Both my girls were so good today. They both got a schooling session from my trainer. Here are a couple jumps with Kylie. I haven't jumped her much lately so she was a bit excited, but behaved well. I only have a point and shoot camera with a little video feature so the quality is mediocre and the battery is short lived, so I only take clips here and there....
It is amazing the progress Mazzy is making from day to day. She was such a good girl today!!!
I am also featured in a treasury chosen by Artwolf from ETSY Whoa Horse Artist Group
HORSES...EVERYDAY, They pop up everywhere!!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
My girls
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Mazzy accepting the bit
Today we worked on getting Mazzy to accept the bit, soften, and follow the rein. She is perfectly happy cruising around on a moderately loose rein going at her own inconsistent speed, but little by little she needs to learn some control. Right now there is more resistance to contact than softening, but she is definetly getting it. There are moments when she is giving and relaxing. When she is straight and soft, it is a great feeling. She also doesn't have the muscles yet to carry herself in a straight soft manner all the time. This will come in time.
She is quite good at yielding away from your leg, but of course, she still bulges out in some turns and gets off balance. She is then kindly reminded with some outside leg and an open rein to follow the leading rein. She is very smart and so willing to learn. She really wants to do what is asked of her. I know, I know, I am a proud mama.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Mazzy's First Shoes
Now that Mazzy is in full work it was time to get her first shoes on. When wear exceeds growth, some form of protection becomes necessary. She behaved perfectly. There are only three valid reasons that horses are shod: protection, traction or to effect a therapeutic change in the way a horse moves. All else is vanity.
Protection is the most obvious reason: Simply put, if a horse's rate of foot wear exceeds his rate of foot growth, his foot must be protected in some way. If not protected, continuing the same routine, in the same environment, will cause soreness. Once sore, the owner can either lay him up while he grows out enough to protect himself with hoof wall and exfoliating sole, or shoe him and accomplish almost the same thing artificially.
Unfortunately, she pulled one less than 24 hours after getting them on. Geez! Luckily the farrier was back out and tacked it back on. Let's see how long it stays on. I've heard from some friends with young horses that this is common with horses getting their first shoes.
Monday, July 6, 2009
July Featured EtsyBlogger - MiesMama
This month's Featured EtsyBlogger is Miesmama. Her shop is full of wonderful felt creations: bags, pins, goodies for your hair, and many more cute things...
A pretty patchwork pincushion made with some very cute fabrics, featuring 'kaffe fassett' and 'amy butler'.
Beautiful, small felted bag, just big enough for a trip to the coffee shop - fits money purse, keys and cell phone easily, and looks so cute.Here's where you can find her:
MiesMama Etsy Shop
http://miesmama.blogspot.com
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Flowering Cactus
I think this is a San Pedro Cactus. The San Pedro cactus is night blooming, its fragrant white flowers bloom in July and are up to 9 inches in diameter (22 cm). I found these beauties in my backyard early this morning. They’ll appear all of a sudden, somewhat unexpectedly, and last just one day only (maybe two) before folding up and going away forever.
Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Mazzy
Mazzy is settling in well. Today was another big day for her. My trainer rode her and Mazzy did so well. Of course there are so many basics for a youngster to learn...contact, straightness, suppleness, impulsion, coordination, balance and rhythm, the application of calf pressure meaning "step forward from behind with more energy and more reach" rather than "hurry along". I am so grateful for even the slightest bit of improvement. I love that she really tries to do what is asked of her and has some moments when she really shines. What an exciting journey this is.
A good roll after our ride....
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mazzy Milestone
I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this day. I rode Mazzy around (walk, trot and canter) today at her new home!!! We went to pick her up yesterday to haul her to her new home where I have my other horse Kylie. I haven't had them both at the same facility since Mazzy was weaned, so I have been driving alot between two facilities for the past three years. I wanted Mazzy to grow up with other babies so she could socialize and also be on big grass pastures. Grass pastures are a bit hard to come by in the Los Angles area, but I really lucked out and found, Tom Grether Farms, the most wonderful place for her to grow up. I will really miss the tranquility and the wonderful people there (but not the hour plus drive to get there every week). Three months ago I moved her from the life of leisure she was enjoying to a cowboy to get her started before bringing her to the show barn. He did an AMAZING job with her (see June 1st entry). So far things have gone pretty smoothly for my baby horse.
Yesterday we left the house at 8 am to pick her up and didn't get back home until 10:30pm. It was a long ride to go pick her up from the cowboy (4+ hours), and I rode her around up there before the long haul home. I couldn't wait to get to her new barn this morning and see how she was settling in. Having her only 15 minutes away is such a treat! I was so anxious to have my trainer see her since she had only seen her a handful of times before, and never under saddle. Mazzy couldn't have behaved better. She was quiet as can be and cruised around like an old pro. It is an extremely long wait between inception and finally being able to ride around with brakes, gas, and stearing. I am so excited to see what she turns into. So far, so good!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Mojito Night
We went over our friends' house for a BBQ the other night, and it was Mojito Night! A Mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: spearmint, rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, and carbonated water. Its combination of sweetness and refreshing citrus and spearmint flavors are intended to mask the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear cocktail a popular summer drink.
Mojito Ingredients
- Fresh mint (if you're going to be making them for a lot of people, get a lot of mint. This is the foundation for the Mojito) If available, use outdoor grown mint that is as woody as possible rather than the quickly grown supermarket varieties. This will add to the authentic nature of the mojito and delivers a better overall flavor. If possible, use spearmint rather than peppermint, since this has a flavour closer to the endemic mint (yerba buena) of Cuba. Many mojito aficionados grow spearmint in gardens or pots just to use for making drinks. But peppermint works okay, too.
- Limes (at least one for each drink)
- Clear rum (Havana Club 3 yr is the Cuban rum of choice for the drink, but if you cannot get it then Bacardi Superior Light, Captain Morgan's Silver Edition or Oronoco are good substitutes, a golden rum such as Mount Gay or Flor de Cana is a great way to serve as top shelf. Cubans are also very much fond of using Matusalem for mojitos.)
- Club Soda (we have had it with Squirt or Sprite, which tasted good too).
- Pure granulated sugar, simple syrup (sugar/water mixture - see below), or guarapo (sugar cane juice), you can use mascabado sugar too, but it'll turn the drink a bit darker, thus affecting the presentation. Using Palm Sugar instead of cane makes a nice flavour too. Chad grows sugar cane and then we cut it up into pieces and put it in the juicer. In my opinion, sugar cane juice makes the best Mojito. Very cool, and very authentic, but let's face it--it's not very practical for most of us.
- Start by making some simple syrup. To do this, put equal parts sugar and water into a pot and cook it on high (stirring the whole time) until it dissolves together(you do not want it boiling!). You can also use granulated sugar but just make sure that it is well dissolved before serving. There is nothing worse than a crunchy mojito! Alternatively, forego the simple syrup and use guarapo (sugar cane juice) instead for a more natural and less sweet flavor. Sugar cane juice is my preference.
- Make sure you have a good muddler, a sturdy glass and a shaking tin for muddling and mixing the drink. The cocktail's success depends on the blending of the lime and mint flavors. You can use a mortor and pestle. If no muddler is available, the back of a spoon can substitute.
- Purchase a good light rum. You will also need fresh limes, mint, soda water and sugar. Brown sugar or simple syrup can be substituted for refined sugar.
- Cut the limes into quarters and pick the mint leaves off of the stems. For eight mojitos you will need a generous bowl of mint and eight limes-one per drink.
- Muddle a generous bunch of mint and about three lime wedges in the bottom of a tall mojito glass, cocktail shaker, or a mixing receptacle. If using granulated sugar, also muddle the sugar with the mint and lime to extract the lime's essential oils. When the ingredients are well pulverized, add ice to fill the glass. Use ice cubes and not crushed ice. This keeps the true mojito flavor from being diluted as the ice melts.
- Add 2 Tablespoons of your simple syrup-this is equivalent to 1 oz.
- Fill the glass with about 2 ounces of rum-with the ice, the glass should appear about 3/4 of the way full.
- Shake or stir the mixture until fully blended.
- Fill the remainder of the pint glass with soda water. Another option is to transfer the shaken cocktail to another glass to serve since the muddled lime and mint often stick in the bottom of the glass.
- Garnish with a lime wedge, a mint sprig, a sugar cane swizzle stick, or all three.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Some help gardening
My fury friends Kora, Murphy, and Topaz helped me in the yard yesterday.
Kora is handling the chemo well this week (so far). She has a strong appetite and is very happy, back to her usual self. She just has lots of weird shave mark on each of her legs where they had to start all the IVs. I've switched both dogs off of processed dog foods and they are getting a mix of home cooked chicken and Stella & Chewy’s (all-natural raw, grain-free patties). They are eating better than the humans in the house.
Dragonfly
Herb garden in a potWednesday, June 17, 2009
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