Horse for Tali?

Since Tali and I have been taking lessons Mark has become increasingly interested in the idea of the family going camping and taking our horses with us to go trail riding. There are a lot of great places to do that in Ohio and surrounding states. It would probably mean that we would have to get rid of some of our animals eventually, but that would be okay by me if we truly started to ride and enjoyed ourselves. With that in mind we have started looking for a horse for Tali for Christmas. Finn got a bunny last year, and now it is Tali's turn to indulge in her love of horses which hasn't dimmed by any means. At first I was thinking of a pony that she could brush, care for, and jump on at any time, but as I put more thought into it, and after talking to Jill I decided that a horse would be a better investment. Something big enough for her to grow into and that I could also get on and school if need be. And since we can't start buying horses left and right, getting a horse that Mark can also try out would be a good idea.

This week I found a black and white overo paint gelding in Chesterland. He is 17 years old, 15.1 hands and sounds perfect. He has been a trail and lesson horse, and he is beginner/kid and husband safe. Jill and I have been going back and forth with questions for his owner. I am hoping to go see him over the weekend. Oddly enough I have always wanted to add a black and white paint to my herd, so maybe its fate?

Ruby

Two nights in a row Ruby and I have made music. Great ride tonight. I'm sure Jill would be yelling at me to pull my legs back, put my heels down and change my diagonal, but when its just me and Rubes it is lovely. I just ride instead of worrying about all that other stuff. Why can't it be like that all of the time???

I forgot to mention that she stepped on my toe again yesterday. I screamed bloody murder and tried to push her off. 1200lbs of dead weight is mighty heavy.

Hit Neo with 4ccs of Durapen and Blue Kote. I'm not taking any chances with infection. I want him healthy for Lee. He looked like such a sorry little bugger this morning. Broke my heart. Still coming up for hugs and kisses despite a sore head though.

Weekend

Great weekend! Friday night we went to a tailgating party at FES. They had healthy snacks at the cars and physical games for the kids to play. A lot of fun and very relaxing. After dinner we headed to our first Firelands football game. It was very exciting, but there weren't any seats on the Firelands side so we sat on the enemies side. Next time we will get there early and grab a seat. I really want to hear and see the band in full force because they were awesome.

Saturday Tali and I had a lesson. I rode Quentin while Tali rode Cassie. This was my first time on Quentin and I really liked him. He is a thoroughbred so he was very lopey and long. I finally felt like I was making some progress. With Cassie I usually spend all of my time and energy fighting her and I am never able to just focus on what I am doing. With Quentin he did what I asked with no problems so I could get my bearings.

After our lesson we all went for a hike at Carlisle. There was a fun show so we watched that for awhile first. The kids found lots of buckeyes.

I spent the evening watching 911 footage and documentaries. Depressing, but I feel a necessary part of my year. Its the least I can do for those who lost their lives.

Today I got almost everything on my list done: Tali's letter snack, walked the dogs, rode Ruby, cleaned, laundry... Mark worked on the kid's projects with them and they turned out great. The only thing I didn't accomplish was making cheese. Soon.

Ruby and I had a great ride today. I was really starting to feel the groove. I'm hoping to get some more riding in this week while the weather holds.

Neo was dehorned on Friday. It was awful as usual. I made Mark stay with Dr. Matt while I fed the chickens and plugged my ears. His sinuses are still full of blood, but he is eating and drinking fine. Still coming up to me for petting. Uno is looking fantastic. He has gained all of his weight back and you can tell he is feeling good. Since Charlie is gone he is now head man on campus, which is funny since he was low man on the totem pole while Charlie was here. Now Neo is at the bottom. Goats are funny. Lee is picking Neo up on October 4th. I am hoping he will be well on his way back to normal. I still want to use him with Raisin, but only if he is well-healed.

Benchmark testing tomorrow. :(