbies/sports around and so where ever I can save a dollar – I do! I am going to say to the whole world that I color my own hair. I do have some blonde hair that grows naturally, but as I age I am getting some gray (I don’t mind that) but I also am a dark blonde, I call it a dirty blonde and so as my hair grows after I color there is a distinct darker shade growing from the roots. I can only go so long with this and I can’t stand it any more so I go buy a box of $8 dollar color and do all my roots really good. Then I am good for some months. AND to save MORE MONEY, I got a free hair cut!! From my hubby! Now that is something to SMILE about! 😀 😀 😀

I took a couple of selfies with my hair cut but to be honest, they are horrible. They are a bit blurry, I am terrible at selfies. I didn’t take a before photo so to be truthful it won’t mean much to show a photo of my haircut if you didn’t see the two inches that was cut before. I am smiling about my free hair cut because my manager at work came in a few months back with her hair all short and styled, including colored. As I was admiring her hair, I told her it looked great and she said it better look good as it cost her $400 dollars!! WHAT? I couldn’t believe my ears. Do you know how I am going to be spending $400 dollars next week? On my horses, of course! Because they are due their winter vaccinations AND Miss Chloe needs her shot for arthritis called Legend which will relieve the joint pain as the nights get cooler. Yes, I can appreciate how much it cost for women to look pretty but since I am a cowgirl at heart, all my money flows into my ponies. I’m smiling all the way to the bank with any way I can save a buck!

Miss Chloe needs a hair cut too! The horse next to Chloe is photo bombing my photo! Haha!
Her mane is all trimmed up nicely. We both got free hair cuts! YAY!

I absolutely love long hair. I braid my hair, or have it in a pony tail. BUT after awhile it gets out of shape and needs a trim. I am looking forward to being able to leave my hair down and/or use a clip to pull part of my hair back behind my head. I call this some up – some down. With the weather cooling down this was a great day to get my hair cut as I can wear it down and not get too hot. I hope you are having a great week! Thank you for stopping by my smile for this week. It is great fun to share!

Have a great week! 😀

~Diana

Weekend Coffee Share; Great Trail Ride Today!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, weekend coffee share6 Comments
Weekend Coffee share is a time to share with friends and family. What are you up to this weekend? Are you staying home and relaxing or enjoying the great outdoors?

I decided to share what I am doing this weekend which is enjoying my time with my horses. I sometimes get so darn busy I have to slow down and savor my days off and really stop and smell the roses, or smell the horse stables and the horses!! What made this day so incredibly enjoyable was a beautiful cool summer morning. It was a cool 65 degrees this morning at 9am and it warmed up to the low 80’s a definite improvement from 100 degrees which it topped earlier this last week. The week coming up will climb up again to 102 but am thankful it cools off in the evenings. I feel very thankful it does cool off here in Southern California. It has been a hot summer but not as bad as some summers we have experienced so I can’t complain. It is going to be beautiful tomorrow as well. So LOVING this weekend weather! I forgot, since I am talking about all this weather I think a nice iced Latte with almond milk would hit the spot for me, what are you drinking today? 😀

Hi Chloe and Zack! looking for their treat after our ride today. I now take Zack every time I ride out by having him follow me with a lead rope on his halter. It is called ponying, it is what they do when they take pack horses on long trail rides. He is in heaven walking along side of Chloe!
Please can I have a treat? I only spoil them after my ride, they were GREAT today!
Silly photo, they LOVE their treats!!

I went on the trail with my girlfriend Sally and her horse Gracie which I have shared many photos of them here on my blog. The 3 horses are like their own little herd and so enjoy being together. I am learning to pony Zack and we did not know how Gracie would be with both Chloe and Zack walking along side and she was perfect. We turn them all out together so it makes sense that they were just fine walking along the trails here in my home town of Norco. Today as we rode, I was just feeling so relaxed and was so very happy that I had both my horses with me getting some good exercise and we got to chat and catch up riding with my girlfriend. I am so lucky and thankful for such a great day. I hope to have many more! How is your coffee or tea? or maybe you are drinking some juice? How is your weekend going for you, I hope it has been as nice as mine. ❤

Zack after a nice grooming after the trail ride. He is a happy boy!
Chloe after our ride today. So funny I manage to catch her as she is taking a bite of her hay!

I was going to talk about some of my other projects that I do at home. I so enjoy my crochet projects but I think I will write a separate blog about that and I can take a few more photos of my project before I share. So I will just stick with my coffee share this weekend and keep focused on these pretty ponies. 😀 😀 😀

I am feeling so accomplished by getting more and more confident in taking them both on the trails. I am getting better at figuring out what to do if things go awry (for instance; one of the horses could spook at something, or they both could spook, I am thankful they are not really spooky horses.) You never really know what you may come across while riding throughout the neighborhood. But I do feel like both horses give each other comfort and I also feel like Chloe’s experience with me holding the reins gives them confidence as well. They are VERY responsive and aren’t the type to panic and the few little things that have come up so far we have managed with perfection. I am so excited to be riding and training them together on the trails because some day if I am able to move to Arizona, they will be good to go together and will already have the trail miles on them to start right out trail riding together anywhere where move.

I hope you are having a great weekend. I am so happy that I take the time to slow down and enjoy what I can when I can on my days off. I’ve enjoyed sharing as always, these ponies bring me so much joy and I am so happy, grateful and blessed to be able to ride and care for these beautiful animals!!

Horse crazy Grandma, Mom and Wife!

~Diana

101 POSTS! My Favorite Thing – Horses!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, Love being Grandma6 Comments

I can’t believe I have written 100 posts and this is 101! I have been extremely busy the last few weeks and have missed my blog. I won’t go into all the boring details but suffice it to say that my job and my chores and responsibilities have me running around like crazy and so I just haven’t had time to write. I was so enjoying writing at least once a week and want to get back to that in the near future. I finally have time today to get pen to paper (or hands on my computer!) 😀

My Ponies this weekend as they scratch each others back! They so enjoy this time together!

I have a series of horse photos I am going to share as I absolutely LOVE taking them of my two horses and my girlfriends horse lose in the arena. I am taking care of her horse as she is visiting her granddaughter this weekend. Her granddaughter lives about 8 hours away where her son and daughter-in-law live up North. So she is like me and probably millions of other Grandma’s who do not live close to loved ones or extended families. I miss my granddaughter so much, and I want to move closer but it is a huge undertaking and will take some time. I write often about this and even though my girlfriend wish’s she could live closer too, it isn’t feasible for her either at this time. How many Grandma’s out there missing their grandchildren raise their hands? I will be visiting mine in 2 weeks as it will be her 4th birthday. ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Zack getting a drink and Chloe looking at me for a photo I’m sure! Haha!
Zack is always a challenge to get his attention and his ears up, Chloe is a natural!
I just LOVE this photo of these two! Something about the sharpness, makes me smile! 😀
The three amigos Zack, Chloe and Gracie. I usually have to make them move faster than a walk!
Gracie up close and personal! Haha, looking for a treat!!

I know I have shared a lot of photos of my horses, and here you go, more photos of my pretty horses. They are what keeps me grounded and keeps me focused as they need care and they so enjoy being taken care of and they make me smile. I have been able to ride but not as often as I would like and am hoping my crazy busy life right now will settle down a bit so that I can fit in more riding time. My rides are usually on trail but I do enjoy riding Zack in the arena. I am hoping to ride Zack tomorrow. I was able to ride Chloe today with another friend at the stables. What do you do that keeps you busy? I know many have hobbies like painting, crocheting and knitting. I bet there are those that have young children that keep them very busy!! Those days are way behind me, so now it’s taking care of young animals/pets and older ones too! It is enjoyable, but can be time consuming.

Chloe is my rock, such an alpha mare and SO SURE OF HERSELF! LOVE HER SO MUCH! ❤

I’ll end by saying that even though I’ve been a bit absent and missed my blog I have been trying to keep up reading and commenting on others! I had plans on sharing on the weekly smile, but have only shared one smile blog, more smile blogs are in my future! And I also enjoy sharing on the Weekend Coffee Share and I was doing pretty good for more than a few weeks in a row. I want to get back to that and will soon. I enjoy sharing my thoughts and feelings and instead of going crazy on this post (I have a lot of thoughts that have been ruminating in my mind) I decided I want to just share my LOVE of these ponies. I think staying on this track makes sense and as I enjoyed my day riding on trail today, grooming, fluffing new shavings in their stalls and giving them lots of hugs I feel refreshed to tackle next week. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! ❤ 😀 ❤ 😀 ❤

Happy Pony Loving Girl!

-Diana ❤

Memorial Day – Thank You!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Family is important, Horse stories, Living life9 Comments

First I have to thank all our Veterans who have sacrificed with their lives as we honor all of those this Memorial Day. We are a military family, my husband was in the Air Force and my daughter is a Captain in the Air Force. My Dad was a Captain in the Army many years ago, rest in peace Dad. ❤ My heart goes out to all who serve or have served as it is a sacrifice that you would not know unless you have experienced. It is a Memorial Day too for all our fallen horses, too many to count in past wars throughout the ages.

Switching gears here, I was able to get out on the trails and I wanted to share some photo’s. I work night shift and so I have mornings free to ride with my friends at the stables. I do have this holiday off so I get to sleep tonight after a 5 day stretch. I usually have my week broken up with days off after a couple of days of work. My days off are all over the place, but it all works for me with my horses. 😀 😀 😀

My ride on Saturday in between rain storms.
Gracie looking at something on the trail today. It was a pretty morning, so cool at 60 degrees!
Heading down 6th street in Norco today. It was too cold and windy yesterday to ride! Haha, I can’t believe I am writing this at the end of May which is usually in the 80‘s! 😀

We have been having so much weather it is great! I am wondering if Summer is coming? I’m thinking that with the climate these days, maybe we will have a cooler Summer. I would not mind that at all! I have had a nice weekend even though I had to work. Enjoying my horses and being able to trail ride is always something near and dear to my heart so I am so grateful that I can fit this into my busy schedule!

Miss Chloe after our trail ride. She is such a veteran, with tons of trail miles and is a very steady mount! ❤

I had every intention of riding Zack today, but since I worked last night and then after my ride on Chloe I was feeling rather tired. So I decided to work him in the round pen and then gave him a proper grooming. I plan on riding him tomorrow. I am thinking a better plan of riding is riding one of them one day and the other the next as I usually end up biting off more than I can chew, as it were. I always set lofty goals, and then as the hours tick by my body is saying, nope. You need to stop and get some rest! ;D

We are really bonding and he had a nice little workout in the round pen!
Silly boy, he really stretches his head sideways for a treat. I could take so many photos of these cute horses! I guess I already do! HAHA! ❤

What ever your plans may be I hope each and every one of you has a WONDERFUL Memorial Day. I know it’s true meaning is for our fallen heros, we shall never forget. EVER!

Thankful, grateful and indebted,

-Diana

Riding Before The Storm!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life, Love being Grandma4 Comments

There is a storm brewing and the forecast is 100% rain for later this evening into the morning hours. This has been the most rain in a very long time this last winter and I have to admit a very cool Spring. I can’t complain about cooler weather for Southern California, especially since I live inland, we see over 100 degrees in the Summer months. Thankfully, we just spike 100 degrees but we can live in the 90’s through the Summer so I WELCOME the cool and I do welcome the rain. I know it won’t rain for long, but I also know I won’t ride tomorrow. So I took advantage of my day off and rode both horses! 😀

I turned around after hanging up my bridle and thought what a neat photo! I can’t believe I caught him with his tongue out! Haha! Funny boy!

I have to thank my best friend Sally for a wonderful trail ride on Miss Chloe! It was very uneventful which is nice as we chatted about her granddaughter, our travel plans to visit both our granddaughter’s next month, FUN times! Yes, we rode around the trails through the neighborhood here in Norco and enjoyed a leisurely walk as our horses know where to turn and take us for our ride. I was thinking I need to ride Zack since rain is coming and I just rode him in the arena. He is settling in to our leisurely rides since he is retired, he has finally figured out it’s not going to be a hard workout. I know I spoil them but in a respectful way as I don’t want them to take advantage of me which they don’t. They are respectful back!

I should count the pomegranate trees at the stables, there’s at least 10 running along the arena outside the fence. The blooms are beautiful!
I have shared other photos of my horses treating themselves with a nibble of these trees!

I had a really nice day off enjoying my ponies. The wind started to pick up, so I was able to finish all my chores and then come home and work on my crochet as I have some zoo animals I am trying to complete. I just wanted to share my day and must say I really needed the riding, it relaxes me so much. I also enjoy grooming and caring for these giant animals. I fed Chloe and got her to look at me for a closing shot. The sun peeking through the clouds to shine on her face a bit! What a beautiful girl! ❤ ❤ ❤

My beautiful trail pony!

Stay dry if you live in California or in other areas that are still having winter/wet weather. And smile big as we are all truly lucky to be enjoying this wonderful life we have, right?

Warmly, feeling blessed,

-Diana

Enjoying Cool Weather!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life6 Comments
Chloe to the left, then Zack in back and Gracie closest to me. They were all looking at me but I didn’t take the shot quick enough. I’ll have to teach them to pose! Lol

Here in southern California a cloudy cool morning is a gorgeous thing, and a more common occurrence in Spring. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the sun and sunny days always make me smile. I think my favorite though is partial clouds and when it is partially cloudy the temperature is usually perfect. So this is my early morning with my friends Chloe, Zack and my girlfriends horse Gracie. It was a cool 57 degrees at 8:30am this last weekend. I was so enamored by the weather, I took a bunch of photos. One of these days I may have to invest in a nice camera. I’ll put it on my wish list. 😀

This shot I think is cool with the sun behind these clouds. Pretty good for just a phone camera!

This photo really turned out good and I was able to take another one where the sun looks like the moon during the day hiding behind the clouds. I also have some spoiled pony shots as how can I not take photos of these pretty horses! ❤ I also think the photo above is a beautiful shot of the stables I board at and am so fortunate that the owners take such wonderful care of the facilities and my horses are so happy living there. ❤ ❤ ❤

Here comes Chloe, looking for a treat! And what a big low cloud above her!!
Silly girl, I don’t have treats today in my pocket. Cuteness, and Zack is on his way! Photo bomber!
Hi Zack! He is so handsome, but then I’m prejudice being his Ma! ❤

As I look through these photos it transports me back to that quite morning. I had the stables to myself for about 45 minutes and it was so peaceful. With the crispness in the air, it really makes you feel alive. I so enjoy the outdoors, and feel very fortunate to share my mornings and my days with these beautiful animals. They are my therapy, keeping me sane in the busy life I lead. I wish I can thank them, I guess I thank them every day. 😀

Here is the photo where the sun almost looks like the moon. This is the same morning even though it looks dark, its just a shot into the sun. The clouds just beautiful!
They love the Pomegranate trees! Miss giraffe herself! Haha…..
They both love these trees. They really don’t eat much, just a little bite here and there!

I went to the stables to turn out these ponies and I went early to avoid the stable crowds and to be done early so I could be home for family time. I am undecided which photos are my favorites – trail riding photos? or turn out photos? I guess I love them all equally. This was just such a pretty morning once I started, I could not stop taking pictures. I’m addicted, and so then I just have to share. I know I am not writing some profound post, and I so enjoy sharing my love for these horses but I also have a love of the planet we live on and I wanted to share as the weather will be getting increasingly hot. The heat is around the corner!

My last photo, I love the local Norco hills in the backround! LOTS OF CLOUDS! ❤

I hope I brought you to my world of quite, peaceful, cool, crisp and beautiful cloudy morning. I actually made the horses run around a little bit in between photo shots. Then I attended their stalls. They are cleaned but I add shavings that the stall cleaners do not touch. So I may need to rake them from the sides of the stall, I call it fluffing, haha, like making their bed! My girlfriend and I and others at this stables like to have a big bucket of water even though they have automatic water’s. We have to fill our own big buckets so I cleaned and filled them, this way they can have large amounts of water, just gives us peace of mind.

Thank you for reading my very selfish post about my beautiful morning with my most beautiful horses. I am truly thankful and blessed with this life and I hope this post finds you the same. ❤

Grateful, and at peace….

-Diana ❤