You might be wondering why Grady hasn’t made an appearance around here lately.  G-man has been laying pretty low recently, feeling kind of grumpy and sorry for himself.  I guess the ongoing battle with the allergies is wearing on all of us.  Last Thursday, I took him to the barn with me for some fresh air.  We pulled in, and I let him out of the car as I always do, and I headed into the barn to groom and saddle Tiny.  Little did I know that it was Grady’s naughty alter ego SlobberDog that was along for the ride.  Now Grady is usually no problem at the barn – he sticks close by and spends his time sniffing around and begging for treats from the other boarders.  SlobberDog is a whole different story - you never know what he’s going to be up to!  As I finished saddling Tiny, I realized that I hadn’t heard from Grady in a little while so I went to investigate.   What do you think I found?

Caught in the act!

Umm....Are you sure you should be doing that?

You got it!  Grady, up to his armpits in Emma’s trash that he had so carefully removed and spread around the yard (so sorry Emma!!).  The worst part is this was the second time that week that he had done this.  The first time, I blamed the neighborhood dogs because my sweet Grady doesn’t do bad things like this anymore!  Yeah.  Right.  Well, I caught him red-handed.  So what did I do?  I snuck over to him on Tiny (yes, my dog was so immersed in the joys of last night’s dinner that he didn’t even notice the giant horse approaching him!), screamed at him (so sorry neighbors!!), and chased his butt back to the barn where he promptly got tied up.  And I got to clean up trash for the second time in a week. 

Fortunately for me, I haven’t seen SlobberDog since, and I’m OK with that.  I was kind of growing fond of the good Grady.  But I’m sure that naughty boy will be back….it’s just a matter of time.

THIS is my sweet dog!

Photo courtesy of Dee Q8, Flickr

As September rolls on, I have observed a great deal of excitement about the fall season.  Excitement about fall traditions, like cider and local festivals, is contagious.  Mother Nature is giving us her own signs:  lower humidity and cooler nights, just the slightest tinge of red in some of our leaves, fall produce starting to hit the market stalls.  While most of the country is rejoicing with the arrival of fall and all it brings, I have some bittersweet feelings about it.  For me, this season isn’t represented by typical fall customs.  For many years, fall was the season of horses and preparation for the Appaloosa World Championship show.  This prestigious event is held every year in late October in Fort Worth, Texas and the months of September and October were always dedicated to training and preparation for the show, which has a qualification deadline of  August 31.  As most of you know, my horse show adventures pretty much came to an end 5 years ago when I started graduate school but this year I was able to get back into the scene a bit, and even briefly entertained hopes that I might be able to attend the World Show this year.  Unfortunately, as the year evolved I realized I wouldn’t be attending the show this time either.  However, last week I received something very special in the mail:  my World Show qualification information. 

 For many people, this might not be a big deal.  In fact, it wasn’t really a big deal for me 10 years ago – it was a given.  I’d worked hard all year, attended many shows, and was generally well over the number of points required to participate.  This year was different:  my horse and I  haven’t worked with a trainer in over 5 years, we attended very few shows, and we haven’t had the opportunity to make practice runs.  We pretty much winged it, doing groundwork and suppling exercises at home and working the barrels and poles at the shows.  Qualification became even more difficult because the game classes at the Appaloosa shows have been very small, making it challenging to get points – we pretty much had to win 1st or 2nd in a class to accrue points.  Combine all that with the extremely limited number of events that we’ve done (4 shows in the past year) and you can understand my pride at qualifiying for the Appaloosa World Championships in 8 events – we actually qualified in every single event that we show in.  It’s a bittersweet pill, because it’s a reminder of how my time competing with Tiny is winding down.  She’s 15 this year and who knows how many more competitive years she’ll have?  While I’m excited and proud to have been able to achieve qualification status, it hurts that I can’t participate with her while she’s still healthy and strong.  So for this fall, at least, I will have to join the masses of “regular” people enjoying their fall season at the arts festival sipping on cider, but I’ll be doing it with a twinkle in my eye as I think of the hundreds of Apps preparing for the World Show next month.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday!  I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for.  If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here.  If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life.  If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have.  If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

Courtesy of Chauncey Davis

This week I want to celebrate the wonderful people that I am so fortunate to have in my life.  As you read this, I’m more than likely on a plane bound for Pittsburgh – my old stomping grounds that I haven’t visited in over 6 years, at least not properly.  As I have planned and prepared for this trip, I have realized how lucky I am to be surrounded by such great people.  So here goes:

Courtesy of leochi, Flickr

• First I want to thank my parents for helping me make this trip happen!  Without their support and the subsequent kick in the butt, I probably would have continued procrastinating on planning this thing.  So thanks, guys!
• Thanks to my cousin John and family for giving me a place to stay and some great company!  I’ve missed you guys so much and can’t wait to see you.
• I don’t think words can express how much I appreciate Nicole, who actually rearranged her own travel schedule so she could take care of Milo and Bella for me.  She definitely gets the selfless hero award!  (And yes, I have huge feelings of guilt about this but she is one stubborn broad when she makes up her mind!)
• I am also grateful to have Emma to rely on to take the best care of Tiny, as always.  It’s such a comfort to know that I can go away for a few days and trust that she’ll receive the love and care she needs.  In my experience, it’s hard to find people that I trust my horses with, but Emma is first class.  Thanks Emma!
• And finally, I am so so sooo glad that I found Teena at the University of Doglando.  Thanks to her, I have absolutely not one ounce of guilt at leaving Grady behind while I’m gone.  He will be spending the week going to daycare during the day and will be going home with one of the staff members at night, as part of their unique boarding program.  In fact, my biggest fear is that he won’t want to come home! 

I also feel fortunate to still have one of my oldest childhood friends still in my life.  Although we haven’t seen each other in over 6 years, we still keep in touch and I’m optimistically hopeful that we can work out a visit while I’m up there.  Over the past year, and especially the past few months I have increasingly seen how important good friends are.  I am so thankful for all those people who fill that special place in my life. 

Courtesy of Daniel E. Bruce Photography

Please visit other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, Tired Dog Ranch, and The Pony Expression

How bad is it to laugh at my horse?  I mean really laugh at her, like a belly laugh kinda thing?  I’m not sure how I didn’t notice this before, as Emma even called me to point it out (OK, it’s true – she laughed at Tiny too!).  I guess it was the light or something, I don’t know.  But this week I noticed for sure that my horse has a farmer tan.  Like a serious, hard core tan line.  I’m actually kind of impressed…I wouldn’t mind having such a nice tan line to wrap up the summer with.  But as is typical in the world of horses, my butt is stuck indoors all day trying to make enough money so she can continue sunning herself.  Such is the life…. 

Anyway, enjoy and hope you get a giggle out of her too!  I can’t recall ever having a horse with a tan line before…oh, and I wish my full body photos had turned out better.   She actually has strap lines from her fly sheet on her rib cage! 

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday!  I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for.  If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here.  If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life.  If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have.  If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

Ok, get ready for a girly, mooshy post.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 

This week’s Thankful Thursday was easy for me.  Didn’t even take much thought.  On Tuesday, I saw Tiny for the first time in what felt like forever.  I know I keep saying it, but my riding schedule has just been so erratic this summer for one reason or another.  Anyway, so the stars aligned on Tuesday for me to pay her a visit.  It was a gorgeous evening, low (-ish) humidity, quiet and still.  I took the time to enjoy grooming her and she seemed to be soaking it all in as well.  We had a good ride and I was pleasantly surprised by her level of responsiveness after having a week off.  As we wrapped it up, the thunderheads started building and we could hear the rumbling in the distance and feel the electricity in the air.  We headed back into the barn so I could put her to bed, and as she stood in the crossties we shared this moment.  Anyone who loves horses knows what I mean – that moment of silent understanding, nose to nose, her breath meeting mine.  The wave of gratitude that washed over me as I stood nose to nose with my sweet little horse defines this week’s Thankful Thursday.  At that moment, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.  So what, exactly, am I thankful for?

• First, I’m so grateful that Tiny is even here.  When I look back on it, it’s one of those situations that just defies the odds over and over.  Her mother was an 18 year old maiden mare that was retired from competition.  Tiny was born a month premature and probably should have died.  Her mom was afraid of her and she was still in the sac.  We were out of town at the time and luckily for us the barn caretaker happened to be there at the right time to handle the situation.   She had severely crooked legs that required surgery when she was young.  She didn’t even begin training until she was almost 6 years old.  I could go on and on.  The fact that she is here, healthy and happy, and still in my life is a gift that I feel honored to have. 
• I am so thankful that I have been able to hang on to her throughout the past five tumultuous years of my life.  Somehow, through all the financial strife and the breakup of the family herd and my graduate schooling, we have stuck together.  Looking back now, I’m not even sure how it happened, but all that matters is it did. 
• I’m grateful that I have good health and the opportunity to ride such an amazing animal. 
• And finally, I’m so glad that I found such a wonderful place to keep Tiny nearby with someone that loves her (almost) as much as I do.  Sometimes, things are just meant to be.

Please visit other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, Tired Dog Ranch, and The Pony Expression

Courtesy of Lotta Adehed

After much speculation and several extremely unscientific trials, I have determined that Tiny is, indeed, a rain goddess.  How do I know this?  Well, not once, not twice, but FIVE times now the rain has chased me off my horse.  Each time I have left my house to sunny blue skies.  How likely is it that each time I finish grooming and saddling her, the skies open to a downpour?  Literally.  As I’m leading her out of the barn to mount.  (To be fair, I did throw her off her game on Saturday when I showed up EARLY in the day to ride!  Ha!  I got her that time!)

Ok, so the other day when this happened AGAIN Tiny and I had a little chat.  I told her since she now demonstrates amazing abilities, she can start paying her own way.  As such, I am now renting out my little pony to anyone in need of a bit of rain.  Are your fields parched?  Flower beds drooping?  Never fear – Tiny is here!  And all you have to do is *pretend* you’re going to ride her.  The rain dance will commence and you’ll have more rain than you could ever need or want.  Just like magic! 

*Results not guaranteed* =)

After almost two weeks of packing, moving, and settling into my new place, I was itching to get back to my regular riding routine.  So I was thrilled when I got home from work on Friday to find the weather clear and my animals comfortably settled into our new place.  Off I went to the barn to see my girl.  It was a bit of a questionable start to the afternoon – I arrived and no more than got out of the car to a sudden downpour of showers.  Okaaaayyyyy…. alrighty, well I’m tough and I won’t melt, right?  So I went to the back pasture and started calling Tiny.  Of course she had suddenly become deaf and refused to even turn her head.  Guess she didn’t miss me much over the last two weeks.  Ok, so off I went into the pasture through the rain to fetch her (she had just been turned out and was in no way coming in on her own terms).  When I finally reached her, I saw a sight I certainly wasn’t prepared for:  my normally water-phobic mare standing in an enormous puddle of 5 inch deep rainwater, wildly munching at the submerged grass .  There was NO WAY she was coming to me, and she called my bluff.  There was NO WAY I was going to trek through shin high water to get her.  We had a standoff, I won, and eventually I finally got to ride for what felt like the first time in ages.  In the end, it was a good ride.  It felt so good to be back in the saddle again.  There is nothing in the world quite like the view from a horse’s back.