Tag: Horses

No business like snow business

 Record snow fall these past few weeks – Connecticut hasn’t seen this much snow all at once in a hundred years.  It’s stunningly beautiful, and a royal pain in the a** too. We’re about to get clobbered with another Nor’Easter on Tuesday – and no one knows where they’ll put it.  Our country roads in some places are down to one lane, people entering and leaving driveways aren’t visible because the snow is banked so high – roofs are caving in… two horse barns in a nearby town had casualties after their barn roof collapsed, and I got a frantic call from another barn owner today – looking for people willing to climb on a barn roof because it was about to collapse and the heavy wet snow needed to be removed. Our previous home that is not yet sold  burst two pipes and my MIL’s roof is leaking. SO… husband & son and his crew have been on snow removal duty and house damage repair for five days now and I think most are sitting on their very last nerve.  Our good friend Tim has a new solar panel installed on his property – a brilliant idea!..but comes with a heavy price, quite literally, when there’s heavy snow fall.  TIM, are you still with us?….

So what have I been doing?  I’m taking pictures, cooking and eating too much, taking care of critters, stocking the woodpiles and whining just a little. Most of these pics were taken with my iphone today while out walking with Ben… some with a little touch up from picnik –

  We’ve seen some of the most amazing sunsets on the back hill…
Tonight I’m looking at this… 

  The natives are restless, time to go rustle up some grub.  Stay warm my Northern friends.

Barn Buddies

  When we moved to This Old House from The House We Used To Live In,  I gave up something big.  My barn.  For twenty years I have been taking care of our horses at home.  It’s a big change, not having them right outside the door and I do miss it.   What I don’t miss…. is all the work.  My neck is arthritic from  shoveling manure, chipping out ice buckets, tossing hay bales and shoveling snow away from doors in winter.

    I was lucky to find Opie a very good stable nearby that gives excellent care – great hay.. a timothy alfalfa mix – (any horse person knows really good hay is worth it’s weight in gold)  – and terrific turnout.  The horses have pastures and pasture mates.  We are near trails and the riding ring is huge and has wonderful footing.  The owner is very knowledgeable and lives on the premises.  The combination of all those things is surprisingly hard to come by, so I consider myself lucky.

  But I do miss seeing these faces every day. I miss hearing their greetings at feed time too.  There’s always a trade-off, isn’t there.

A World Champion..and I knew her when

This is a video of the young woman who just two days ago won the AQHA World  Show Amatuer Trail class in Oklahoma. For those of you who are not of the horsey set, this is like winning the Olympics!  Our little farms were side by side for many years and I am proud to say I KNEW HER WHEN!..

 Many years of blood, sweat and tears, heart ache and hard work went into this win. 

Congratulations SARAH and TUG!!!!!……..
A blast from the past:
On the left- Sarah on her first horse Maggie and sister Casey riding Missy
The girls had braided feathers in their horses manes for the family Christmas card.
No horses have ever been loved more,
 and no one I know has ever worked harder to achieve her goal.

New Shoes… and.. SNOW?

We’re not even upon Thanksgiving yet,
and the white stuff has made it’s debut.

Mike cut down the roses and perennials in the back yard this weekend,
 just in time, apparently.

 Ben doesn’t like the cold… after five minutes he’s had it, can you tell?
Opie got new shoes on this miserable slushy morning too…
I NEVER pay more than $100. for a really good pair of shoes for myself, and even that is rare.
Opie gets a fancy new set of shoes every six to eight weeks at $165. a clip.
Now you tell me, who’s the fool.

       Opie and Harley in rain gear…
 this is Opies “get out of my hay pile” face.
 
When the blacksmith arrives it takes about 45 minutes to remove the old shoes, assess the new growth, trim and file, refit new shoes shaped to Opie’s foot using hammer and anvil and sometimes a forge.
My blacksmith has a wonderful truck and trailer setup,
as organized as any type A person I know.
For this shoeing he decided to give Opie snow pads and pegs to help prevent slipping
 in weather such as we have today, and stop snow and ice from balling up in his hooves.
The top layer of rain gear had to come off so as not to soak the farrier.
aka blacksmith, horse shoer.  All terms apply, never sure which one to use.
Old shoes… Opie tends to grow long in the toe…

Pulling the old shoes…

Trimming and filing before re-shoeing.
fitting new shoes to the hoof.
If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can see the snow pad and pegs.

There are many sizes and shapes to a horses hoof.
You’ll find many sizes of horse shoe in a blacksmith’s supply rack.
The anvil, forge and hammers are used to shape them according to
the individual horses foot.
It’s a precise science, blacksmithing,  and it’s hard physical work.
There aren’t a lot of young people learning the trade these days
for those reasons.  I worry that someday it will be a dying art.
Sadly, I think it’s already on its way.

 New shoes, blurry shot. Opie did not like the flash. 

Air Line Rail Trail

  A few of us barn girls spent a glorious halloween afternoon riding along the Air Line Rail Trail.   For those of you who live in or around Connecticut, this is an awesome resource for biking, hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, walking, dog walking  and running.  Even young children can enjoy it, for the terrain is flat and easy to navigate. I will warn you that the high elevation of some of the bridges and portions of the trail system require caution, especially when you’re riding a 1000 lb. animal who might jump to the side if spooked.  My trusty steed behaved,  thank you to The Powers That Be.

Very Brief History of the Rail Trail –  Two of the most important cities in the United States in the mid-1800s were Boston and New York City.  To build a railroad on the straight line between the two cities, diagonally through Connecticut and Southeast Massachusetts, had long been a dream of various railroad investors and engineers. The “Air Line” route got its name from the idea that the railroad would follow a path as “if a line had been drawn through the air” between the two cities.

 The idea eventually took shape after much trial and tribulation, corruption and re-organization.  However..in the long run and moving forward a hundred years –  by the 1960’s there was flood damage to many of the bridges and it was no longer profitable to run certain sections of the rail trail. It slowly became defunct, although certain portions are still in use today.

Once certain parts of the line were abandoned, the state of Connecticut stepped in to oversee the property. The section of the Airline from East Hampton to Willimantic, from Willimantic to Putnam, and in Thompson were placed under the control of the Department of Environmental Protection. The state government in the 1980s began planning the 50 plus mile greenway corridor from Portland to Thompson which would become one of New England’s most treasured recreation paths.

 The information I posted here and the  complete history of the train service can be found on this site.

 My photos don’t do the trail justice, as I had only my iphone and the fear of falling off the side of the cliff should my horse decide to do the unthinkable.  Fear-based iphone pics generally suck.

The trail system all the way through is wide and clean … just amazing. 

Self portrait in shadow
 This is Paula and her horse of many years, Max.
I know what Paula needs for Christmas… those electric socks that keep feet warm.
It was indeed chilly enough to have frozen toes by the end of the ride.
An excellent link to find rail trails in your neck of the woods…
http://www.traillink.com/home.aspx

Lucky

   When I was young and daydreamed of keeping a pony in our tiny side yard ( our house backed up to a dead-end street-no backyard), I had a horse shoe.  It was given to me by my dads good friend who had a farm upstate.  That shoe was cherished. It was a touchstone…something a real horse had worn, something tangible I could hold in my hand, even in the shadow of the city. It was a bridge to a hopeful future filled with horses. 

   Turns out there have been more than a few horses in that future, and I’ve got a great little quarter horse sidekick now to plod along  autumn trails and dusty roads. To have been able to fulfill this dream, I consider myself lucky.

  And I still love horse shoes.  I’ve got an idea for a piece of artwork… and this is just the beginning.

Barn babies

 I went to the barn last night to tend to Opie’s wound…

(you’re welcome) ……
And this is what Opie thought of that…
So when I walked down into the darkened barn and flicked on the light… there were four scurrying creatures underfoot… four adorable baby skunks running for cover. They could fit in my hand.  I turned the light off again and stood still for a few minutes while they ventured back out, playing with each other like kittens.  The bravest started wrestling with another and then backed up to him with tail raised as if to say “back off,  or I’m gonna spray!!”  Really cute, until I realized I was just feet away and if he really WAS gonna spray, I wasn’t going home smelling like roses.  So I flicked the light back on and quickly took these pics with my iphone (sorry for bad image quality)….
I want one!
Three!.. poking their heads out of their current home the shavings pallets..

Blazing Saddles

  Baby, it’s hot outside.  Well it was yesterday.. .last night’s thunder and lightning storm dropped the temps about 20 degrees.  
  My daughter and I horsed around for a while and the ring felt like a dessert.  When we were done, Opie got a bath… as did we.  You can’t bathe a horse without wearing the water, soap and grime that accompanies it. 
Ben stayed indoors with his Teddy Bear most of the day. He’s still mad at me for taking away his manlyhood.  So are my husband and son… (not theirs, his!)   Men sure are sensitive about that particular subject.
 Lots happening at the old house, more later…