Tag: #horseridingfun

Weekend Coffee Share; It’s May 15th Already!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share15 Comments
Welcome to my weekend coffee share! How are you today?

I decided to feature these beautiful cactus blooms as they so deserve another look. I’ve never seen such pretty cactus flowers and although they aren’t mine they are local in my town at a horse feed store I was at buying horsey stuff. Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea as we sit and chat? I also have some yummy Trader Joe’s sweet offerings. Yummy chocolate chip dippers, they are delicious and I think we still have some milk chocolate covered pretzels, oh they are to die for ~ salty sweet scrumptiousness. Now I am drooling and may need to stop writing to get something sweet! 😀

As these weeks fly by it has me thinking about this past year. It seems to have flown by like a blink of an eye. So much has happened and as I look back I am also looking forward as to what does the future hold? Last year at this time I was in the process of adopting my horse Murphy from Oklahoma. It was a fairly stressful couple of weeks but so worth the stress and it all went really smoothly in hindsight. Interestingly, there was a young lady at the stables the night Murphy arrived that stayed with me while I waited for his trailer to arrive. She has an OTTB (Off The Track Thoroughbred) that she got through a rescue here in CA. As we chatted we had a lot in common, adopting a thoroughbred to name a few things. She could be my daughter at half my age and we got to know each other that evening as I bought her dinner as we waited.

She shared that she wanted to move to Spokane, Washington to have her horse at her cousin’s ranch. She grew up riding with her cousin and you know what? She made that happen! She moved with her horse last month almost a year after she told me about her dreams! She saved and saved and worked two jobs until she made her dream come true. That’s pretty cool and inspiring and makes me think I need to think more about our future and where I want to be and where I want to live as we approach retirement. It’s a lot to think about and I have some ideas as to what I want to see happen in the next few years.

Murphy after my ride and he is ignoring me but standing quietly.

I called his name so he would look at me but instead he walked towards me! Sweet Murphy! ❤

He is so smart and as I wanted him to turn his head and look at me when I called his name, he decided to walk to me so I clicked quickly and got this photo which I really like as he started his walk. I then took a really close up photo as he sniffed the camera! Haha! I just have to share! Warning, it’s very close up!!!

Haha, I know I am crazy to share such a silly photo but he melts my heart and our bond together grows stronger every day. It is hard to describe how special a horses bond can be, just as strong as with our sweet cats and dogs but different too. Especially since they let us do so much with them, riding around on their backs. It is almost indescribable. These horses in my life help keep me young at heart and the joy they bring to my life I wish I could share with everyone and what I mean by that is I wish you could come and ride my horses. I wish you could brush them and feel how soft their coats are and let them see you and feed them a treat. And so here I am trying my best to share with you all!

As I ride down the trail on my other horse Chloe the Jacaranda’s are blooming. I stopped near the blooms to take a close up photo! They are so beautiful and we have lined streets with these trees. I have shared them many times before and as each year comes around and they bloom, I share yet again!

Miss Chloe out in our small pasture! My pretty girl! ❤

As I wrap up my weekend I am looking forward to an Arizona trip at the end of this month. My son’s birthday is May 30th and so my daughter and other son will be heading there to help celebrate. We are so excited to spend a long weekend together, I can’t wait! The other thing on the horizon is an event I am going to attend in a month at Flag Is Up Farm, Monty Robert’s training facility and they have a weekend of clinic’s and the event is called “The Movement, 2022”. This event is only 30 minutes from where my daughter lives so I will be able to visit her after I attend the clinic every day. The horse trainer that trained Murphy will be there as she is a Certified Monty Roberts Instructor, I can’t wait to meet her! I’m excited to see my grandchildren and excited to attend this wonderful horse event!! 😀

He has the sweetest eyes, and a heart of gold!

I end with Murphy as May will always be a special month for me and Murph. Not only was it his birthday May 1st, he also arrived in the month of May. I haven’t forgotten my sweet Chloe girl as she’s had my heart for many, many years now. I spoil her just as much and have shared plenty of wonderful photos of her as well. I will continue to share and I may re-share as I continue this blogging journey. As I look to the future I have been discussing maybe moving north to be near my daughter. That’s an idea that needs to be looked into but we are in no hurry. I so enjoyed having you visit with me this weekend. I am always having FUN IN THE SUN with my ponies!! I’m also going to thank Natalie for hosting, the #weekendcoffeeshare.

Crazy Horse Loving Grandma,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; March 27 ~ Staying Busy!

On By DianaIn Horse stories, Living life, weekend coffee share23 Comments
Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives!

Welcome, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I have so much to share. This month of March has been full and busy. With my busy life comes hard work with my full-time job and of course my time spent at the barn with my two horses Miss Chloe and my young guy Murphy! I try and fit in so much including some relaxing time doing my crafting. I am either doing crochet projects or my cross-stitch. I am currently working on my cross-stitch and here is my completed project! I am also going to share the first 2 projects that is from my pattern book of seasons. I have now started on the Winter scene.

I just finished this one which is Fall
This one is Spring (Click on photo for full view)
This is Summer! I love all the colors, so fun to stitch up!

I have been thinking about what I will do with these seasons once completed and I decided I am going to try and make a quilt throw or hanging. (The photos make them look like they are crooked on the edges but they aren’t, its just the material is not completely flat. I will rinse them with safe soap and water, let them dry and iron them flat before I sew.) I have never sewn a quilt before but have helped my sister and have a new book on quilt making for first time beginners that I got for Christmas. Since I have helped with many quilts my sister and I did together I am hoping I can make something pretty. I know it won’t be perfect, but then I am just hoping to get it all sewn together properly, haha! And not fall apart. I know all crafts take time to get down as practice makes perfect, or at least makes you better and more confident.

I’ve been wanting to put together a small quilt like a throw or wall hanging for a long time and now that I have these cross-stitch pieces I feel inspired and the timing is perfect since I received the really helpful quilt book since my sister’s do not live nearby any more. I figured if I run into any problems I can always call them or ask my good friend who sews. My bigger challenge is to learn how to use my sewing machine, haha! It’s always something!

Speaking of sister’s ~ this same sister that I use to sew with is also my riding partner and who I grew up riding horses with and she now lives in Idaho. She has been there now 7 years, we can’t believe how fast these years fly by. She was so excited to come and visit for a week and she stayed with her son nearby and she was over every day to help me with my horse Murphy. She and I have had tons of training with young horses and with many horse trainers over the years. Together we worked on some new things with Murphy and he is so smart and easy going it made our time together a blast! Here are some photos and videos of our week here in March! 😀

I gave Murphy a bath the weekend before my sister arrived! He’s so handsome! ❤
I also gave Miss Chloe a bath as it was so nice and warm! She’s so beautiful and I do Love her so much!
My sister on Murph (click on photo for full view)
Me and Murphy, so very smart, calm and willing to learn!

My sister was here this month for a full week and I am so grateful for all her help. She flew down which gave her more days to visit. I am planning on sending her videos as I go and we have already talked since she’s left as she has remembered a few more things I can work on with Murphy. Training a horse takes time and she and I are so happy that I am in no hurry and I am giving him plenty of time to grow into his body as he is 3 years old. He turns 4 beginning of May which I am excited about. He is still growing but I feel like he is pretty balanced for a 3 year old. I know with this training and riding he and I are getting stronger, he is so much FUN to ride! 😀

Murphy and I trotting in the arena. We are working on softening with his head and neck and moving forward into the bridle. We are also working on circles. The first circle he was going a bit fast but has a better steady trot for the second circle. It is all a work in progress and I am so proud of him!

I thought long and hard last year when I purchased (adopted) my young horse Murphy, can I start and work a young horse again? I knew I would have to get into shape and get my riding legs and upper body stronger and I am slowly accomplishing this. Riding up on a horse like I am in the video I shared is very aerobic, and to those who don’t ride you probably do not realize how much work it is as we make it look like we aren’t doing much. I can get so out of breath that sometimes I need to take a break before Murphy needs a break. I was riding him yesterday and I wanted him to stay steady with his head down and I was getting more out of breath with each stride. I’m getting stronger each ride. Riding the trails on my other horse Chloe is not very aerobic at all since all we are doing is walking. It feels great getting into shape! I LOVE YOU MURPHY! He is the best gym and this is my most favorite exercise!! ❤

Me and my shadow with Miss Chloe!

On to my trail rides and Miss Chloe! She is a trooper and her and I go out alone often. I will partner up when there is another rider at the barn ready when we are to head out. I have to fit in Murphy and Chloe in my mornings and some days I have time to ride both of them and other days, it’s one or the other. Chloe and I have been together now for 16 years and so we have years of trail rides under our belts. She is trail savvy, its what we do and owning and riding horses is all about repetition and consistency as they are smart and willing as long as they feel safe. We are all about safety in all that we do and so we have a great time together! Here is a video I took just this last week. It was a few days after my sister left and a beautiful day. We are expecting a very rainy day tomorrow which I mention in the video. I hope you enjoy!

Such a lovely day for a trail ride in my hometown in California!

So much FUN! I love the trails but I also love the arena riding and training too! I have no doubt that Murphy will be a wonderful all around horse eventually. I am in no hurry with him and when you take the time they need, they turn out so well rounded and confident. I’m excited for our future together.

I’m so happy you visited today. I know I am not sharing as often as I once did but this is working out better for me and my busy life. I don’t want to stop blogging altogether, I will just share when I can and I do appreciate this wonderful blogging community, more than you know. I can’t say enough for all the wonderful bloggers I have met through blogging. I do try and keep up reading and commenting on other blogs but apologize because it can get overwhelming sometimes. I do what I can when I can and you all are so wonderful, forgiving and caring individuals. Thank you for being you! Have a wonderful week and stay smiling. 😀

Horse Crazy Crafty Gal,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; My Heart Is Full

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miss Chloe looking very pretty! My heart is full!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Horsey Fun!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The weekend was fun with my stable friends!

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

Bless you, sweet girl!

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

Horse lover forever!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Jan. 22, 2022

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share31 Comments
Welcome, can I get you a hot cup of coffee or tea?

How are you today? I know for some it is summer and so maybe a cold brew is in order! I do know that there is plenty of cold out there as I have been visiting other coffee shares and brrr…. it is cold in the north! I can’t believe it is Jan. 22 and with it being 2022 that is a lot of 2’s. I am not a numerologist but I like numbers. I am more of an astrology gal, as I love all things astrology and find all the charts and signs fascinating! Okay, I am going down a rabbit hole and wonder where my mind is going. When I am here writing and sharing I usually have a bit of a plan on what I want to share and to be honest if I don’t have a plan, then I just don’t share anything. Hence why I skip some weeks, I only share when I feel inspired and everything I have written so far is literally just thoughts flying out and so let me hone in my thoughts!

I want to share that I enjoy blogging very much and I have found that my blog revolves around my life as stated but I enjoy sharing that with photos. That is my inspiration is being able to take photos of things that inspire me and so in turn I hope they somehow inspire you! And with that, what inspires you? I find as I am taking photos thoughts of a smile post, a horse trail post or a weekend coffee share starts to form and so I take my photos and plan out my post. I have so much fun thinking of how I will share and inspire! 😀

I found my browband from my show bridle from 40+ years ago! I just finished polishing it as it was very tarnished after all these years!

I am giggling here as guess what we didn’t have back in the 70’s! Spell check! Hahaha, I have spelled Norwegian Wood wrong! And I just discovered this as I am typing in 2022! Oh my goodness, all this time I had it wrong. What is that called, literary license? Sort of? Holy smokes, I should have looked at the Beatles album more closely as that is the song I named my horse after! This piece of leather with the silver name plate I used on my show bridle when I showed my Hunter, who’s barn name was Chester in the 70’s. I found most of the bridle today when I was rearranging my tack room area. I decided to go through some rubber tubs I have which is storing horse stuff and that’s when I found this brow band! I also found 7 bits, and I have more than that in another plastic container. I probably have over 15 bits, maybe more! I really need to go through my stuff!

This is Murphy with a bridle like my show bridle. The arrow is pointing to the browband! Sharing for the non horsey folks out there! ❤
This is Norwegian Wood wearing his show bridle with me at a Santa Barbara Horse Show back in 1979 ❤

I have no idea where I am going with this post. I am a bit all over the place especially since I found out I don’t know how to SPELL! Thankfully, since it is a name I know lots of folks who don’t spell names correctly on purpose. So now that I’ve made a huge deal out of this I know no one would have ever noticed but me as I typed it into my computer and it was auto correcting my spelling. Okay, shake it off Diana! Haha, and I have to say I will use the browband in a shadow box or something of the sort as it doesn’t take up that much space to save this browband. 😀

Onward Diana! I wanted to share my cross-stitch I’ve been working on and I have one photo of my progress from some weeks ago and a new photo today of how far I’ve gotten on this project. I thought it would be fun to share as I enjoy sharing my crafts.

It’s really coming along nicely! This is Fall, part of a four season’s pattern book.

Once I get closer to being done I will take a better photo. What will be fun is when I use black to outline everything and then things will really pop. The people near the little building will be better defined and I will outline the wheels to the carriage and all the rigging for the horse. The barn will be outlined and will be so pretty. There is still a lot to fill in and stitch but I am more than half way done! I will share the two other seasons I have completed when I get close to completing this one. It is such a fun hobby!

Can I get you a refill? As I segue back to the horses I have a video of Murphy lose in the arena. I took the video last weekend and wanted to share it with you all. My other Murphy news is that I took my first lesson on him with a trainer that comes to our barn for other riders. I knew I would be asking her for help as I have gotten so far and I knew I wasn’t connecting the dots as it were with his training and I needed another eye to see what I am or am not doing correctly. Remember, my original training was many years ago and so I am a bit rusty. Trail riding is not arena riding at all and so it was great fun to get this lesson!

Lisa is very kind and explains things extremely well. I need to focus more when riding, she has some helpful focusing points for example; ride to a post on the rail and look through your turn to another post and so on and so forth and when you focus on this it will help teach Murphy to focus and comply. I was so amazed on how much better he got in that lesson as we both walked with purpose from one side of the arena around the corners to the other end. I won’t get into all the details (as there is much more) but as she is reminding me of things, memories are rushing in and I can’t wait to continue on this journey. I will take a lesson every 2 weeks and work with him in between for the next few months or so and then see where we are at and if I need to continue. I am so thankful and grateful for her help! ❤

I Love watching him as he trots and canters around in the arena! He is such a character!

I know this has been kind of a crazy coffee share post. Haha, maybe I can blame it on the wind! Maybe the wind is making my thoughts all kind of crazy today. It is super duper windy here in southern California! It gets to be so darn windy we can’t ride. So I can’t practice, bummer. I was so looking forward to riding this weekend and it is suppose to be windy tomorrow too. Oh well, there will be plenty of good days to ride. I haven’t been able to ride Miss Chloe on the trails this last week because they have been working on the trails replacing all the wooden fencing with white vinyl fencing. They finally finished Friday!

I know I take so many photos it is hard to choose which one I like better!

Murphy is huge! He has a big head, big ears and a huge heart! He truly is so sweet, gentle and kind. I will end here and hope you all have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! If you would like to visit other coffee shares please click here ~ and I have to thank Natalie for hosting our #weekendcoffeeshares

Crazy spell checking horse Gal! 😀

~Diana ❤

My Weekly Smile; Jan. 16, 2022

On By DianaIn Barn stories, weekly smile21 Comments
My giant ginger cookies! Yummy!

Welcome to my weekly smile. I can’t believe it’s been two months since I wrote my last smile post and that surprised me as I didn’t think it had been that long when I checked. I will blame my work schedule as I try to balance work, my horsey time, my blogging time and I like to spend some free time with my crafts. I haven’t been able to fit in reading as I’ve been wanting to get back into novels I have sitting here just waiting for me! I have to set aside some time to read. I would read before I go to bed, but my hubby is in bed before me and I can’t have a light on and I don’t want to wake him. Hmm… I suppose I could read in the family room before I head to bed. I’ll figure it out! This sleeping at night thing takes awhile to figure out scheduling things. (For anyone new, I use to work grave yard shift for over 30 years!) Now I work swing shift.

I am smiling as I devour my giant ginger cookies. They are delicious and I will share! 😀 My son has been asking me to make them since Christmas and I ran out of time to bake my cookies this year so I finally made them this last weekend. The house smelled wonderful while they baked and I am very happy to bake for the family. I have a few other things that bring me smiles and I hope they may bring a smile to you!

An accidental photo of Murphy galloping and Murphy checking out the neighbor steer!

I thought I would share a couple of photos which the galloping one was an accident. It may not be the best photo but I liked how I caught him with almost all 4 feet off the ground! 😀 I thought I was taking a video when I snapped a photo. I like accidental photos, they are fun!! And at the back of his stall on the neighbors property they have cows and steers. You can see the steer with its horns in the next photo, Murphy is very curious. We have had horses boarded here that have been very scared of the cows that get close to the fence. I am proud of Murphy as he checks things out! Not much phases this big guy!

He is such a fun horse checking out the bags of bedding for his stall! Silly guy!

I thought this a funny video as Murphy is a curious 3 year old! He is so darn cute, and I usually take him out to add shavings to his stall. It was fun interacting with him. He has such a personality, they all do and I mean all animals do right? I have so much fun and I knew as the months go by, I can say that we are really bonding. It’s so wonderful and that truly makes me smile!

Murphy and I riding in the arena! Me and my shadow, I just love shadows!

I have to tell you of one last smile. After Murphy and I had a fun ride together I rode to the gate of the arena and pushed it opened and we walked down the aisle and I decided to ride out the front gate all by ourselves to the trails out front. He has gone out through the gate before but with other horses. When we walk off the property we have to walk between the house and the garage of the owners place and since there are trees and bushes around too, it can be a bit scary for the horses. Also, horses don’t really want to leave the herd (or all the other horses that board there which they would consider “their herd”) so it can be challenging to get them to be brave enough while riding them out the front gate!

I am smiling from ear to ear as he just walked right on down and through the gate and out to the trail! YAY! 😀 Once we got onto the trail out front we turned right and took a few steps and then he stopped. He just looked around and did what I had asked him and I didn’t really have a plan once I was at the trail. This was all fine because I am not ready to go down the trail by ourselves yet at his age. We will take our time, and so I let him turn and head back into the stables and back to the hitching post or cross-ties where I dismounted and tied him so I could untack him and get him ready for his stall. He is so much FUN!! ❤ ❤ ❤

One more photo of my ride with a great shadow! His mane is so thick it falls on both sides of his neck!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, what makes you smile? And I have to thank Trent who hosts the weekly smile post each week. It is so much fun to join in and linkup with his blog which is here.

Smiling, Baking, Horse Crazy Gal!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Winter in California And Horsey Fun!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share40 Comments

Welcome to my weekend coffee share. We have had lots of weather this winter. Last winter was very dry and we had hardly any rain. We made up for it this winter and this photo is of our local mountains after days of rain and snow. I love the lingering clouds in this photo and thought I’d share. Nature provides us with such beauty, I can’t get enough of the snow capped mountains! ❤

I am okay not living in the snow. I lived in the local mountains 20 years ago and the snow and icy roads were enough to drive us off the mountain back to moderate weather. My heart goes out to all that live in cold and frigid weather, battling the elements snow, ice and wind. Here, where we live it is so mild that the lows do not quite hit freezing. We had low’s in the high 30’sF (2-3C) at night and it rarely dips lower and even if it gets to freezing in the night it will only be for a few hours and it warms right back up again. During the coldest days its in the high 50’sF and for us Cali’s we think its soooo cold outside, brrr. Haha, we don’t know what cold really is as I know this is actually nice weather.

Oh how rude of me, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I forgot to offer as I ramble on about the weather. Hmm… I think that’s like an old person ramble isn’t it? haha, I know I am not that old yet, but I know my posts reach others all over the world. I know it’s summer in places as we are wintering! Just filling you all in on this beautiful Southern California weather! We made some decisions this last week and contacted the piano mover and person that came and took our piano for parts. It was a very old parlor grand piano in disrepair and in such bad shape it was not worth the money to repair it. I am happy it went where its parts can be used and now we have some extra room in our garden room. Here are some photos. 😀

In its day, this parlor grand piano had the most beautiful sound when it was opened in all its splendor!
You can see how the finish is flaking off, its very old and holds lots of memories. It’s time to say good-bye!

You can see the room is now empty. I actually shared about this about a year ago and we finally decided it was time and so I am focusing my energy and any extra money to save for a keyboard as they make some really nice ones and I really miss playing. I play mostly classical music with some of my favorite pieces from Chopin, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff to name a few composers. I’ve enjoyed playing Bach and Debussy as well. I miss playing so much as I’ve held on to this piano which has been so out of tune it truly is unplayable. I’m excited and hope I can get a new electronic piano sometime this year!

Can I get you a refill? I have some Swedish pancakes I made for dinner tonight. I wanted a light dinner and these crepe like pancakes were perfect filled with a little sour cream and raspberry jam. Yummy! I enjoyed them very much and I will eat light if I have a big lunch. My son told me my granddaughter lost her first tooth this last week! She is 6 and in kindergarten and doing great. I miss my grandkids and I will see if we can Facetime tomorrow. They live in Arizona for any new readers to my post. 😀

My horse Chloe and I riding around the block in my hometown of Norco. She is such a good girl!

My horsey fun throughout this last week was fun rides and turn outs as we dry out. As you can see the ground dries out really fast and we were able to ride a couple days after all the soaking rain. It rained for at least 2 weeks maybe 3 on and off sometimes for a few days straight. For us it was a lot of rain which in turns means a lot of snow pack for the mountain ranges all up and down the west. This will help with our droughts that plague our region. I have some more photos to share with my horse back riding fun and just photos of these pretty ponies!

My dusty boy after my ride! He rolls a lot in the muddy dirt but I cleaned him up!
Murphy all cleaned up and eating his lunch. He is doing really good and enjoys his new stall!

Murphy is doing great and has so much more room in his new stall. I am so happy that he is happy and he is really fun to work with each day. He and I are getting along famously and one of these days I will get a friend to video one of my rides in the arena on him.

Goofy photos of my sweet girl Miss Chloe! She let’s me kiss her nose for a treat! I taught her this, so she begs often and I was able to take these silly photos!

I like how she has one ear forward to hear if I am going to say something I think! She knows when we are done riding I will give her horse treats. It wasn’t too difficult to teach her kisses as I kiss her nose and give her a treat, now she pushes her nose at me like you see in the photos hoping I have a treat in my pocket. I keep them in the tack room where I have my saddles and bridles. She can smell them in my pocket, so I can’t keep them there as she is too smart! Haha, these horses are such characters!! I just love them so much! ❤ ❤ ❤

Me and Murphy’s eye and ear, haha! and Miss Chloe looking pretty!

My hubby bought me a selfie stick for Christmas and I haven’t taken it out of the package yet. I actually need to find it as I am not sure where it is after we cleaned all the Christmas stuff up and put everything away. So when I take selfies as I’ve shared before, my arms are not long enough to get all of their head in the shot. And Murphy being even bigger than Chloe it’s twice as hard! Hahaha, I still like taking them!

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend and I thank you for stopping by for coffee. It’s been fun filling you in on the happenings around here. I want to say that I am truly thankful I can ride all year round here in California as I know there are so many that can’t ride in the winter. I also am thankful for all of you blogging friends and family who take the time to stop by and read my blog. I thank you too for your wonderful comments! I have to thank Natalie who hosts the weekend coffee share and you can visit hers and others by clicking here.

Enjoying Winter Horse Gal,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; December Already?

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share27 Comments
Beautiful pink roses that smell heavenly!

Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I decided to share these pretty roses that were blooming last month at the barn where I board my horses. Not only did they catch my eye but caught my nose as well, such beautiful rose smell. Oh how I LOVE the smell of roses! Can you believe it’s December? It is hard to believe it is almost 2022! This week was decoration time and my plan tomorrow is to go through my decorations left in boxes and get rid of all old and not used decorations that I have collected over the years. Our house is decorated inside which I finished today. Can I get you some cookies to go with your beverage? I have some chocolate chip cookies! YUM!

As I finished up my decorating I was rather proud of myself as I was going to toss out a bunch of bows I made from a big roll of green and red ribbon I had bought from Costco some years ago. I made these bows huge because I wanted them to drape down on the tree and our old tree was very big. We had it for almost 20 years and we finally decided to get a new tree, and we decided to get a much smaller tree. It is pre-lit so no more stringing the lights. YAY! I’m not so sure I like the beads I put on it but I Love the smaller bows.

I made these huge bows smaller!
The tree is complete and I think is pretty!

The only thing about pulling the bows tighter and smaller is they are a bit wrinkled, but that’s okay. Hanging on the tree you can’t really tell and I think it finishes it nicely. I want to buy some new bulbs, maybe after Christmas sales I will see what they have and I can purchase for next years tree. I also want to get some hooks for the bows. I just fashioned them in the branches and they will stay but are not attached to the tree at all. I’ll have to see what’s available for hooks when I shop for the sales after Christmas. I didn’t think about that before, but I know they would hang better if I attached hooks.

How are you doing, do you need a refill? We have had some warm weather with it being extremely windy through Thanksgiving. These winds are really warm and are called the Santa Ana winds which come in the fall and winter months. These winds also contribute to our fire season since it is typically so dry in California. We just do not get a lot of moisture here, although the forecast is for rain this next week which we desperately need. Since it does not snow or freeze here, I can ride year round. 😀

Miss Chloe and I are out on the trail. One of many rides the last few weeks! 😀

I do not take it for granted that we have such great weather. This weekend has been really cool and very foggy. I can’t complain and am welcoming the coolness of the season. With the great weather comes traffic because there is a ton of people who love to live here too! So our freeways are huge and very busy! I’m thankful I live in a small town so the only time I have to deal with the traffic is commuting to work each day. It is so relaxing being at the stables and enjoying my horses, they help keep me centered.

I do have some Murphy news as I had some blood work done when I had the vet out for his winter vaccines. We did a blood test for EPM (Equine protozoa myeloencephalitis). This protozoa crosses the blood brain barrier and lives in the cerebral spinal fluid and the brain. After I adopted him the trainer who I follow talks a lot about EPM and how prevalent it is in the mid-west which is where Murphy is from and so I talked with my vet and he said we should test him. He tested positive for the antibodies and he is not showing any clinical signs and is not considered an active case of EPM which is good. My vet suggests we treat him as there are good medications out there for this disease. He possibly could be completely cured but more importantly since he is only 3 years old this will set him up for a healthy long life. I’m so glad I had him tested.

My horse Zack had EPM so I am no stranger to this with horses. The difference though is Zack was not diagnosed until he was active displaying clinical signs which included tripping and having trouble picking up his front right leg. The protozoa once in the brain when the horse is stressed it can multiply and destroy brain cells. Depending on the area affected they could have vision issues and its why they display problems like tripping, or not being able to pick up a hoof. You can sometimes pull their tail and they will cross their legs which normally they don’t if they don’t have EPM. They have done plenty of studies on this disease and improving the drugs they use to combat it and so I feel like this is going to be good for Murphy.

It’s ironic that he has some leg issues that were vetted before I adopted him. X-rays were taken and none of the issues were going to be a problem, mostly an ugly scar and a splint that is now completely healed so he has a bump on his leg that has calcified. I didn’t think to have his blood tested. Would I have still adopted him if I had known? I’m not really sure. But I have him now and I do love him and he is everything I thought he would be and so onward we go. I’m super happy and so proud of him.

After my ride the other day. Such a handsome boy! ❤ ❤ ❤

I’m so happy you could join me for my weekend coffee share! ❤ It is fun to share my festive weekend as we are all ready for the holidays. I haven’t done any shopping, something I will do this coming week I hope. Do you buy gifts early before the holidays? We have done this when the kids were little, but don’t do this any more. I have made small gifts before, something you have to plan very early in the year. I have to thank Natalie for hosting the #weekendcoffeeshare and if you would like to visit other coffee shares click here . She has done an awesome job and I can’t believe this year is almost over! Have a wonderful weekend!

Festive Feeling Cowgirl,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Nov. 20 ~Horsey Fun!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share37 Comments

Welcome, can I get you a cup of coffee? I also have tea or cranrasberry juice if you prefer. I am enjoying this weekend and the nice cool weather that November brings. We live near the Santa Ana River and in our town we can get socked in with fog. This last week we have been having foggy nights as we wake to very cool mornings as the fog slowly burns off for the day. It’s been really nice Fall weather and I am enjoying it immensely!

I have been keeping busy and we are getting ready for Thanksgiving. Can you believe it’s next week? I can’t believe this year is just flying by and as I prepare for next week, we will be decorating for Christmas most likely next weekend. Oh my goodness, then it will be figuring out Christmas presents. We usually pick names in our family which works good, and there is only the 2 grandkids and of course we all get them gifts without them being in the name drawing. I can’t believe how high prices have gotten this year, and it’s getting worse. I’ll just stop on this subject but am hoping inflation doesn’t get any worse! It’s just insane!

On to another topic. Hmm, I wonder what that could be? Haha, it’s horses of course. I have been wanting to share a video I made this last August of a trail ride on my horse Chloe. I was riding alone around the block on a beautiful summer day. I get a little bit tongue tied not remembering what the cross-walk button is called. Haha, I almost wasn’t going to share as it is a bit long (just over 2 minutes) but you can see a good bit of our town and the trails. I love chatting on my video’s so I hope it’s enjoyable. Miss Chloe is such a good girl!

I will say that Miss Chloe and I have really good rides most of the time. But she is a horse that isn’t perfect always. We were out on a short ride recently by ourselves and she saw a horse way in front of her and then it disappeared around a corner! Wait what? Where did it go? Oh DEAR! That was it! She stopped in her tracks and I let her stand for a second and squeezed her forward with my legs and she turned to the left and wanted to turn around. I decided it wasn’t worth it to try and force her somewhere she wasn’t comfortable even though she has been down this trail thousands of times. We turned around and she was a little anxious but calmed down when she realized we were heading home. These kind of rides don’t happen often, but we as a pair need to be smart and take the not so good rides and do our best to make it home safely. We do just fine and almost every ride is just about perfect! ❤

I like to explain my approach to horses just so those of you out there that may have horses know that I don’t have the perfect horses, but I do use training techniques that promotes trust and a good bond between horse and rider. I listen to my horses and I try and make sure we both understand each other. When I work with them each day we are always working on this bond and it is a great joy and very rewarding working with these beautiful animals.

I wanted to share a video of Murphy who on this day felt really good. He usually takes a little bit to warm up and get his energy up enough to run, buck and play! This day last month, he was “feeling his oats” as we like to say! Haha, I hope you enjoy!

He is such a silly boy! Murphy doesn’t always run like this which I am thankful for as I want him to be calm and relaxed. He is definitely on the lazy side, which is what I like and I think will make for a nice trail horse when he gets older. I am mostly riding in the arena as there are many things for him to learn and for him and I to grow that bond together as we work together under saddle. He is so much FUN! ❤

Today I rode in the arena on Murphy (stinker grabbed my rein you can see in the photo, but I wanted to take a photo of his head. He tries to put everything in his mouth!) and another friend on her horse Fashion!

Murphy and I had fun riding this weekend in the arena with my girlfriend on her horse Fashion. She is so beautiful and I recently clipped Fashion with a trace clip to help keep her cool. She grows a very thick winter coat because she has Cushing’s which is a disease that affects their pituitary gland. They often have long or thick coats and they don’t shed as readily. There are many other symptoms but she is on medication which helps her symptoms and she is doing great. She is 25 years old. My friend also rides her out on trail with me and Chloe. She isn’t very good at being a leader so I won’t ride out with her on Murphy. He needs much more arena riding anyways before I ride more out on trail. I am in no hurry with him, and if for some reason the trails are not a good fit for him we will just do arena riding. I am okay either way!

Murphy after my ride today! I just Love him so much!
I had FUN making this video! He is so soft!!

I haven’t been sharing as often as I was and so I have all these video’s saved up. So it’s your lucky day and I have 3 video’s in one blog post. (I just can’t help myself making these video’s and sharing.) 😀 I am trying to find my groove with my blogging. I so enjoy my blog, and I also love to interact and read other’s blogs but that takes time. I do not always make it to everyone’s posts, I try my best and I am hoping to get into a better blogging rhythm. That might sound strange, but to me there is kind of an art to blogging and everyone needs to have their blog represent who and what they are passionate about. My favorite blog’s are the ones that their passion shines! ❤

I’ve been reflecting deeply about my blogging as I’ve been away and not sharing like I once did and some of my feelings are not really worth sharing here but for some personal reasons I have been in a really reflecting, deep feeling, maybe even searching my soul type of mood. Haha, call me crazy but I sometimes overthink things and I have finally decided to be me and not worry about “the deep meaning of life” which is part of what I was reflecting on. Oh gosh, I want to be carefree and HAPPY! So enough of all of that stuff, but it was part of the reason I had slowed down on my blogging. I sometimes think it helps to share even though I’m just touching on this subject. I will say I have questioned very deeply my decision to purchase Murphy, but in the end I realized I did the right thing as he brings me GREAT JOY! He will be here when my sweet Chloe won’t be, even though it could be some years from now before we say our goodbyes. I will end with this, as this is what makes me SMILE!

I sometimes pinch myself, did I just buy a racehorse? CRAZY! ❤ ❤ ❤

Thank you so much for visiting and sharing coffee with me today!

Loving My Horse Crazy Life,

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; October 24, 2021

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share47 Comments
Welcome! My sister and my best friend went in together to buy me this cool mug for my birthday! I LOVE IT!

Howdy! How are you doing, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? It’s very gloomy outside but it’s a good gloomy because we have lots of clouds and are expecting some much needed rain! Tomorrow it is to rain almost all day and we really need the rain in our dry climate here in California. I have some small cupcakes for a snack to go with the coffee, can I get you one? I didn’t make them but they are really good. It was my birthday this last week and my hubby picked up the cupcakes so I didn’t have to bake for myself. I’m the only baker at home. 😀

I can’t believe there is only one more week left of October, but it’s been a very fun month. A couple weeks ago I went to Arizona to see my son and his family and I was there with my daughter who bought tickets to a comedy show. I went to babysit for that evening and it was so fun watching movies with my grand daughter and grand son. Well, my grand son went to bed and was super easy to put down which I was thankful for since he’s 19 months old and I know at that age they can be a handful. But they have a wonderful routine and that helps so much with young children. I had a blast and I’ll share a few photos.

My daughter enjoying Wolfie kitty who use to be her kitty, but now lives with my son. And a blurry selfie! Kids just don’t sit still!

Wolfie remembers my daughter!! He slept with her while we stayed the two nights for our weekend visit. For those of you who follow me will remember Wolfie’s brother Dublin is my son and daughter-in-laws kitty. My daughter tried to have Wolfie live with her but he was a handful and actually was eating her guinea pig hay and there were other problems and so we did some kitty swapping. I took 2 cat’s my son had (two sisters) and Wolfie was brought to live with his brother in AZ. Now my daughter adopted a beautiful black kitty she named Evie. We are all happy and the cats are all happy too! Thought I’d fill ya’ll in again and for any new followers. Haha, it was a bit of kitty drama at the time when we went through the exchanges!!

These brothers still lay together all the time! This is my photo of them sleeping on my bed when I visited AZ! Adorable!

I had such a nice weekend and when I returned home my sister from Idaho came back to town with her husband because it was her husbands 40th High School reunion. It was so fun because this is my sister who also rides horses and who is the sister I adopted my horse Zack. She couldn’t take him to Idaho, so I kept him and had him until earlier this year when he passed. Now, her and I are having fun with my new horse Murphy! Together she is reminding me about bringing along a young horse. Since he is almost 3 1/2 years old now, he is learning so much every time I ride. He is like a sponge, soaking up all that he is learning. I was able to take some photos when Sharon rode and I will share a video I took as well. We had so much fun as we also took him out on some trail rides too!

My sister riding Murphy! She and I ride alike and he was such a good boy for her. He is so relaxed and calm. He is a joy to ride!

Can I get you a refill on your coffee or tea? We have some Halloween candy too. We do not have Trick or Treaters in our neighborhood because it is considered a rural area. We do not have any street lights and the houses are a bit far apart so we do not have any kids that walk any of the neighborhoods in this area. They all usually drive to local residential areas to Trick or Treat. So we usually buy ourselves a couple of small bags of candy and we buy our favorites! Usually they are chocolates of some kind. YUMMY!

Back to the horses, sorry I got off on a tangent but you know, candy is always worth talking about and more importantly consuming! Haha! I was so happy I took my phone with me into the arena when I asked my sister if she wanted to ride Murphy. That’s when I was able to take these photos and the video I will share. After the arena we went out on a short trail ride and I was able to take a couple of photos out there as well. I am so proud of him and I thanked my sister so much for all her help and encouragement as he is coming along nicely.

My sister riding Murphy and he is so relaxed and now I have him on video cantering to the right. He is doing great!

I am so enjoying my time here with you and I am also enjoying celebrating my birthday this last week. My family in Arizona sent me a bouquet of flowers, they are so beautiful and smell wonderful! They arrived Saturday and my daughter sent me some fun Star Wars things as I Love all things Star Wars! Including a coloring book, The Princess Diaries by Carrie Fisher to read and these cool light saber earrings! Yes, I am a geek when it comes to Star Wars!! My hubby got me a cool Disney cookbook. I have a small collection of specialty cookbooks so this is a nice addition. I will finish up with these last photos.

I am a happy Grandma, Mom, wife and horse crazy gal! Thank you Natalie for hosting the #weekendcoffeeshare! I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead and thank you for visiting with me today. 😀

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; A New Video With Murph, and Crochet Fun!

On By DianaIn Living life, weekend coffee share26 Comments
  • Welcome to my weekend coffee share where we share what’s been happening in our lives!

Howdy! can I get you a cup of coffee or tea? I don’t have any fancy pumpkin spice coffee but I have a nice breakfast blend I really like that tastes nice with my sweet Italian cream. I am enjoying my weekends and with that I mean I really enjoy weekends! I have not had every weekend off in about 20 years. I have been at my new job now for 10 months and I honestly am still feeling like I am on a super duper really long vacation being able to sleep every single night. I recently had one of those nights where my thoughts were running strong and I had trouble falling asleep, darn it all! But the sleep I finally got was good enough to get me through the next day. I use to struggle with sleep often, and just made it work when I was working night/graveyard shift hours. I do not know how I did it for so many years! So I am truly grateful for my new job and the swing shift hours I work! YAY! 😀

I am super happy I am almost done with this baby blanket I am making for a really good friend. She is actually my daughter’s best friend who had a baby girl some months ago and I am finally getting this completed. I think it is beautiful and am finishing up tieing off all the lose ends before I will send it to her and I thought I would share a couple of photos! I love to crochet as it’s relaxing and I so enjoy creating things with all this beautiful yarn!

It’s hard to get good lighting for the photos of the blanket. There really is a light pink in with the grey/tan variegated yarn!

I know the colors I chose are not the most “baby” but in person it is a pretty blanket. I added the soft rose pink around the edges to help bring out the subtle pink woven with the grey/tan/pink variegated yarn. It looks antique like to me and came together beautifully. I like to try different colors and my daughter said her colors in her nursery are pink and grey. I might have brought a little too much grey into the picture with this blanket, but I know she will appreciate it being hand made with Love! It is definitely my favorite baby blanket pattern as this is my fourth one I’ve made and no two are alike! ❤

Miss Chloe is enjoying some grass as she grazes after our trail ride!

I am enjoying trail riding on my girl Chloe. She is such a trooper and is definitely one of those horses that enjoys the trails. I am in no hurry riding Murphy out on the trails. He is too young at this time to travel out there by himself and I am having a ton of fun working on things with him in the arena. I will go out if there is a friend available at the barn to ride with me, but it is not something I am doing a lot of since he needs a lot of time in the arena learning important aides which help us both communicate. It really helps to have a good working relationship with your horse so that the trust and bonds are strong. I do have a video I want to share of Murphy and I in the arena!

He is getting better and better learning a little something every ride!

My hubby came to the stables to help with a few things and when he arrived I was riding in the arena. I asked him to take a video and he doesn’t take many videos and tried to zoom in and didn’t realize there is an easy button on the camera to just tap for a quick zoom. I tried a few times to edit the video and got frustrated and decided to just leave it so there is a little jumble in it where it zooms too close and then he moves it out a bit. I Love it anyways, and I can see the difference in just a month or so of him being at a steady speed and him and I looking relaxed and together each stride. Murphy is so FUN!!

Can I get you a refill? I have a few more photo’s to share as I just love taking photos of these ponies and I also enjoy sharing them with you all. I decided to ride one horse one day and the other the next which is working out great. There are some days where they both just get the day off which is good for them too. I can ride both every day but I only have so many hours available before I have to go to work at 2pm. It is working out well, with every other day. I turn out on the days they aren’t ridden. They are very spoiled horses, and I have to tell you they are fun to spoil! ❤

I just want to kiss his nose! He has the prettiest eyes, such big ears and beautiful head! And I tried a selfie! Haha, he was really curious about the phone when I snapped the selfie!

He makes me giggle, Mr. Murphy has such a personality. He is learning our routine’s which is so great as then we have a good working relationship. He is so very smart and it is fun to watch him grow. Today when I took him out he had a scraped up hip. He took off all the hair and it had a little bit of blood but not much. After examining it we noticed some red paint near the wound and after searching his stall as to what happened I found the hair on the barn stall opening heading out to his paddock. He had cut the corner too tight heading out back and scraped his hip on the side of the barn! YIKES! and OUCH! I put some silver spray on the wound which is like a liquid band aide that dries silver. It is superficial and I hope he is more careful going in and out of his barn stall! He is so big and tall, I am not too surprised and if he was in a hurry or spooked when heading out, that could be why he caught his hip. I hope he will be more careful, but he’s a horse and probably needs to be bubble wrapped! Joking, we all joke about that! 😀

Thank you for stopping by for the chat! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I can’t believe this is the last week of September! WAIT WHAT? How did this month fly by! Thank you to Natalie who hosts our #weekendcoffeeshare link up.

Crochet Loving English Riding Cowgirl!

~Diana ❤

Weekend Coffee Share; Tomato-less Plants and Murphy!

On By DianaIn Barn stories, Living life, weekend coffee share28 Comments
  • Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea?

I am brewing up some coffee thinking to myself what the heck am I going to share this weekend. It seems I share the same thing and sometimes it seems I am a broken record. But am I? Haha, I sure hope not but it seems my hopes and dreams are one thing but the mundane day to day stuff is the same. I have felt a bit stuck lately, maybe its because I am not planning much towards future goals and/or long term plans. I feel like I am in what I will call a steady state time of my life or like a holding pattern ~ holding to wait and see what the future of my grown children is going to be and waiting to see “what’s next”. I didn’t know the things that have happened throughout this year so far was going to happen, and so here I am. I said good-bye to my handsome horse Zack and have welcomed into my life my new horse Murphy. My steady mare with me all along as I enjoy this ride called life!

  • My tomato plants, but sadly there has not been one tomato come to fruition. There has been many small flowers that dry up and fall off. Strange!

I can get my self all twisted up with frustration if I try and make plans that are huge. Meaning, I had set my mind a couple of years ago to move to be close to my family in Arizona. It was a journey my family was behind until door after door was shut and I decided this was not a good idea. I am super happy in my home town here where I live and maybe this is where we will stay, but will we? I am not sure, and I do not know what the future holds. I am not in a position to make a decision for myself and only myself as I have a husband and need to be compliant to all who surround me. It’s only fair. But for those of you who are single and free to do as you choose, you are lucky as I find life more complicated when you throw in a bunch of people and animals! 😀

I am surrounded by such wonderful friends. I had a wonderful lunch this weekend with my best friend and it is so wonderful to catch up with her and we are planning to do this more often as we share and update our horsey stuff. We will also share our family goings on as well. I thought I would share some of my thoughts and feelings as I am hoping it makes my post a little more interesting. I know I am not alone in this world with these same thoughts about life. I do count my blessings and am so thankful for all that I have and for my wonderful family. ❤

  • Murphy standing pretty but his ears are not forward.
  • Murphy’s looking forward with his ears, but his tail is swishing!
  • I like him standing next to these pomegranate trees! I zoomed in and enlarged this photo from the photo above with the tail swish! ❤

Can I get you a refill? I have some cookies too…. I had decided to throw some tomato seeds into my container with some new fertilizer and grow some tomatoes. Last year I had grown tomato and green peppers in this same container which fruited fine but I bought little starters from the store. Once these tomato seeds started growing I thinned them out and left 4 to grow. When my plants were half this tall with no fruit, I thought maybe its too crowded and I pulled out 2 plants and left 2 to flourish. They are growing taller and taller with some small flowers but no tomatoes. The flowers just dry up and fall off. I have never seen this happen before! CRAZY! Maybe there are no bees or other insects to pollinate them? that’s probably part of the problem, I am not sure. I have always gotten tomatoes, sometimes I over water and they split but this is bizarre. I’ll give them more time, maybe buy some miracle grow but I am just growing tall tomato plants with nothing! Haha!

He is the sweetest boy! He is tied at the tie rail or hitching post. He is learning and is so smart! He stood perfectly today!

I always turn Murphy out before I ride him. Since he is only 3 years old I like him to have this free time to be a horse and be silly if he chooses. (I will say, he mostly walks around and doesn’t do much unless I encourage him, lazy guy!) This way he can be silly and trot around or canter, buck if he chooses without me on his back. He is very smart and now knows that when he is free to do these things he does, and when he is under saddle he minds his manners and is very calm and respects what I ask him to do. He is very smart and is learning fast! The above photos are when he was lose and I loved how he was standing in the shade of the trees!

What a handsome guy! I LOVE this photo and you can see he is starting to muscle out a bit and gaining some weight! He also is standing perfectly square which he did on his own. (This means if you look at his legs and body it is shaped like a square box if you were to draw a box around his body. I think he has super nice conformation.)

I took these photos today because I bought a new girth for my saddle. My old girth is all black and a bit too short but I made it work but found as he is filling out it is not long enough. This girth has fuzzy white sheepskin which is so nice as it snugs all around and under his belly. (The girth is what keeps the saddle on the horse. Western riding it is called a cinch.) My old girth for this English saddle is a size 52″ which is fairly long but not long enough! So I bought a size 58″ which is the biggest size I could buy. I must say it is almost too big, but he will grow and fill out and so it is the perfect size! I measured Murphy today and he measures 17.2hh and he is still growing! He is a BIG BOY! Gentle Giant!! ❤

His other side and he is not standing square. Just to point out the difference. The new girth looks great! He stood so well today before our ride! 😀
Last photo I promise! His kind eyes say it all. He loves people and enjoys the time we are together. Love you Murph! ❤

I feel like the luckiest person, falling in love with this horse on a video I saw with a trainer I follow who trains off the track thoroughbreds up for adoption in Oklahoma! He is truly such a mellow fellow, a kind horse wanting to please. I have thanked the horse trainer for her honesty and great work with these beautiful horses! ❤

Thank you for stopping by and joining me for my coffee share. I enjoyed sharing some of my thoughts and feelings as we are heading into Fall here. I think I am thinking about these stuck feelings because we are heading into the holidays and oh, how I wish I was closer to my grandkids. But I know we will see each other and am thankful for that. I am so grateful for my beautiful family, and I am also very thankful for all my wonderful friends. Thank you to Natalie who hosts our #weekendcoffeeshare she does a wonderful job!

Horse Crazy Grandma,

~Diana ❤