UPDATE: A couple more pics of Zig.....and Tom. I don't know why he is not wearing his helmet....I just noticed that....I gotta started checking him before he leaves. ;-) Zig is such a gorgeous animal...and he also loves to work. He is a true tribute to Joe Mead's breeding program. The weather warmed up, sun came out and it was an incredibly lovely day. Inspite of the deep, blown in snow trail, you would have thought it was spring. ;-) We invited Tasha to ride with us today. Zig hasn't been out since Christmas and you could tell he was dying for a change of pace. All the horses had good energy to start, it felt wonderful. They had to work really hard, especially Zig since he took the lead most of the way...he wouldn't have it any other way really. ;-) We headed to the lake shore and the sun felt so warm...and it reflected off the lake making it a bit hard to see. Just gorgeous! On the way home, we started seeing animal tracks that we thought were a bob cat but not sure. And then right in the path was a deer kill, blood and hair remants and not a single bone. Sort of a clue that it was probably wolves. All the horses walked right over top of the blood stained snow without a reaction. Sure makes me glad I have not taken any moonlite night rides this winter..although I was awfully tempted. No one has seen a wolf around here for about 2 months...we figured they had moved on. Anyway, it was spectacular ride and I have a skip in my step again. I can go for walks and the fresh air feels good, but there is nothing like getting on the back of your horse....it just makes your body and soul feel so good!

Group Roll!!

These are just SO cool! I gathered orders for Curly Horse Country vinyl decals and vehicle magnets recently and the order came in today. I just love these magnets!! It is created with commercial grade magnetic vinyl, so they are really heavy and excellent quality! I already paid the set up on my design, so I am selling them at my cost to others that are interested for $60.00 + $12.00 shipping. I also have extra vinyl decals in black that are $20.00 + $10.00 shipping.... if interested, email me: denise.conroy@gmail.com Click pic for close up.

God was good to me and held the storm held off til this morning. ;-) I was able to ride Reese yesterday even though we didn't go as far as I had hoped due to the very deep snow. It would have been easier if I had another horse with me so we could alternate the lead while breaking in the trail again. At any rate, it was very nice to get out and enjoy him. Later on Tom and I went for a walk with the dogs. I snapped this pic of Tom with Pete by the creek. It was so pretty. The other pic was taken today during the sleet/ice storm. I tucked the horses in the barn for the afternoon and they seem very content. I feel better knowing they are staying dry and out of the harsh wind. Tom counted my hay yesterday and I still have 159 bales. That will easily get me through til the end of July! I am SO excited and relieved!

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Not again! It's Friday, my long awaited weekend is here and I read: "6+ inches expected, blowing snow, gusty winds and even a possibly 'wintery mix'." You have got to be kidding me? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the snow and winter weather, but these storms won't quit. And my trail is getting snowed in! It is 3 deg right now and it's 4:00 p.m. *sigh* Oh well....so in other news:

Tracy started working with a photographer in her spare time and she sent me a few pics that they took while playing with different lighting. Aren't they cool? I love them!

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We WERE planning on visiting her this weekend, but if the storm doesn't let up, we will be staying close to home. *another very big sigh* Haven't heard much from Andy lately, but he has applied at Dreamworks, Disney Feature and also Sony. He has worked in the Disney Video Game field for a year now and would love to work for a feature film company. We are praying for him. I bet some of you are enjoying a little springish weather eh? Your horses are shedding too, I bet? If so, tell me all about it...so I can live vicariously through you!

Since Saturday morning, I have not done much outside. We got a huge storm that lasted a few days and then it stayed bitter cold. It didn't get above Zero yesterday....I decided to get some website stuff finished. ;-) By the time it warms up again, I will have all my inside duties done and will freely be able to play! I revamped my OMD site ONE more time. And I am finally happy with it. I decided to use some new techniques I learned on my blog here, which is make the text a bit more readable...do you like it?

Tom has cooked most of this week and he even baked more cookies on Sunday. They were amazing! Wish I had more interesting news, but alas....I got 'nothin'. Has anyone been doing anything interesting the past few days? Even the RAC has been quiet....hummmm.....

We didn't know it was coming but we woke up to quite a snowy day! We had a few major things to get done, so we bundled up and got them done. First up was getting our horses trimmed. They are all looking fabulous and I found a little betaiodine and triple antibotic cream is helping heal up Reese's bulb cracks. I do believe it is the wet, cold conditions which is making that sensitive skin really soft and then slothy. The betaiodine helps tough up the skin, disinfect that cut and really making a difference. I am treating their frogs about 3 X a week now and everything looks really good.

I also dewormed the boys. And Tom drove me to Pickford to pick up my grain, cocasoya oil, a little soybean meal which I am going to try with Reese. I haven't been graining my boys for about 3 months now and with spring just around the corner I wanted to get Reese started for sure. Just 2 cups a day is all, mixed with his sel/e suppliment and I am going to put him back on grand hoof pellets too. The soymeal, just a tiny bit, maybe 1 oz just to help with a little protein and aid in building some good hoof. I am going to try it, what the heck. I have been reading about nutrition and hooves and although you don't want lush grasses & rich feeds, some horses do need added nutrients for strong hoof growth. Reese needs to build more wall and better frogs. Chy needs better frogs & more concavity. Zig on the other hand, hasn't suffered a bit, he is not ridden much, never had extra suppliments and his hooves are incredible. I guess what I am saying is that I think some horses just aren't capable of growing a really great hoof without some assistence.

I think I will gel a bit today. It's been an overwhelming week again, but I am getting tons done. Tom made dinner almost every nite last week! What a guy.

Erin and I went for a super nice ride last nite on Chy & Reese. It is awesome to have the days finally getting longer! I can ride at 5:00 now and still fit in a decent trail ride. Erin and I both rode bareback, so there was no fuss or tacking time. The snow was deep in some spots, especially by the road. We cantered along my favorite stretch and it was a blast. With Chy behind, Reese was a bit harder to stop though but very controllable. ;-) I could hear Erin laughing behind me and later she told me that Reese was working so hard to get through the drifts that his bum kept poping way up in the air - wish I could have seen that. We are still on a bit of a debate whether we are just cantering really fast or we were actually in a gallop. In the deep snow, I imagine it was a fast canter. ;-) It was awesome at any speed! Have you ever felt your horse switch gears to a gallop? He sort of planes out, his head gets low & straight and the ride smooths out? To me, that is a gallop. I have felt it a few times this winter when riding Reese but of course, what I am really wanting to get out of him is a nice easy balanced canter! lol

I changed my archives to monthly pages, that will save me a bit of time too. It will mean one page with a bunch of posts, but it is mostly text so it shouldn't take long to load, I hope. Let me know if you have problems or if you have other suggestions. ;-)

Have a super day everyone! Spring IS coming!!!!

Man! A LONG week but I sit here at 6:00 p.m. on sunday feeling a real sense of accomplishment. I super tweaked our embroidery site again, trying to make it "GOOGLE-icious!" lol. Check it out: http://www.omdembroidery.com/ It is best if viewed in Interet Explorer because then you can see the cool drop down menus.

Aside from that, I DID have time to ride my boy Saturday and Sunday, Yay! I left the dishes, the laundry and RODE! Time to blaze some trails! Man oh, man....we cantered & galloped and even jumped and other than hitting his withers a little on the decent, it felt AMAZING!!! (I didn't use the bareback pad)

Sunday, (today) Tom went snowshoeing with some friends and I decided to stay home and get the dreaded house cleaned....but then the trails were calling and the dogs REALLY needed a run. So after pondering it a bit, I thought...heck, I will ride Reese and take the dogs.....you think this was an easy task do you? Well...it wasn't! lol. I leashed my big 1200 labrador first and then leashed the two crazy jacks next. Picture it, two squirrely dogs yanking on the leash in front...dragging me along, while trying to keep this mammoth 1200 lug from stepping on me as we trudged through the knee deep snow! LoL Reese muscles his way through those drifts while the dogs and I were really struggling!! Finally got across the road, I unhooked the dogs....now it was time to find a rock to mount. Found the first one...I was tired! lol. Just as I got on, Reese wanders towards the trees and we get stuck under these really low branches!! I wasn't going to get off, it took too much work to get ON, but I couldn't lift my head it was stuck by some branches!! Reese just stood there.....he couldn't move forward...and I couldn't get my barings to ask him to move back! I started to laugh and that didn't help AT ALL. If someone could have seen us...it must have been hilarious! I can only imagine! Okay, so finally I had the reins and was able to back him up....*sigh* okay, we are on our way. We had a lovely ride, it was nice to have the dogs bouncing around again.

Then we got back to the road and I had to dismount and wait for Sam. Pete grew a little anxious, (In the pic below he is saying, "come one...let's just leave him...I want to go NOW!:) but Reese was happy to just stand, lip my hair and eat snow. ;-) Sam showed up and we were on our way....back across the road home and I was out of breath again trying to keep Reese off my heels and managing that deep snow again. AHA! I found a log to mount....Reese stood like a statue, like he knew --- it was like heaven getting back on his back again. What a work horse he is!!! He got a nice meal when he got home. What a fun day!!!

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