Auction

It was cold and rainy today and I just didn't feel like mucking around out at the barn. Instead, I headed to a western collectors auction down in Salem, Oregon. I am a person that loves garage sales and a good auction now and then. This particular one had a bunch of saddles, tack, old rodeo stuff, and harnesses. So I dragged myself out of bed early and headed down. I really enjoyed looking at all the stuff. Had I been a richer person, there was this beautiful saddle made in 1835 that had been in a museum until 1985 when this guy bought it. It was so gorgeous and I have never seen anything like it. It sold for $600 which seemed like a great bargain. It was really hard not to hold up my bidding number. The saddle was beautiful art, so someone went home very happy today. They had really cool old military and packing saddles. I bought some spurs. I don't need or use spurs, but I thought $20 was a good buy and they will make a nice addition to my editing area which is full of horse stuff. I also sprung for a really cool old saddle tree for $10. I thought it might look cool hanging on the wall. So I spent $30 and had a really fun morning. I sat next to an old cowboy who like me was just there to take it all in and see some really neat things from a different time.

Maddy's Sire

When I was down in Yreka, CA a couple months ago, I took some video of Maddy's sire, Smoken Now. I just finished a little promo piece of him to give to his own, Laura Maddy of the Rockin Maddy Ranch. I think he is just a beautiful stud and has such a fun personality. I feel fortunate to have one of his babies. Thank you Laura.

Blog Tag--I am it!

Sabrina over at EquineSpirit tagged me!

My list of demands if I were a famous rider.....

1. The best of facilities. Nike footing in a beautiful outdoor arena. Swimming pool for the horses to help with tired legs or injuries. Big stalls and gorgeous pastures.

2. A wide variety of horses to ride and challenge me.

3. Surrounded by a great horse family. Great grooms, barn techs, vets , and trainers.

4. My own show on RFD.

5. My own personal videographer and photographer to document progress and rides.

6. A Brenderup horse trailer.

7. Lots of travel around the country so I can ride in ever imaginable place horse people would want to ride.

Ride a Breyer

Anne over at Smells Horsey has a wonderful post about riding a Breyer horse. She has a goal that at some point in her life, she wanted to ride a horse that was a real life model for the toy. How cool is that? I grew up collecting Breyers and was really obsessed as a kid. I think I have well over 400 and my mom has them packed away and insured. Someday, I will ship them to Oregon and have a room with all of them displayed. I currently have about 20 here that I have picked up at garage sales. My little herd. They make me happy just to looking at them. I remember pouring over those Breyer catalogs and very carefully picking out the ones I wanted for Christmas, Birthday, and my "Summer Prize." My mom gave my brother and I a "summer prize" if we helped her with things around the house when school was out. It is amazing how much dreaming went in to picking that prize. Anyway back to Anne. Her post got me thinking...maybe I should look for an opportunity to ride a Breyer. It just so happens that IDEAL is right in my backyard. Don't know how willing the people over at Ulimate Piaffe would feel out this wish, but couldn't hurt to ask. Great idea Anne--can't wait to hear about your Breyer ride. I am dying to know which model you will take for a spin!

Antsy

Maddy is starting to get bored in her stall. I think for awhile, it was a sanctuary for her, but I really see a shift in her behavior. She is burning through her hay and when she is out, she starts to paw the ground and gets agitated. Of course she is pawing with her fractured foot, which drives me crazy! I ordered two hay nets and am going to double bag it so it takes her longer to eat. I bought her a jolly ball and she is not really interested in it. I thought about a stall treat toy, but she would eat the whole thing in one day and probably make herself sick. She is at 5 weeks of stall rest, so we still have a long way to go. I worked with Queenie today on the ground.
I have my first riding lesson with her on Friday. She is green broke and her owner started Parelli with her about 4 months ago. I worked with her on the seven games and she does pretty well. She still is a little reactive to big movement and the rope being tossed over her back, but she looks just beautiful on the lunge line. Queeine is the lovely paint draft cross in the photo. I think she is three, almost four. Her owner, Robyn, brought her all the way to Portland from Wisconsin. So I try to say "you know" and "you betcha" around her to make her feel at home:-)

Barn Party

Maddy is so depressed about her coffin bone fracture, she has taken to drinking as you can see by these photos:-) No really, the barn threw a little party on Saturday night. They had plenty to drink and a big spread. Even a pretty decent band. Lots of people set up tents and just spent the weekend there. It was a lot of fun. The whole thing was set up in the arena. All the horses were outside except for Maddy, so she got to rock out in her stall and get all the attention from the party goers. I take her out into the grooming area every Monday to remove her plate and just check her foot. I don't do it in her stall for fear of loosing bolts in the shavings. She is doing pretty good. I have been working a lot with her ears. When I first got her, she was pretty crazy when it came to touching her ears. She is finally letting me scratch inside them. I play with them for about 10 minutes every time I am out there.
Been doing some other stuff, it sounds weird, but playing with her tongue and mouth. Like pulling it out to the side in case a vet ever has to do that. Just trying to keep things interesting. I am working on trying to secure a paint brush in a thick plastic, non-breakable tube, so we can start painting. I think if I fill the hollow with applesauce, she will move it more. I am getting closer to figuring out what will give us the best results.

The "Contraption"

This is what Maddy's foot looks like these days. Basically there is a plate over top a round shoe that has a mold of her foot inside. I have to take the plate off twice a week and pull out her foot mold. I check for thrush and make sure everything looks and "smells" ok. There are four bolts on the bottom of the plate which seems a bit strange, but she is standing in a matted stall and they don't seem to be a problem. My farrier, Andrew Maris, has fixed 18 broken coffin bone wings with success and this is his method. I have to put a little faith in her healers. Of course, I have my dad contradicting everything I am doing. He thinks I should be taking her for walks and that I should allow her out in her run. He doesn't like the idea of the foot plate and just wants me to keep a bar shoe on her foot. Both ways would probably work, but the route I am going is recommended by the former vet of the US Equestrian Team,
so I can't help but trust him. This last picture is a picture of her foot mold. It is purple from the Thrush Buster. I just pop it out and check her foot and pop it back it. So far, so good. We are almost at one month of stall rest. I better get going on teaching her how to paint!