Ponies and little girls

 Last week one of the ladies who is a coach and a friend from our CrossFit gym invited me out to visit with her and have lunch. She said the girls were excited for me to come out and see their pony.

The pony is supposedly only 20ish. The people that gave them the pony years ago gave him an estimated age back then. In my opinion, the pony is more closer to 30 than 20. However, he is a much loved animal by all the girls.

The oldest girl has dreams of becoming a barrel racer with a beautiful flaxen maned horse that would fly like the wind and carry her to victories. We all need our dreams.

We didn't have horses when I was a kid, but my Uncle and cousins did. Sometimes my sister and I spent overnights with my cousins and of course we played and rode the horses. 

We rode quite a bit at my Uncle's place. He raised and trained horses. During WWII he was in charge of mules and horses that transported equipment. His love and patience with all equine was amazing.

I'm on the left on Thunder, the cantankerous pony that was probably very misunderstood and very loved at the same time. My sister is on Charlie Brown, one of my Uncle's last horses that he raised before he died.

I think Thunder was a Shetland. We called him a "Sh-tland" pony because he always had tricks to play on his unsuspecting riders. The only rule we had was to stay on top. 

Of course this made me dream of having an incredibly beautiful horse with a long flowing mane and tail. Oh snap!

I ended up with mules, but what can I say? Riding them still makes me feel free and dreamy.

It really eases my mind and soul.

I want to be like these little girls and their pony...playing and dreaming without a worry in their heads.

Rain! Heat ...Stuck inside.

Maybe my heart is in creativity in all shapes and forms.

I am not talented in drawing or painting. However I can make excellent stick figures and cartoonish figures.

Cartoon I did for Mules and More Magazine years ago. See? I can draw a line!

I read some articles debating the use of AI Art and some other articles which discussed the positive uses for AI in doing graphic art and commercial art. 

I've experimented so far with two AI generators. NightCafe and wombo. Both are free, both can be done from your computer or your smartphone. 

These are the simple AI art things a person can do.

I like to delve even further into the realm of 'interesting-ness'. I admit. It can be ho-hum and sort of pretty in a strange way. But since I was stuck with evading the heat and humidity, I thought I'd dabble in another form of abstract art. 

I went on a Horse kick and got this:

I mean most of this looks pretty and abstract. So I decided to get creative.

I combined two 'creations' from a photo of my favorite box elder tree in the winter.

I typed in Tree Ents for one image and Tree Ents with cottages for the second image using the above tree as a base image.

I combined the two to create my own mystical Tree Cottage.

It looks like some strange house straight out of a story like the Hobbit.

I can see where an AI application like this could be used to create a book cover, an album cover, or even perhaps a poster. [Each of the sites do offer prints for a pretty nice price and offer a way to sell your artwork as an NFT.] 

I could see this as a book cover!

I really wanted to create something with a horse in it so I went over to Nightcafe and started experimenting.

This looked like freaky flying horses with red farts.

It was not something I wished to work with. The one below looked vaguely like Wrath Horses stuck in a Swamp of Sorrow. 

The one below involved the words: Horses, clouds, angels, wings, 

...and something strangely creepy, but it held my attention with a ... 

This IS It!

I wanted something more dark and strange.

This was the original.

Here is the final edit.

I stopped right here because this exemplified what I thought was the definition of 

a

Nightmare.

Okay, this is not for everyone at all. I mean it has a certain scary awful dystopian feel to it. It is dark and a bit frightening.

I like scary movies though and this really resonated with me. It was all created with just words and then run through Artificial Intelligence and a Neural Network.

Let's end on some happy and cheery doodles.

Steam Punk Flowers and Clouds

What the dashboard of creation looks like:

Tropical Beach Cheerful Lifeforms...
I don't see the life forms, but at least it is cheerful and in the rather fantastical and weird style of Kincaid paintings. The colors are pretty, but I don't see any beach!

History of Horses and Mules

For my friends with equines. I have a fun post. Show me memories!

I'm going to give a nod to Aurora for making me think about this. 

I started out riding and falling off as pure entertainment for my mom and her family. My uncle gave us rides his old horse Babe. To get two rides done at once we'd often ride double. After this shot was taken, my sister and I got to giggling so hard, I fell off and got stepped on in the mushy mud by Babe. I'm the one with the glasses. Yes, we could ride Babe in the pen with no bridle, she was that cool of a horse.

This was to be the first of many misadventures while spending time with my cousins in the summer. My uncle trained horses and had come from one of the last Calvary units in WWII. He was quiet and never raised his voice, but we knew he meant business when he got after us kids. MMMM. Like the time he made us wash the inside of his 3 stall mini barn after we'd blown up mice with firecrackers in the feed barrels and got into a manure fight.

I often got to ride one of Lyle's clients' horses. Very often there wasn't enough saddles to go around. If 4 of us went riding. Only 2 or 3 could have adult saddles. I often got a pad to ride on or went without.

If we went in a group, I'd generally get the shit little pony we all loved and hated. His name was Thunder. If you can see in the photo, Thunder has a snaffle tied to a leather strap and I have twine strings for reins. 

My cousins and us would head out at night after our parents headed out to the bars or to dance. We'd ride the back roads and look for trouble. Yeah. We found it often. We'd even saddle up and head to the dump where we'd shoot rats. No TV? No internet? No problem!

My uncle died. Our horse summers were over. But my wish to have my own horse never ever left my mind. Eventually I was able to get a horse. My first one was Red. An ugly headed red horse that was incredible. He was calm as a cucumber and powerful. He was supposed to be a quarter horse. Next was Cheyanne. I purchased her as green broke. I was green broke too. I had no idea what I was doing and had wished that I'd spent more time watching my uncle train horses.

There was Rocky who came to our place for retirement. An elderly Saddlebred who was trained and had been shown and... had been a lesson horse until the owner no longer wanted him. Nothing fazed him ever. Except leaving the property. Nope, to get past the property line you had to hand walk him sometimes backwards and then he seemed to be okay with it. I am sure I never became the horse person to understand all of his intricate cues and level of training. 

I'll skip through the next few years. I kept Chey, sold Red to my sister, gave Rocky away... divorced...met a man who had mules...married the mule man. Ceremony on mules. 

Mule man thought Cheyanne ought to be bred to a Jack. He also thought we should buy a Jack Donkey and that I should own and train ... and show a mule from said Donkey named Bruce.

Mind you, I was still STILL no trainer. And the Huge Lanky 3 year old mule was Green Broke. Those who owned him didn't like him much and didn't think he'd amount to much.

I'm going to skip the whole training thing. Basically because I am not a trainer. The equine train me and mules have taught me to be a partner in every sense of the word.

Badger. 15 hands. Here is with me waiting while I scour the hillside looking for Morel Mushrooms. Hubby had a custom saddle built for me. 

Nice saddle. Not my favorite as it is heavy and my shoulders sucked.

Badger at WildCat with Sunshine. I'm riding in my Simco with a britchen. Yeah, I swapped English leather for the western ones. My knees like it and I can swing my feet out of the way of stumps and brush in the woods. The britchen keeps the saddle from sliding forward. Mules generally do not have much in the way of withers. Back cinch and britchen or crupper keeps the saddle secure on downhill mule slides.

After the elbow surgery, I thought I'd go this way. Why not? This saddle was easy to put on and great for ridge riding. Sucked at hills. This is Siera. Badger was ill at this time and I was working with another mule that was training me.

Opal the hateful mule. She hated people. In the last few years her life, hubby turned her over to me. A mule who could not be caught, who was ear shy from the old methods of earing down, and who DID not trust humans...became my friend.

It took months and months for this to happen. And when we bonded? It was amazing. Hubby told me I'd never catch that Bitch. Opal was purchased by hubby specifically for team penning and gymkhana. It was a real Hate relationship. But she would preform under saddle.

I scored this Stonewall saddle all beat up and not all there. I called Stonewall and had them ship me the missing pieces. I'm going to say this is my absolute favorite saddle. Super duper lightweight and easy to ride in.

Don't read the link above on Opal if you don't have tissues handy. 
She was still with me and riding at 28 yrs young. And she was a speed mule, she could turn a barrel... and when a deer spooked her by actually springing out of a cornfield and running into us...

Opal did a 180 mid air spin and land at a gallop. She was an amazing athlete. Yeah, I think I nearly wet my pants, BUT I didn't lose the berry bucket!

In this photo, she is giving me her idea of waiting while I pick black berries in the woods.

There is Mica, who I still ride once in a while. She is a non comitted mule. She won't commit to a favorite human. They are just beings to serve her. If you are in the mood to groom? She is your friend. She is mostly retired now.

Photo below is at WildCat, a picnic break on the Yellow Trail I think.

There is Fred. He is 35 years old now. 

Our littlest mule. And most loved mule. 

Fred has probably the longest list of riders on him. 

And that leaves me with the last photos. Sunshine. The daughter of my first horse. Truly a beautiful red head. A good trail mule. A nice sized mule.

I've had her now longer than I've had Badger. We are getting there. 

I mean ... we absolutely are THE best of pals.

I was there when she was born.

What about Bob?

I had some very favorite animals here on our place.
All of them were quite loved.

But here is Bob.
Quiet and gentle Bob. Bob is 14 years old and the father of Sundance.

Sundance

As with any stud one should always be careful.
Bob stays because Bob is just...

Well.
Special.

I can handle him and take care of him. He has perfect manners.
I thought about gelding him, but the vet said it would be risky. So Bob doesn't leave. That is quite the commitment. Bob could be around for another 20 years easily.

I was asked recently why would we keep any of these animals? Fred is aged 30-something. He has been with my husband since he was 2 years old. Fred, that is...
Plus the grand kids have all learned to ride on Fred.

Siera. She is a fine gentle 12 yr old mule. She has a gentleness around children that makes me sigh. And my grand kids can ride her. Ariel rode Siera last year and they got along quite well.

Sunshine. Sunshine was born literally in my lap 17 years ago. My mare Cheyanne was having trouble and I went out to help her. She has matured gracefully and has become one of my best rides ever.

Mica. Mica is ride-able aged mule, but has some health issues. She will stay here until her health takes her away.

But Bob. Why on earth would you keep Bob? A Donkey Jack?

And I say. Why not?
Besides, Bob thinks I'm a good person.
He even gave me a cockeyed grin yesterday after his bath and grooming session.

Sold.

Well I advertised on the local board, I called a few numbers and left messages, and then we went to visit an Amish friend yesterday.

I had phone calls regarding the horses. One lady wanted me to train one for her husband who didn't know how to ride.
Well, I told her she should get a nice quiet well broke horse. She explained how hard they were to find and I told her I empathized but was keeping my well broke mules. She wished I'd sell her one. I thanked her but said "sorry".

Our Amish friend of more than 20+ years was definitely interested in the donkeys. He made an appointment with us to come out and look them over.

My cell phone rang while I was working in the garden. It was Lester the Amish fellow. He said he had to pick up a horse nearby could he come this evening? I said sure.

True to his word, he and a fellow with a large truck and trailer came down our driveway. Lester stepped out and greeted us. He looked over the donkeys and checked out their feet. Lester is a farrier and we used to haul our mules to him when we needed shoes. He also knows our current farrier Dan Tesar. He admired the donkey trim jobs and then looked at our mares.

He said he had jobs for the donkeys waiting for them. They would begin new careers in teaching calves to lead and colts to lead. Lester takes very good care of his animals.
His driver was rather unimpressed with our donkeys and said so.
Lester explained that a donkey was much safer to be around than a horse as he helped Emma into the trailer.
The driver shrugged and slapped Eddie across the rump when he wouldn't move. Lester stopped him.
"None of that, we don't slap donkeys." He stated. The two men clasped their hands and lifted Eddie forward.
The driver complained, "He's gonna kick the h-ll outta me!"
Lester laughed and said, "No, a horse would. This donkey just doesn't know we want to leave before dark!"
The driver laughed, "So donkeys are nice?"
Lester grinned, "Of course they are, a saddle horse will try to hurt you!"
"No kidding," said the driver, "my saddle horse tries to kill me all of the time!"

The cheerful banter kept up and my husband stood to the side watching. I know Rich says he can't keep up on rapid fire discussions. I could tell that he wanted to be a part of the banter as he normally would have...but couldn't.

Lester turned to me. "I'll take the mares," he said, "I can find homes for them."
He saw a look in my eyes.
"No slaughter, I promise. You can be assured they will be well taken care of."

The mares were loaded up. The door slammed shut.
Lester counted out the money and handed me the cash.
The driver hopped into the truck and proceeded to begin to turn the rig around.

Lester gave me a hug and said quietly, "Take care of him Val. He is a good man. I've known him for years. Things will work out."
He drew back and in a flash they were gone.

Rich stared at the now empty area. The quiet was so loud.

For Sale...Um...

The phone rang while I was visiting with my son and daughter in law.

"Hey this is Julie, you got them horses for sale?"
Me: "Yes I have 3 mares for sale."
"Okay, we'll be right out."

I woke up Rich from his nap and told him that Julie and her new 'Bo' were coming out to see the mares. He got up and we greeted them when they arrived.

Julie stepped out of the car. She wrinkled her face a bit and said hello to myself and Rich. She looked out at the winter paddock and said, "Where's your grass?"
I pointed to the yard and said, "There it is, just mowed it."

Her 'guy' got out of the van and walked around.
He looked around and said, "So which ones are the horses for sale?"
I pointed, "The red dun mare, the palomino mare, the blue roan mare."
"What do they do?" he asked.
Rich started to answer. "Well not much really." He began to search for words and looked uncomfortable.

I answered: "They eat and they poop. That is their specialty."

The man scuffed his boot on the driveway.
"Well," he said, "I can sell good quiet well broke geldings. I don't like mares too much. I have people looking for geldings."
He pointed to our three riding mules in their paddock.
"What do your mules do?"

"Everything they are asked to," I replied.
"I don't deal in mules much," he began.
"Those are not for sale," I said.
He ignored me and turned to Rich. "What about those mules?"

Rich smiled and tried to explain which mule was which and how the grand-kids and I rode them. He didn't get the idea that this guy was fishing for a price on them.

"They are not for sale." I stated. Rich smiled. I know that the conversation was hard on him and he wanted to be so much a part of it. He stood quietly. It was uncomfortable for a man who just weeks ago would have talked an arm and leg off from anyone.

The guy pointed to Lil' Richard. "What about him?"
"What about him." I was getting a bit cranky now.
"Does he ride?" he asked.
Rich piped in, "Yes my wife rides him to get the mail."
"For sale?" he asked.
"Not for sale," I replied. "He is a stud pony. He is also our weed wacker. He stays here until he dies."
Again the man deferred to my husband.
"For sale?"

Rich smiled and tried to explain that Lil' Richard had been here for years and used to be our teasing stud when we bred mares to donkeys.

The man leaned up against the van. He sighed.
"Well you have nothing here and I won't waste your time. I'm looking for well broke quiet geldings."

Rich smiled.
I smiled through gritted teeth. "Yep, I had said we had mares for sale and that is what we have, unless you are looking for some nice jennets or guard mules."

"Those mules..." he took a last stab at Sunshine, Fred, and Siera... "for sale?"
"Absolutely not." I replied.
He looked at me and then said, "Well you better get to training some horses, eh?"

I thought. And you best get in your vehicle and get out of here.

By this time I was sort of rubbed the wrong way.
I smiled nicely.
I did not bare my teeth.

Julie got her van keys out and jingled them.

The man turned and looked at me. "So you better get riding huh?"
His body language and tone of voice was Snarky.

Rich said as best as he could, "Well Val is sure busy, she is taking care of everything and me right now..."

They got in their van and Rich waved goodbye with a smile on his face.
I waved good riddance.

All this before I put the ad on the local ad board.
What kind of nutcases am I going to see?

My ad will read:
3 Mares for sale. Red Dun, Palomino, Blue Roan. They eat and they poop.
3 Jennets, one gelding Donkeys. Nice to be around. They eat and poop.
3 Mules for sale. Will keep coyotes off property. They eat and poop.
Serious inquires only.

Fifteen

I had a lot of other things to write about. One of those things of course was photography and my trip to the east coast of Wisconsin....

However as soon as I returned I was tossed into 12 hr night/day shifts and time got lost somewhere.

Hubby decided to go to an auction. He and I had discussed at length the prospect of getting a pony. I didn't want to go through raising a foal and training it again. I've done that so many times over the past um... well, I've had something 'in' training since I was 36.
We discussed the fact that the neighbor kids had expressed an interest in learning to ride. [The older grand kids learned last summer on Fred and he was so perfect.]

Fred the mule is our perfect teacher. He is pony sized and ultra patient. However he is also aged and even though he shows no ill health, being 30ish is sort of old.
He has given so many people their very first rides that I've lost count.


I wanted a horse pony since I was a little kid. Not the fancy Welsh pony or the Shetland kind. Just a small horse.
I am a small person.

I've also been going over the idea of getting back into 4H as a leader. I enjoyed it so much when my kids were in it. Having a pony/small horse would fit right in to my plans.

We did quite a bit of searching and found some nice pony sized horses. Nothing quite fit the bill. I wasn't looking for a fancy show pony but something I'd use as well as be able to teach with.

Hubby went to an Amish horse auction. I stayed home to recover from some 12 hr shifts and take a hike. I know Rich is very particular when looking at animals, I was pretty sure that he'd come home soon.

I went hiking and found some false morels as well as 3 small greys.

Rich came home and stated that he'd bought a pony and had his eye on another one.
I was surprised.

I went back with him and found #115. That was the sticker on her rear end.

When we got her home the neighbors came down for a look see. She stepped off the trailer and looked around. She quietly surveyed the area and all of the commotion from the honking donkeys to Little Richard's shrill whinney.
There was a new kid on the block and everyone had a voice in it.

"What are you going to call her?" Everyone asked, "What's her name?"
Well I'd thought about that.
I looked her over and ran my hand down her back. It stopped at the sticker.

"Her name is 115 or Fifteen for short." Rich nodded, he was used to me giving animals strange names.

And Fifteen has been home for two days now. She has shown us a very high degree of smarts. It takes a lot to impress a mule man.

Fifteen is doing just that.

I can't wait to work with her.

Welcome home Fifteen!

Thanks thanks...and thanks so much...

To my eldest son who came out to help for a day on the farm.

Oh yeah...I did find a two spots that need some chainsaw work...wonder why I never checked that fence?  I will do a line over those sections.  There is always a way to jury rig things so they work...right?

Here is son trimming along the fence line.  

Our supervisor, Teslin kept an eye on everyone.

Even hubby got in on the act, feeling well enough to come out and talk and even ride the mower for a bit.

After hubby went to take an afternoon nap, I decided to go check fences and walk with the camera.

It was nice just to wander a bit around the woods and pastures.
Even the 'girls' were excited to see me.

All I can say is that all the work that got done was such a relief.

And seeing hubby out and about was worth it...

So thank you Ed, your are amazing!

The Boss Mare & the herd mentality.

The photo is an old one of a much younger Peaches.  The video is also old.

Peaches came to our farm many years ago and settled into being the Boss Mare.
She was quite stunning with her Dunn color although she was a registered paint horse.

She was a quick turning, muscular and powerful animal.  She was a quick learner and incredibly smart.

Over the past two years we noticed a decline in her health.  Mostly is was due to age related issues.  Unfortunately a horse cannot live forever as much as we wish them to.

In the past few days I'd noticed her a bit more lack luster than usual and the other members of her herd were pushing her away. 

She'd quit eating and had started to lose weight rapidly.

In a wild herd, the sickly equine is pushed away from the rest of the herd.

Yesterday evening after taking a much needed nap [so many days of travel for hubby's illness and non stop juggling of doctor schedules and work had caught up with me], I went outside to take a walk in the woods.

Peaches was down.  Down on her side and weakly flaying with her legs.  I grabbed some ropes and tugged and pulled her into and upright position.
She tried several times to get up but couldn't.
I got out my stethoscope and listened to her heart, lungs, and respiration.

Her capillary refill was non existent.  Her respiration was rapid and shallow. Her heart fluttered irregularly.  

Peaches crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday evening.

She joins our herd of wonderful animals that have crossed before her.  She is probably chasing Badger and Cheyanne around.  Xena, I'm sure is barking and running with them.

Peaches, you will be missed.  You were the Boss.  
I wonder who will step up to take your place in the herd.

Man made or natural shelters for equine?

I was asked by another blogger that I follow, "Do your critters have no shelter in the winter?"

To understand some of why my animals are able to stay outside during all seasons is to understand the lay of our land.

We are an extremely hilly landscape.  If a wind blows from any direction, our animals can simply go into an area or the woods to escape the winds and have them blocked.

They have constant temperate water available to them by means of heated stock tanks.

They have nearly a constant source of roughage to keep them warm.

Plus they have the freedom to run and play and move to keep their body temperatures regulated.

You can find our animals comfortably taking naps during the winter in the sunlight or in the middle of a storm.

Of course any of the animals who may be frail or ill will get brought into the unheated open on one end...shed that we have so we can monitor their health closely.

Believe me, I used to think how could they be warm?  Really?  I am cold, how can they not be cold?

Here is one of our mules after a particularly cold wicked day.  I put my hands up next to his skin and found it to be wonderfully warm and cozy.

He was not shivering, he was not cold.  

Anyway, what equine do need in cold weather is freedom of movement, wind blocks, or in our case deep ravines and forests...good forage and plenty of it.  
During the coldest parts of winter they have forage access 24 hrs a day.

I do not blanket them.  It messes up their ability to deal with cold weather and flattens their coats.  But that said, I have no problem with people who do blanket their horses or equine.  Horses with health issues do need the extra protection.

A well insulated animal in a healthy condition will get along nicely without being stalled or blanketed. A nice layer of snow laying across the animal's back also provides an nice layer of insulation.

Keep in mind these critters are of all ages.  In the photos above there are some 20+ ladies running with younger animals.  They were playing and warming their bodies up after a very cold night.

Or were they just having fun?

And lastly, one of our most insulated animals on the farm.  Easy to keep wonderfully entertaining, Lil' Richard.  This was his rear end after feeding him the other morning.

When the sun came out he rolled and discarded the snow on his back as the other animals did.

Let me say in conclusion that I know that my sister stalls and blankets her horses and turns them out in the indoor arena.  But she lives in an area where there is no natural wind blocks.  Plus she uses the blankets to keep the hair flat and for faster shed out as show season starts early.

So in answer to the question, do my critters have no shelter?  They have available shelter in the form of hills and woods.  After all, the horse has lived without man made shelter for many years.

I hope this helps!

For interesting reading try this article: Thermoregulation in horses in a cold time of year...