SkyGazer Ranch.

My Beloved Xandra and I :-)

2010-09-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

A freind, who happens to also be an exceptional photographer came over recently to meet the Curlies. While she was snapping away, for lack of a better description, it felt like Xandra was asking me to hop on... so I did. I know, I know, should have been wearing a helmet, please believe me and trust me when I tell you I otherwise always do, crash vest too at times, for whatever reason, despite my better judgment, it just felt right to do it though, so I did. First ride ever, no helmet, bareback, no bridle, heck, not even a halter, and Xandra was... perfect. We both Loved it!!! Since then I've ridden her one other time, Brandon caught a quick pic just before the sun set, sorry for the darkness, Im just so glad a smidge was caught, yep, in just a halter and lead, I'm wearing a helmet at least though :-) Enjoy the following pics, I am so loving this girl, as always, my Hearts other, other Half, Brandon being the first one. :-) Xandra was extremely comfortable to be on, so quiet, willing, focused on me, enjoying herself, and perfectly happy to do whatever came to mind, including a few figure eights around the trees we were under, so cool!!

So, other news... I took part in an in-hand dressage competition last weekend, I was actually there as the scribe for the day, love getting the opportunity to work with a Judge and learn what they are looking for!, I highly, highly recommend doing this!! I got to chat about Curlies with the Judge, and then with several of the spectators during break times throughout the day!, as last year, they were very disappointed I didn't get to bring any to the show this year, too many other things going on right now!!

Rhys is finally recovering from an injury we've been doing some physical therapy, stretches, and massage for. He has his first schooling show in Oct, for which I'm excited for and very nervous, he's basically been happily in time off the entire summer, should be interesting, no time like the present to get out and do things though right?! Instead of riding him regularly to get ready, of course, I'm busy repairing fences, working others' horses, and... preparing once again for the Puyallup Fair. Which is considered to be the biggest county fair in western WA, thousands of people will be coming through our exhibit and meeting none other than Xandra and Memri, who I well imagine will Wow the crowds. I'm inclined to say I might spend most of it sitting on Xandra's back, we will see, we both seem utterly calm and happy that way, so why not right? Thinking we might work on some trick training while we're there for so much time, I think Memri will enjoy this as well. I am working through a new book called "Clicker Training for Horses" by Alexandra Kurland, I highly recommend it!! I think the girls and I are going to have a blast working on some new things together for the week, I'm really looking forward to it!!

I was happy to finally get to check back in on everyone else's posts, sounds like many are busy, busy with lots of wonderful rides and promotional activities and getting to do great thigns with their Curlies, Keep Up the Great Work Everyone!!! :-)

Best,

~Heather

Skygazer Ranch

Sandor's Sundance Time

2010-02-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an unusually bright, sunny day here. So I took advantage of it and got out with Sandor. As most of you know by now, Sandor is my up and coming young sporthorse stallion prospect, he hails from Shelly White's, is sired by Sandman's Magic and out of the lovely Dutch WB/Arabian mare Legacy (aka Vanity).

Yesterday we did a little at liberty running about, well, Sandor did, ok, I did also, was a big field, while my friend Robyn took the pics. We then lunged a tiny bit before attempting the in-hand triangle, away from the judge, across and back towards the judge. Was interesting to say the least. Sandor wanted to play. So I let him off the line again and we played, it was really an amazing experience. Sandor might only be a little more than a year and a half, and when measured with a level on the concrete yesterday is 13.3HH, but he is a powerful individual and when he gets moving, you notice. At any rate, I'd send him out, he'd go out on a circle, then come circle back in to me, as he reached me, I sent him back out in the other direction, we got it down so he was doing about 15 meter figure eights out and back to me, at a bold trot! Really a rush having him trot powerfully up to me and take off out the other direction, I can hardly tell you, it was like dancing with him, I'm looking forward to doing more of that.

Anyway, once he was a little less wound up, I clipped him back up and off we went on our little practice triangle.

I will be showing Sandor in-hand at a couple of shows this year, as well as just heading out to as many shows as we can to trapse about the grounds, I figure better to regularly practice all this at home, so when we add in the excitement of being off the property, and the oh so excitingness of other mares, he has less he has to remember and more experience to trust and just do. So, we'll see how that works out.
Here are a couple pics taken from yesterday at-liberty. I'm a bit disappointed, as most of these are all from 'round two' of pics and doing things, as the pics from 'round one' spontaneously combusted while still on Robyn's memory card, no idea what happened, very disappointing though, about 500 pics, poof, gone :-(, I managed to sneak in a couple of pics from 'round one' on my camera, but it's hard to keep Sandor moving, get in their right place, and take a pic without blurring the image, so I hope you enjoy these ones and know they are of Sandor after he'd already been out for about three hours, so he was not looking his snazziest, but, still pretty darn good, in my terribly biased opinion. :-)

And this one because it seemed a little silly, like how low can you go? style... :-) He has such incredible control of his body, I half expect him to fall sometimes with all the mud we have, but he never does, he's very confident and sure footed and really has an incredibly dexterous and agile body, really a n experience to watch him go!

Best,
~Heather

Lemonaid For Life!! :-)

2010-01-21T02:19:00.001-08:00

Got a call from home, early, at work today... Rogue was cast in the fence. Left immediately, and promptly got pulled over... for a tail light being out. Got home and one of my house mates, Robyn, was sitting with Rogue, keeping her calm, 'till I got home to get Rogue out of the fence. Rogue was perfectly content to lay there quietly, thank goodness. Got Rogue out, and since it was a couple hours before I had to head in to my other waitressing job, I decided to make the best of the day and working with the horses. Since Robyn was still home, we took Sandor out and worked with him in-hand some, before setting him loose to try and get a couple at liberty shots. Let me tell you, Sandor was FULL of himself! Nothing too dangerous or aimed at me, just a really hard time for him to keep all four hooves on the ground, let me say again, he did settle in fairly quickly and got down to business rather than play wildly time, was really incredible to watch him though, so much power!! And, oh, so easy, for him to become air-born!

With the warmth of the weather all of my mares are coming into season and strutting their stuff, apparently Sandor felt he should as well. Here's a couple of pics of him before and then after a bit of a session, where I worked at reminding Sandor of some of his appropriate human interactions. :-) He really is a good baby stallion and was quick to remember. Mostly I was just in pleased admiration of his magnificence. He is growing up so quickly!!
After taking Sandor out for a time, I took each of the
foals out also. They were wonderful!! We went out to the jump field, over caveletti, around the back side of the out buildings, into the garage, investigated the bikes and other items in their, back out, the the porch and front door, out the path, around the cars, and then into the larger field. They each did so well!, i am super proud of them!!

And Riot jumped, twice, he is such a spit fire, full of energy and pizazz. He really has the most Go! of any Curly I've ever met. I keep lamenting that he'll only ever be pony sized, granted, that's what I was going for, but wow, that much umph in a "big" horse, would do wonders on an event course!! Might have to give that a whirl anyway, unless anyone wants to borrow him for say Combined Driving in a couple years??? :-)

I hope everyone else was able to enjoy the day, it was a touch over 60F and semi-sunny, really fantastic day!! I'm looking forward to more tomorrow, if it's not raining too hard.
So, again, lemonaid out of lemons, seems to be a daily theme for me, so glad I can see the good, I wouldn't, aside from Rogue's casting, have been home in time to get to so thoroughly enjoy the day with so many of my lovely Curlies!, Such a delightful and unexpected treat for the day!! :-)
Best,
~Heather

The Little Things in a Life...

2010-01-19T00:47:00.001-08:00

After an anxiety filled night, lying wide awake listening to the 60+mph winds blasting through my little world, worrying about my Curlies and the destruction I could hear, but couldn't see occurring all around me, it was with a heart brimming over with joy that I viewed the damage this morning. All of my horses were just fine, a little stressed, napping some in the bright sunshine, felt like it was going to hit 70F, marvelous morning. We've had "little" greenhouses as run in shelters in a few of the fields. Never had any trouble with them staying put, they have a steal A-frame type interior and have tight like a drum plastic over their frame, they work great, especially in the winter, add some warmth. Well, not any more. They'd not only blown over, but one had actually blown up, onto the fence, snapping several electric lines, and landing in the trees, yes, IN the trees, plastic is in ribbons, A-frame is mangled. Trees came down on the fence in a few places, branches down everywhere, and this was all tame compared to the road ways where trees dropped over power lines, not just neatly snapping them but stretching and tearing them, creating a spaghetti noodle mess of electric lines tangled with trees everywhere. A mess.
For greater perspective, a friend of mine, got home today, she was in Haiti helping with the aftermath there, makes everything here look like sillyness, the stories and images she has are so horrific, the work she did there is an inspiration for doing right by others despite great adversity, I can not even begin to imagine the reality of waking up there each and every day right now.
So, I did what I do, look at the bright side of things, I had the day off, so some time to get some things done. Starting with the most important thing, Quality Curly Time!, I did the morning breakfast rounds, apologized about the fresh water, said I hoped the water came on before they ran out (which it did, if it hadn't there is a back up plan involving me hauling five gallon water buckets from a stream that runs nine months out of the year). Then, I got a curry comb and dandy brush out of the tack room and did the cuddle rounds, grooming everyone's coats out, fluffing up their curls, although kind of uncurls them a little, scratching all their itchy spots and generally just loving on all my horses, which they eat up and love in return. It is so wonderful to start the day this way.
Then, I pulled the little greenhouses out of the trees, off the fences, and stored away for taking a closer look at later, repaired the fences. Then loaded up Iris and Gavyn (my shepherd and shepherd/akita cross) and headed to my Uncle Todd's for breakfast and to pick his truck up to get supplies. Headed to Home Depot. Loaded up a lot (for me, I know a lot is relative) of lumber and had a great moment with Gavyn. Gavyn is only six months old and still learning a few rules, like when I ask him to stop barking that means I'm in control of the situation and he is safe to stop. At any rate, while I was loading the truck, a few people came and went, Gavyn started barking, I told him, quietly, that's enough, don't need to bark, please stop... and he did!! I was soo proud of him, he's learning!! This was a first for him, the me separate from him and trusting that he doesn't have to scare away the stranger, I think having Iris quietly there helped.
Next stop feed store for more alfalfa. Gavyn and Iris were quiet the whole time. Then home.
Unloaded everything and came in for a little lunch. I'm home alone today. So, since the foal's shelter is now in pieces, and we have more lovely weather on the way, they had to move. So, I moved them. This led to our first solo walks, as in outside their pen with none of their siblings for back up. They all did fantastically!!! I was just going to move them across the driveway to where they were foaled out which has a nice big foaling stall/run-in shed for shelter, but decided on the way across the driveway, that since they were each doing so well, that we'd go for our first official adventure walk. So each of the four foals went up and down the driveway some, onto the concrete, into the greenhouse for a munch on the hay, then back outside and into the darkened interior of the garage, stood still quietly, then back outside, around the truck, around the trailer and then into the foaling pen. Each of them did great!, I was so excited for how nonchalant they each were, like we'd been doing this every day and who needs a sibling or a mom near by anyway? I plan to head back out with each of them again tomorrow, after work, which starts in seven hours, so to bed!
But, just had to share the day with everyone. Oh, right the lumber is for putting up 'real' run-in shelters, you know, with huge planks going deeply into the ground, in three of the paddocks, which lost theirs last night, really seems like there is always something.
But, I am happy with the day. The horses are all safe and sound and we all had a great day together. The only time I'm not worrying is when I'm physically in their presence, so spending a great deal of the day that way was really wonderful.
I hope everyone else had a marvelous day!!
Best Wishes,
~Heather

Spring In Winter

2010-01-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

Got home from work this afternoon, ran upstairs (3 flights) shrugged into my breaches, raced back downstairs, pulled on my boots, jogged outside, snagged my gear from the tack room, and met Lyra at the gate for another ride. And I do mean that I met her at the gate, she saw me coming from across the way, abandoned her round bale and companions, and met me at the gate, it was lovely of her!
Today we continued with a lot of walking. Really working on trying to get Lyra to relax through her top line, work from my inside leg to outside hand, have nice walking steps pushing through her top line, and working on balance. Lyra has a tendency to tighten up, through her head up in the air, and well, do the upside down neck game, which I'm a particular NON-fan of, so we are working on it. Today she managed quite a few strides with me getting to completely release her inside rein. She also followed my hand down rather well, especially towards the end of the ride. We are both a work in progress, but getting better with practice. I hope we can ride again tomorrow, lots happening though, so we shall see. :-)

Brandon and Dorothy swapped off on the camera (which I think actually worked to make for a not as wonderful as last time ride, since I was a bit tense with getting talked at for angles for light purposes, rather than just focusing on Lyra, good to keep in mind for next time, good to have a couple pics though, will help with my before and after reality checks in a couple of months when I feel discouraged that we've accomplished so little.) All in all, I had a great time with Lyra and am really looking forward to our continued rides. Looking into taking a few lessons myself with a local dressage trainer here, hoping that will help Lyra and I, might even see about getting Lyra over there for a little training herself, will see about that one...
Hope everyone else had a great day!!
As you can see in the one pic, we're starting to see green again, it was close to 50 and somewhat sunny intermixed with overcast today, Spring on the way so soon?, Dare I Hope??? And... we got a square halt! :-), seems the more I try to ask for one, the less likely it is to happen, but if I just move my seat to ask for a halt, she does a square halt pretty much every time, recon for Lyra, the less I interfere, the better.

Also, stopped at the local bookstore on my way home, for the new Chet and Bernie Mystery, by Spencer Quinn (really good books!, are mystery novels told from the Detective's Dog's Perspective, very quick, fun read). While there, I looked through the horse books section (I always do) and came across a conformation book, "The Horse Conformation Handbook" by Heather Smith Thomas, which looks pretty good, has a lot of information in it along with clear descriptions and explanations and diagrams. I haven't had time to spend a lot of time with it, but so far, it looks very good. I also came across "The Rider's Fitness Guide to a Better Seat" by Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt, it also looks like it's chalk full of useful information. I'm always happy to learn a new little exercise or stretch I can do while at work or sitting at my computer or in my car or on dark, rainy nights, when I can't ride, to help improve my riding when I can ride. Thought I'd pass the titles along.
Hay getting delivered tomorrow.
Best,
~Heather

Leg Yields and Bending

2010-01-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try to use this blog to help keep a training log, so on those days when I'm feeling like I've accomplished nothing, i can go back and see what all has been accomplished, along with keeping some semblance of a direction for what we're doing.

Short note and apologies ahead of time for there being no pics from yesterday, was home alone today...but here's a pic of us from a ride at the end of December 2009, with Lyra's filly, Rogue in the background, very exciting way to ride, having her tag along. Xandra was out with us that day as well. I DO NOT recommend riding with loose horses, it definitely poses some unnecessary hazards, that said, I had a lot of fun doing it. Good to have Lyra to myself now though and able to go out for riding sessions without Rogue.

I took Lyra out yesterday, first time without Rogue (her five month old filly), third time since last March. Our first two rides were just walking about, calmly ignoring her child romping about, enjoying her freedom on drier footing. We finally started getting down to business though. Spent the majority of the time at the walk. Lyra started off with her head straight in the air, resisting, wanting to go back to Rogue. However after a great deal of resistance didn't pay off and required her to work more, she finally settled down to a nice, relaxed, very forward, swinging through her back walk. After getting her really comfortable and relaxed in this forward walk, we worked on some bending around my leg exercises and then moved into some bending going from my inside leg to outside rein, which I've never really worked on with her before. We finished off with serpentines through seat and leg cues and a very forward walk, bending beautifully right around my leg and springing forward again. All in all, this was, possibly, the best, most in tune to each other ride, Lyra and I have shared to date. I am so excited for our next ride, hopefully soon, was low 40s and pouring rain today, ugghh :-(
After riding I groomed everyone else, was nice to have a dry day where I could scrub all of them, get their hair all fluffed again and admire their lovely curls. Riot, Star's fourth month old colt, has recently decided to go through a rebellious stage where he doesn't like being caught, so he earned himself a drag line, which his sisters (Rora, Ravyn, and Rogue) along with Xandra immediately thought would be immense fun to grab in their mouths and head off in different directions with. Not sure how that's going to work out, I did request that while it was fair to give him a hard time about it, if they could resist actually hurting Riot, that'd be appreciated. They promptly ceased playing tug of war with his line and he took up, trying to pick his own line up and somehow finagle removing it from himself, he's smart enough, I won't be the least bit surprised if he figures that one out. He's yet to keep his rain jacket on longer than an hour.
After working some with Riot and reminding him just how wonderful it is to have me near him scratching all his itchy spots (ie his entire body), I worked with all of their hooves. Seems to be an ongoing thing, the more it's done, the easier it is,and the less time it takes. All of them were exceptional about offering their hinds without any effort on my part, their fronts they were good about but not quite so much on cue. I was happy with all of them being so easy about it though, they were loose, so could have walked off instead of playing my little stand around on three legs game. I think they new the quicker they did what was being asked, the quicker their reward of wonderful scratches would be in coming. I finished the afternoon standing quietly with Xandra, my cheek pressed up to her neck curls, just breathing in and out with her; observing the babies romp with each other, glad to be alive and so well blessed with the Curls in my life.
I hope everyone else is getting out and enjoying their Curlies. :-)
Best Wishes,
~Heather

Time's Wings again...

2010-01-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I haven't posted in so long...
In a nut shell for 2009...
Sandor joined our herd in the Spring time, he hails from Shelly White's Curly Standard Place, he is sired by none other than the sensational *Sandman's Magic and is out of the lovely, fluid, forward moving Dutch Warmblood/Arab mare, Vanity (aka Legacy). We are still in joyous disbelief at having such a quality incredible stud colt here. We have very high hopes for Sandor's future in the dressage and eventing rings as well as for being our future herd sire. Thus far he has proven himself to be incredibly intelligent, have an expansive and giving heart, movement to die for, and is perfect in every way; we are smitten with him to put it mildly and couldn't be more thrilled to have him here. Thank You Shelly!!!

In July and August we had four foals, all sired by our lovely Curly stallion, *Rhys.
Lyra gave us a lovely gray filly, Rogue (Rogue Sky Warrior).

Epona gave us a gorgeous miracle, a pinto palomino filly named Rora (Rain Dancer Aurora).

Tiska (our Hungarian Warmblood) gave us a stunning bright bay filly, Ravyn.

Star gave us our only colt this year, not sure if he's true black or a very, very dark bay, he sure is snazzy with a lot of chrome though! Riot (Riot Storm Chaser).

All of the foals are extremely intelligent, very social, easy to train and work with, filled with character and spunky personalities, just an absolute wonder to interact with each of them every day.
None of our mares are bred back for 2010, although we do plan to breed back a couple of them for 2011 foals. We shall see how all of that plays out when it happens!
We also have a wholly unexpected addition, hailing from the south, our little Georgian Peach, "Memri" (aka Enjolique Remember Me) from Lisa Wytiaz's Bash Curl Farm II. Memri is a rich bay filly, born Memorial Day of 2008. Memri is sired by the Dutch Warmblood, Dressage Horse producing phenomenon, Ruben O, and out of the exceptional Curly mare, BCF Exantheus Keoke. We have very high hopes for her following in her siblings' hoof falls, competing at the highest levels of dressage at the least, possibly eventing, depends where her heart lies, we can not thank Lisa and Bash Curl Farm II enough for making Memri's entrance into our lives such a smooth and uncomplicated transition, not to mention having the foresight to put her parents together in the first place to create such an exceptional being!! Thank You Lisa!!; we are eagerly awaiting her cross country traverse and subsequent arrival, pics to follow upon her arrival!
Since I've no pics, here's a link to her most current Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp-4EHpcbjY
This year we will be focusing on continuing Rhys, Lyra, Epona, and Star's under saddle training. Ground work with all of the youngsters, and lightly starting Xandra under saddle.

We will be getting out to as many in-hand competitions with the youngsters as possible and hope to have a re-appearance at this year's Puyallup Fair.
I will try to be more diligent at keeping this blog updated this year!
Best to You all in this New Year!!
~Heather

My first "Ride with Me" adventure, January 25, 2009

2009-01-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

Whew; ok, so at the last minute, Robyn (Caryn's sister and a good friend of mine from HS days) decided to join Caryn (Good friend of mine from HS days and also my brother's other half, she owns Star and Zypher here) and I for the ride today. So, Robyn rode Epona (as she is my surest riding horse here), while Caryn rode Star and I rode Lyra.

When we started out it had just stopped flurrying lightly, later on it started sprinkling, but then stopped completely. Was fairly chilly, but nice, about 34F or so. As Denise mentioned I am recovering from being pretty sick lately, beware the plague is what I say. Getting better though.
We rode out to the end of "our" driveway, across the street and were promptly "pulled over". Our driveway is half a mile long, the last quarter mile being an easement through a state park. Across the street is another easement leading to another person's gate and to their house, through the same state park. My understanding, and say what you will, but I did check at my college and it does work this way there, but the signs say in the actual park part that "all pets must be on a leash" not "dogs" but "pets", we weren't in the park part, we were on the easements. Our "pets" were on leashes. Anywho, apparently we can't leave our house as horses aren't allowed in the park, so to even get off where we live, the horses have to be on wheels. I'm considering teaching my Curlies to roller blade. Ridiculously we can ride our horses down town, any day, any time, just so long as we don't go over the speed limit (yes I called and spoke to a police officer to make sure on this one, they had to call me back about it) yet we can't ride on our own driveway in the middle of no where. Anyway, this on top of our current land lord changing the rules here so we only have the one paddock for use here (is about three, very wet, acres as opposed to the originally agreed upon twenty seven, mostly drier; which of course none of the particulars are written down, so we have nothing to stand on), has us house hunting. Very frustrating. The park ranger said if we were caught riding on our easement, "driveway" to the road it would be a huge fine. Unbelievable, since we are the only ones who use the road to get to and from our house, they don't do any upkeep on it at all, and well, it's all very frustrating.
Onto a better note.
As I said I was on Lyra.

Caryn and Robyn are fairly new riders, which Star and Epona are more than happy to exploit. Lyra is the least experienced riding horse here, hence I was on her. There is a huge grassy field we pass, then our driveway goes through a gate and you are in a bunch of trees out to the road. None of the horses like passing the point of going through the gate and into the treed area. Knowing this and also that all of them are well behaved on the ground, I decided to have everyone ride out with a lead rope attached to their mount, I then ponied Star and Epona through said trouble spot and then the rest of the ride went smoothly. The ponying went very well too, so easy! Anyway, I wish someone else had the camera at that point, really fantastic! I should have a snap doing a double bridle when/if I ever have a dressage Curly trained to that point then. I always carry two dressage whips, so had Lyra's reins, the dressage whip in each hand, and then the lead rope from Star through one hand into the other and Epona's lead rope through the other hand and through to the other, managed to work everything just fine though, ahh!!, what fun!! I am hoping that a couple more times of that and Star and Epona will figure out that balking and turning back home at that point isn't an option, that their riders aren't getting off anymore and so their little antics there are not going to help. I've ridden all of the horses through this area, they don't give me any trouble, it seems it's a little treat they save for anyone they know isn't as experienced. So, we will see if it helps. Also has me hopeful that from now on when I ride out alone, I can pony two other riding horses so they also get to exercise and I can trade off who I'm riding, extending the whole trip rather than repeating out and back, we will see. I am tickled pink by the whole thing though.
So after having our trail ride cut in more than half of what I'd hoped and planned for, we came back early and worked in the field that belongs to the same land lord we have and we are kind of allowed to use, for now, before the Spring grass comes in.

If we stay here 'till then we will have to negotiate further use of it.
In the field I worked with Epona, Lyra, and Star on some trotting, some bending, and some canter. I know it doesn't show here, but I was pretty much grinning from ear to ear the whole time. I just love getting to ride my own ponies and do things with them. Until recently none of my horses were cantering under saddle, so this was particularly wonderful for me. Made me feel like a little kid. Next step is getting everyone else comfortable riding at a more advanced level so we can all trot and canter and do more advanced things; all in good time though, and really, all of it is fun for me. :-)
The last picture here is of Epona doing an extended trot, when I see pictures of what she is doing under me while I ride her, I am always amazed, she has incredible movement!

Brandon and I watched some Dressage clips from the Olympics last night. Every time I see some of the more advanced riders riding the extended trot, sitting to it, I am always amazed. Last night I said, wow, I wish I could actually do that rather than immediately going into posting trot. Brandon said "You can do that, just do it." Granted while riding Epona I was in the western saddle (love that thing btw, it's an old working cow/roping saddle, doesn't move on the horse's back at all and built to pull down a house) but I sat her extended trot, as well as Star's, very exciting for me! So I am glowing. Very happy.
Off to house hunting now.
I hope everyone else had an absolutely wonderful day; riding or otherwise!

~Heather
http://hk3day.blogspot.com
http://www.skygazerranch.com

Personal vs. professional

2008-12-02T00:57:00.000-08:00

As of today, I have two blog spots, not that I've been perfectly punctual with one. However, this blog spot will primarily revolve around my personal life. As opposed to my other blog, Stargazer Ranch, which will primarily revolve around my business, which is budding and new and still trying to breath. We will see though, life is nothing if not an adventure.
I hope you enjoy.

Time with it's enormous wings...

2008-11-18T15:28:00.000-08:00

flies by without my seeming to notice, the more that passes, the quicker it seems to accomplish it's disappearing act.
So much has happened of late, where to ever begin... going to try to make this semi-quick.

In August I moved to a new home, it is a huge house on 27 acres, three sides have a state park abutting them. The atmosphere is tranquil in it's seclusion.
With me, I brought Epona, Lyra, and Xandra. Next Tiska came to join my little herd, she is a breathtaking Hungarian warmblood, who sustain an injury years ago, however has been very successful as a broodmare. Next came Rhys, he is on a long term lease, he is an absolutely gorgeous Bay Curly stallion. Lastly came Star (who is Xandra's mom) and Zypher (who is Xandra's full brother), they belong to my brother, Ryan, and his girlfriend, Caryn. We are expecting four Curly foals next summer and I can hardly contain myself in anticipation of their arrival.
Almost immediately after finding this house I landed an incredible job training German Shepherds and some of their owners even, was a lot of fun. Sadly it was not all that it seemed, not all activity was ethical and some not even legal, so I had to leave, no amount of money is worth my soul.
I am now working very part time in a book store (dangerous place for me to be, I love books almost as much as I love horses!) and am working on training my rideable horses for a potential future career for them in equine facilitated programs. I am really enjoying my time to finally actually spend with my horses.
On a sad note Callie past on October 24, 2008. It was devastating for me, more than I think anyone really knows. To help deal with the grief I went out and got a German Shepherd puppy, Iris. In mythology Iris was the Goddess messenger between heaven and earth, she rides the rainbows for transport between. I thought with Callie having traveled the rainbow bridge, Iris was a fitting name for this little girl. She is such a joyous, happy puppy, very quick to learn and is doing her job in helping me come to terms with Callie's passing.
Once again, I will try to stay a bit more current with this blog. I apologize if things get a bit backed up. :-)

Rest in Peace Callie, My Love.

2008-11-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

I lay there, our last night together, in the bed we'd shared countless nights cuddled together on, hearing a heart beat entirely too fast, mine or hers? Definitely hers, her heart beat too fast, her breathing too shallow. Stroking my hand through her hair, along her body, I could feel every bone, each vertebrae, she hadn't eaten in days, too sick to keep anything down. Burying my face in the mane of her neck I cried, thinking of the life we'd shared to now.

Recalling running down the trail to the beach; hopping over fallen trees, avoiding banana slugs. Callie would run into the sound, tail swishing, snaking from side to side. She'd look back with a glint in her eyes, trot out and find the biggest stick possible. It always amazed me to see the logs she would come prancing over with.

Out in the woods, up a trail to some peak, and around the bend and rolling next to a mountain bike. There was no adventure Callie would pass up. As a puppy she used to adamantly request to join in on car rides, despite the fact that they made her violently ill. Out on trail rides with horses, or just crossing a small field, she would happily trot alongside or just behind them.

She was born on the fourth of July, 2000, the only dog I've ever met who truly didn't mind fireworks. I met her in October of 2000, despite the fact that she was the one puppy who ran over joyously as I pulled up, I did not take her home until almost December, two weeks prior to flying across the country, from NY to WA. She was laid to rest October 24, 2008. During the Winter of Callie's fifth year she was diagnosed with kidney failure, we were given six months, despite the odds her will to live and carry on pulled her through the next three years, showing only marked decline in the last couple of months.

Callie has been the best friend, confidant, and guardian a young woman could ever hope to have. She traveled across the country with me on my first adventure away from home, 3,000 miles away on an airplane, riding first class do to her status as a Search and Rescue dog. She accompanied me on countless adventures to the beach, to the creeks, on trails, on hikes, bikes, and trails. Callie stood guard as I went through many a social adventure and intervened on three separate counts when my personal safety was jeopardized.

Callie escorted me from the realm of teenager, hopeless romantic, and naïve high school graduate through my real testing grounds of growing up into a mature, more realistic, grown adult woman. Callie was the guardian I pray my own child(ren) will have to escort them through the fires of their own training ground as they learn who and what they are and who accompanies them through the passing of their final years of adolescence.

Callie was obedient, intelligent, sympathetic, regal, aware of her self physically and others mentally, and above all, she was always there. She was the perfect companion at all times. Callie was frequently an ambassador, not just for other dogs, but for other humans as well. To those who had lost trust in the human race or those who had terrible past experiences, she always seemed to know what was needed to bring them back to a whole place. Callie's impeccable manners gained her entrance to many places most dogs are not allowed and gave her the ability to interact with a great number of people whose lives are richer for having also been able to know her.

The loss of Callie is unbearable at times. I was blessed to have been loved by her, to have had her in my life for the brief time she was. It was an honor to have been her person. I know she is here still in spirit, I trust she is running through fields after tennis balls, finding enormous tree branches and "rarfing" in the snow she so loved to play in on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

Until we meet again my beloved friend, I miss you dearly, wish you could accompany me in physical form on the next chapters of my life, and look forward to your brief visits and continued guidance in time of need. I love you now and always.

Lyra

2008-07-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Lyra was feeling better, much better, moving out, getting ridden by Erica, my 5'4" twin sister, I'm 5'10" by the way and look a bit over sized for her. Erica though looks fabulous on Lyra, I think they make a lovely pair, I couldn't be happier watching the two of them, not to mention Erica has natural balance and is a very gentle, graceful, considerate rider, which is always nice to see on one of my horses in particular. Then I went ahead and trimmed Lyra's left hind too short and she's all gimpy and I feel absolutely terrible. That said, I have to say, about Lyra, she is stoic. I could not have asked for a more level headed, even tempered, good natured mare. This point is particularly poignant in that Epona, now being in much better shape, only ever wants to be bred and is having a terrible time being reasonable about anything else. I almost feel badly for Epona, however I have a pulled sternum from getting rodeoed off her a few days ago which makes me a little less sympathetic.

been a while

2008-07-01T00:36:00.000-07:00

Hmm, it's been a while, a lot and not so much, all at the same time has been happening here.
I graduated from The Evergreen State College on June 13th, it was such an incredible event, many of Brandon and my family members were able to attend, which was really wonderful!! Pictured here is my brother Ryan, my twin sister Erica, Me, and my brother Trevor. We're always being a bit on the goofy side when the four of us reunite, lots of fun!!
Onto Horse happenings...
There's not a lot to report, has mostly been so chaotic here trying to find a post graduation job, having family visit, leave, other things needing doing, I just haven't been able to do much with the horses.
Scary thing happened yesterday, Xandra got stuck in the fence. The land lord where my horses are seems to enjoy tinkering in the field, especially putting up these ridiculous wire fences everywhere, then he conveniently forgets they need to actually be attached to the t-posts, not just looped over the tops, I can't keep up with the man in terms of running behind him attaching all these new fences, it's irritating really, not to mention terribly dangerous. Anyway, thankfully I was there when it happened and Xandra actually stopped when I yelled for her to Whoa. She stood there and just watched me, so I was able to get the fence squashed down closer to the ground and her leg pulled up and out. Was seriously one of the more scary things I've seen in a long while, I was terrified she'd lacerate herself terribly or worse actually break her leg trying to free herself. Thankfully again, she escaped completely unharmed.
The good news though...Brandon and I found a house to rent...with 27 acres and a huge house and several out buildings including a barn (although the landlord's keeping that as it's ridiculously full of all sorts of junk, for now), two green houses and several other outbuildings. I am so happy about the place I can barely contain it!! It's pretty much perfect for us. There's already a fence up, he's putting up at least two more fences so I can rotate. The one fenced area is about 5 acres, I will be sectioning it off to rotate as well. There is a large, maybe 15 acres? section that is getting hayed this summer and come winter I'll be able to rotate the horses out on that as well. The fencing is a lot more horse friendly, at the least it is attached top, bottom, middle... what a concept. I can have as many horses there as I want, he said he'll even build me a stallion pen if I want!, of course, I'd hope any stallion of mine could run in a field with other horses, at least one other horse, only seems right. Anyway, we don't get to move in 'till August 1st, horses might move sooner at this rate though. :-0
So now, really, all that needs finding is a job. Well, and maybe, in the not tooooooo distant future a couple more beautiful Curly horses to fill out all those acres more thoroughly!! :-)
I am loving my life!!!

walk

2008-06-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

I took Epona & Lyra for a walk today, went a whooping 3 miles. We did do a half mile of hills though, so there's that. Today was more the psychological challenge of having both horses on lead, together, with just me. We went passed the little ponies (Lyra got wild with them, Epona could care less so Lyra stopped being so upset) then we went passed the cows, who in true form came stampeding over to say hi (Epona started to freak, but Lyra could care less, so Epona calmed right down). We also encountered a couple of large trucks, including a UPS truck, the driver said we three looked like three teenagers walking down the road from afar, how flattering. :-) Started raining midway through the walk also, which was actually kind of nice, I was a bit over dressed for the sun. Epona's hooves weren't ouchy on the gravel road at all, which was awesome!!, Lyra's hooves only got ouchy when she caught a stone in her still having a hole left front hoof. All in all went well. On the return trip Epona looked at the cows, then ate some grass with them literally two feet from her, way to go Epona!!!
Tomorrow I am taking them for a much longer walk, might even ride, what a concept, and put Epona's Easyboots on Lyra, lucky me, they wear the same size, so we don't have to deal with the stones getting caught on her. Discovered a much longer, private (yes I got permission) gravely dirt road a little further up the road with loads of hills and valleys and straight aways and it is very quiet. If we can survive the traffic to get to it, it will be really nice to ride on, better daily exercise than the other road. I am hoping, at this rate we will see, but to go on a trail ride with both of them July 19th. It's the Ride for Research held here in Olympia, in Capitol Forest, all entry fees go to support the Washington State Universities equine research department. Good cause, nice event far enough in the future to use as a motivating get out and ride factor. Will see. Perhaps Erica, my twin, will ride with, could be really nice. I did not expect Lyra to be so far along in her training at this point, she's just so willing and easy!!

lessons

2008-06-05T03:42:00.001-07:00

Transcribed lessons from the Band.

Band of horses that is: Epona, Lyra, and Xandra.

June 4, 2008

Lesson One: it’s not personal. When Lyra or Xandra step out of line, Epona schools them back into place, but it isn’t personal. She doesn’t add emotion into the equation, she swishes her tail or pins her ears, maybe even has to go so far as to kick out at one of them, but then it’s done. While the lead mare may discipline, it is done swiftly and then over.

Lesson Two: Escalate. Don’t start off with the harshest measure. When the lead mare disciplines, she starts with a swish of her tail, then pins her ears, then bares her teeth or kicks out in that horse’s direction, then actually kicks them or even runs them off. She goes in stages of gradually escalating her discipline, makes it a lot quicker and easier the next time. Should get to the point where just a look is enough.

Lesson Three: Pressure. Use pressure to get a horse’s attention. If you’ve asked them for a response and they haven’t given it gradually escalate the pressure, go from a look to a movement in air, to slight pressure, to increased pressure, to a lot of pressure so they will start to learn to listen sooner. Should only take a look, not a muscle war.

Lesson Four: Work. Horses, generally, don’t like to work harder than they have to. If the horse isn’t doing what is being asked, make them work for it, the right answer is the easy answer. The wrong answer requires a lot more work.

Lesson Five: Stay Calm. No matter what, stay calm. No matter the situation, if your horse isn’t doing what you ask or your horse is getting nervous, your horse feeds off of your energy, so stay calm. If you breathe in and out and relax, get back to being calm, your horse will follow your lead. You must stay calm though, no one, including your horse, wants to follow a crazy, wound up, irrational, angry, ill tempered leader, they want calm, cool, rational, consistent for their leader. Do as you would have done unto yourself, stay calm.

feeling better

2008-06-04T03:19:00.000-07:00

Todd (my Uncle) and I rode out in the far back field together yesterday. He rode Epona while I rode Lyra, I have to say that the sensation of getting to ride out, with company, on my own horses is truly wonderful!!
That said, Lyra is definitely feeling a lot better, she threw a couple half hearted bucks and rears in before we got going, I just sat very calmly in the saddle, took a deep breath and reassured her that the grass would still be there when we finished and it would be a lot easier for her to just walk along nicely. She quickly settled down and off we walked. Xandra followed behind, lose, what a firecracker she can be at times!! She kept getting distracted by new grass, would look up, realize we'd all moved on, then kick up her heels and charge after us, she'd pass a little ways up and then dive for more grass, pretty funny!
I plan to trim Lyra's hooves again tomorrow, will see if that continues to help her, she still has some hoof wall separation happening, after the improvement from the last trim though, I'm more than happy to keep her as well trimmed as I am able. Might even go for another little ride, this time with Brandon, Yippie!!
Also for all of you barefoot hoof people out there, I wanted to say about the Easyboot Bares, they are a snap to put on! Might not be orthodox, but if you put your horse's toe in the boot, pull the gaitor away from their heel, then place the boot's bottom on your lower thigh, just above your bent knee, support your horse's pastern with your one hand, while you push their heel into the boot with the other, then place their hoof on the ground and let them push their hoof snug, it takes all of about 30 seconds to put one on. Not sure why the fuss about how difficult they are, I actually find them easier to use than the epics. Actually, I thought I must have fit them wrong since it was so easy, looked through all the info again and no, they fit Epona perfectly (don't have a set for Lyra yet, working on it). Anyway, I highly recommend them!!

firsts

2008-05-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

After spending the last couple of days round penning Lyra and getting her to hook up, as well as having had a saddle and surcingle on her , Shaylise (Lyra's co-owner and my 9 yr old niece) rode Lyra for the first time today!! Very exciting, Lyra was very quite and calm about the whole situation. Was a lot of fun!! Plan to have Shaylise ride Lyra again tomorrow, will see how she feels.
Shaylise and I rode double on Epona afterwards. She was a little curious as to what we were doing while trying to get Shaylise up behind me, but all in all was rather chill about the whole thing. We just did a small ride, a little trotting too. However the neighbor was going about saddle training her mare, in a rather aggressive fashion, so decided to curtail the ride early before Epona decided to go to this horse's rescue.
Also trimmed Xandr'a hooves today. They are looking better in some regards, not as great in others, will keep at it. Is great being able to start to know what it is I'm seeing.
Fantastic day!! Looking forward to tomorrow's adventures!!

ground work

2008-05-23T00:39:00.000-07:00

First off, Xandra is FINALLY shedding!!! Wahoo!!!
I worked with all three in the round pen. Went pretty well. Lyra did not want to hook up, understandable, she's newer and very hard headed (much like me in that regard) :-) gotta love her, she did finally hook up in the end, after about 2 minutes. I actually progressed with Xandra to starting to sack her out with different things, she is so completely comfortable with me that nothing phased her. She was actually walking around with a plastic shavings bag on her head, just because, wish I'd gotten a picture! Massaged her ears also. She's a little worried about the fly spray, I think it's a learned thing from Epona who is phobic about the spray (wonder if she ever got some in her eye or some such thing?) anyway, will work more on that tomorrow, didn't want to over load anyone.
After round penning I worked on Lyra's hooves again. Took me about 3 hours, this after two hours yesterday, she is pretty sure she doesn't want her feet worked on. Hopefully after all of this and figureing some more out on her particular hooves we should have an easier time of it in the future. Hopefuly with more ground work she will trust me as her leader more and be more willing to do as I ask too. Will see.
I've been doing my own horses' hoof trimmings since December 2007. Long story, but I've always wanted to, lost the only barefoot trimmer in the area and decided now is as good a time (or better) than ever. So I dove in head first and have been trying to catch up on everything I should already know ever since. I highly recommend this website if you decide to take on barefoot hoof trimming or just for better information and understanding on how this works: http://www.barefoothorse.com/. Also the folks over on the yahoo barefoothorse group have been very, very helpful, so Thank You!!

Graduating!!!

2008-05-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

I will be graduating June 13th, at 1PM, from The Evergreen State College!!! It's taken me eight years, as I've taken a few "breaks" along the way. I'm thrilled to be finishing this chapter of my life! Now as to what next?, not entirely sure. Will figure that one out I'm sure!! :-)

missing piece

2008-05-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

Looking through past blogs, I realize there is a substantial missing piece.
Mattie, the Mustang, did not work out, tried to flip herself over backwards, twice, and well, not really what I have in mind for an eight year old. Truth be told I always had a little prejudice against her, not her fault, but she isn't a Curly. So...she now lives with my neighbor, still shares a fence line and everything, but she is no longer directly part of my herd.
As her replacement for Shaylise, we went out and visited some more Curly horses. We went to meet Warrior's Phantom aka Lyra in April and it was love at first site! She is an absolutely darling, grulla, four year old Curly mare, followed Shaylise around like a puppy dog trying to get a nip of Shaylise's cowgirl hat!
She is an integral part of the herd now. While we have been fighting with boughts of lameness (locking stifle and an abscess) we are hopefully going to get her sound here pretty soon and will be starting her saddle training in earnest. Keep your fingers crossed for her!!
She is almost as friendly as Xandra, which is saying a lot!!

today's ride

2008-05-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I took Epona out for a little ride again today, went riding with her yesterday also and plan to do so again everyday from here on out. We went 3.2 miles, on the road, at the furious record speed of just over an hour!!
Yes, I'm kidding, I mean it really did take us that long, but I really do know that's really slow.
You would not believe the traffic out at 2 in the afternoon, I think we met about 60 cars, on a back road, that I've seen maybe 30 cars on total before today. Not sure what the deal was, maybe they somehow knew we'd be out and couldn't resist seeing the stunning Epona? No idea.
We encountered three fire breathing minis. To Epona's credit while she was extremely nervous she did not take off down the road, which was nice. We also encountered fire breathing cows, which again to Epona's credit she did much better with, snorted at them, but did not take off running; she's taken off galloping down the road on previous tiny walks (maybe a mile in the past). We trotted up a semi-dirt, semi-gravel hill, maybe .2 miles, then walked home. Actually I ended up mostly walking next to Epona as any time I thought things might get interesting, I got off, really want her to trust that when she's out with me, everything is fine and she won't get hurt ever, so I guess we;re in the trust building away from the herd stage of things. We also had a "discussion" at one point, in someone's driveway about walking on, halting, and backing up. We mostly stood stock still, at awkward angles for about five minutes for said "discussion" and I mostly actually laughed at Epona and told her how much of a Chicken Curly she was. We finally walked on, halted, and reversed, then stood for a moment letting it all sink in. She did the lick and chew business, then we set off again. What led to this was her charging into the road while a large truck came at us, then her standing still looking at the oncoming truck like a deer caught in head lights. Thankfully the truck stopped and waited for Epona to get her head back on and we were able to get into this person's driveway.
All in all, a better trip than some we've had in the past, rather a bit of an adventure though.
Oh!, we also encountered several harmless mailboxes, lawn mowers, a chainsaw, ferociously barking dogs, and a few unrelated horses. Epona did well with all of those. I was proud of her. Not sure how to get her over the mini horse/cow fear though, maybe borrow someones minis & cows for a month?, not sure she wouldn't go through the fence though. Thoughts?
At this rate we should be doing a CTR (Competitive Trail Ride) in, oh...10 years or so?, maybe? :-)

Spring

2008-03-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while! Well spring is here, everyone is shedding. By everyone I mean Epona, Xandra, and a new band mate Mattie. Mattie joined the band December 16th as a Christmas present for my boyfriend's eight year old niece, Shaylise. Mattie is a mustang off a range in Oregon, she is not a curly :-(, she is exactly what Shaylise wanted though. She's about 3 1/2 years of age and thankfully is quick to learn new things, proving to be an adventure and a half!!
I've been riding Epona pretty regularly, by that at least once a week. We'd mostly stopped for the winter as we have nowhere indoors to go and it's been pouring rain, yuck!! I recently acquired a hackamore and we are gradually getting used to it. I am hoping that both of us will communicate more effectively with it's use. Will see how it goes.
I've also begun Mattie's training, been lunging her and flapping all sorts of odd items all over her body. Oddly enough while she seems un-flappable about all of this, she still hates having her feet lifted, I haven't dared try trimming them yet, luckily she doesn't need them done yet, she's got really hard hooves.
Xandra's been curious about the work I'm doing with Mattie, so after each of Mattie's sessions I do everything I did with Mattie, with Xandra. We don't do too much and never on a tight circle. I think Xandra learns from watching Mattie make her mistakes, because I just ask Xandra for whatever it is and she does it the first time perfectly. What a smart horse she is!!
I've also been sitting on Epona while she grazes or eats her dinner. She gets a little nervous around being mounted, i am hoping that my daily mounting her and just sitting or laying there quietly on her she will get progressively calmer about the whole thing. So far it seems to be the case.

My Beautiful Curly Girls

2007-11-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Epona and Xandra are both safely "home" near where I live, I am thrilled to have them both in one place where I can see them every day, any time of day, and well, truth be told, I'm enjoying having quiet time with them to myself and being not only the only one responsible for what interactions they are getting, but also being in control of who they even do interact with, ie, no one gets to mess with them without my say so.
Xandra had a cold the last week of October, she is healthy, but now Epona has it. :-( Fortunately it's just that a little nose cold, no temp, decreased appetite, or mood shifts.
Epona had a bath last Saturday and....I got to ride her bareback, twice now!!!! Wow is she smooth!, such a comfortable back, amazing gaits (could sit her trot bareback all day!) and her hair is super soft now that it's all clean!!
I am completely in-love with my two girls!!
Callie loves them too, especially when they all get to play "tag."

First Curly meeting

2007-10-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Age 5, I had my first pony, Daisy ( a flea bitten grey Shetland.) My last horse was a gorgeous Old sport horse type Morgan filly, Sleeper, who was born at my place when I was 15. By age 16, I'd decided I wanted to try a more social, less restrained by horse responsibility life style. I've been working with other people's horses ever since.
Ten years have gone by and now that I am finally nearing completion of my BA, I decided it's time for me to look into having my own horse again.
I went hunting for a breed I could really get involved with, which had the build to maybe do some low level three day eventing, maybe some therapeutic riding, maybe some equine assisted psychotherapy, maybe some driving, maybe, well, anything. Most of all I wanted a breed I could really love, not just a few individuals, but the breed on a whole. Then I thought hmm, I wonder if their are any breeds that are hypoallergenic? I'm not allergic at all, however I've been to a few clinics where participants could not participate because of their allergic reactions. This was the first time I'd ever heard of a Bashkir Curly, which is exactly the horse who came up in my searches. Not only do they have the right build, more like my image of the old sport type Morgans, versatile, as well as the genetic where with all to be able to work with more people who couldn't otherwise due to allergic reactions, but they also possessed one of the most incredible temperaments of any breed I've ever met, or so the information I was finding said.

Of course I had to meet some of these remarkable horses. After looking for a local breeder, I drove an hour and a half to go visit Tames and Jim Alan's Curlies at Celtic Curlies. It was love at first sight!! To be honest I wasn't sure I could handle the curls, I thought maybe they would be too different from my image of a horse for me to fall in-love with them. Couldn't have been more wrong! Their little curls in their ears, ringlets for manes and tails, ringlets for feathers and waves on their bodies were spectacular!
I had been thinking I'd just go look and get some ideas, meet as many curlies as I could and think on it for another year or so.
I visited the Alan's several times and finally they offered to let me purchase their mare, Epona, so much for a year! I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to own her.
She's mostly been getting a little depressed and a lot over weight over the last couple years, as she's no longer a brood mare and thus has been away from her band.
Epona moves to Olympia, near where I live, at the end of October. I plan to work with her gradually every day to get the weight down. Epona has, thus far, proven to be one of those genius horses who reads her rider. She gives me a really hard time, being challenging and quirky, yet put a new rider on her or a rider lacking in confidence and she is as sweet as can be, taking her cues from me the whole time. She is a remarkable personality!!

During my trips to visit Epona, I also went to meet several other curlies, I enjoy meeting them, they are all so amazing! On one such visit I met Xandra. She is an extreme, Bay Roan Bashkir Curly. When I met her she had recently been weaned, she got very stressed and depressed and rubbed out all of her mane and tail along with a lot of her neck and face hair. Honestly I thought she had some sort of mite when I first met her, thought it was odd none of the other horses had it. Funny now, knowing she's an extreme. Her skin was irritated too though. She was being kept in a sandy round pen to help with the weaning. The first day I met her she came right over to the fence nickering. She was leary of letting me touch her, although she did eventually. Sounds like her previous owners didn't really have time to do much with her, so she'd not had much human interactions, seemed curious about being friends but had no real reason to be.

I went back to visit her several times, she got worse about letting me anywhere near her, not better. Finally in desperation I explained to her that she had to make peace with me or she couldn't come home with me. She walked right over, I put a lead rope on her and we did all sorts of new things, like walking with me, scratching itchy spots, even walked onto a trailer in preparation for her trailer ride home.
When I went to pick her up, she walked right on the trailer.
She came home on September 28th, 2007, she's since had her first ever hoof trim, stood better for the farrier than some of the other horses with a lot more experience at it. I can't keep her away from me long enough to get any good pictures of her, which is funny, she follows me around like a puppy dog, helps me with my h.w. (rests her head on my head or the back of the chair I'm in, or tries to eat the book I'm reading when I try to do h.w. in her field with her,) nickers when I arrive, and is perhaps the sweetest horse I've ever met. Not to mention she is fearless, curious, confident, and learns things scarily quickly. She's definitely decided humans are pretty neat to have around, not to mention all the tasty treats they seem to have so frequently! ;-)
I love my two Curlies and honestly still can't believe I get to have them in my life, it's all very exciting!
I will try to keep up every now and again with updates as to what we are all up to, any training we try or experiences that are noteworthy. Hope you enjoy!
~Heather, Epona, and Xandra.

I am looking forward to Epona joining Xandra and I here in Olympia and eventually getting both of my Curlies out into the world to help educate more people about their existence!!