highs and lows

The highs and lows of 2023 are continuing. Right to the very end of the year. 2023 is part of back-to-back loong years, that for the most part I do not care to repeat. I was am truly looking forward to starting fresh in 2024. There is so much to look forward to, and yet one cannot ignore the reality that will spill over into a new year.

....................... 

Our vet was out to check Koda's lameness. Again. His uncommon "right front Straight Sesamoidean Ligament" injury improved, but he never became fully sound. Lately, Koda has been very lame on his left front (with lingering soreness on right). Sigh. The left soreness appears to be associated with his Navicular. However, Koda is showing uncommon Navicular related reactions. I am not convinced it is his Navicular. Equine suffering with Navicular typically find relief from soft footing. Koda's lameness gets significantly worse on soft footing. 

Not sure what I was expecting. 

Our vet will be consulting with Koda's MRI specialist vet again. I won't know more about their recommendations until 2024.

Reality rearing it's ugly head again.

For now, we are trying to lessen Koda's pain. A short round of Bute will be replaced with Equioxx. A new drug to us. I believe Blogger Linda had her beloved Cowboy on it for a while. 

I learned Equioxx was originally a canine pain medication. Oddly enough the equine pill dose given to a horse is also for the size of an Dachshund.

Our vet also wants us to continue giving Koda Cosequin, and said it may help him down the road.

I guess I should be happy that there is a road to go down. 

To this I say, how lucky am I to be able to care for a horse like Koda. 

Below is one of the video's I took to show our vet how Koda walks throughout his day. It does not show his worst limp. That happens inside the arena.

Koda comes when called.
Head into the barn for his mid-day switch with Nemo.
12/27/23 (26 secs)

....................... 

The most exciting thing to look forward to in 2024 is that Brad and I will be starting a new chapter together!! He decided to retire, and sell his half of the concrete company at the beginning of 2023. Yesterday was his last day.

Super happy for Brad! His retirement is so well deserved.

January 2nd he will officially no longer be a co-owner at a company where he worked his ass way up from the bottom to the top. Brad mentored many and set a standard no one has/can duplicate. He was the foundation (no pun intended) of the company for over three decades (37 yrs). It took three guys to "replace" him. Although you cannot really replace experience or his work ethic. However, the 76 year old company (it grew from 40ish when he bought in, to 145-60 full time employees) will adjust and operate differently. 

Brad's goal was to put in 40 years (longest employee) but changed his mind after - well - if you read this blog then you are aware. He promised me "it" wasn't the reason. Instead he says "it opened his eyes" and that 40 is just a number. Brad wants to be home with me and our animals, working and enjoying our land etc. Living our dream.

I don't know what I did to deserve such a love.

We will have so much more time to share with our horses in 2024!! Like our newest girl, who gave us so much Hope throughout this trying year. 

Hope joins us on our daily walks
12/13/23

12/15/23 (24 secs)

12/23/23 (26 secs)

12/23/23 (10 secs)

12/23/23 (12 secs)

mind over matter

In the midst of our moving craze, Brad showed Cierra in Ranch at two AQHA shows. I feel bad I completely missed his first show this season. The May venue is two hours away. In typical show world style the times predicted, shifted. I was too far away to make it in time. Sounds like the riding went okay, but not as well as past years. With everything he has going on, Brad hasn't been able to put in the riding time. They did really well in Amateur Ranch Conformation, coming home with all 4 firsts out of 6 or 7 horses. 

This past week/end was Brad's second show. I had our son's dog with me the first day he showed, so I didn't even bother attempting to take photos or video. She is new to horses and horse shows. Our "little horse" is a sweetie and got lots of attention. We are really proud of how she handled everything! It's a huge busy show, with multiple arenas in two pavilions. The horses were at this show Tuesday-Sunday. 

Remi

Brad placed & did okay with his rides again. Ranch trail/riding classes had around 12 entries. He continues working on not letting his nerves get in his way. Mind over matter is hard to achieve. Most riders at AQHA shows are so very seasoned, that any little thing puts you out of point placement. Placing is far from the only thing that counts anyways. Brad is having fun living his dream, and that's what's important. I am really proud of him! 

The only other ranch rider from our trainers barn got some firsts & seconds, and came home with a beautiful handmade Dale Chavez halter for winning high point ranch. We are good friends & thrilled for her! 

Father's Day was Brad's second day of showing, and both his rides improved. Our son & daughter came to watch, as well as his parents. This was the first time they've ever seen him ride. 

I shot video with my phone. You'll notice Cierra didn't want to line up on the log side pass for both Brad (& our trainer, she shows her in open classes). Silly girl, I've seen her do this right 100X. He also got docked for inadvertently dropping his rein after the log pull, right in front of the judges. Whoops! He didn't want me to share the trail video. Too bad. I think Brad should have gotten bonus points for gracefully grabbing his rein and continuing on like nothing happened. SO many other good parts to his rides, like his flying change and his transitions are getting smoother. If you are interested, take a peak:

AQHA Amateur Ranch Pleasure Riding 

AQHA Amateur Ranch Trail

there is good in the world

Sharing some good in the world, for those of you who may not have seen the video below.

Good luck keeping a dry eye.

build-a-barn ~ rapid change

Two weeks into our barn project and already so much has changed...

birds eye view

Below is a short 360 degree video of the big picture. It starts at the barn. The house will be where the snow covered hay is spread out (near bottom of screen, about 18 seconds into video) then you'll see our neighbors barn & house in the distance through the trees, the field where the outdoor arena will eventually be, and end back at the barn.

you won't be able to see through the barn for long
unless the doors are open

view through the peak

things were starting to warm up & melt
it made for great reflections

we opted to forgo a dumpster to cut costs
and dispose of building materials ourselves

For the first time in years, we didn't travel for Valentines Day. It's one of my favorite holidays. It's gotten a bad rap. For me, it is not a holiday created by Hallmark for couples to spend money proving their love. To me it's a day to celebrate love, of all kinds. A day to do whatever it is that you love doing. Brad & I don't gift each other anything. Instead we spend time together. This year we stayed home in part because of the barn, but mostly because he had a work commitment the following two days. Darn work gets in the way of everything, but it also helps fulfill dreams.

Week three:

walls & ceiling are done on storage side

it's all about the horse side now

working on the walls

looks like we are going to have to crawl
to get through that human door on the right ;)

a wide path will be made in this tree line
for the horses to come in from the pasture
(where I am standing)

putting up tongue & groove boards

The barn changed rapidly during the third week. It won't be long before the builders are finished with their part of the build...

off-topic
day 45/365 ~ photo challenge

.......................................................................


View other Build-a-Barn posts to date.

sharing video's

I try not to hit forward on most things that cross my feeds, and add to our over stimulated society. But some things just hit home, and warrant repeating. Incase you didn't see the video that is circulating on a blind horse and his owner, you should. It warms my heart. What a great guy, and rider!

Have you noticed an increase in forwards & shares, in general? I have. Altho I rarely click on this type of stuff, I would not have seen this blind horse video, or the one below of an 87 year old woman's last wish, if someone had not taken a second to share it.

https://www.facebook.com/Beeldwerk.TV/videos/1289047834471385/

Sorry this video is via a link. I can't find the actual video (you can see it even if you don't do Facebook) because it's um, in German. However, words aren't needed. It too is worth the time to watch. If you choose to do so, stick it out until the end. It will pull on your heartstrings. 

The world could use more positive stimulation, and less negative. Just spreading the good word.

turtle sundays

Video of Koda & Nemo credit: Gina (best viewed with volume off)
 

Regular Turtle Sundays featuring an odd looking

pig-faced turtle on adventures will be returning.

snowy ride in spain

Ride along snowy trails in the beautiful Basque region of Spain. This fun video is sure to bring some smiles to your winter!!

Can you believe the breathtaking beauty that surrounds them?!! If it looks this good in a video, one can only imagine what it feels like in person...sigh. I'm not much of a video watcher, but found this short one to be captivating. It has some interesting trail activity. 

Have you ridden in a unique location (s)? or a favorite? Do share. Until this girl can get out on the trails, you'll find me dreaming of riding them...

holiday bonus

We planned on taking advantage of the Fourth of July holiday, to ride an extra day. Plans came together and we enjoyed a sunny late afternoon ride, just our three horses in an outdoor relaxing arena atmosphere.

Our frainer is typically pulled in 500 directions so she really savors rare moments like these, and so do we. I have no clue how she patiently deals with all of "it"...nice to just spend time together and ride. I am glad she was able to join us. She rode Cierra, and Brad & I rode our usual mounts. We had not seen Cierra under saddle for several months. She is looking really good, responsive but relaxed, and enjoying her job.

In the midst of the arena fun, the resident grandkids asked to ride. Brad led them in hand on Nemo. They are young, and it was the first time Nemo had done kid duty. He was a champ! Altho Brad said he nudged him in the back while leading the kids (separately) as if to say "are you kidding me?". Gotta love that spotted horse! While this was going on, Koda was all ears. He was very curious what those little people were doing on his brothers back!

We rode on Saturday & Sunday too, a bonus three days in a row! Doesn't happen too often. I am back to loping regularly, altho getting more softness still needs work. Oh, and getting that darn (expletive removed) left lead!! Koda is making me work so hard for it, and knows what I am asking for... 

His left counter canter is so smooth that I need an extra set of eyes to reassure I am feeling what I think I am. Wish I didn't have to ask for help, but I just don't catch it fast enough. Sometimes I'm correct, many times I'm not. I'll simply have to keep working at feeling it...just when I think I've got our left lope off figured out, we seem to take two steps back.

I asked Brad to take a video of us loping left, so I could not only feel but see where we are at. I think seeing yourself/horse can help. Nice of him to oblige, however the video turned out b-b-b-bouncy! He trotted on Nemo to "keep up"...granted it is a big outdoor arena, but I'm pretty sure zoom would have worked better ;) it was pretty funny at the time. 

Here we are in motion, going forward and with a little extra help from Brad going up & down too! Not pretty, but we are slowly getting there. I think.

spontaneous moments

Sunday we experienced one of those rare spontaneous moments, when things slow down enough to enjoy life's simple treasures and the company of others. We went to the barn to ride as we often do, and ended up taking an unexpected first trail ride of the season! 

Four of us warmed up in the outdoor arena. Brad rode Nemo, Trainer Patty rode Cierra, her brand new employee "H" rode Zeek (an older horse that is being re-homed) and of course I rode Koda.

The resident dalmatian puppy came along for his first trail ride ever, as we headed out to ride in Koda & Nemo's current turn out pasture. I took a short video (with sound) of Brad & Nemo and Patty & Cierra loping in the far corner. 

It wasn't long before we left the pasture and rode up the farm lane, right next to a rambunctious colt who was doing his best acrobatic moves and racing the fence line. All the horses were understandably a bit look-y. We rode past other farm obstacles, on the way up to a small wooded area. We found crunching leaves, fresh smells, branches to ride under/over, twists, dips and turns that we rode up, over and around. We had not ridden in this wooded area before, it wasn't big but had a nice variety of trail stuff to experience.

Below is a photo of us on our way back from the woods. We paused for Patty to briefly ride Zeek, and show her employee a better way to communicate with him. 

Cierra, Nemo, Zeek, Koda (L-R)

The horses all did great overall, only one chain reaction spook caused by the rowdy pastured colt on the way back. We were especially proud of Cierra, the youngest horse on her second farm/trail ride ever. Everyone was all smiles, even the horses seemed happy to be doing something different. It was a great way to begin the trail riding season!!

nerves of steel ~ london style

Crank up your sound and enjoy this video. Watch 'til the end, you will be amazed. I was.