Scarlett's Vet Check: Good News for Future Grandchildren

There's this painting I have in my head. It's of a farm scene with lots of meadows outlined with trees and a little creek, or as some would say, "crick".  But having spent the first thirteen years of my life in a suburb of Chicago, I still say a "crick" is something you get in your neck when you're over forty and you are doing something easy, such as sleeping or taking a shower or applying mascara. Anyway, there is a creek in my painting. 

There are also horses, chickens, dogs, and a mild scattering of cats. If this painting sounds familiar to you, you probably guessed that I'm describing DewKist. You're right. Most of you know that as soon as I get an idea in my head, I have to turn it into a reality.

For about a year, I saw that there should be a mini horse here on the farm. I'm proud to report that I actually took my time with this; patience is not usually my best attribute, but I was waiting for a feeling, and no other mini horses gave me the feeling I wanted.

Until little Miss Scarlett came my way.

Anyway, you all know how she was rescued by another family who nursed her back to health...then I came along...now she's materialized from the painting in my head to a real live little horse. 

And here's the real reason for my post this morning: Scarlett had her first vet check. With my fingers crossed, I hoped that Scarlett was indeed as young as the family had estimated. The vet, who isn't a fan of mini horses due to their bad behavior, looked at little Scarlett hesitantly. 

"Be careful," I said, "you'll fall in love with her by the time you're done with her."

It didn't take long. Spring shots were given with little upset, and while the vet was holding Scarlett's tongue out of the way so her teeth could be seen, she (the vet, not Scarlett) started to talk baby talk to my little pride and joy. I knew she'd fall in love!

 
I waited for an age estimate, and the verdict came quickly. Scarlett still had baby teeth! She's most likely only five years old. 

How long do mini horses live, you ask? They live longer than their full-sized friends, sometimes up to  thirty-five years! This means my grandchildren can enjoy Scarlett too. You have no idea how happy it makes me to think about all the future memories to be made with her. Or maybe you do. In any case, there is no need for my own children to rush in giving me grandchildren. Scarlett will be around for a very long time.  

Hmmm....what's next in the painting? What would you like to see?
 
Sharon

Battle of the Screws: A Beautiful Tale of a Fixing and Bonding.....hahahaha!

"We're going outside to fix the gate to the chicken coop and the fence the horses broke," I told my youngest son. "And I'm bringing my iPhone with for taking pictures of our progress so I can write a blog about it."

Yep. That's what I told the boy who had slept in until almost noon. I suppose I could've woke him up hours before, but, every so often, a mother likes to have some extra peace in the house. Yesterday was one of those days. I ate breakfast ALONE. I sipped my coffee ALONE. I unsubscribed from unwanted emails ALONE, and I browsed through Pinterest ALONE. Ahhhh....the peace.

Now, it's not my fault that we headed out to work at the hottest part of the most humid day we've had so far. I mean, he could've been up earlier, right? But when we both walked outside, the blast of heat almost knocked us right back on our behinds (preferably on a couch in the wonderfully air-conditioned house).

I had told him to grab the power screw driver and fix the little white gate leading to the chicken coop, which, by the way, I'm pretty sure he is responsible for breaking in the first place. It was a simple task. All he needed to do was take out the four existing screws and screw them into a new location, since the wood had rotted around their current location. After hearing him make multiple runs from the workshop to the coop on his four-wheeler, and after hearing the sound of a hammer, I decided to check in with him.

"It's not gonna work," he said quickly. "We'll have to let Dad fix it."

If you're a parent, you'll recognize this as an excuse for a 12-year-old boy to get out of work.

"Why?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"The screws have nowhere to put the screwdriver. They have flat heads like a nail," he answered.

The third board from the left is now secure!

Determined to make this boy work, I walked over to check out this rare type of flat-headed screw. I had purchased this little gate at a wonderful local antique shop in town called The Junk Asylum, and it had been painted with a nice fresh coat of white paint. The screws had collected a fair amount of the paint, giving them the appearance of being filled in. So after a small amount of chiseling, the screw was exposed and we made the repair.

Next on our list was to repair the two boards the horses had broken. I assume this happened while they were all huddled together swatting at the excessive amount of flies that have recently taken over the acreage. In any case, we needed two 1x6 boards that were eight feet long.

Finding the boards was easy. I had my helper measure out the correct length.

"Measure twice," I told him. "Cut once."

Cutting them with the circular saw was easy too.

Carrying them to the barn was easy. (Well, my helper did have a small setback here as he claimed a board suddenly nailed his hip bone, causing him to drop to the ground. This may have been an attempt to rest.)

What was surprisingly difficult was identifying which screwdriver tip needed to be put into the drill. On those two measly boards, THREE different types of screws had been used. THREE! A few required a phillips; I can handle that. But suddenly, there are screws with squares and screws with stars? It was like a kindergarten matching game for adult carpenters! Can you imagine how long it took me to find the square and star attachments in just the right size? Ugh!

Just what is the purpose of this?

I'm clearly not ready for new shapes.

Two new boards and one new headache

By now, we were both sweaty and short-fused. The horses were trying to help us, and if we were really on task, the flies would bite our arms and legs, causing us to drop a screw or board. My son claimed he had allergies, and the grand vision I had of us happily working together to fix things had quickly turned into the reality that kids don't naturally want to work very hard.

I had to laugh at what my son said when I told him we were finished with our job.

"It actually was kinda fun fixing stuff," he said as he smiled and rode quickly away on his four-wheeler.

I suppose, in a way, it really was fun. :)

Sharon
P.S. Notice how there are no pictures of us working. There's a reason for that; we weren't really in the mood for photo ops. LOL

See you on Vine

Ok....does anyone out there have the Vine app on their iPhone? I love it!

It's so fun to create little videos of the farm happenings. Like the other night when we were playing a very rustic game of horseshoes in the barn....it's fun to have a way to share it with you all. :)

Just hover over the image below, be sure to click the volume button on the top left of the image so you can hear the sound, then click on the image.




Anyway, if you have a Vine account, I'd love to have you follow me at DewKistGirl so I can follow you back.

Meanwhile, enjoy the next clip I recorded during tonight's feeding time.

Searching for Used Saddles on eBay

Over the winter months, I spent some time searching for a new dressage saddle. Years ago, I had purchased a "synthetic leather" brand that just never felt right. Rather than feeling like I was sitting on a horse, I felt like I was sitting on plastic. So, it became my goal to look for a Stubben saddle.

My budget didn't allow for a new Stubben, but eBay was full of used ones ranging from very worn to gently used condition. The price range varied too, from $400 all the way to $1300. Because I had already measured my horses for the correct size, I was certain that what I was looking for was a Stubben Tristan 17.5" dressage saddle with a 32 cm tree.

After a few minutes of looking, it became clear that photographs made it very difficult to determine the condition of a saddle. By the end of the night, I felt comfortable about one in particular and purchased it. At the exact moment I completed the purchase, I worried that I had taken too great a risk.

But all was well. The saddle arrived at the post office in just a few days, and the fit was just what I had hoped for the horses.

Interestingly enough, I called Stubben with the serial number of this particular saddle in hopes of discovering its age. The Stubben representative quickly contacted me with the news that it was over nineteen years old. The previous owner must have taken great care of it, as it looks like its only a few years old. 

I took some time last weekend to clean up all the tack in the barn. With country music on the radio and my favorite leather conditioner in hand, it made for a very nice day. 

Don't be too leery of purchasing a used saddle online. As long as you do adequate research on what you need and take measurements of your horse(s), the purchase should be a good one.

Sharon

More Sugar. Less Sugar

It was warm.

Now it's cold.

Mother Nature appears to be menopausal this spring.

But for the few days of heaven that we experienced less than one week ago, I was able to work with the horses. I feel bad because I seem to only photograph my own horses, and I rarely photograph my son's horse, Sugar.

Truth is...

She's obese.

So I seem to take pictures of my fit horses. Shame on me. :(

The good news is that we've been working with Sugar for a couple of months now. She's on a diet and exercise program.

Here's the transformation. Pay special attention to her belly.

Before

More Sugar

I find it funny that in the picture above, Sugar is eating. Then, in the picture below, she's exercising. We could all learn something from this. :)

After

Less Sugar

I'll try to take pictures of Sugar a little more often. She really does like the attention, and she'll make a great halter horse for the show ring.  I've bonded with her over these past few months, but you'll never see me riding her. You see, Sugar only allows men to steer her from above. She's put me in my place. Apparently, my place is on the ground. 

More pictures of Sugar to come.

Sharon

How Many Women Does it Take...

By the time Friday hit, I was asking myself what project I was going to work on this weekend. Planting the strawberries was out of the question. It was too windy to have my face two feet from the dirt. Aside from the wind, the temperature was quite nice. By Saturday morning, I knew what the plan was. It was time to stop talking about a corral and actually get one.

I had already done research on what type of corral was best for my equine needs. The corral was to be 60' in diameter to insure the natural arc of the horse's back while he was working. I also wanted the corral to be easy to move should I change my mind as to where it ought to be. Having calculated that it would take fifteen 12' panels and one pass-through gate to make a 60' pen, I texted my BGFF (Best Girl Friend Forever) and made plans to head to the local farm supply store.

Two trips later (after loading and unloading a snowmobile trailer full of steel panels), my friend and I stared at the job of the day. Just so you know, I enticed her to help by promising her a glass or two of "Cupcake" malbec wine. She didn't argue.

So there we were, sipping wine, swatting gnats, and erecting a corral. Thanks to the advice from her husband that we would be doing ourselves a favor if we placed a stake in the center of our site and tied a 30' string to it to make our circle template, the rest of the project went well. (Even if her hubby did whisk her away for dinner, leaving me to finish the job with my own hubby.)

And here it is....

It's the most level spot I could find, and I like that it's close to the indoor arena. It's also close to the pump house, where the horses get their baths. You can see the pump house on the left of the picture below. It houses the irrigation system from when the place was a strawberry farm.

It's just amazing what two talented gals can do on a single Saturday. I'm hoping she'll ask me to help her with her corral when she's ready to get one. I'm also hoping for wine!

A Letter of Apology to my Horses

Dear Jasper, Aspen, Sugar, and Letty,

I would like to express my sincere apology for what happened yesterday. Now, I know that in the past I have called all of you fat, especially the mares. And Aspen, I've made some unkind remarks about the size of your hind end. I'm certain you aren't laughing when I refer to you by only the first syllable of your name. And I know that you didn't appreciate it when I talked to that lady about your eating habits, especially when she suggested I leave the gate to the hay feeder open for twelve hours and shut for the other twelve hours. I really do have your health and happiness in mind. That's precisely why I made a point to open the feeder gate on Sunday morning.

What I didn't count on is Mr. Larson closing it back up late Sunday evening. As I went about my Monday routine (housework, life coaching, hair appointment, etc.), I assumed the gate was still open. I mean, honestly, when has my hubby EVER remembered to do ANYTHING I say anyway, right? I guess this was the one time he listened, and there you all sat for a loooong twenty-four hours with no food.

When I went out to feed the chickens earlier in the day, I thought the reason you were whinnying at me was just that you were happy to see me. I thought maybe all the extra work I had been doing with you was deepening the bonds we shared. I smiled at you all and pet your noses, oblivious to the fact that you were starving. My bad.

So, I am truly sorry for not noticing what was going on. I have discussed this matter with Mr. Larson, asking him to inform me of any more out-of-character moves he makes regarding your care. He sends his apologies as well.

There will be no compensation for this unfortunate event. No, I will not double your amount of hay today. Nor will I add any grain to your buckets. Just consider this a jump start on your weight management. You'll thank me later.

I ask that you don't find a way to punish me for this misunderstanding. There will be no foul attitudes, bucking a rider off, or nipping my shoulder as I walk past you. Any such behaviors will only lead to negativity on the farm, and negativity is PROHIBITED!

I look forward to more moments together. Most of all, I look forward to the svelte physiques of you all.

Warmly,
Sharon

From left to right - Jasper, Aspen, Letty, Sugar.
Notice how Aspen is showing you his best side.