Friday was a crazy day! It actually started Thursday evening, I was a bit amped up in my brain and I knew the next day would be hectic, so I stayed up way too late getting things done around the house and getting the car loaded for our road trip to OR. Finally at midnight, I fell asleep.
3:40am comes awefully early on that little of sleep!! Got up, showered, dressed and out the door to drop Derek off at work. Then drove to Freddy's which suprisingly is not open at 5am! Damn. Thank Goodness Haggen was open that early, shopped for the supplies I needed to make cinnamon rolls and then drove home. Fed all the critters and got to work on making the rolls. Our annual horse club cinnamon roll ride was the next day, so it is tradition for me to make all the rolls... LONG ago, it was gramma that made the rolls, so I have restarted and now carry on the tradition. However, I am NOWHERE NEAR the baker that she was, so for the next hour, I struggled with my dough, particularly the damn yeast.. It is very sensitive and I killed it on all 3 of my attempts...
I was hopeful the 3rd try was a go, and I had a few other things I needed to pick up from the store, so at 7:30 I left my dough to rise and ran to Freddys', then picked up mom on the way back home for her to help me out with finishing up my rolls. Darn if that damn dough did not rise an inch!! THANK GOODNESS I bought more yeast when at Freddys.....
So the 4th round I just handed it over to mom to get it right because if that 4th batch didnt work out, I was going to have to go to the store 1 more time, as I was OUT of the other supplies used to make the dough!! :) Whew, round 4 was a success.
My dough only made enough for 6 batches of rolls.. enough for the ride, but not enough for leftovers. The first 3 went in the oven to bake and came out lookin pretty good.. maybe a little soft in the center, but last year I over-cooked the rolls and didnt want to make that mistake again.. When they are eaten cold (no microwave available at the trailhead), it is better to be under cooked than over! We put the last 3 rolls into the oven and 20 minutes later I opened the door to check on them..
They were flat and uncooked! SHIT!! Somehow the oven got turned OFF after the 1st round of rolls was cooked, so with the dropping heat, the rolls un-rose and flattened out.. we turned the oven back on and proceeded to cook the rolls. They baked just fine, but they were the flatest rolls I'd ever seen! LOL
So my baking days could use some work and experience! I ate one of the rolls fresh and hot, it was delicious, then boxed them all up, typed up a note for the club members, apologizing for the flat rolls, but that they better eat 'em and like 'em.... :) I couldnt be there for the event, I was headed out on a road trip.
As soon as the rolls were done, I squared things away in the house, grabbed my overnight bag and headed out the door. Dropped the rolls off at a friends house who was going to take them the next day to the horse club ride, drove to town, fueled up, picked up Derek from work and we hit the road! We left Everett at 2pm and headed to Enumclaw to pick up his saddle that had come in a few days earlier. His saddle looked great and it was exactly what he wanted, so we put it in the car and continued our journey to OR. Weather was great, clear sky's, dry pass and we had a long but safe successful drive to Redmond OR, checking into our hotel at 11:20pm... I struggled to stay awake in the car on the drive down, but as soon as I hit the pillow, I struggled to fall asleep... excitement, anticipation, exhaustion was all kicking in but 20 minutes later I was out!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Willy
We woke up earlier than necessary Saturday morning.. we were not due to be at the farm to see Willy until 10am. But we got up and out, ate a delicious continental breakfast, drove past the farm and then spent the next hour driving around the Redmond OR area.. went to Sisters OR, an area many friends have been to for an annual big Rodeo down there.. Finally returned to the farm at 10 to see the horse I've been anxious to see for the past 2.5 weeks!
The seller, Christy, is very nice. She does not ride, she breeds and raises halter horses. Her son Matt is the one that trained Willy so he was there as well. We chatted for a bit and then went over to Willy. OMG, he was frickin HUGE! I mean, I figured from his pictures he looked pretty big, but I think he had gained weight since those pics and he was just huge. He didnt look fat, but definately the WIDEST non-draft horse I have probably ever seen! His back will hold water! :)
He looked great though.. he has a slightly dainty head compared to his body, its a bit girly! :) I think the purple halter wasnt helping him look more manly. I watched him free lunge in the arena, wanted to see how he moved without a rider, check for any visible lameness etc. He looked sound and sane, he definately has been worked a lot with lunging commands!
I asked if I could saddle him at my car instead of in the barn, they seemed leary of doing that since he had always been saddled in the barn, but my point was to do things outside of his comfort zone to see how he reacted to new situations. I had told Christy and Matt this before I drove down that I would be doing odd tests to him since he is an unproven trail horse.
He handled the saddling just fine, but apparently he had never had a back cinch or breast collar on before, but again he didnt seem too fazed by them. I asked Matt to ride him first. He seemed to be a bit rusty, Matt only walked and trotted him around which was fine as I already knew he didnt have much loping work yet. Willy is not even 6 yet, so he is still green. Derek gave me a bit of a boost and I got on. I was only the 2nd person to ever ride Willy and it was only his 3rd ride in the past 6 months.. the first ride was 3 days prior and then Matt riding him that day before me! :) He was doing okay. I was a bit nervous I have to admit, because Willy didnt feel 100% relaxed under me. At the walk, he started to test me in one corner of the arena, he kept wanting to stop there and after a few rounds, he did stop and refused to move. With a little bit of nudging he reared a tiny bit but he did not win the battle and after that he was a lot easier to ride because he finally started to relax and just listen.
It was funny because although Matt knew I was an experienced person, he kept wanting to chime in when I was riding Willy and trying to tell me how to handle this or that.. if Willy sped up to a faster walk or tried to trot on me, Matt would walk towards me and start to tell me how to ride. His mom Christy kept telling him to stop doing that, that I was just fine! :) I think it was a little weird for him seeing someone else on his baby... He did apologize for doing it, he wasnt trying to be a know-it-all, he just couldnt help himself.. I finally worked up to trotting Willy around the arena, it was VERY smooth and comfy. Willy has been trained to do that slow western pleasure, drag your feet type jog and it was nice. He did break out of that into a faster job which was comfy too.
Willy is very responsive to WHOA! Matt says it very sharp and stern.. to much so in my opinion as he is WHOA and I am whooooaaa. Willy didnt know whoooaaa! lol I tried backing him and he refused, Matt then told me he had never backed the horse. WHAT! I didnt say that, but was thinking it... the horse has 30-40 rides and has never been backed.. odd. But by the 3rd attempt, Willy was backing perfectly and with little pressure. I also turned him into the wall a bit, it was making Willy a bit testy but he was fine. Matt had never done that either.
I got off, content that I had not loped the horse. I was feeling very iffy about him though, as I knew he had a long ways to go with training and work. Basically he has been babied.. Matt didnt use pressure on him and I think he worked more on getting that slow jog than on anything else. Willy wasnt sure why I was putting more leg into him and didnt like it.. swished his tail mostly. He never offered to buck and I wasnt satisfied with the bridle setup he was using either. Once I got off, I put my saddle bags on him, he was very uneasy about that. We turned him loose to lope around with them on, and at the trot, he seemed ok, but once he loped, he got to buckin. But it was a very controlled buck, he was not bolting nor out of control because as soon as Matt said WHOA, that horse quit bucking and stopped... impressive! :)
He didnt love the plastic bag I put on him either, but he wasnt panicky, just uneasy and uncomfortable. Christy by this time was feeling like Willy had been put through enough as everything I did with him was new to him. I didnt feel like it was too much, but I could sense that Christy was starting to worry about her baby!
We unsaddled him at the car and I led him out around the driveway.. the other horses started to get excited and amped up so Willy do too. He actually reared, never struck, just reared in excitement and danced around me a little.. but after a minute he settled back down to earth and was calm again. He is not real respectful on the lead, he walks infront of me and not with me, so he needs some work on that. When he would stop ahead of me, I put my fingers on his chest, asking him to back up to where I was at and he didnt like that. He actually at one point reached over and nipped by arm.. didnt get me badly but he definately made contact. I punished him! Felt kinda bad for doing so because I think that was the first time he had ever been "spanked".. lol the next time I put my fingers on his chest, it was funny because he looked at me and wanted to nip me and I just looked at him and said noooo and he actually thought about it and decided he better not! I was laughing because I could see his thought process, which told me he will get over that. He just has never had his buttons pushed by anyone and he doesnt understand why this stranger is doing these things to him.
I put him away and told Christy I needed time to think on him, that Derek and I would go for a drive and either call or come back. 30 minutes later I called her and told her I needed a day or two and that if she sold him in the meantime, I would have to accept that, but I wanted to talk to a friend about him and decide from there. She said she would give me the 2 days to think it over. Derek and I talked a lot about him for the next hour.. I REALLY liked him as did Derek, BUT he is greener than I anticipated and he needs some work. He is unproven as a trail horse which I knew that going down and he was a little testier than I thought he would be.. but I had to keep thinking that he was ridden just 3 times in 6 months! And I was very impressed with how in-control he was at all times. He never panicked and took it all in the best he could for what I put him through.
Derek and I were an hour outside Redmond, stopping to have some lunch when I called Christy back again.. she was asking $2800 for him, but I wasnt quite willing to spend that because I knew he was going to need further training, so I offered $2500 and she accepted! :) He is worth that much to me for all that he is. I'm paying a lot for build, conformation, looks, potential and his level-headedness... a smaller portion of that pay is for the little training in him. I spoke with Shannon and she is going to put 30 days training on him for me.. she will PUSH his BUTTONS and really test him and get the time and experience on him that he needs for me. I could do it all no problem, I am not afraid of Willy but I dont have an arena or dry area to ride and she can accomplish more and much quicker than I can. If at the end of 30 days, he needs a little more time, then I will pay it because I really like this horse! He is a perfect age, best built horse I've ever owned and he's just a nice horse.
I am heading back down to OR with a friend on Thursday, will bring him home on Friday.. well not home, he's going straight to Shannon! :) I cant wait.... I have wanted a horse like him almost my entire life and I am just so hopeful that he turns out to be all I expect and more!!!!
The seller, Christy, is very nice. She does not ride, she breeds and raises halter horses. Her son Matt is the one that trained Willy so he was there as well. We chatted for a bit and then went over to Willy. OMG, he was frickin HUGE! I mean, I figured from his pictures he looked pretty big, but I think he had gained weight since those pics and he was just huge. He didnt look fat, but definately the WIDEST non-draft horse I have probably ever seen! His back will hold water! :)
He looked great though.. he has a slightly dainty head compared to his body, its a bit girly! :) I think the purple halter wasnt helping him look more manly. I watched him free lunge in the arena, wanted to see how he moved without a rider, check for any visible lameness etc. He looked sound and sane, he definately has been worked a lot with lunging commands!
I asked if I could saddle him at my car instead of in the barn, they seemed leary of doing that since he had always been saddled in the barn, but my point was to do things outside of his comfort zone to see how he reacted to new situations. I had told Christy and Matt this before I drove down that I would be doing odd tests to him since he is an unproven trail horse.
He handled the saddling just fine, but apparently he had never had a back cinch or breast collar on before, but again he didnt seem too fazed by them. I asked Matt to ride him first. He seemed to be a bit rusty, Matt only walked and trotted him around which was fine as I already knew he didnt have much loping work yet. Willy is not even 6 yet, so he is still green. Derek gave me a bit of a boost and I got on. I was only the 2nd person to ever ride Willy and it was only his 3rd ride in the past 6 months.. the first ride was 3 days prior and then Matt riding him that day before me! :) He was doing okay. I was a bit nervous I have to admit, because Willy didnt feel 100% relaxed under me. At the walk, he started to test me in one corner of the arena, he kept wanting to stop there and after a few rounds, he did stop and refused to move. With a little bit of nudging he reared a tiny bit but he did not win the battle and after that he was a lot easier to ride because he finally started to relax and just listen.
It was funny because although Matt knew I was an experienced person, he kept wanting to chime in when I was riding Willy and trying to tell me how to handle this or that.. if Willy sped up to a faster walk or tried to trot on me, Matt would walk towards me and start to tell me how to ride. His mom Christy kept telling him to stop doing that, that I was just fine! :) I think it was a little weird for him seeing someone else on his baby... He did apologize for doing it, he wasnt trying to be a know-it-all, he just couldnt help himself.. I finally worked up to trotting Willy around the arena, it was VERY smooth and comfy. Willy has been trained to do that slow western pleasure, drag your feet type jog and it was nice. He did break out of that into a faster job which was comfy too.
Willy is very responsive to WHOA! Matt says it very sharp and stern.. to much so in my opinion as he is WHOA and I am whooooaaa. Willy didnt know whoooaaa! lol I tried backing him and he refused, Matt then told me he had never backed the horse. WHAT! I didnt say that, but was thinking it... the horse has 30-40 rides and has never been backed.. odd. But by the 3rd attempt, Willy was backing perfectly and with little pressure. I also turned him into the wall a bit, it was making Willy a bit testy but he was fine. Matt had never done that either.
I got off, content that I had not loped the horse. I was feeling very iffy about him though, as I knew he had a long ways to go with training and work. Basically he has been babied.. Matt didnt use pressure on him and I think he worked more on getting that slow jog than on anything else. Willy wasnt sure why I was putting more leg into him and didnt like it.. swished his tail mostly. He never offered to buck and I wasnt satisfied with the bridle setup he was using either. Once I got off, I put my saddle bags on him, he was very uneasy about that. We turned him loose to lope around with them on, and at the trot, he seemed ok, but once he loped, he got to buckin. But it was a very controlled buck, he was not bolting nor out of control because as soon as Matt said WHOA, that horse quit bucking and stopped... impressive! :)
He didnt love the plastic bag I put on him either, but he wasnt panicky, just uneasy and uncomfortable. Christy by this time was feeling like Willy had been put through enough as everything I did with him was new to him. I didnt feel like it was too much, but I could sense that Christy was starting to worry about her baby!
We unsaddled him at the car and I led him out around the driveway.. the other horses started to get excited and amped up so Willy do too. He actually reared, never struck, just reared in excitement and danced around me a little.. but after a minute he settled back down to earth and was calm again. He is not real respectful on the lead, he walks infront of me and not with me, so he needs some work on that. When he would stop ahead of me, I put my fingers on his chest, asking him to back up to where I was at and he didnt like that. He actually at one point reached over and nipped by arm.. didnt get me badly but he definately made contact. I punished him! Felt kinda bad for doing so because I think that was the first time he had ever been "spanked".. lol the next time I put my fingers on his chest, it was funny because he looked at me and wanted to nip me and I just looked at him and said noooo and he actually thought about it and decided he better not! I was laughing because I could see his thought process, which told me he will get over that. He just has never had his buttons pushed by anyone and he doesnt understand why this stranger is doing these things to him.
I put him away and told Christy I needed time to think on him, that Derek and I would go for a drive and either call or come back. 30 minutes later I called her and told her I needed a day or two and that if she sold him in the meantime, I would have to accept that, but I wanted to talk to a friend about him and decide from there. She said she would give me the 2 days to think it over. Derek and I talked a lot about him for the next hour.. I REALLY liked him as did Derek, BUT he is greener than I anticipated and he needs some work. He is unproven as a trail horse which I knew that going down and he was a little testier than I thought he would be.. but I had to keep thinking that he was ridden just 3 times in 6 months! And I was very impressed with how in-control he was at all times. He never panicked and took it all in the best he could for what I put him through.
Derek and I were an hour outside Redmond, stopping to have some lunch when I called Christy back again.. she was asking $2800 for him, but I wasnt quite willing to spend that because I knew he was going to need further training, so I offered $2500 and she accepted! :) He is worth that much to me for all that he is. I'm paying a lot for build, conformation, looks, potential and his level-headedness... a smaller portion of that pay is for the little training in him. I spoke with Shannon and she is going to put 30 days training on him for me.. she will PUSH his BUTTONS and really test him and get the time and experience on him that he needs for me. I could do it all no problem, I am not afraid of Willy but I dont have an arena or dry area to ride and she can accomplish more and much quicker than I can. If at the end of 30 days, he needs a little more time, then I will pay it because I really like this horse! He is a perfect age, best built horse I've ever owned and he's just a nice horse.
I am heading back down to OR with a friend on Thursday, will bring him home on Friday.. well not home, he's going straight to Shannon! :) I cant wait.... I have wanted a horse like him almost my entire life and I am just so hopeful that he turns out to be all I expect and more!!!!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Love the New Car Smell
Yep, I get to experience the NEW CAR Smell Daily! :)We've been contemplating buying another small commuter car for myself, to take miles off the truck and save on fuel. We have been spending $500/month on fuel just for the truck (the gas mileage on it SUCKS SUCKS!!) and the wear and tear on the truck was really bothering us. We want to have a strong reliable truck to haul our horses and camper around.
So we started looking at cars.. quickly ruled out Chevy as their cars felt very cramped inside. We ended up buying a Ford Focus, hatchback version.
It's super cute! But we didnt buy it because it was cute... Our first criteria was good gas mileage, this one will get up to 40mpg. 2nd criteria was roomeyness inside when we both were sitting in the car, our arms dont really overlap or touch when inside. And 3rd, the payment had to be under a certain amount, they made that happen.
So we have a new car! Our monthly car payment and fuel cost will be very close to the outgo we were spending just in fuel for the truck, but we will spend a little more every month to have the car because of the auto insurance expense, but it is worth it in the long run... I am always panicky when getting into a new damn auto loan, I drive Derek crazy with my crazyness! He just shakes his head and tells me to relax and calm down, and all will be fine.. always is! But I still get anxious about the whole thing, even though our budget says we can handle it.. problem is staying within budget monthly! LOL
I think one of my favorite features of the car is that my cell phone is connected to the radio system, so when a call comes in, I can voice command answer the call and I'm talking through my stereo and hearing the person through my car speakers! Its kinda cool... :) I can also voice command call people too!!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sold
So much for waiting for Dexter to shed his winter coat and progress further in his training before offering him up for sale.. I decided to put him on the market just to see if there was any interest, so he's been for sale the past couple weeks.. Had a few people that seemed pretty interested, but noone followed through on their emails as far as their interest in actually buying him. This past weekend Derek & I were supposed to be in OR on Sunday to look at a horse, but the seller had to reschedule. It worked our perfectly though, because a potential buyer for Dexter contacted me Saturday night, she came out to see Dexter on Sunday and called today to buy him!!! :)
I am really happy about where he is going and hope the buyer will be happy with him too. I've been working as often as I can with him at de-spooking and he's coming along well. He's starting to go through his terrible 2's phase, where he is a bit more testy than before and now that he's more comfortable with people in general, he tries to push his luck. He doesnt get far! :) My work the past few weeks has really been paying off though, he is a lot less jumpy and he now greats me at his stall door eager to get out.
This picture was taken a month ago...
These two pictures were taken a week ago.. he really is starting to look like a horse and not so much like a baby! :) It was POURING rain the day I took these, but I needed to try to get decent pictures of him since people were asking for them! I also took a little bit of video of him lunging around in the pouring rain.. he and I were drowning in it all.
He is also growing too, his butt is up to 15.2h and his withers are at 14.3 I am going to miss him, he is great project to work with, but I am relieved to not have a project right now too. One less thing to stress about.
So on to the horse I was supposed to go see!!! I have been waiting a couple weeks as it is to be able to go see Willy.... He is a 16.1h 1400lb Paint Gelding down in Redmond OR. I have not been wanting to jinx this by mentioning him, but I think he might be a real good prospect for me! His pictures are BEAUTIFUL, he looks amazing for a sorrel and in all honesty, I dont like most sorrels!! But I do like him. He is not an experienced trail horse, actually he hasnt been ridden really outside of an arena and he is only 5.. but from what I have been told, he has the calm temperment I am looking for especially in a horse lacking experience. The seller had to be out of town this past weekend unexpectedly, so we have rescheduled for Saturday.
Our horse club cinammon roll ride is this coming Saturday and I as usual, am baking all the rolls on Friday. Took the day off work, will spend it baking with my mom's help/guidance and then when Derek gets home, we will head out of town down to OR. Spend the night in a hotel, then see Willy in the morning. Oh and I will be dropping the rolls off with a friend to take up for the horse club ride!! :) Bummer I cant be there, but I need to get down and see Willy and be back by Saturday evening so that I can be home Sunday to sell Dexter to his new owner! It will be a long weekend, but hopefully a very fullfilling one!
Here is a picture of Willy taken this year...
I am trying not to get too excited about him, dont want to set myself up to fail and be too eager to buy the wrong horse.
Derek & I went to our first adoption seminar a couple weeks ago, it was very insightful and informative. We probably will not work with the Antioch program simply because I dont think they would work with us! They are a christian based program for christian families and although we tend to follow christian beliefs and lifestyle, we do not attend church and the Antioch program appears to expect that you do. We are going to go to a meeting late April that talks about the WA DSHS foster to adopt program and how we can adopt directly through the state. That last meeting at Antioch really stirred up a lot of emotions for me especially. Hit me like a ton of damn bricks when we left the meeting.. I was a wreck all the way home. But Derek & I talked a lot about our options, what we want etc and we still feel this is the best route for us right now.
Well I'll be in touch with the happenings of the busy weekend ahead. I can hardly wait.. I am excited for all the changes coming our way!!
I am really happy about where he is going and hope the buyer will be happy with him too. I've been working as often as I can with him at de-spooking and he's coming along well. He's starting to go through his terrible 2's phase, where he is a bit more testy than before and now that he's more comfortable with people in general, he tries to push his luck. He doesnt get far! :) My work the past few weeks has really been paying off though, he is a lot less jumpy and he now greats me at his stall door eager to get out.
This picture was taken a month ago...
These two pictures were taken a week ago.. he really is starting to look like a horse and not so much like a baby! :) It was POURING rain the day I took these, but I needed to try to get decent pictures of him since people were asking for them! I also took a little bit of video of him lunging around in the pouring rain.. he and I were drowning in it all.
He is also growing too, his butt is up to 15.2h and his withers are at 14.3 I am going to miss him, he is great project to work with, but I am relieved to not have a project right now too. One less thing to stress about.
So on to the horse I was supposed to go see!!! I have been waiting a couple weeks as it is to be able to go see Willy.... He is a 16.1h 1400lb Paint Gelding down in Redmond OR. I have not been wanting to jinx this by mentioning him, but I think he might be a real good prospect for me! His pictures are BEAUTIFUL, he looks amazing for a sorrel and in all honesty, I dont like most sorrels!! But I do like him. He is not an experienced trail horse, actually he hasnt been ridden really outside of an arena and he is only 5.. but from what I have been told, he has the calm temperment I am looking for especially in a horse lacking experience. The seller had to be out of town this past weekend unexpectedly, so we have rescheduled for Saturday.
Our horse club cinammon roll ride is this coming Saturday and I as usual, am baking all the rolls on Friday. Took the day off work, will spend it baking with my mom's help/guidance and then when Derek gets home, we will head out of town down to OR. Spend the night in a hotel, then see Willy in the morning. Oh and I will be dropping the rolls off with a friend to take up for the horse club ride!! :) Bummer I cant be there, but I need to get down and see Willy and be back by Saturday evening so that I can be home Sunday to sell Dexter to his new owner! It will be a long weekend, but hopefully a very fullfilling one!
Here is a picture of Willy taken this year...
I am trying not to get too excited about him, dont want to set myself up to fail and be too eager to buy the wrong horse.
Derek & I went to our first adoption seminar a couple weeks ago, it was very insightful and informative. We probably will not work with the Antioch program simply because I dont think they would work with us! They are a christian based program for christian families and although we tend to follow christian beliefs and lifestyle, we do not attend church and the Antioch program appears to expect that you do. We are going to go to a meeting late April that talks about the WA DSHS foster to adopt program and how we can adopt directly through the state. That last meeting at Antioch really stirred up a lot of emotions for me especially. Hit me like a ton of damn bricks when we left the meeting.. I was a wreck all the way home. But Derek & I talked a lot about our options, what we want etc and we still feel this is the best route for us right now.
Well I'll be in touch with the happenings of the busy weekend ahead. I can hardly wait.. I am excited for all the changes coming our way!!
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