Scared Horse

I had an iinteresting night at the barn tonight. I went over a little early as I went to the grain store, and much to Louie's approval, did buy more hay stretcher. I had considered not feeding it anymore as they don't really need it but they really love it so........... Anyway, I just took my time filling buckets and such then brought everyone in at 4:00. Their bucket out in the pasture was empty tonight and Louie was very thirsty when he came in. Their bucket was not tipped over but it's very possible they did tipped it over and then playing around with it got it upright again. So, I don't know but they also might need more water put out during the day since they are munching hay all day now having the round bale. We'll just have to monitor this to see.


I decide to ride Louie tonight so after they ate, I put Louie on the cross ties, bush and saddle him up and just about the time I'm ready to take him into the arena Bart come over and asks me if I would mind waiting for a while to ride Louie. The woman who's horse is terrified of the mules is just getting ready to ride and the horse was already upset and hadn't even seen a mule yet. So, I switch plans and decided to ride Marie first, then when the other woman was done, I'd ride Louie. Well, I might just as well have brought Louie into the arena as that horse NEVER calmed down one bit. For about 30 minutes the woman stood holding her horses reins while he spun, danced, jumped around, kicked, snorted and blew. She never even came close to getting on him. There was one other woman riding and her horse kind of fed off that and he bolted out of control once and made a few circuits around the arena about 100mph. Geesh! The rider stayed very calm and quickly had her horse under control.  And I have to say that even though I had Marie out, neither mule was calling for her (much to my surprise) so they were NOT adding to the problems. Marie was fine and I, at least, had a nice ride. Finally the woman with the scared horse gave up as he started just dragging her around the arena and she put him away.

I then put Marie away and was getting ready to get Louie back out when my husband calls me. Fred, "Hey, aren't we supposed to go to your mothers house tonight?". Me, "No, that's Friday night." Silence on the other end. Me, with horror, "Oh, it IS Friday night isn't is......". DUH! So, rush home, clean up and head to moms as we were opening gifts with the family with mom tonight as she was so sick on Christmas.

The Big Green Monster Again...

From Tracy who took care of the equines this morning:  (Silly boys.....)

So, this morning we (Eric and I) fed the grain then went outside to roll the roundbale.  It went down and into place smoothly so we came back up to bring Prize out.  Well, wouldn't you know he was totally UNGLUED.  I'm talking spinning in his stall, snorting and being a complete DORK.  So, we go in to calm him down and get his halter on.  Luckily, he takes his reprimands to heart and gets much quieter for us.  Leads out like a dream with just a bit of sticky feet... while he is staring intently at the round bale in its new location.  A few words of encouragement from Eric and he goes in quietly.  Then off to Louie.  He picked up on Prize's dorkiness and spins a few times.  Then he tries the "bolt from the stall" but the door was only open six inches and he gave up.  Quiet as a mouse after that and led out beautifully.  Absolutely no fear of the roundbale and he was the first to go down and start snacking  on breakfast.  He definitely picked up on Prize's nervousness and then realized there was nothing to be upset about.  We figure Prize saw us out the window rolling that big scary thing into "his" paddock and was upset about it.  Once he was outside he was fine.  Mules.  Geez.

The Big Green Monster

My truck has been a bit fussy about running lately. Though once it gets going it usually runs fine but........ So, I asked my husband if he would clean off the battery terminals just to rule that out as a problem first. Well, it is nearly impossible sometimes to get the hood of my truck open. My husbands van is just the same way, both are GMC's.........Grumble, grumble. And sure enough, we could NOT, even between us, get the stupid hood to open. But, the truck was running so I headed over to pick up a round bale from a nearby farm. About half way there, the stupid hood pops!!! Well, that was fine as the safety latch kept it from coming up. I got to the farm, got the round bale loaded into the truck and the farm owner notices the hood is popped and goes to shut it!! NOOOOOOO!! I headed back to the house and we then cleaned off the battery terminals. Now I'm just hoping this is what the problem has been. Though I have a sneaky suspicion that the problem might be the alternator.

I had run out of hay stretcher pellets so I headed to the grain store to pick some up, only to find they were out of of them at the store. Dang! They told me a delivery will be coming tomorrow afternoon. The hay stretcher pellets are certainly not vital to my equines diet (though they would tell you different) so I'll just go back tomorrow. From the grain store I went on to Upper Pond Stable. I backed my truck down just a little way to the boys turnout. I didn't go too far as it is downhill on grass and it was 50 degrees today and mud everywhere. I figured I'd just unload the bale where it was not muddy. Rolling the bale out of the truck bed was an activity that was of great interest to all equines in sight. I rolled the bale down near the gate but was not even remotely interested in rolling it into the turnout with all the mud there is right now in the front half of it. It is supposed to get very cold overnight so the morning will be a better time to roll the bale out into the turnout as the ground will be frozen. I then went in to the barn to take a look at the Bale Buddy that Tracy had brought over for us to use. I brought it outside, turned it inside out to shake out the old hay and decided to see if I could get it on the bale by myself. Much to my surprise, I got it on the bale with no trouble at all. I noticed a few taped up holes in the Bale Buddy. I later found out if was from the first time Tracy used it and Prize decided he didn't want to share the hay and dragged the whole new bale across the pasture putting holes in it as he went. Silly mule! Of course the whole putting on of the big green Bale Buddy (aka: mule eating monster) near the gate freaked Louie right out and he and Prize took off to the back of the turnout. Once done with the bale, it was still a bit too early to bring the horse and mules in for the night so I decided to get Louie and work with him in the indoor arena.
He was no trouble to catch, though I did have to go get him as he did not want to come near the gate. The trouble was leading him to, and then through, the gate with the big green scary mule eating monster near by............. the problem being compounded by Prize, who was not in the least bit worried about the big green monster and was more than eager to come out. So then ensued a delicate dance of trying to scare Prize away without causing further anxiety to an already nervous Louie........... Finally, Louie screwed up his courage and shot through the gate taking a hard left towards the little pond. I had been smart enough to put the chain on him so he did not get away.....for once...... But, Now I'm trying to quickly get the gate back up while holding a very bug eyed, snorting Louie on the end of a taut lead line causing me to be just a few inches short of being able to reach the gate hooks.  I did manage it eventually without losing hold of Louie or letting Prize get out. Someone really should mount a video camera out there.  I then spent a few minutes getting Louie to take a look at the big green monster. It didn't take long to get him to walk right up to it and even grab a bite of hay out of it. I didn't end up doing much with Louie. He was on high alert tonight and with the wind blowing and making so much noise in the arena, I just stuck to easy and familiar things. We did some free lunging and then a bit of ground work. I brought Prize in last tonight. He is not used to being last and did not like it. But, though he was not happy about it, he was a perfect gentlemen to lead in. GOOD BOY! I even practiced some stopping, backing and turning and he was wonderful.

Ouch!

A few evenings ago at feeding time, I went over to Upper Pond Stable to take care of the equines and as usual, brought Marie in first. I then headed down to get the boys. I grabbed both of their halters, unhooked the bottom strand of the gate, went into the pasture, and hooked it back up and proceeded to put on Prize's halter. I dropped the halter, bent down to pick it up it was then that apparently someone snuck up behind me and kicked me hard in the darriere..............I jumped up, yelping and flailing both halters, whipped around to see who had kicked me and upon seeing no one there realize that I had forgotten to turn off the electric fence and when I bent over to pick up the halter, I managed to stick my darriere on the wire. I will report that the fence is in full working order as it honestly felt like someone had kicked me HARD!!!!! OWWWWW! Of course, with all my crazy behavior, both mule boys immediately left my vicinity and wanted no part of coming anywhere near me as obviously there was something wrong with me and they just didn't know what it was. After a few minutes, I was finally able to catch Louie but Prize was not convinced it was safe to let me near him so I decided to just bring Louie up to the barn first and come back for Prize. Now the fence was still on but I most stupidly thought I could get Louie out of the pasture anyway. HA! Well, I did get him out....... I led him to the gate, dropped the wires which, of course, started snapping when they hit the ground and that was a deal breaker for an already suspicious, worried mule. Louie shot through the gate and kept right on going......without me..... This upset Prize and he started running the fence line. But he still was not coming near me or the gate so didn't cause any problem. I put the gate back up and headed off after Louie. By some fortune, Louie went down along the side of the barn, then spotted MaryJo's horses out in the back field and trotted right into the outdoor arena. I scurried over and shut the gate and just left him in there to run it off. I then went and caught Prize who, though still not convinced it was safe to be near me, was now willing to take his chances. He led up to the barn just fine though he did keep a wary eye on me. I then went and got Louie who was more then ready at that point to come with me. So, once again, good mules, bad mule handler.

Louie and Easter Goat

Tracy found a coyote den near the boy's turnout. That would be what has kept them so alert and on guard lately.  Ms. Easter goat better watch herself..... speaking of, I had Louie on the cross ties this evening and Easter was hanging out in the barn aisle. She came up in front of Louie, rears up and butts Louie right in the head. (his head was down as he was sniffing at her) Poor Louie didn't know what to do and I had to run interference as she went for a second butt! She is some lucky that Louie is so tolerant of other animals. I was sure he would strike out with his front feet just out of self defence. I hope she never tries that with Prize as he will likely squash her!


Getting the boys out of their turnout today was quite interesting. It was cold today and had been raining. So, it was a solid sheet of ice right there at the gate especially on the gate handle side. I could NOT walk into the turnout there. After some thought, I came up with an idea that I was sure would go awry, and in a big way but wasn't sure what else to do. Soooooo, I went down the fence line and climbed through the fence. The boys followed me thankfully. I put their halters on, tossed lead ropes over their necks and then I climbed back out and went to the gate. The boys followed me back. I got as close as I could to the gate, reached over, got the lines unhooked, tossed them out of the way and just quickly backed up onto better footing praying I'd be able to grab both boys as they came by me. By some stroke of fortune, this actually worked! Though it was so slippery, the boys were not thinking about running off or escaping, they were too busy just trying to stay on their feet.

I had planned to ride but as soon as I got Louie in his stall, he rolled and the shaving all stuck to his wet coat. Now that was not really a problem but then I took him out into the arena and lunged him and he rolled out there and was just covered with arena sand. I tried to brush him off but only seemed to be driving the sand into his coat. So, we just did some fetching (much to Bart's delight), bowing and lunging. We worked on backing and sidepassing. At one point as I was lunging, Louie kept spinning and facing me, bug eyed and blowing. That's when I realized that the cat was chasing the end of my lunge line! Once Louie figured out it was just the cat, he wanted to play so I was dragging the lunge line across the arena, the cat was chasing the lunge line and Louie was following the cat with his nose on it's butt. Where is a video camera when you need it! LOL

Restful Rainy Day

Today was a quiet rainy day. The rain came with mixed blessings. The bad is there was no working on the barn in the rain. The good was that no work on the barn meant I could actually get a reasonable amount of sleep. The 2nd floor rafters are all up. Fred got the siding on the front and the door hung. Our neighbor Mark has come over a couple times to help Fred out and his help is so much appreciated. And another blessing of the rain is that it is December and it was not snow!!! Yeah! It was quite warm today being near 50 degrees.

The other blessing is since I got a normal amount of sleep, I was able to play with Louie in the indoor arena today. when I got to the barn Marie made it very clear she wanted to come into the barn NOW IF NOT SOONER!!!  She's had enough of standing out in the rain. They boys didn't seem to care and were out bopping around in the pasture. I brought Marie in then when I got to their pasture, I had to call them up. They came right away. So far Prize has always been the first up and insists to be the first one haltered. But today Louie came up and held his ground and didn't let Prize butt him out. Prize like to lock up his feet on the way up to the barn for whatever reason. Never for long though but it has caused us to go off course as Louie continues walking along. Today I worked on making Louie pay more attention to me as I know if I stop, he should too. So, when Prize would lock, I'd stop and when Louie continued I'd give him a little snap with the lead rope and pull him back into position beside me. Then I'd get Prize going again. If Louie started to walk off before I got Prize moving, I'd correct him again. Louie did pretty good and only required mild corrections. He did seem a bit out of sorts though today. There have been a couple days now when I've brought him in that he seemed to be in a bad mood. He's not taking it out on me but just not his usual cheerful, loving self. But, he seemed very happy to go work in the arena with me. I just lunged him a bit and he was very good. I had him do some side passing and backing. Then had him fetch my lunge whip for me. Bart thought that was real cute. Marie screamed her head off the while time I was working with Louie. To his credit, he didn't pay any attention to her at all. He seemed to be in a much better mood when I put him back in his stall.

Once again, Naughty Louie!!!

Well, he really wasn't that bad today. But,  how is it that an animal can make you just want to kill one them minute to making your heart burst with love for them all in the space of just an hour or so. This is part of the joy of owning a mule. A young male mule in particular. And I am really getting tired of providing the barn owner, Bart,  with so much entertainment. It's getting embarrassing. Both of the mule boys really need to get over their infatuation with Marie. 


I had some time to myself for once this morning so I decided I'd work with Louie. After feeding, I put Marie out and then led the boys out to their pasture together. Prize is being SOOO good about not playing with Louie when I'm handling them now. I just have to speak to him if he's thinking about it and he stops right away. He did do the feet locking thing as we were passing Marie's paddock but that was a minor glitch. And I turned Louie out because, though I was planning to work him,  I wanted to go to the feed store before riding and didn't want to leave him in his stall. That would have been a sure why to put him in a stressed out frame of mind.  

When I got back  from the feed store, I went and got Louie. That was a bit of a chore as Prize did NOT want to be left behind. But, it was not too bad either. I did scurry up to the barn pretty quick so I could get the fence turned back on. Louie scurried right on up with me with no resistance at all. I led him into the barn and was almost up to the cross ties by Marie's stall when Marie whinnied and that was the end of all civilized behavior. Here's what I learned today. If your mule looks calm and sweet, don't believe it, put the chain on him. If you even think you might need to pee........do it before handling a young male mule......... Louie spun around and out of the barn he went. I didn't let go of the lead rope and it was a definite case of "dope on a rope". By the time we reached the barn door, I was pretty sure that if I did not let go of Louie I was definitely going to pee my pants. I decided I'd rather pee my pants then let him if Louie. Just so you know, I didn't let go of Louie's lead rope nor, by some miracle, did I pee my pants. Once out to Marie, he stopped, I then put the chain on and we went back into the barn. Of course Bart and Karen had heard the commotion so had hurried over for front row seats.......ok, they really came over to make sure everything was ok and lend a hand if needed. They have both been so good about everything and seem to also have a good understanding and appreciation for mules. 

In hind sight, I really think what I should have done, especially since I had the time, is to have stayed right out there with Marie but worked Louie good and hard right there in front of her pasture. Lunging, bending, backing etc. THEN bring him back in the barn and if he made any attempt again to try to go out, let him go out but work him hard again when he got to Marie. And repeat until he decided that being with Marie is maybe not such a great idea. 

But, I didn't do that as it didn't occur to me at that moment. I just brought him back into the barn and made him stand, Once he was standing quietly I put him on the cross ties. I did close the back door in case he got the notion to break off the cross ties. He's never done that before, but then, he's never dragged me out of a barn before either. But, once he was on the cross ties, his brain seemed to engage once again and he was really very quiet. Sierra, the girl that is riding Marie, and her mom were there cleaning stalls so they opened the back door again empty wheelbarrows, and Marie was out there calling her head off but Louie was fine. I lunged him before riding and he was very quiet so I did ride him and he was just as good as gold. Could not have asked for a better boy. Sigh....... He was a perfect gentleman while I untacked him and stood quietly on the cross ties while I put my tack away. I then led him in and out of the barn a couple of times but once again, no fuss at all. 

Putting him back into the pasture was a little tricky as Prize was so excited his buddy was back.  But it wasn't that difficult either and was managed without incident. 

Naughty Louie!!

Bad Louie! I really hate when they get so attached to another equine that they just lose their brains over it. And it's not an easy thing to cure. Well, I don't think you ever cure it as it's in their nature to be with their herd. Marie used to be very bad about this also. But, with time she has learned to deal with it and not lose her head. So, Maybe by the time Louie is 20 years old, he too will be able to deal with this a bit better......... Never a dull moment with these mule BOYS! 

We arrived around 4 pm at dusk.  I could see Marie was anxious to come in but we chose the boys first.  All was well until I got Louie most of the way into his stall and then Marie started calling out.  Woops, that was the deal breaker for Louie and he barreled out of the stall and just booked it.  I started loosing my grip on the line and Eric grabbed him but he was in freight train mode and wouldn't be stopped.  He ran around the back and cruised between Marie and the manure pile.  Eric ran to get Marie to lure him in and Karen and Bart helped corner him.  My fault for letting him go as I had forgotten your advice to use the chain over his nose so once he was caught the chain went on.  Led him in behind Marie and once her stall door was closed she started called him again.  This time he booked it into the indoor but I was able to hang on and Bart helped get him back to our aisle.  At this point he led in to his stall easily since Marie was quiet.  Phew.  So sorry!  I should have had the chain on at the beginning. Should I have brought Marie in first?  It was her trotting and calling that caused him to get back to her asap.

Anyway, all are fine and were happy to get out of the drizzle. Sorry this report was about mule naughtyness.

Let the Walls Rise...

Since the boys, Prize and Louie, have been so good about being led in together at night, I got the bright idea to lead them out together this morning. And, this might have worked out just fine if the mule handler wasn't such a clutz..... I put Prize's halter on and them got Louie. I led him out of his stall and asked him to whoa and stand in the aisle while I snapped the lead rope on Prize. Well, that was fine and I gave Prize's stall door a shove to open it up, turned and started out of the barn. Well, Prize's door had not slid open all the way and he banged into it coming out. No harm done to either Prize or the door but still I felt bad. Anyway, as soon as I stepped out of the barn, I dropped Louie's lead line. Their pasture is left of the barn and of course Louie walks off to the right. Thankfully he did not really seem to realize he was no longer attached to me but he walked off quite fast so there I was trailing behind him trying not to rush toward him or in any way indicate to him that we were not longer connected to each other. Prize was trailing along with me quietly. Louie hesitated to stare at something and I did at that point manage to get a hold of his lead one. Phew. So, I turn the boys around and head for their pasture. Louie is on my left side and Prize on the right. As we are walking by Marie's pasture, which is on the right side of us, Louie decides that maybe he would rather hang out with her. So, he ducks behind me and Prize and heads Right towards Marie. This spins me and Prize around who to this point has been very quite and well behaved. But he now decides this might all be a big game and time to play. So, he rears up HIGH and jumps on Louie. All this time Mary Joe, another boarder at the barn, has been watching and can't decided if she should jump in to save me or not. I got after Prize to get off Louie and let him know it was NOT play time and he settled right down. I start to lead them off again but Louie had planted his feet and insists that he really would rather stay with Marie. So, I had to get after him to get his feet moving again. The three of us executed a few more circles to get Louie moving but I managed to keep from getting tangled and we then proceeded to head down to the boy's pasture. All went from from this point. Sooooo, I can't blame the boy for being bad since if I had not been bumbling around there most likely would not have been any problems. Oh well, at least I was able to provide some morning entertainment for Mary Jo.

There is a mother and daughter that work at the barn for Nikki several days a week in trade for riding and lessons. The daughter, Sierra, is 12 years old (I think) and I asked her today if she would be interested in riding Marie. She was very happy to take me up on that offer. She rides English so I got out Marie's VERY dirty English saddle. I haven't used it in ages. Then I had to hunt around for her English bride. Then when I went to put the bridle on, I realized the bit was in it backwards. Hummmmmmm. I fixed that and we got Marie all tacked up. Then, we went into the indoor arena just so I could see how Sierra and Marie did together and to show her what Marie knows. The two of them did just fine. So, I told her to go ahead and ride Marie when ever she wanted to.

We made good progress on the barn today. Leigh came over to help. We got one of the 2nd floor wall built and stood up.

Finally got to Ride

I had a very nice day to day. This morning I was in no hurry at the barn so I took my time doing chores at the barn. Once I was done I went out and got Marie. I put a bridle on her, jumped on bareback and bopped around the barn for a bit. She was so happy to be getting the attention. I also ride a little bit in the arena. The boys were a bit worried about Marie not being right in her pasture where they could see her at all times but didn't get too anxious.

This afternoon Fred and I finished putting the decking on the 2nd floor of the barn. Yippee! Tomorrow we can start building the 2nd floor walls.

When I went back to the barn this evening to feed, I once again brought Louie and Prize in together. Prize like to bug Louie when I'm trying to put his halter on but he's now getting the idea that I am not going to let him bother Louie when I'm out there with them. I even put the gate strands back up tonight while holding them both and they were very good. I gave Louie a good grooming while he was eating. Then I decided to work and possibly ride him. Louie was very quiet on the cross ties. I saddled him up and took him into the arena. This was his first time in this arena. He was curious but didn't seem at all worried. I walked him around for a bit to look around. Just as I was getting ready to lunge him, another woman came into the arena with her horse. That horse TOTALLY freaked out when he saw Louie. The horse was a teen aged OTT Thoroughbred. The woman kept him in the arena for a while but he just did not calm down. He danced around and blew and snorted with bugged out eyes. I brought Louie up to him so he could sniff but that did not help at all. The woman eventually gave up and left the arena. The horse was spooking in the barn aisle after leaving the arena. Louie was overall very quiet tonight. I lunged him for a short time and he was very responsive. He was somewhat distracted but still listening to me also. So, I decided to go ahead and ride him. I didn't ride him for long at all but it was good to get on him. I was really very pleased with him tonight. I couldn't find my good lunge line so had to use my cheap thin one with the wimpy snap on the end. While Louie was quite distracted at first, he never tried to pull away from me or drag me around. He was showing a level of maturity that was nice to see.

Barns, Mules and Granddaughters

The "boys" (Prize and Louie) were funny last night when I went to bring them in for the night. Tracy and I have been putting the two boys together in a pasture and Marie in a separate pasture alone. There are horses beside Marie, and she can watch the boys from where she is. She seems to be content with this situation. Without a woman to fight over, the boys are getting along well and seem to enjoy each other's company and having a buddy to play with. I brought Marie in first as usual last night. Then went down for the boys. They were both at the gate very eager to come in neither one liking to be left behind. Of the boys, I've been bringing Prize in first since I already know from experience he can and might come through the fence if left behind. Louie seems to have a deep respect for electric fencing and I trust him more to stay on the right side of the fence. And so far he has. He run, and paws and bellows but he has not yet challenged the fence.

Anyway, when I went down to get them, they were both right there at the gate and when went to put Prize's halter on him, he eagerly shoved his head right in.........and Louie sidled right up and tried to shove his head into Prize's halter at the same time! It was pretty funny. And it was good to see that the boys were showing no irritation with each other at all. Prize seemed perfectly willing to share his halter. Silly boys. The strange thing about all their eagerness to be caught at night, once up in the barn, neither one wants to go in their stall. What's with that......

My granddaughter Madison spent this weekend with us. So, on Saturday, Fred gave me a free pass away from barn building so Madison and I could have a girls day. I took her shopping in the morning. Where did we shop you ask? Well at the tack shop of course! We went up to Adams Horse and Pet Supply to buy her a riding helmet. Madison has not ridden much up to this point. But, she is 7 years old now and showing some interest in riding. The few times she has gotten on a horse or mule here, she's just worn her bike helmet. But, I told Fred if she is going to ride more, she needs a proper equestrian helmet. And would have to have one to ride at Upper Pond stable. When we got to Adam's Supply, I was very pleased to find an old friend, Halla,  I haven't seem in a long time working there. It was so nice to see her and we got the very best of service in finding just the right helmet for Madison. I also bought some "buddy" stirrups. This is a pair of stirrups made for children that hang off the saddle horn of a western saddle when their legs are too short to reach the regular stirrups.

Later that afternoon, I took Madison over to Upper Pond Stable and she had her first riding lesson on Marie. Marie is SUCH a wonderful girl and just perfect for teaching Madison. And what is kind of neat is Madison's mother, Holly, learned to ride on Marie. Though Marie was young then and not such a good girl as she is now. Madison did wonderful. She listened to everything I told her. I did keep her on a lunge line but she was steering and controlling Marie pretty much on her own. Madison noticed the dressage letters on the arena wall and I would call a letter and have her ride to it. Madison learned to stop and back Marie. We even did a little trotting. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until our next lesson!!

Sunday was back to barn building. Not so much fun for Madison (or me) but she was a very good girl all day hanging out with us as we worked. She entertained herself well with the help of Zephyr, Shiloh and the guinea hens. Fred and I got all of the floor joists for the 2nd floor and up ready to be nailed. Today we got about half of them nailed in place. The weather, after the stupid snow storm, has been great. Today was very warm and most of the snow is melted now.

Floor joists in place!!!! Yippee!

Snowy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I so much enjoy the family time. We have been having such good weather for November so I should not complain that we had a whopper of a snow storm yesterday. I do believe we got 8 inches or so. So, I spend this morning shoveling out the barn so we could continue with the construction work tomorrow. Fred put the snow blower on the lawn tractor and tried to clean up the driveways with that. The snow blower was not being cooperative at all and Fred didn't get much snow removed for so much work put in. Thankfully my brother let us borrow his plow truck and Fred was able to plow later in the afternoon. 

I had the evening shift at the barn today. Louie was actually very quiet tonight. He led in very nicely and he went into his stall with no fuss and stood pretty well for me to get the halter off without any attempts to exit the stall. Then I went to get Prize........ when I got out to his turnout I see his halter is not hanging on the hook. So I assume it must be in the barn and I go back in to get it. No halter in the barn...... hummmmm. So I then guess that it fell off the hook and I just didn't see it in the snow. Back out I go but I still don't see his halter. At least not anywhere near the post. So, I start looking further afield. Well, I finally found it out in his turnout well tramped into the snow. I pull it out of the snow, shake it off and it falls apart...... ACK!  I look it over and see that it's not actually broken but it looks like he chewed on the end of the nose piece strap. So, it is not swollen with water and ragged from being chewed so it was a bit of a challenge feeding the end through the buckle. I eventually managed and got his halter on. He was a good boy leading in but when we got to his stall, he locked all 4 feet and said, "no thanks, I'd rather not go in tonight".  Apparently he's been talking with Louie. We had a small discussion about this and he finally agreed to go into the stall. And once in he was just fine. 

I took the opportunity to ride Marie tonight. I wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten how to ride. She was quite full of it! She was not behaving badly she was just wanting to zoom around the arena at about 100 mph. And Marie of course Marie leaving her stall ended Louie being quiet as he had a minor panic attack about it. Poor Louie. I did go into his stall after I was done with Marie and groom him. He totally sucked up the attention and was giving a big dose of "poor me". 

Yep, boys will be boys......

Yesterday, my friend Barbara asked if she could borrow Marie to go riding with Susie. Of course that was fine and they planned to pick her up at 1:00 pm. So, I decided to put the boys out together in the big turnout and Marie alone in Prize's turnout. I knew Marie wouldn't care one way or another as long as there was hay involved. And I thought the boys might get along without their woman to fight over. Sure enough this was so. I was around the barn for a while this morning and the boys spent quite a bit of time standing side by side at the fence line gazing longingly at Marie. Silly boys! And the interactions they were having with each other were low key and playful. Marie's shoes have been pulled for the winter so I dug out her Easyboots and put them on so Barbara wouldn't have to fuss with them. When I left, all was quite. I emailed Tracy to let her know what I had done and told her I was not sure what would be the best plan for bringing them in. Marie is not an issue herself as you can bring her in first, last or middle and she would be fine. Though bringing her in first would get the boys riled up. Anyway, I left it up to Tracy to decided how to handle this as she is an experienced handler and would figure it out. Below is the email I got from Tracy later that night.......All I can say is where is the video camera when you need it! BOYS!!!!

Well, I guess my plan of attack as far as bringing in our two goober heads needs to be refined, LOL. I had quite the time. I know that Prize can be a gate-bully and always, always always wants to be first at anything. I was worried Louie would panic at being left alone in the field and since it was dark I didn't want him getting too riled-up so...... I led them both in at the same time. Repeat after me, "I will not lead in two young john mules at the same time". Repeat this sentence 500 times until it is fully ingrained in the gray matter.

We lead into the barn. Then we quickly exited the barn. Back in. Now out. In. Out. In. Out.

I didn't know my arms could possibly stretch that far, ha ha! You would not believe how FAST all of this was happening.

Finally, help arrives in the form of a 13 year old girl who could not possibly weigh more than 80 pounds soaking wet. However, she is bold and brave and quickly zooms in on Louie whom she has a sweet spot for. "I'll take Louie for you!" she yells. I was dubious but in no position to negotiate as I had dropped Prize' lead shank earlier ( when I almost had him 3/4 of the way into his stall) and was gripping him by the halter only. I didn't think she could handle him without a shank. Happily though, she leads Louie back into the barn. I tell her to just hang on, I'll get him into the stall (while I was quickly pushing Prize into his stall). But she is quite confident and says oh no, she'll put him in. I step out of Prize' stall very fast now, knowing that Louie just might......... yup, drag her out and down the hall. Almost out of the barn. So I made a dive for him, got him turned around and back into his stall, closing the door very, very quickly. He was simply having a panic attack about Marie. I ran out and got her and let her stop and nuzzle him at his stall for a bit. This helped his attitude immensely. After graining them all, I went in and had special Louie-time so he wouldn't think ill of me. Brought him some dehydrated apple slices which were well received. This was the first time since being over at the barn that Louie has relaxed for me and seemed to enjoy having his ears rubbed. So, I think we are on friendly terms!

So, tomorrow night I will first lead in Prize and put him into his stall. Then I will get Louie and walk over to Marie's paddock and get her so they can walk in together (I've lead them in together a few times now with little problem). I will let you know how this goes, it seems like a much better plan than tonights!

I checked Louie over for bite marks. I found the broken skin/dried blood from the other day when he was in with the two of them. Happily, there was no blood anywhere else. So they appear to be getting along and hopefully will start playing and burning off excess energy

Boys will be Boys....

Well, today I turned Prize out with Louie and Marie. He is used to living with another gelding, a mare and molly so Tracy and I thought he might like being turned out with my two. And he and Louie are both very playful so we thought they might enjoy each other's company.

The farrier came this morning and took shoes off Marie and Louie. Louie was very good for the farrier. I was pleased as the barn owner was there and it's nice when they behave when there is an audience as that is when they usually do something embarrassing. Anyway, I put Prize out in his paddock until the farrier left. Then I put Louie and Marie in their pasture. I did notice today that Louie did not hesitate or make faces being led out. So, I may be right in my thought that his behavior is from not wanting to leave Prize behind in the barn. I then got Prize and put him in with Marie and Louie. Well, as suspected, that stirred them all up. Marie went into instant heat and both boys had to act a bit stupid about that. Louie was quite interested in Prize but feeling a little bit possessive of HIS mare. Prize was very interested in Marie and not so much in Louie. He made a few attempts to drive Louie off but Louie pretty much stood his ground. They didn't carry for more then 4 or 5 minutes then settled down to eat hay and seemed to be fine. I hung around for 15 or 2o minutes to watch them but all was quiet so I headed home to help with the barn building.

My friend Bonnie texted me that afternoon and and asked what time I was heading to the barn. She wanted to come over and meet Prize. I wasn't heading over until around 4:00 pm so she decided to over just a little bit earlier so she could see Prize while it was still daylight. She texted me again when she got there to tell me that Prize was very persistently mounting my mare and Louie was standing alone in a corner appearing to feel very sorry for himself. Louie wanted to visit with Bonnie but when he tried to approach her, Prize came right over for the attention and Louie wouldn't come near him. Poor Louie! When I got there, sure enough Prize was acting very studdish with my mare. He came right to me though when I came into the pasture with his halter and he led up to the barn like a complete gentlemen. As soon as Prize was out of the pasture, Louie went right up to Bonnie to suck up some attention. I brought Louie and Marie in and for once Louie did not fuss about going into his stall. And once in he was quiet and not looking for Marie but went right to eating his hay. Hummmmmm. Quite a change of attitude. He had a bit mark on his hindquarter. It was bloody but not deep or serious. So much for the playful boys enjoying each others company. They might be fine without my mare in the mix. Karen and Bart, the stable owners, said they had checked on them a couple times during the day and they had been quite and doing fine each time. I was relieved to hear that they hadn't been driving each other around all day. But I'm not sure if I'll put them together again tomorrow or not.

Settling into Upper Pond Stable

Tracy's mule Sir Prize



Everything is going quite well at Upper Pond Stable. Karen and Bart, the owners, are very nice and create a very relaxed atmosphere. They take an interest in everyone and their equines. I hauled Tracy's mule over about a week ago. He was quite nervous about being being in my trailer but he was a very good boy about it. When we got to Upper Pond, he was sweating and shaking but behaved very well. Prize is a nice mule and Tracy has raised him well.

Louie continues to have anxiety about going into his stall. He HATES that he looses sight of everyone. When brought in, he tries to walk right on by the stall. Then he resists going in. Once in, he will try to come right back out. He does settle down fairly quickly. Though sometimes he will go to the wall between him and Marie and bob his head up and down trying to look through the cracks between the boards. He is, however, eating and drinking very well and he is not having any loose stool so I know he's he's doing ok. I've been doing morning chores and Tracy the afternoon chores. Prize had been such a good boy to handle. He did take a "walk about" the first morning I put him out in his pasture. He scooted right between the 2 strand electric fence. It was not on and it was amazing to see a mule as big as he is scoot through such a small space so easily. And he was very impressive as he moose trotted and galloped around the stable. Thankfully, the stable is was off the road. I did have to wait for someone else to arrive before I could catch him. He's been a perfect boy since that first morning.




Strangely, Louie has now started to hesitate when being led out to his pasture in the morning. I thought this very strange because I lead him and Marie out together so he is not being separated from his pasture mate. And I am sure he does not want to stay in his stall. And once out to the pasture, he is quiet and relaxed. It's just when being led out, he is poking slowly, stopping and giving me very disgusted looks. Then today as I was leading them out, he stopped right by Prize's stall. And I realized he started this after Prize arrived. I think he dislikes leaving Prize behind in the barn as I always bring Prize out last.



Work on my barn is progressing. Fred has been working soooooo hard on it. We have been blessed with such good weather so far this month and we are thankful for every good day we get.

Moving

Well, Louie and Marie have been moved while we complete the barn project. I just hated to not have shelter for them this time of year. I was not sure what I was going to do as I could not afford to board both of them. But thing have a way of working themselves out.

My friend Tracy emailed me to let me know she'd seen an ad from Upper Pond Stable looking to rent out a block of 9 stalls at $100 a stall. Their barn manager had moved to Aiken, SC and taken quite a few horses with her. The barn owner moved all her boarders to one side of the barn and decided to rent out stall on the other side. Renters would be responsible for taking care of their own equines. As Upper Pond Stable is only 4 miles from my house, this was a very reasonable situation for me. And me being there made it a viable situation for Tracy. She is not that far away but still about 15 miles. So for her to travel to the stable twice a day every day is a 60 miles of traveling. But with both of us there, we could split the chores. Tracy and I couldn't take 9 stalls but the barn owner, Karen, agreed to let us rent 3. Between rock picking, ditch digging and helping Fred with the barn building, I was not able to move Louie and Marie until yesterday.

It was a fabulous day, sunny and in the high 60's. I hauled over to Upper Pond about 8:30 am or so. Louie and Marie have a nice big pasture for their turnout. There are obstacles in their pasture as it is used for Versatility Challenge competitions occasionally. There is a water crossing, bank jumps, ditch, bridge, log jump, tires and a sand hill. Both Louie and Marie were very excited when I turned them out. They ran, jumped, bucked and ran some more. Louie a bit more then Marie but she did her share. They got pretty sweaty with their winter hair and such warm weather. Louie was quite curious about all the obstacles and had to check each on out. And he was quite curious about his neighbors in the next pasture who shared his curiosity. The electric fence is at least 6' high which I like since it keep them from fighting or playing over the fence line.

On a sad note, a dead horse was being removed when I arrived. A horse has coliced and died during the night. It is so hard when we lose them. Karen showed me where I could store my hay and where I could put my grain and tack. Louie and Marie had nice stall on the outside wall with windows. I was happy about that. I set up their stall with hay and water for that night.

I came back to the barn that evening right around 4:00 pm. Though I THOUGHT it was 5:00 pm, I'd forgotten to reset my watch for daylight saving time......duh...... I brought Louie and Marie in. Marie had been boarded at this barn before so she was relaxed and happy to go in her stall. Louie, on the other hand, was not impressed AT ALL. The stalls have solid walls and even solid doors. So they can only see out the 8 foot grilled section into the barn aisle. A prison cell as far as Louie was concerned. He did walk right into the stall, but then promptly spun around and tried to mow me down in an effort to get back out immediately. I was kind of expecting this so was ready and convinced him that running over me was a worse idea then spending the night in a prison cell. He paced around the stall, reared up trying to look over the wall at Marie. The wall is too high and that didn't work. So, he stood at the wall between them and pawed. and of course he immediately developed diarrhea. He did eat his grain in bites between pawing. There was really nothing I could do for him so I went home hoping he would be ok.

I brought my dog Zephyr to the barn with me this morning. He was very confused by the change to his routine. When I walked to the truck instead of going out back, he just stood and looked at me like I had two heads. He likes to ride in the truck but this just what now how the morning routine was supposed to go. I did convince him to come with me. When I got to Upper Pond Stable, I asked Bart, the owner, if it was ok to bring Zephyr and he said that would be fine. Zephyr was very happy once he was out of the truck. So many new things to smell and so many thing to mark. Karen told me they had made an extra check on Louie last night as they had noticed that he had loose stools. I was pleased to hear this. It's nice to know they are keeping such a good eye on the animals. Though Louie had not been happy about being stalled, he had eating every scrap of his hay and emptied his water bucket. Marie too but that was no surprise with her. I fed them their grain and then put them out in their pasture. Louie wanted to get out of the stall pretty badly but he behaved quite well. He pawed at the open door just a little but didn't attempt to come through me. Louie ran around just a little when I turned them loose. Marie went straight for the hay.

It snowed this morning!!!

It was SOOOOO cold this morning. And it did snow! The ground is too warm for it to stick though thankfully. The concrete for the barn footer was poured today

One very nosey mule......

The footer forms for the barn being built


The barn project is coming along slow but sure. Mostly slow. Things have been held up by unexpected difficulties.....which is to be expected. Fred has been working so hard on this but there are just so many hours in a day. I did get out riding yesterday as Fred's brother Leigh came over to help him. I rode my horse Marie as I thought I'd be able to ride Louie today. But, the guys didn't get as much done as they thought they would due to some difficulties digging the footer. They got tired of fighting with the rocks and rented a jack hammer. And there were STILL some rocks that resisted removal and will simply become part of the footer. So, I had to stay around to help Fred today. My friend came over and took Marie out for a ride so Marie had a busy weekend and Louie got left home two days in a row. He is not used to that and was not a happy boy.

Stupid rock!


Fred trying to get me to stop taking picture and hold the tape measure straight


Fred working hard, Zephyr the dog supervising, me still standing around taking pictures.


Work done for the day


Barbara with Marie coming back from her ride


Something caught Louie's attention when he was rolling


Louie on high alert


Louie braying

The Maine Rides 2 day 50 mile CTR October 2011

The Maine Rides was the last competition of the season here in Maine. I hate to see the competitions season end but my wallet is thankful.....

This ride was held at the Waterford fairgrounds and was a 2 day 50 or 1 day 25. They also held a 10 mile CDR (conditioning distance ride) Susie and I trailered to the ride together. We chose to take her trailer as she has LQ and HEAT! It was to be a warm weekend but Friday night was going to be cold. Susie picked me up just a little after 10:00 am. I had worked that night and in the morning after taking care of Louie and Marie, I piled brush in the future riding arena so that Fred could move it. (We are putting in a riding arena in what was recently just a section of woods) I didn't quite get that finished but did get most of the brush piled. I then quickly packed what I would need for Louie for the weekend. When Susie arrived I was ready to go. For some reason Louie loves Susie's trailer and hopped right in. When we arrived at the Waterford fairgrounds, there weren't all that many people yet. The 25 mile ride and CDR were being held on Sunday so that was part of the reason. This was nice as we had our pick of where to park. We parked and set up camp right in the central area where the camper hook ups are. The first thing we did was set up pens for Louie and Spark. We unloaded them and tied them to the trailer while we set up the pens. It didn't take us long and we soon had them settled in with hay and water. Then we got the trailer all set. Susie hooked up the electric and got things all set. We also set up 2 stalls in the barn for Louie and Spark. We decided to put them in at night and as it was supposed to be a hot weekend, we wanted a shady spot for them to be at the end of the ride to cool them off for the vetting. We put hay and water in the stalls so they would be all ready for that evening. We then went and registered for the ride. Peg Dockham was there and I was going to be riding with her. She is the woman I rode with at the Western Maine 250 and our equines traveled well together. She and I decided to walk down to Melby's restaurant for some lunch. Susie had packed a lunch and stayed at camp. The Jacks arrived and parked next to us. We were glad to have such good neighbors. We just hung out and relaxed for a while. Soon it was time to vet it. Larry Buggia was the vet judge. Linda Glock was the lay judge. All went well at the vetting. Louie was quite well behaved as he knows the routine now. I trotted out Susie's horse for her as her hip has been bothering her. Both Spark and Louie were good to start the ride. We put them back in their pens and fed them then hung out and realxed and visited with friend until supper time. We went down to Melby's for Supper. Rhonda Bachelder went with us. After we got back from supper, it was quite chilly so we blanketed Spark and Louie then put them up in the stalls in the barn. Louie was a bit restless right at first and pushing a little bit on the 2x4 boards that were the stall gate. Then he started chewing on the boards. AGH. We decided to just leave them to let them settle in. I checked on them a bit later and Louie was quiet and Spark was chewing on boards. We ended up going to bed quite early as it gets dark early and I was very tired from working the previous night. I tried to read for a little while but found myself reading the same paragraph over and over and gave it up. Susie got up and checked on Louie and Spark one last time and said they were both quiet. I slept like a log.

Saturday morning was very chilly. It was in the low 40's. It sure was nice having the heat in the trailer. We got up and brought Louie and Spark down to the pens to feed them. We then went to the "food shack" for our breakfast. I had my usual oatmeal and coffee. There were also bagels and fruit and pastries available. I then went and got into my riding clothes. It was hard deciding just what to wear as it was cold but predicted to get up to near 80 degrees. So, I dressed in layers. Susie and I tied Spark and Louie to the trailer and tacked up just before the riders meeting. The meeting was near our trailer and I could see that Louie was restless. He had a hay bag in front of him but he is not a big eater and didn't care about that. During the meeting he was fidgeting and kept spinning around and getting under Sparks lead rope. Thankfully Spark just put up with it. I did finally go over and get after him to stand still and in his own spot and he did. after the meeting we mounted up to get the equines warmed up. Peg, Sue Niederoda and I were to be the first out. So, I walked around warming up with them. Susie and Lee Alexander were warming up together and we kept passing them and that was stressing Louie a little bit. He was already excited knowing it was a competition. And the repeated seeing then separating from his buddy Spark was almost more then his young mule mind could handle. At one point Louie was prancing sideways across the grounds, looking quite impressive I'm sure. One rider commented that she didn't know a mule could do that. I'm not sure if she meant the prancing, lovely side passing or both. I know she wasn't saying she didn't know a mule could be naughty as that is usually automatically assumed about all mules. Louie never got out of control though and really handled the situation very well for his age and experience. Soon it was time to start and we were on our way down the trail. Louie was eager and started out strong. He really wanted to go faster then I would let him go. He was wondering where Spark was but was not being bad about it. And he is just getting stronger and stronger with every ride. He did a good strong trot all the way to the hold. He did not offer to canter, just kept up a good strong trot, even on the hills. I was thrilled! When we got into the hold it was a bit of a rush as usual. I had Louie's pulse taken early and it was down to 48 so that was great. Peg needed the full 10 minutes to get her gelding's pulse down. Then we got caught in a line for the trot out. The trot out went fine and I did have a few minutes after to feed Louie. He didn't drink and had not yet on trail either but was fine. Susie and Lee had come into the hold right behind us. Louie had gotten a bit excited when he saw Spark but wasn't too bad. I grabbed a sandwich after mounting to eat on the trail when we headed out. Unfortunately, Peg needed some help mounting up when it was time to go and Susie and Lee went out of the hold right ahead of us and Louie saw them go. So, when we headed out, Louie was very excited and wanted to catch up to his buddy. He was doing a bit of sideways prancing but was listening to me and not pulling hard. After all, I was only using one hand on the reins and was eating my sandwich so that tells you he wasn't being to bad. For a few miles we kept seeing Susie on the straight stretches then they would be out of sight, then we would see them and again out of sight. This was getting Louie pretty wound up. He was really listening to me well but I was having to hold him and had to keep checking him back. At one point we did catch up with Susie and Lee and when they pulled ahead I went with them and left Sue N. and Peg. We were all actually traveling too fast for our time so had to slow down the last 5 miles. Peg and Sue N. passed us and then in the end we all came in at the same time. Susie and I went straight to the trailer and stripped tack, then took Louie and Spark up to the barn and sponged them down. They were not all that sweaty or hot so we didn't put too much water on them. In 20 minutes we took them for their P & R. Louie's was 40/12 which was good. We only had to do a quick "up and back" trot out this day so no circles. Louie did a fine trot out and we were cleared to ride for the 2nd day. Susie and I settled Louie and Spark into their pens with plenty of food and water. Louie's first priority of course was to roll about a million times first before eating or drinking. We relaxed by the trailer for the afternoon. A lot of people came over to sit and visit so we ended up with quite a crowd. It was nice except for the over active bees that persisted in bothering us. Susie and Kelly Jack both got stung. Char's dog Otis was great though as he eats bees. And I mean he really hunts them down and eats them. He cut the bee population in our area considerably. I was quite impressed. People were arriving throughout the day for the 25 mile ride. Marcia Deleware and Kyle Nielson were in camp when we had finished our ride and it was great to see them both. This was the first ride for Marcia's horse Frankie that she had bred for, raised and trained. We were all so excited for her and Frankie looked like he was taking everything in stride. Kyle was riding Marcia's horse Piper who is Frankie's mother. Susie and I walked down to Melby's store just to pick up some drinks. The supper provided was very good. Chili (ok, that's not good because anything that has beans in it is not good.....) but there was also a delicious vegetable beef soup and salad. And for desert there were some wonderful cookies from Melby's restaurant. After supper as it was just getting dark we put Louie and Spark in their stalls in the barn. I didn't blanket Louie as it was cool but not going to get cold. We were then going to head to bed and realized it was only about 7:30 pm. and that was just to early to go to bed. So, we got out Susie's travel Scrabble and played a game with Sue Niedoroda and Kathy Brunjes. Susie and I then headed for bed. We both read for a while.

Susie and I were up by 5:30 am. We brought Spark and Louie down to their pens and fed them. It was going to be another nice day. It was a cool morning but predicted to get up to near 80 degrees by the afternoon. It did get that warm later but there was no humidity and a nice breeze so it turned out to be a lovely day. I went to the "food shack" for my usual breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and I sat and visited with the others there having breakfast. Susie and I tacked up just before the riders meeting. We were going to be riding 60% new trails that we've never ridden here before so I wanted to make sure to be at the meeting. But, a call of nature and a malfunctioning toilet foiled that plan. The 25 mile riders were the first to go out so we had a bit of a wait. I was riding with Peg Dockham again. We would be the first of the 50 mile riders out. Sue Niedoroda was also going out with us as well as Sarah Jack. Sarah was still officially a junior rider so she had to have a sponsor. Sue was sponsoring her. Sarah is 18 yrs. old but turned 18 after January 1st. ECTRA rules go by what age you are on January 1st. It is kind of funny that she needed a sponsor since Sarah has more miles and experience then the 3 of us. For the first few miles Peg's gelding was strong and moving at a pretty quick trot. We got just a little bit ahead of Sue and Sarah but not out of sight of them. Thankfully we didn't get out of sight of them as Peg and I almost went the wrong way 3 times and were called back by Sue and Sarah. So much for two heads being better then one. Louie was also moving out strong and eager. The new trails were very nice. We ended up doing a few miles on tar road due to mistake on the trail managers part but it was not a big deal. Susie and Lee passed us about a mile before the hold. That got Louie pretty jazzed up and he pulled and pranced into the hold but didn't get out of control. For the first 5 minutes or so Louie was very obnoxious about trying to get to his buddy Spark. So, his pulse wasn't as low as yesterday but it did come down to 56 before 10 minutes so good enough. I had meant to put his lead line with the chain in my hold bucket but forgot. I was just about to put is bit back on when he got his head together and calmed down and accepted not being with Spark. Then, just as I was starting my trot out for the vet, Susie and Lee headed out of the hold riding right by me. I though I was going to be in trouble but Louie only looked but didn't make a fuss. Peg and I were just a bit late getting out of the hold. By the time we got through the vetting line, we didn't really have any time to feed so we mounted up and headed out. Louie was much quieter on the 2nd half of the ride but still traveling well. We passed Susie and Lee at one point and Louie hardly gave Spark a glance when we went by. Susie caught up with us again in the last mile or so and we all rode in together. Susie and I went straight to the trailer to strip tack. One they way up to the stalls, both Louie and Spark rolled. We then sponged them down and then went up to wait for our P & R. Louie's final P&R was 44/13. A bit high for Louie but it was very warm and Louie is quite fuzzy already. It was low enough to not get any points though so that was fine. We then waited in line for our trot out. Louie was a tad naughty about this as he tried to go right back to Spark instead of trotting a nice circle for me but we got the job done. Susie and I put Spark and Louie back in their pens to wait for the hands on. We cleaned their stalls and packed up as much as we could. Once the hands on was done, we didn't have much left to do while waiting for supper and awards. So, we relaxed and visited with friends. Supper was served fairly early and was a very good beef stew, salad, and rolls. As well as some wonderful cookies form Melby's restaurant again. Soon after supper was the awards ceremony. Louie and I didn't place but I am so proud of how well my boy did. Rhonda Bachelder won the 50 mile distance and we were so excited when Marcia Deleware won the 25 mile distance. We quickly took down the pens after the awards ceremony and were soon ready to go home. Kind of sad though knowing we would not be competing again until next year.

Maine Rides 2 day 50
J1. Clukey, Amber on Angel

1. Batchelder, Rhonda on Ashmoro Billy Alan    
2. Jewell, Charlotte on My Last Nickle
3. Dockham, Peg on Attala
4. McPheters, Patti on Ivany Mahara
5. Reinheimer, Susan on TC Spark
5. McKenna, Monica on SLF Benn Fortunate
7. Gibbon, Kyle on Salt (Sault)
8. Alexander, Lee on Bedrocks Handsome Fello
9. Ross, Cynthia on Little Louie
10. Lasher, William on Spice Girl
11. Lasher, Joanna on Teeze Mee PW
11. Rojek, Steve on Miro (Chi-Hi)
13. Niedoroda, Susan on Zynfandel C F
MO. Brunjes, Kathy on Theatric