Tag: #horseridingfun

My Weekly Smile; Feb. 18, 2021

On By dprastkaIn weekly smile14 Comments
Welcome to my weekly smile! These roses were blooming a few weeks ago at the stables where I board my horse.

I decided that I needed to smile and this beautiful rose I saw and stopped and took a photo sure makes me smile. It’s that beautiful pink color! And I can imagine the beautiful smell as I just Love the smell of roses. How are you this week? I am doing good and as I sorts things out I am the type of person that looks to the future and remembers the past with super fond memories. I have been enjoying our mild winter and for those of you in places of wintery weather, my heart goes out to you all. Especially in those places that do not commonly have such frigid cold and are suffering with power outages and the like. I pray for warm weather soon!

I have been working and enjoying my time at the barn with my horse Chloe. She makes me smile as she is always very happy to see me and we enjoy the trails whether it be with a trail partner, or not. My best friend and I have been able to go out which is great therapy as we chat about life as we ride along! When my friend is not available, it is just Chloe and I. She has so many trail miles and knows the way, like she has GPS in her brain! Which she does right? She totally knows the blocks, the turns and knows exactly where she is going!

Usually us crazy horse gals match everything! But I randomly bought this red halter and lead rope a few months ago. So now we are very patriotic. Haha, with her white blaze, red halter and my blue reins and breast collar! 😀

We are all tacked up and ready to head out on the trails. She and I just ride along and I take in everything. From the song birds, to the clouds in the sky. To the cars that go by, which on this day there were a lot of folks that waved as they passed by. This is rather common in our town since it is a small community and everyone so friendly. Today I got more than normal waves! I felt so special. Haha, it truly was such a nice feeling. Here is a video of my trail ride on this day. 😀

This trail ride was so wonderful for us both. Enjoying this pretty day today!

I am actually riding out on the trails more often than not which is my goal. I own horses because I love to ride! I sometimes wish I could afford a couple more horses so that I could get back into competition riding, but at this point in my life it is just a dream. Maybe it will always remain a dream because competing is expensive, and I don’t have that horse at this time, but I love every minute I spend with my girl Chloe! I think we all should have dreams, its important to our psyche and so this is what I dream. I dream of living near my grandkids some day too. It may or may not happen, but for now it is something I have had to put on the back burner because I just got a new job. So we will revisit this in another year or two.

I really wanted to share a smile post this week, it makes me feel good to share! So my smile is for the mundane things I do each day (they aren’t all that mundane, haha, but it is the same routine day in and day out!) Makes me feel warm, sane and happy.

She’s a pretty girl and am thankful for Miss Chloe! I Love her and she melts my heart!

Have a great day, week and weekend!

Horse Crazy Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Jan. 28, 2021

On By dprastkaIn weekend coffee share18 Comments
Our local mountains covered in snow!

Welcome to winter in my corner of the world. We get snow in our local mountains and it is a beautiful sight. I decided to drive to a street nearby my house to get this view. It’s rather pretty with the clouds I think. As I write this smile post I am listening to more rain as a big storm has arrived and we will get more snow in the mountains. The skiers and snow boarders will be in heaven. Where I live we have all these outdoor activities only an hour or so away from you in almost any direction in southern California. If you want to scuba dive, or surf, or go whale watching the pacific ocean is right here for all your fun-filled beach activities. If you love to ski or snowboard, the local mountains have plenty of ski slopes at many locations in the winter. The amazing thing is you can enjoy the snow by owning a cabin or renting one, and visit the wintery months without having to deal with commuting in snow or living in freezing cold weather. I grew up here so it is a great place to enjoy what ever is calling your name. I know you all know my outdoor activities, my horses. 😀

I am so happy with my horses as Chloe, Zack and I head down the trail!

I am REALLY SMILING BIG! I have been able to ride this last week after last weeks rain storm seven days. That just amazes me as I haven’t ridden that many days in a row in years! The shortest ride lasts about 30 minutes and I rode two rides about 45 minutes. This is the whole point of having these cute ponies is to be able to ride them out on our local trails! Not only am I enjoying this immensely, but I know the horses are enjoying our rides as well. They are eager to go out and I believe are getting some really good exercise. It’s a win, win for all of us and I have been joined by my best friends at the stables for a couple of the rides I am counting. I am a lucky gal, and am thankful that I am now at a location where I have easy access to the trails so there is no excuses not to tack up and head out for a ride! ❤

We have had many pretty days and it has been cold for our area.

I know I write a lot about my horses and I do share my rides but for this last week what was exciting was to get out there on the trails almost every single day. I mentioned that another storm is here and it will be raining all night and all day tomorrow so I won’t be able to go out again until sometime this weekend. I am so happy my horses are doing good, are in good shape and are more than happy to get out on the trails! I am smiling from ear to ear!

Thank you for visiting my smile post this week. What makes you smile? I am enjoying our weather, my horses and looking forward to working on some of my crafts with all this rain. I may pull out a gardening book I have so I can start teaching myself how to garden. I have tried a bit and posted about my teeny tiny gardens. I have been thinking I have enough room I would like to make an attempt at a bigger veggie garden this year. I want to put more effort into this and see what I can grow. I hope you have a great day in your part of the world!

Happy Trail Riding Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Rain and Smiling!

On By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share30 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekly coffee share!

Can I get you a cup of coffee? I enjoy mine with my favorite sweet Italian cream. I also have tea, hot or iced as well. I am having a nice hot cup of coffee as we have a cold storm outside and it has rained almost all day today. We are getting a ton of snow in our local mountains so when the storm blows through and the sun shines we will have beautiful snow capped mountains to admire. I am happy to see my sister and her hubby from Idaho as they are in town visiting friends and their son who lives here nearby. My sister use to own my horse Zack and I adopted him when she moved as she was unable to take him for a few reasons. One of the biggest reasons is it was in Zack’s best interest to leave him here because the stress of moving would have been hard on him because he has EPM. He is symptom free and has been after being treated five years ago. We were able to squeeze in a short trail ride this morning before the rain. It was fun to all be together again! These are my pony sister’s, two are great friends and one is my sister riding Zack. 😀

From left to right, Sally on Ava, Sharon on Zack, Jane on Irish and me on Chloe ❤ ❤ ❤
Jane on Irish took this photo of Sally, Sharon and I heading out on the trail before the rain ~ FUN Times!
A couple more photos of us on the trail 😀

We arrived to the stables with a break in the weather. We all got the horses out and ready to go (tacked up) and asked others at the stables if they could take our photos. Lucky we did this before the ride because we rode back with it drizzling. I just got my horses back in their stalls when it really started to come down. We thankfully decided to just go on our short ride as we looked up and saw many dark clouds heading our way. What a good decision. Although we wouldn’t melt in the rain, it’s just uncomfortable to get all wet. I had a big jacket on which isn’t water proof but it takes a lot of rain to soak it through, but when riding your pants can get pretty wet especially your thighs. Haha, I have been caught out on trail and have gotten pretty wet in the past!

I’m so thankful Jane took these photos as I do not have many of me riding. Thank you Jane!! I also am enjoying these photos because you can see our faces as I am the one usually taking photos and I take them from behind so often. Haha, a lot of horses butts and the backs of my friends! It’s the best I can do so many times out on the trails. These photos just make me SMILE! We will go out again tomorrow as this storm is suppose to be gone by tomorrow morning. There are more storms on the way with some pretty chilly nights. We are at 44F tonight with it dropping down to the 30F’s Monday night. With this cold front the snow levels are down near 2000ft in the local mountains so some of the high deserts are getting snow as well. With such a low snow level the mountains will just be blanketed ~ I know I’ve mentioned this already. It’s just such a beautiful sight! I can’t think of a good segue to the next couple of photos I wanted to share so I’ll just say kitties and grandkids!

  • The brothers! The one on top was my daughter’s but now lives with his brother in Arizona!
  • My daughter’s newly adopted kitty!

My son so kindly sends us these funny photos of these two brothers. They are quite the characters and as you can see love each others company. I have shared many photos of them throughout my posts and this was the latest photo. They are so beautiful and they make me smile. This beautiful black kitty my daughter adopted about a week ago which I shared last week. She finally decided on a name “Evie” which is the name of a character from the movie V for Vendetta. My son said that there is a Pokemon name Eevee (which is how you say “Evie”) and the whole family agreed it is a great name for her! When we asked my daughter how she is settling in, my daughter replied “She’s doing good, but she thinks she owns the place!” Haha, “She does own the place don’t you know?” I replied. Cats, if you’ve ever owned one I think its they own you! Dogs are the other way around and love them too!

I’ll end with saying I’m missing my grand children and thought I’d share as the last few weeks I’ve just been a bit homesick for them. That’s just the best way to explain it when you miss family. I’ll be able to visit them soon enough (I hope) but as I will never get tired of saying, I am so thankful for technology and the instant sharing and video chats. ❤

  • Teddy Loves to eat! Such a happy boy!
  • My sweet Alice, Love you baby girl!

Thank you so much for visiting my coffee share today. I enjoyed sharing my weekend and even though I have stopped and wondered if all I am doing is repeating one weekend to the next, the stories I share are often woven with different events and I sometimes get lucky to share some fun photos. I hope you all are safe and sound and enjoying your weekend. For us here, winter is truly here bringing in the much needed rain and cold weather. If you would like to read other coffee shares, the link is here. And thank you Natalie for hosting our gatherings.

Happy Cowgirl Grandma,

~Diana ❤

My Last Ride of 2020!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories, Living life13 Comments
My pony sister friend took this photo of me and my pretty ponies! Yes, I have treats I am getting ready to give them. A very candid shot!

As 2020 came to an end I was able to enjoy the morning with my horses before work. This photo is actually from a few weekends ago but I thought it was a good opener as this is me, and this is what I do as I groom them and get them ready for a ride. I tie them to the hitching post and they are very well behaved. This is where I tack them up with saddle and bridles. Before I head out on a ride, I often turn them out either in the bigger arena or the small round pen to get them moving. With the nights getting pretty cool, they can get stiff and need some warming up and on this day the static electricity in the air was something I captured on the next photo or two!

I can’t believe how the light from the sun and the static electricity has his tail standing on end! Look at the shimmers, I’m so amazed!!
Hi Zack! He is body clipped and I decided to clip most of his hair except where the saddle goes on the top of his back. He is much more comfortable and easier to groom and care for.

Chloe’s tail was not spectacular like Zack’s. I am not sure why his was more static charged and hers was not, but her tail is black and would not be as dazzling in the sun. I get excited over little things such as static electricity and hair! Haha, It reminds me of when you blow up a balloon and then rub your hair and you can pull the balloon away and your hair stands on end going to the balloon. This just happened in the round pen when I was exercising them, so it was a strange sight to see!

It was a crisp morning New Year’s Eve as I prepared these ponies for my ride. It was calm and serene, no wind blowing yet and as I mounted up and headed out I can tell the horses had a nice step to their gait and were ready for the trails. As I turned the corner out to the trail and headed down the street, the horses were walking so well together it was as if we were all in sync and enjoying this beautiful, lovely day. I was able to put Chloe’s reins around the horn of my western saddle, and I looped Zack’s rope around the horn. Not too tight, just lightly looped so that I didn’t lose the rope and it was right there if I needed it and the remainder of the rope was in my other hand as I reached for my camera to record this last day of my 2020 trail ride.

My ponies know these trails so well. I was calm and very relaxed which in turn makes the ponies very relaxed. They can feel your anxieties, your nervousness, your breathing. They can feel you relaxing, your calmness, its their language to feel and recognize things humans don’t even think about. They can feel if you are “there” in the moment, or if your mind wonders and is somewhere else. They are always “in the moment” as they live their lives in the here and now. They are flight animals and it is their instinct to be aware of everything.

They see things you don’t. They hear things you don’t. They know with each step if it is safe or not to continue down the road. They have my life in their hoofs, as I ride on their backs as each step they carry me down the street and around the block in unison as if we are one and connected. Zack is right in step by Chloe’s side. Chloe is like valium to Zack. She brings him peace and calmness as she is the alpha mare and exudes confidence in each step. This is how my beautiful ride went on this gorgeous morning as we completed our ride around the block. I took a video of my ride and want to share it. In the video Zack is walking so nicely and walks up fast almost to pass Chloe! BUT he can’t because he needs to stay back a bit behind. You will see her as he puts his nose towards her, she will nip at him to get him back where he belongs. I don’t let the lead go to long and he will slow a bit and walk where he should. They are very mindful of each other and I try and be just as mindful back to them in our threesome wondering the Norco trails.

This is the best video I have made with two horses in hand. I hope you enjoy as I practice and am enjoying these ponies!

I am not to far into my ride when I made this video but to be able to do this with solid horses that feel confident is a testament to what I like to say “Time in the saddle” as with anything you do in life, practice makes perfect. I am so proud of my horses. They bring so much joy to my life and I feel truly blessed and thankful I can share my life with them. I thank my family for their patience and love for them as well. I have enjoyed many rides throughout this last year, and being able to go to the barn and enjoy this is how I have been able to survive the craziness of 2020.

Happy Trail Riding Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Early December Fun!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, weekend coffee share19 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our world!

Welcome, can I get you a hot cup of Joe? or hot tea? I have hot cocoa too, and some mini marshmallows for the top. It’s been so chilly but I know not as cold as some places. My sister just texted me today and she is in Colorado and she said it is really cold there at 18F, brrr….. And I was complaining yesterday at 55F. I had three layers on and my hands were freezing. I did not ride yesterday but had fun visiting my bestfriend with Gracie who is now two stables down from where I board my horses. I don’t see her every day any more so it was fun to catch up with her and I spent the morning there and then tended to my horses. Gracie has settled into her new home and now has some new neighbors, horse neighbors that is and so it goes as we move into a new chapter with our horses. As Gracie is now officially retired, I am not at that point yet with my horses so I am able to ride out on the trails with other stable friends or as we fondly call each other pony sister’s! 😀

This morning when I woke up the sun was shining brightly and the gloomy clouds were all blown away. I was excited and finally went out on my walk. It is amazing how good that feels to get out and walk. It got my blood flowing and I was feeling warmed up and ready to start my day. Today I was able to get out there on the trails and I rode with another good friend, Jane. We had a wonderful ride together.

Since my ponies are serviceably sound (that means they have some issues where they may limp or have some pain which we control with pain meds, but they are still rideable and exercise is really good for many arthritic older horses.) I usually do not go out on the trail for more than an hour. We have a short trail loop that is just about 25 minutes depending on their walking speed. Today we went longer which was a perfect 45 minutes and Jane took some photos of our ride. I’m so happy she thought of taking some photos which isn’t always easy on the trail! Haha, she had to do selfie mode and try and find me behind her!

This is Janes horse, Irish. He is such a good boy! He is a Morgan and a wonderful trail pony!
Here we are on the trail! I am riding Chloe and Zack is along side as I pony him down the trail. ❤

The trails we ride on are well groomed and run through a newer housing track. All the houses here are horse property houses. Usually the trail is only on one side of the street as you can see in the photo. We are in a hilly area so if you wanted to get your horse in shape there are many hills to go up and down and the views are gorgeous. However, my horses are past their prime and like I already mentioned with their leg issues steep hill riding is not possible or not really fair to them.

We can do small inclines with no problem as it’s impossible to avoid some up and down in the course of our rides. There are some pretty flat blocks, and so I break it up and will do some very small hills one day and do flat riding blocks another. The really steep hills are left for the younger, sounder horses. I asked Jane for a recent favorite photo that she took so that I could share on my blog and she sent me this next one. Great choice Jane! It is BEAUTIFUL! 😀

Thank you Jane, my pony sister for sharing your gorgeous photo!

I thought this was at a golf course at first, but as Jane and I chatted she explained where she took this photo which was at the top of one of those steep hills in this pretty area. This is just a front yard and I love the vibrant colors with the beautiful sky, such a wonderful day out horse back riding! She rides more often than not by herself. I am so thankful when I can join her ride. We are so truly blessed to have all these wonderful trails right outside the front gate!

Can I get you a refill? I have a few giant ginger cookies to finish up and you can have one too! I want to thank you for visiting today as we wrap up this weekend. I am getting ready to go shopping as I want to finish up the Christmas gifts list. I am waiting for a package to arrive I ordered online and after my shopping today I will put a box together for my family in Arizona. We will video chat on Christmas day and watch each other open our secret Santa gifts we do each year, and the gifts sent for grand children!

They sure made my weekend special! Thank you Chloe and Zack for your gentle kindness!

I better get this published! I can’t believe this weekend is just about over. I hope you all have a great week ahead. Maybe next week I can actually complete my weekend coffee share as the weekend starts, instead of when it is ending. 😀

Happy riding these pretty horses!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Sunday Dec. 6th

On By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share25 Comments
Welcome to my weekly coffee share where we share what’s happening in our lives with old friends and new! Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? These pretty flowers are blooming right now in my yard.

I have been baking brownies, chocolate chip cookies and some giant ginger cookies this evening! All go well with a nice hot cup of coffee and I made mine decaf since its the evening for me now. I can’t believe how fast these weeks are flying by as I had started a coffee share last weekend and only had written a sentence or two and was unable to finish. I ended up deleting that one and started all over again for this weekend. I am really loving my new schedule but I will say for some reason I am finding it difficult to etch out time for my writing. I am trying to keep up with my reading which includes many, many blogs that I follow. I don’t want to get discouraged, so I will do what I can when I can if that makes any sense!

As I assess the last month I will say that I am feeling very happy with my decision to change jobs to a day shift position at another lab. The hours are actually swing shift which is even better. I am now feeling really needed at my new job becoming an asset as I hoped I would be with all my knowledge and experience. I plan on writing a blog post about my job and all that I do there which will include some job history too. I have read a few other bloggers that have shared and it is fun to read what ya’ll do for a living and how you got there! I thought I would give it a shot and am hoping I can get that completed by end of this next week. How is your coffee? need a refill? I have been keeping busy with Christmas decorating, horse back riding and of course my crochet. I have lots of photos I like to share!

I have shared my bears before and this is only half of them! I now have a Christmas horse which is adorable!
Two of my favorite ornaments! Haha, Star Wars and Star Trek ships. Do you know their names?
We got a new Christmas tree this year. Yes, we have an artificial tree and to be honest I love them. Saves trees and no threat of fires! My usual tree topper doesn’t fit on this new tree so I found this cute little silver bird. It will be my new tree topper for this year!

My cute little tree topper looks completely adorable up on the top of our Christmas tree. My son thought I was nuts when I picked it up at the last store we were at and I thought this will work great! He looks so proud standing at the top of our tree. We bought a smaller tree than our old Christmas tree. Our old one was probably 18 years old and it was getting harder and harder to put together. We really don’t need such a big tree and now they make them with lights already on the tree. That’s what we bought and it is so pretty. I just have a lot of homey ornaments and decorate simply so my little bird fits right in. I have a big star that is just too heavy for the top of this tree which fit fine on our old big tree. Haha, I am going on and on about all this and I must say this year is just full of changes, new job, new Christmas tree, we even bought a new (used) car! I think I could write a novel about all the changes. Maybe I will write a separate blog post about all the changes our family has had for this year because its been more than any “normal” year!

Baby Yoda with my crochet crew! He is so adorable and a loved addition. I need to crochet more figures. And I have been busy crocheting fingerless mittens.

I am working on my third set of fingerless mittens. They crochet together pretty fast and I almost have the pattern memorized. I am planning on sending them off as Christmas presents so I will continue onward. The one pictured is actually a blue grey, looks grey to me in this photo. I have a dark green yarn, brown and burgundy red. I will take more photos when I get more done. Super fun to make and are perfect for a little warmth in our mild winters. I find my crochet projects very therapeutic as I love creating things and this medium provides incredible colors and I love watching my work come to life! Whether it be a mitten, a scarf, a nice warm hat to a crocheted farm animal, Star Wars figure or a potted cactus. I have so much to work on and I find myself so excited to come home and get my projects going. I must say I am rather addicted to these fingerless mittens. I am not sure why, I just think they are useful and pretty! I can’t think of a good segway to the next subject, can I get you more cookies? a coffee or tea refill? We are now heading to the stables!

Beautiful day out today for a trail ride!
Zack by our side as usual! Both horses were great! The sun was sparkling off of the tops of the palm trees today!

What a beautiful day for a trail ride and as we (my horses and I) were heading down the trail the sunlight was shimmering off the tops of all the palm trees. It really was magical and I was just taking in the day and enjoying every minute of my ride. I tried to get a photo of the sparkles but of course it is difficult without a good camera with a zoom lens. I decided to include the photo anyways, just because it is worth remembering this beautiful day! I like how bright the sun is in the corner of the photo, and it was a pleasant 65 degrees today. I can’t complain at all. It was a fun day at the barn with my ponies Chloe and Zack. ❤

Chloe looking for a treat and I Love how Zack has his ears up, inquisitive!

Thanks for sharing coffee with me and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Looking forward to this next week trying to keep up with all the busyness this holiday season brings. I really want to send Christmas cards to my friends and family this year. I use to do this and I think this year would be a good year to get those cards out and mail them. I love the holiday’s and I am so happy we got our decorations up right after Thanksgiving this year. We had to make some changes with the new tree and all but totally worth it! Happy week ahead!

Busy, Sparkling Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

P.S. The ship’s are the Millennium Falcon and the Enterprise!

My Weekly Smile; Sept. 23, 2020

On By dprastkaIn Horse stories, weekly smile15 Comments
Welcome to my weekly smile! Some teeny tiny flowers blooming today!

We do not see the seasons change much here in Southern California but I am excited it is now Fall. My tiny garden in my other container is done. I had fun growing my tomatoes and bell peppers this summer. We are not cooling off as much as I would like as we still are hitting 90F to 100F degrees high (32C to 38C) but getting down into the low 60’s at night (15’sC). I sure wouldn’t mind a rain storm to blow through, where are you rain? I am smiling as we head into Fall, what makes your smile? How about some horse fun, that always makes me smile! 😀

A cute little pot belly pig I passed by on my walk this morning!

Before we go to the stables, I ran across this cute guy on my walk this morning. As I walked by he ran up to the fence when he saw me, friendly little thing as its little tail twirled in circles and he was doing his little “oink” “oinking” noises. He had me giggling to be honest. I do not know the people who live here so I didn’t stay long at the fence and quickly took this photo to share. Haha, I could have a little piggy, or some goats and even some chickens living here if I wanted. But even though they are all adorable animals, I feel like its just one more thing to take care of so we don’t have any more than what we have ~ 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 horses, plenty! 😀

  • Miss Chloe is the same color as rusted tin siding! My Camouflage Pony! ❤
  • Further away, she blends in even more as she stands in the shade!

Funny story, my girlfriend was taking care of my ponies the other day and had them all lose in the big arena. As she was finishing up her chores over near the paddocks, she looked in the arena and saw Zack and her horse Gracie but she couldn’t see Chloe anywhere. She started to walk a little closer to the arena but could not see her and thought maybe she got out some how, But how? you never know, maybe a gate wasn’t latched? But as she looked through the trees and she could see Zack who was blocking Chloe’s black tail and Chloe did not look at her so she couldn’t see her white blaze! Haha! She blended right in with the tin siding! Especially when there is shade, Chloe just blends right in and we were cracking up with my bay roan who is the color of rusted tin! She is way prettier though! Haha!!

Fun day with the horses!

As I was riding Zack with my bareback pad (which has no stirrups) I thought how about going faster! Smiling here as the video turned out way better than I expected. My hand as I watched it was bouncing up and down when I was bouncing on Zack’s back as I was taking the video. But I guess my wrist and the phone didn’t jerk up and down like I thought when I played it back. YAY! And I have had in the past some people tell me I should buy a GoPro but I am just too cheap. These short handheld videos work just fine for me and what I want to share. They are enough to smile about right? They sure make me smile and giggle too! I ain’t no professional, just a pony loving gal enjoying my day.

I always have fun with these pretty ponies and I already thanked my girlfriend for a fun day. I will say this again, as I think anyone who spends time outside the weather plays a part of a great day. It was nice but I can’t wait for it to cool off. Thanks for visiting my Smile post! 😀

Riding and watching my camouflage pony!

~Diana ❤

Horsing Around Fun!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories12 Comments
Miss Chloe says Hi! How are you today?

Welcome to my virtual barn where I will share photos of my barn friends Chloe, Zack and my girlfriends horse Gracie. These three ponies are the apple of our eyes. Yes, we dote on them and I have to admit I am rather obsessed with their care. I don’t often miss a day, even if it is just to check on them and make sure they have enough food and water. Even though we pay for their care at the barn we board at, we as horse owners like to check them daily if possible. I use to not go every single day, and when I was baby sitting my granddaughter I would take days off until she got big enough to go with me. I miss those days, since she now lives in Arizona. We fondly call our horses, our ponies. They are not ponies, its just a term of endearment. ❤

The last few weeks had some very hot days, although the horses didn’t seem to mind too much. We just turn them out on really hot days because it is still good to get them to stretch their legs and walking helps move their gut and keep the blood flowing. Just like for us, walking and exercise is essential for well being but when it’s over 100 degrees (38C) we do not need to over do it so we can avoid heat exhaustion. In the last couple of weeks I was able to take some videos I would like to share, along with more photos of the ponies turned out. I’m just a horse crazy gal! 😀

Zack, Chloe and I in the round pen. This is a small arena usually 24×24 round – this one I think is bigger, I’ll have to measure some day. It’s a great place to exercise them!

You might be wondering, two horses in a small arena? I wouldn’t try and do this with just any horses. It is a small enclosure to where if the two horses did not get along, there could be kicking or fighting or? but my two horses are a herd. Actually, all three horses are a herd with us humans being in the mix as well. They have been acclimated and turned out together for many years.

The funniest thing Chloe does is she will chase the other two when out in the bigger arena when these big horse fly’s are around (they are akin to deer fly’s in the East only bigger. I looked them up and horse fly’s are bigger than the common house fly, deer fly’s are in between these two for size. Both land on animals to suck their blood and only the female horse fly bite for blood to feed eggs. They are huge ranging in size from 3/4 – 1 1/4 inches long. They are not numerous thankfully!)

Anyways, Chloe will canter around (run around) the arena to escape these dreaded fly’s and when she does this she inevitably runs near Zack and Gracie which in turn run too. Some days they exercise themselves just getting away from the horse fly’s! (They are easy to kill, they are so huge you can hit them easy with your hand and they fall to the ground and then I step on them. Sorry, not sorry horse fly!)

A nice ride in the arena. It is a bit hot so we are just walking to get in our steps!

It was pretty easy to video in the arena. It is nice and safe except watch out for the tree!! Haha, I am happy they walk close to the rail (which is the fence line) and of course the tree isn’t as low as Chloe’s head as she heads near it and the branches are right at my height sitting on her back. You can see Gracie getting exercised by her Mom and Zack is next to me as I pony him to get him exercised as well. I call it killing two birds with one stone, since it’s so hot I did not want to take the time to ride them each individually. If I do ride Zack, I usually ride him in the arena unless someone wants to ride with me that needs a horse on the trail.

My girlfriend on Gracie as we head out on the trail!

I am so happy I have been riding on the trails for many years. Zack is 25 years old and Chloe is 16 years old this year. I have owned her since she was 2 so we have been together many, many years. I have had Zack for about 6 years now. He is part of the team, as they all fall in line with very FUN rides! Consistency and time in the saddle is key to calm trail rides!

They got a few baths in the last few weeks and I washed their tails and thought they looks so pretty! Zacks could use a little whitening on the bottom, but for a trail horse (not a show horse) they look pretty darn good!

I just LOVE to groom them. When I graduated from high school and before I decided to go to college I worked full-time for a horse trainer. He trained Hunter/Jumpers and I showed my horse with him all up and down Southern California. I worked for him for about 4 years, and what I learned was grooming is key to keep all the show horses coats glistening. I bring these years of grooming with me every day I’m at the barn.

I started with Chloe, I’m ending with Zack! Haha, He’s sending you a big kiss!

Love you Chloe and Zack!

~Diana ❤

Summer Trail Rides and Horse Fun!

On By dprastkaIn Barn stories, Horse stories9 Comments
  • Miss Chloe waiting for Zack to visit with me in the turn out arena!

I have been wanting to share some more trail riding fun and as I get ready to go out on any given day, I always give my horses some time in an arena. It might be our round pen, which is a smaller round arena (usually around 24X24 round, but I think the one at this barn is bigger) where I make them trot around and stretch their legs. I may turn them out in our big arena where I will ask them to run and/or gallop to really stretch their legs! I have shared a video of them running in the big arena here. And sometimes I let them out in this turn out where there are trail obstacles permanently in this arena and so it is not a good place to make them run because there are all those big poles on the ground and I wouldn’t want them to run too fast in this arena and trip and fall. So this arena I let them do what they want, they often are scratching each others back as I let them mosey around.

UP CLOSE! HAHA! Chloe looking for a treat as Zack is photo bombing! They are not shy, not at all and she knows if she gives me a kiss (which I taught her to do) that I just may have a horse cookie in my pocket. Kind of a dirty nose, but then its the stables and they sniff and smell stuff and well, can be plenty dirty until I groom them and clean them all up. And then we do it all again the next day! Its a labor of love, and one I will never stop loving. I enjoy grooming them as much as they enjoy getting dirty! You have to love the outdoors and not mind the dust and dirt as it is EVERYWHERE! 😀

  • Out on the trail and I am all alone with both my horses!

Mission Accomplished!! If you follow my blog you will know that what I LOVE doing with my horses is trail riding. We have miles of trails in our town and I do not trail ride alone very often. But there are times where my girlfriend is working and so if I don’t want to ride in the arena, I have to trail ride alone with both my horses. They are very good on the trails having logged in hundreds if not thousands of miles over the last 12 years. I ride Chloe and pony Zack (which means I have Zack leading next to me with a lead line while I ride Chloe in my western saddle). Here is a photo of Zack walking next to Chloe.

I am so proud of both my ponies and I am proud of myself for finally getting out there and riding. It has been my goal after moving to this new barn to ride alone with my horses on the trails. I’m a happy cowgirl! 😀

  • After my trail ride I turned out my girlfriends horse Gracie. She is 28 years old, doesn’t she look great! She is still riding her on trail and going strong!

I decided to give both horses a bath and usually I spray them off kind of like a car. Not that the spray is really hard but it helps to spray to get the sweat and dirt off their coat. But today I just let the water run over them and boy how they loved the water just running off their backs. I took videos but because my hands were wet, I tried to dry them off and then for some reason I held my phone at an angle and both videos are sideways. I’ve been debating whether I should share, because it bugs me that I can’t rotate them so it’s not right. I suppose you can just turn your head and still see them getting this wonderful cool bath on a hot summer day! Okay, I’ve talked myself into sharing one video of Chloe. I have a video of Zack which I think you have to turn your head to the left to watch. Haha, I swear I had my phone positioned correctly – apparently not! Next time I will do better and have the video straight! It’s all a learning curve right? 😀

Goodness, I am talking kind of strange too… haha, I am just a crazy horse loving girl and so forgive the sideways video. For those of you who do not own horses I thought you would enjoy it even though you have to turn your head. At least it’s not upside down, I would not share if it was! Since I took some still photos I will finish up sharing those as this post is all about my summer fun with my ponies!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

  • Nice and clean, so soft!
  • Treat please!!
  • He is the goofy one – Silly Zack! He is nice and clean!

Thanks for coming along with me on my horsey fun. We turned out the horses, rode out on the trail, turned out my girlfriends horse and then gave Chloe and Zack a nice bath! It was a beautiful day, and I have been wanting to share. I will have to make another trail ride video soon. I have shared one already which is here if you missed it. Loving my big furry friends!

~Diana ❤

P.S. If you really want to see Zack’s video I can share on another post, let me know in the comments. It’s okay if no one comments. It’s the same watery fun only you have to turn your head to view! Lol

Weekend Coffee Share; July 4th Weekend!

On By dprastkaIn Living life, weekend coffee share16 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!
May peace, love, and happiness always be with you! 
Wishing you a very happy Fourth of July ❤

Welcome, I got back from my first walk in about a month. I was giving my knee time to heal and it is progressing nicely. It got a little sore as I was on the last leg of my walk which was just under a mile which I didn’t mind because I knew it was a good sore. Meaning I need to strengthen my knee and I know I didn’t over do it, just got it working so that I can get back to my normal walks. I took a few photos when I was out this morning. It was a nice 65 degrees (18C) this morning which is so nice to walk when it is cool. The high today is expected to be in the 90’s – 96 (35C) to be exact and believe it or not as long as it stays under 100 degrees it is tolerable to be out and with my horses.

  • Celebrating at home! BBQ, YUM!
  • Sunrise through the palm trees!

I forgot to offer you a some ice coffee or tea? I am thinking it is summer and already pretty warm and so the iced drinks are just so refreshing. It’s definitely summer and we try and ride early to beat the heat and am hoping we don’t see too many days over 100 degrees. We don’t ride when its that hot, and we try and keep the ponies cool by hosing them off on really hot days. My girlfriend and I have been enjoying this weekend and trail riding on our ponies. I was able to take a short video I will share. I have so many ropes to take care of when I am riding and taking Zack along ponying him that I have to be careful. Chloe is a steady trail horse and the trails we ride on they know very well. I am very grateful having such great trail horses!

  • My girlfriend and I, not sure what she is pointing at? Lol
  • We are almost back just past that big tree!
Our 4th of July trail ride! LOVE our ponies! ❤

I hope the video plays correctly. I know the last one worked fine. It is so FUN to share, we have such a great time and our ponies bring us much joy and happiness. I say this all the time and can’t say this enough. We have such a connection with these giant beasts, they rely on us to keep them in a safe place and we in turn try and be gentle, kind and give them guidance in a way that is respectful for both horse and human. They really understand so much and they always amaze me how smart they are and how we can actually communicate with each other. So MUCH FUN!

  • Zack after our trail ride!
  • Miss Chloe after her bath!

Thank you so much for enjoying coffee with me today. This weekend we celebrate Independence day and I can’t believe how different this celebration has been this year. We heard and saw some far away fire works from our front porch. There was plenty of fire works going off around the neighborhood (which is illegal) but plenty still fire them off which I know can scare many animals. My horses do fine, I have one dog that gets nervous but they did great as we keep them near us through the worse of the fireworks going off.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend. I hope you were able to get outside even if it is a walk around your block. I think being able to get out of the house and doing some sort of exercise is so important for your mental health. I am not an expert mind you, I just know that one needs to get some fresh air and keep moving no matter what age you are, this is so important and can sure bring smiles your way, I know it does for me! 😀

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

~Diana ❤

Reflections, Smiles and Horsey Fun!

On By dprastkaIn Horse stories, Living life, weekly smile12 Comments
A view across the hills where I live in California!

I decided to label this post “Reflections” as I have been thinking a lot about how this year is almost half over. Next week will be June 1st and I know I can say for everyone, what the heck happened to this year 2020? I think it is a big WOW! and it almost feels like we are all in a movie and someone will come along and say “cut, that’s a take!” I think this because I am a big movie buff, to think we are living history when they look back and pick apart all the good and the bad ideas or things that happened during this pandemic. I think we are already seeing the looking back part within these last few months as we start pulling ourselves back into reality, or hopefully back to some normalcy. As I am writing this my hubby is saying let’s eat lunch out in a restaurant! Something that we truly miss even though its been great to eat more at home, something we should keep doing going forward. We lead very busy lives, so this all has been a real eye opener to slow down and reset, at least that is how it feels and hopefully we saved many lives in the process. ❤

I don’t think “normal” will be back. I think we will have a new normal, something akin to what it was but I believe there will be many changes that will stay with us for a very long time. Some of these changes I believe will benefit things like the normal flu season that always comes and goes, as one would think this last flu season got snuffed out a bit with all the social distancing and closing down. I pray we get the schools going again , sooner than later and I know this is a HUGE subject so I am only going to touch upon it by saying let’s all get back to work (carefully) and let’s get this country up and running again. I want to be able to look for a job in Arizona so that I can move my family there one day, sooner than later if possible. (I do believe it will be at least one more year, praying for next year to make this happen!)

As I reflect, I want to thank all my new followers and all my blogging friends who follow my blog. 😀 This has been a journey of sorts for me starting with what is blogging? I thought I would just write short stories, I suppose this can happen with wonderful photo prompts that I want to engage in someday from fellow bloggers. I feel like I have a yearning to mold my blog into what it’s titled My Life – And – Horse Stories. I stray sometimes from my model, and struggle with my brand sometimes. I am learning as I go and I have met some wonderful, beautiful, kind, amazing – really super fun people. I thank you for all your comments and I have grown as a person writing and sharing my thoughts with ya’ll. You make me humble, and very appreciative. Thank you for reading all about my reflections today, it makes me smile so much so I think I will use this as my smile post this week!

Zack and Chloe this last weekend. They are completely settled in to their new stables!
Enjoying the trails before the heat. Summer is here as we warm up into the 90’sF (32C)

Let’s switch gears to HORSES! YES! My passion, my muse they truly bring me such joy and happiness. I have recently moved them to another boarding facility in our horse town, it is across town and they have settled in nicely. It has been a month since I moved them, my how these weeks have flown by. We have been enjoying the trails, as I ride Chloe and pony Zack riding with my girlfriend on her horse Gracie. Chloe is 16 years old this year and doing GREAT! So happy with her as she has a bad back leg with an old stifle injury (this would be her knee). I can tell she has little to no pain in it any more which is wonderful. Zack is the white horse, he is 25 years old this year. He is starting to really show his age as gravity draws down on their top-line (this is where they sometimes start looking sway back) and they lose muscle tone. I am trying to keep him active and moving. Gracie turned 28 years old this year. She has been really showing her age, but is doing good.

After our ride they both got a bath! More horsey fun on a beautiful day!

I take so many photos of my horses. They look forward to my company as much as I look forward to theirs. They truly like getting out and about with me and since I have moved them I always take them out together. I want to start separating them a little bit more. They are herd animals and so it is very natural for them to be near each other and do things together. They do call to each other if you take one too far away, this is called herd bound and it is nice if you can take one off the property say with a friend without the other going nuts, as they wonder where their stable mate went too!! Chloe is not herd bound as much as Zack. Since they have each other and I do not go to horse shows, there isn’t a great need to break them up and make them be apart other than riding just Chloe without Zack is a bit easier… I’m getting really use to taking them together, so its all good.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I always welcome your thoughts and I just had to share mine as I like to reflect now and again.

Reflecting Grandma Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; A Very Busy Week

On By dprastkaIn Family is important, Love being Grandma, weekend coffee share27 Comments
Thinking about my Grand babies every day! I can’t help myself, he’s my lead in to my coffee share!

Welcome to my coffee share where we share the weeks happening or what we will be up to this weekend. I have had such a busy week, I think I am getting busier instead of what most people have been doing and that is staying inside and probably fighting boredom. I am not trying to defy the staying at home orders and those that follow me know that I am a essential worker and work full-time in a Veterinary Lab and I own two horses. So I am always on the go and I enjoy my gardening too! Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I just had to share baby Teddy again, to be able to hold him in my arms, oh my, just thinking about that makes me sad (because I’m so far away) and joyful all at the same time! Love you grand babies!! Missing Alice, my grand daughter too. ❤

I have so much to share! I have my tiny garden which is in containers this year and I am having really good luck and so far nothing is dead and things are flourishing. I am going to share some photos as I should get tomatoes and hoping for some bell peppers too! I am really excited.

This is my tomato and bell pepper container. The photo on the left I just took this morning and the photo on the right was taken last week. What growth in one week! I am so excited they are thriving!!
Photo on the left is my tea rose which hasn’t bloomed in a few years! It has been going crazy with blooms. On the right my container of flowering perennials. Pretty!

I got help this last week with weeding. My hubby gets out there with his weed wacker and boy, he makes tedious work go much faster by using this tool. He has a nice gas powered one which he tackles all areas where we have tons of weeds that grow. Then I tend to the roses with pruning and I water too. At this time we don’t have too many things growing that need watering. We use to have automatic timer watering but that was back when we had a front lawn. We are definitely conserving water since the lawn is long gone. We are going to landscape eventually with a water friendly decor. Not sure what that will be, or when this will happen, haha, something on our to do list for our house!

How’s your coffee, need a refill? I forget for some it may be dinner time, but then I know many that drink coffee with their dinner! I would be drinking ice tea with my dinner, speaking of dinner I need to figure out what’s for dinner? I digress, I really wanted to share my busy week with all the horse back riding I’ve been doing. 😀

I have been asked by a really nice horse woman at the barn I left recently to help her with her horse. She is around my age and new to riding (hmm.. I keep forgetting to ask her background with horses, I must ask her the next time we meet) but needless to say she has had some scares, falling off a time or two and has some fears and does not feel confident especially riding the trails. NO PROBLEM I tell her, I will help you gain confidence and tackle your fears!! She has hired me to ride her horse and give her lessons. I am taking on more, but it is something I am very passionate about, HORSES!

This is Ava, my clients horse. I am not in the training business but will help when people ask and this mare is a ton of fun to ride!

I am having a ton of fun riding this pony. This photo was the first day I rode her and after this day I lengthened my stirrups as they are rather high for western, I had to ride her “English style” in the western saddle. The horsey people who follow me should understand. I think I will just write another blog post about my horsey fun and training, and giving lessons to this super nice lady who just wants some help with her horse. She wants confidence and I told her I would love to help her. The little extra money I will earn will go directly to my horses, their grains I buy and shavings for their stalls. It will mean some extra time out of my days off but worth it I think!

Crochet linen place mats for my daughter! So FUN!

I keep so busy, if I am not at work which is night shift, at the stables most mornings, tending my garden mid-afternoon, I am probably crocheting before I head to bed! I need to fit in sleep on my work days but some how I manage. I Love crochet and my daughter bought this yarn and it is fine so I can make these pretty place mats. When I visited my daughter last weekend we went online shopping and she found this yarn in pretty pastel colors. Perfect for her house and I may need to make some for my house too! I’ll have to buy more yarn! FUN!

I’ll finish up by saying that I am enjoying our beautiful Spring weather. We have had only one heat spell where the heat spiked and now it is much better. We have had mild heat this month and I am very happy about that. I was able to visit the ranch and ride out on the trails today with my girlfriend. I’ll close with a couple of photos of my silly horses. Fun, fun, fun! I hope you are having a good if not great weekend. I’ve so enjoyed having coffee with you and sharing my busy week and am getting in some relaxation this weekend!

Haha! Love my horses! Miss Chloe and Zack giving ya’ll a lick! What a great shot!!

Happy Grandma Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤