First, we had a scare with Ellie. On Sunday night, she colliced (how the heck do you spell that word anyway). I was so scared. Rex, our amazing vet from Dufferin Veterinary Services, was at our place within 15 minutes. He came to the conclusion it was a minor colic but was concerned so he put the tube down her nose and poured down the “horsey pepto bismo”. She relaxed when we put her back in her stall and had a great night. Things were fine after that (well… fine for her… I don’t think I slept at all that night).

Then on Tuesday, she freaked us out again. We thought she was coliccing again so once again we called in Rex. We walked her outside while we waited and she eventually coughed up a bunch of her dinner. It turns out she ate her carrots too fast and since her throat was still sore and possibly a little swollen from the tube on Sunday, she ended up choking. Thank goodness for Rex and his ability to let us know that things will be fine.

The next stress was trying to get a shoe put on Charlie. He ended up pulling off his shoe and with it a part of his hoof. It was to the point where getting epoxy was the only solution to get a shoe on and get him working. Our regular farrier let us know that he didn’t do epoxy. Our secondary farrier… that is the one I am most ticked at… I knew he did epoxy but I called him 5 times in 4 days and he would not get back to me. I was so stressed about that because we really needed a shoe on Charlie. So every time I would think about the fact that he wouldn’t call me back, the more stressed out I became.

Then the week started to get a little better…

I posted a note on Facebook on Wednesday looking for the “missing in action” farrier and, to my surprise, later that afternoon we got a visit from a local farrier … John Feheley. He said he saw my desperate post and wanted to come take a look. I have to tell you, he is a godsend! He took the time to actually take a close look at Charlie’s feet and explained every step of what he was doing. He trimmed Charlie’s feet and put on new shoes. He put on epoxy and then he put this new stuff on that is kind of like running shoe rubber. I was just in awe of how helpful John was. We learned more from John is one afternoon than we have learned from any of the other farriers we have ever had combined. Let’s hope that everything he did will work and Charlie will have some nice feet. For now though, I would highly recommend him to everyone just base on what he has done for us so far!

Then the week ended off great! On Saturday, we had one of our not-so-regular ladies get-togethers at the Montana’s in Orangeville. It was so relaxing and had some great conversation with some wonderful ladies. Thanks gals… can’t wait for the next one!

Besides taking a whole bunch of pictures of this, that and the other thing with my new camera (have a look at my photos on our Facebook page), not much else has happened around here. Sorry… didn’t take any pics of the dramas of last week so not a lot of photos in this post.

I hope you all had a much less stressful week than we did and I hope that this week is much better for us.

See you next time!

Bath…	then roll.
Bath…	then roll.
Bath…	then roll.
Do we see a pattern here? (Monkey see, monkey do)

There has been a lot going on at Shady Ridge this past week so I will try to make each item a short as possible to get it all in.

The horses are spending more and more time in the new grass paddock. It’s too bad the grass doesn’t grow well in hot, dry weather but hopefully the rain over the last couple of days and what we are expecting later this week will help to lush it up again.

The trailer is at the sandblaster and should be painted within the next couple of days. They plan to sandblast it tonight and tomorrow and then it will be taken over to the painter. I will send the camera with Randy when he goes to get some pictures of the process.

The lean-to is pretty much done now so Randy’s baby (aka… the tractor) will have a good home. He just has to add some walls to it and it will be finished.

Have you heard of Recovery for horses? (of course you have ). Well, we started giving the canine version to our older dog, Shadow. Within a couple of days, she seemed to be more agile and playful. Since getting Lexie, Shadow hasn’t shown much interest in playing with her. However, this past week, she has been playing with her and they’ve been having a great time. (sorry… picture is not the greatest… they were moving way too fast LOL)

We have new kittens . We’ve been finding mice here and there in the barn lately so decided to break down and get a cat. One of Megan’s friends had some kittens that someone dumped off in their yard so we arranged to get a couple of them. At first we only wanted one but we thought he might get lonely so we got two. The mom of Megan’s friend works at a vet clinic so she had them checked over and got their shots so we know they have a clean bill of health. It took some thinking and asking friends what we should call them. We couldn’t agree on a pair of names that belong together (ie. Lilo & Stitch or Gizmo & Gadget) so they are now named Gizmo and Stitch. They are living in the tack room right now while we wait for Randy to close an open area in the barn and til they realize that the barn is their home.

Gizmo	Stitch

Did I tell you I love my new camera? LOL  I’ve been taking pictures like crazy this past week while I test out the different settings and what the camera is capable of. I even took it to a horse show yesterday and took some shots there. Still need to perfect the jumping pictures but they didn’t turn out too bad. Be sure to check out some of my photos on our Facebook fanpage. I have pictures on there of the show as well other random pictures that I have been taking including flowers, birds and even a cool closeup of a fly.

Have a great week everyone. See ya next time.

First, Randy has stripped off the lights and such from the trailer and now we are just waiting for the sandblasting guy to come and blast it down so we can get it painted. It may be a few weeks (fingers crossed) before we can actually use the trailer.

Second, Randy has been doing a few things here and there to build up his towing business, including his new website (that I designed ) at http://www.rjbtowing.com. The recession has taken a toll on his business with a lot less people needing their vehicles towed. Many of the towing companies in the area are suffering the same fate so Randy has been trying new marketing efforts to bring in new customers. One of his new initiatives is working with the marketing company that is getting him listed through the Google Adwords campaigns. So far, this is working pretty well as the incoming calls have increased and he has been busier.

Part of his contract with this marketing company is they do a promotional video for the business that can be used online. So, last Monday, Randy and I took the tow truck and my car over to Beechgrove sideroad and acted out that I was broken down and he came to tow my car. It was very cool to pretend and have someone direct you… felt like a star (for an hour or so LOL). Can’t wait to see the final outcome. You can see some more pictures of the shoot on Randy’s RJB Towing Facebook fanpage.

Third, the horses were rock stars last week. Charlie hadn’t been ridden since he ripped part of hoof off over a week ago. So, when Megan had her lesson this week, we anticipated a very fresh boy but nope… he was laid back and did wonderfully. I rode Ellie during the same lesson this week and she was great. She is loving her new hackmore and is showing no more signs of pain or stiffness in her left hind. Yippee… it was a great ride!

After the lesson, we untacked the two of them and grabbed Belle and went for a walk in the woods. It was our goal to get Charlie over the little bridge so we could go into the back part of the property. You see, we walked Belle over the bridge a couple of days before and even though she stopped to sniff the bridge for a few minutes, she did go over it no problem. The following day we tried Ellie. We took Belle over first and Ellie rushed up behind her practically running her over but she make it across no problem. The next time she went it was like it was old hat to her .

So, now it was Charlie’s turn. We led all three to the bridge and took Belle and Ellie over without any problems. Charlie stopped. So, we kept walking with the girls and Charlie must have thought they were leaving him as he then scurried across the bridge.  Carole thought he was going to jump the bridge at first but no, he walked across with no problem. Coming back we took them over in the same order and Charlie only slightly hesitated but then went over.

We had hoped to take all three on a hack out in the back on Monday morning this week but Charlie lost a shoe today so that won’t be happening. Maybe later in the week. We also hope to get Charlie out to a show on Wednesday so hopefully he won’t be sore from losing his shoe and walking on his delicate little foot .

And finally, Randy started the lean-to beside the garage this past week. In fact, it is coming along a lot faster than I thought it would. He had the frame up on Saturday and the roof almost done on Sunday (he was doing it in between the rain showers that were happening). Now he will move on to putting the same roofing on the garage and then he will have a spot for his precious Kubota

Oh yeah… I forgot to mention (you already know if you follow us on Facebook)… we got a new camera! Randy and I have an anniversary coming up on the 15th so we decided to buy a new camera as our gift to each other. We did some research and decided on a Nikon Coolpix100. So far, it is an awesome camera. Have a look at some of the great pics I’ve taken so far on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/shady.ridge and a video from the camera on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/docutype (Playing with Lexie).

Just think… I may actually be able to get pictures of Megan in the air over a jump instead of before or after the jump…LOL  Keep your fingers crossed.

And finally, final… I was excited to launch a new website last week for a client who is living out her dream of working with people and their equine friends. Through her company, Balanced Equation, Heather provides natural horsemanship services that help people to communicate with their horses and build trusting relationships. Please visit her website and let her know what you think of her site.

Have a great week everyone. See ya next time!

Balanced Equation

Our client, Heather, is a lover of horses and is living out her dream of working with people and their equine friends. Her natural horsemanship services give her clients the tools to communicate with their horses and build loving and trusting relationships.

We invite you to visit her website to not only see how she can help you but also see yet another one of our equine web designs.

And be sure to contact us if you need help with your website, whether it is a new design or ongoing maintenance… we’d be happy to help you.

As mentioned in last week’s blog, the girls and horses competed at the Tottenham Equestrian schooling show and had a successful showing. So, we decided we should get Charlie out again this past week for the Brightwater Cracker Jack show. The plan was to have a lesson on Tuesday then do prep for the show on Wednesday. At first Megan was just going to take Charlie but then decided she wanted to show Belle as well (which Carole was fine with as Brianna wanted to do a show this time too).

So, Carole came by with Becca on Tuesday to help with the riding as Megan couldn’t work with both horses at the same time. They tacked up and headed to the ring. However, it wasn’t long before it was obvious that the humid weather and dust was playing havoc with Belle’s breathing. So, Becca put her away and Megan continued on. Everything was going well and Charlie was being a good boy when he took the corner too short and ended up stepping on the side of his shoe, tearing it halfway off. Carole had to pull it off the rest of the way (as it was bent and painful for him to walk on) with a pair of pliers.

As a result, we didn’t end up going to the Brightwater show (they don’t have a farrier on site). Dustin has been here since and put the shoe back on but we gave Charlie a few days off so his hoof would grow a bit and so any soreness would be gone. We’re hoping to get him out to the next Brightwater show or perhaps somewhere else before the next Tottenham show at the end of the month.

Instead of doing the show, we decided to head over the the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave to watch some friends in the jumper and grand prix rings. Cali did great getting a clear round at 1.o meter in her very first jumper class with Luxor (she has always done hunter to this point at the shows). Her mom took two of her young horses (Giselle & Cupido) into the grand prix and they did great considering it is the first time they have seen those big, scary jumps. Next time they will do even better.

Brenda (Cali’s mom) showed us these new hoof rubber things that help to keep a horse’s shoes from coming off in the show ring. She has a pair that are smaller than what she needs but will probably fit Charlie so we are going to give them a try. Fingers crossed that this works… it is getting a little annoying that he seems to lose a shoe just before he is supposed to show .

Ok… here we go with some big news around here. First, we finally found a horse trailer. As you know, we have been searching for months and months for just the right trailer. We wanted a 2 horse bumper pull straight ramp load with a tack room. I’ve contacted dozens and dozens of people (some are downright rude and don’t get back to you… come on people… if you list a trailer for sale, be available to show it to people who are showing an interest in it) and have seen some pretty rough trailers so we are really happy that we found this one. It needs to have some work done like a paint job, new lights, a bench in the tack room and perhaps some work on the electric brakes but it is a great trailer for the price we paid. Can’t wait to take it to a show!

Megan worked with Ellie this past week and her hackmore. She did much better this time. Carole set it to the right size when she was here last weekend and said we could put the noseband back on. We did that and also put on the martingale which she tested right off the bat. She soon realized that she couldn’t swing her head so she settled in. We did some games with her having her follow me around a little bit and she halted as soon as Megan asked her instead of swinging her head. She also backed up when asked, something that she never used to like to do. All in all, she did great and I feel confident to ride her myself with the hackmore on.

Another bit of big news is we have a new paddock on the property. Remember last week I showed you the posts we put in the ground? Well this week it is now complete. Randy and I spent the whole day putting up the boards on Saturday and then on Sunday we made the gate. By 6 pm, we had the horses in there enjoying some fresh grass.

Belle was the first one in there and she walked around sniffing for several minutes before she found just the right spot to eat. At first, the horses didn’t notice they were separated but then Ellie noticed that Belle was gone and she started to pace. Belle then paced for a bit so we moved Ellie over to the new paddock. The two of them settled into eating the grass and soon Charlie noticed he was alone and he wasn’t overly pleased about it. We moved him over to the new paddock and he was totally confused. He didn’t know what to do. He walked around the fence line for a while, taking a bite of the grass here and there, but soon settled down until the bugs started to drive him nuts. Megan went out and put his fly sheet on and he did much better and enjoyed the rest of his first stint out in the new paddock.

And that ’s about it for this week. Lots of great things happened and it was another week of feelings of accomplishment.

Have a great week everyone! See ya next time.

First, I am happy to announce the launch of yet another client’s website. Ok… maybe my husband isn’t actually a client since no money or  services were exchanged and it isn’t an equine related site but it is a new website in my portfolio and I really like it and so does he. I invite you to have a look at it by clicking on this screenshot.

Second, remember last week I told you that we have a bunch of new projects on the go here at Shady Ridge? Well, if you know my hubby, projects can sometimes get started and then take a LONG time to get completed… that is just the way he works here at home…LOL

I have to applaud him this week though… he started a couple of the projects and they are coming along nicely. He started the trail through our woods so we could go for hacks. The problem, as I mentioned before, is that we have the Humber river running through our property so we have a large swampy area that is pretty much impassable on foot or horseback. I suppose we could walk through it with the horses but we would take the chance of Charlie’s shoes getting sucked off in the mud. So, hubby is trying to make a path over some of that swampiness and then he will be building a bridge over the main river. It may take a while but he has made a good start.

I also mentioned last week that we will be building a new paddock. Well, the poles came on Saturday so Randy spent Sunday drilling holes and I helped him when we got back from the horse show. He is about 3/4 of the way done with the poles and then the boards will need to be put on so we may have the new paddock within a week or two. The horses will love it as the grass is growing wonderfully there. It will also give us a chance to clean up the first paddock of weeds and reseed it so that it will grow better grass. We plan to slowly integrate them into the new paddock as the grass is so much better and we don’t want any founder or colic happening.

Just had a thought… these projects are probably getting done faster than some others as he gets to boogie around in his tractor to do them (he loves that thing! ). But, he also finally put the sliding patio door into our bedroom this week too. We have had that door sitting on our front porch for over a year now and this week he suddenly decided to put it in. The tools and window coverings are still sitting on the floor of our bedroom (and will probably be there a while) but at least the patio door is finally in and I took my first steps out on the deck for the first since moving into this house in November 2008 (the old door was actually sealed shut before because flies and air were coming in through them). Randy has had a really busy and productive week.

It has also been a great week for the horses. We did lessons with Charlie in the mornings this past week and he was awesome. He seems to be responding to the new bit very well and isn’t pulling through the lines like he used to. Not to mention, it is cooler in the mornings so he is much happier to work in those conditions than when it is 30+ with a humidex.

So we decided to do the Tottenham horse show this past weekend. The girls, Megan, Harley & Sydney, did a lesson with Carole in the afternoon and everything went really well. Then it came time to prep the horses. First thing was to give them baths. Charlie was first and he loves getting a bath as long as he can graze while it’s happening. Then it was Bella’s turn and I must say, Carole and the girls are troopers. The skies opened up and it absolutely poured on them. It was coming down in buckets but they stuck with it and got Bella all cleaned up (wish I got a picture… it was quite a site). The horses were then put in their stalls to have a snack and dry off a bit and everyone else came into the house for some dinner and a change of clothes. Thank goodness I have some extra clothes from cleaning out our drawers so everyone got to put on dry clothes. We had a bite to eat while the sun decided to come back out.

Sunday was show day and it was a beautiful day. The temperatures were actually a little chilly first thing in the morning but it warmed up nicely and didn’t get too hot. Charlie was a super good boy when he got off the trailer but once he was tacked up, he started to get antsy. The warm-up area is on grass at the show and unfortunately it was wet and slippy which did not go over well with Charlie. He has this thing about footing (as you know) and I think he was scared that he might fall or something. He started doing little bucks and refusing to move so we decided to lunge him. We ran into one small hitch though… the lunge line end would not go through the loop in his new Pelham bit. It also wouldn’t go through his halter so we had to just clip it on one side of the bridle and Leila lunged him for about 10 minutes.

He seemed to settle down so Megan got back up on him and went into the sand ring to do some warming up. Even the sand rings were kind of sloppy from all of the rain the day before but at least he felt better about it and was trotting around without any problems.

With some of the issues this young horse has been going through lately, Megan decided she wanted to take him back a step and she showed him in the Junior Horse division again for this show. He was a pretty good boy and he came out with a third and a fifth. He pulled Megan toward the in-gate while doing his over fences class but he did go through the entire course without a refusal or buck so we are very happy with him.We have definitely figured out that Charlie is a much different horse at shows than he is at home so more showing is in order to help him realize that things are not all that bad.

So, that was our week around here at Shady Ridge. It was a good week with a lot accomplished. Hope we have more of those on a regular basis. And today is a beautiful, sunny day and I wish I as outside (even being out there cleaning up the paddock would be better than stuck in the house) but alas I must get some work done.

Oh yeah… and finally, I posted last week about this but wanted to share again… Diary (or sometimes referred to as ramblings) of a Horse Mom has won a 2010 Top 45 Diaries Blog award. So exciting. I love to write and write about what is happening around here and now my blog has been recognized as one that is great to read. Thanks to my subscribers for nominating my blog and thanks to everyone who makes is such a success.

Have a great week everyone!

Well, imagine my surprise today when I got back from a nice lunch with hubby (thanks dear  ) and read my emails to find one that is informing me that I won a 2010 Top 45 Diaries Blog Award. Woohoo! So excited and appreciative to Awarding the Web for this awesome recognition and honour! I am humbled and giddy

And thank you to my readers for the nomination! You rock!

But many Americans don’t realize that many farmers actually treat their animals very well. Think about it: if a farmer doesn’t take care of his livestock, he loses money. So it’s only natural that smart farmers choose to treat their herds and flocks to the best possible food. Here are some of the ways that farmers preserve the health of their animals…just by feeding them properly.

Read the whole article at http://www.probioticsmart.com/blog/2010/06/tips-tricks-farmers-use-to-feed-their-animals-actually-keep-them-healthy/ and don’t forget to watch the video of Dirty Jobs at the end

And we confirmed that Charlie hates the heat too or at least hates to work in the heat. I mentioned in last week’s blog that it seemed that he was not happy working in the heat so we tested it this past week and when he was ridden in the middle of the afternoon when the temperatures were around 30 degrees with a humidex of 35-40, he was not a happy camper.  However, on the days that he was ridden in the morning before the day got too hot, he was awesome. So, this week’s lessons will be in the morning. Thank heavens it is summer holidays for Megan and hopefully these heat waves will become fewer and further between.

We have more plans for the farm. It seems like the ideas and updates never stop when it comes to be home & property owners but when you also have horses and a barn to go along with it, things that are necessary to keep everything in working order seem to be doubled (if not more).

First, we plan to build another paddock. The grass is not growing nearly enough in our existing paddock so we are building a new one so we can move the horses there and let the grass grow in the first one. Not to mention one day we hope to get a “husband” horse for Randy and may need to split the herd up a little so that we don’t run into any issues.

Another project on the go is trying to make a path out to the back forest of our property. We have 15 acres with many more behind us that the neighbours have said we are welcome to go riding through. However, across the middle of our property is a tributary of the Humber River. There is one location where there is an actual flowing river and there is a small bridge over it but the horses won’t go across and the bridge is actually on the neighbours property and we don’t want to overstep our bounds by asking if we can “change” the bridge. Other parts of the river are actually swampy areas so we can’t walk through that without the chance that Charlie’s shoes will get sucked right off his feet. 

So, as we speak, Randy is out doing what he loves best… playing with the Kubota . He is trying to make a path up to the swampy area and then we will build our own wide bridge for the horses to go over. He loves playing on that thing and we have been wanting to get to the back of the property with the horses so it’s a win-win situation. (Update… he just informed me that there is a LOT to do and it may not be this year that we have our access to the back part of the property on horseback. Bummer)

Third project that Randy has started is a lean-too off the side of our garage to park that precious Kubota. (I don’t know about your husbands but my husband is the king of starting projects… finishing them in a timely fashion is another story…LOL) I think this time there is a reason for these three projects to all be started at the same time. We will need to borrow a post hole digger from a friend of ours so if we have everything ready to go he can just whip through the holes all at the same time. (Hey… he might actually be doing something logically this time..LOL…  sorry hun… love ya)

In other news… (LOL … couldn’t resist)

This past weekend Megan was going to show Charlie at the Teen Ranch Hunter/Jumper Schooling Show but with Charlie being such a ding-dong in the hot weather, we were concerned about how he would react. So, instead we decided just to go to the show as spectators (wow… it is so much more stress free when she isn’t participating…LOL) and cheer on some of her friends.

I took a number of pictures of Harley’s little brother, Kaleb, in his very first horse show and he looked so handsome. However, I can’t post them on my blog as the horse in the pictures is not ours and the owner is not willing to let me post any pictures of her horses. Sorry about that but it just isn’t worth the hassle to post them. Just picture a cure little blond fella dressed all in his hunter show clothes on a little speckled grey pony He was so cute and he did such a great job taking 2 – 6th places in the flat classes and a 2nd over fences. It was funny to see his mom and I jumping up and down when they called him for the second place…LOL So proud of you Kaleb!

Congrats to the rest of Megan’s friends that we watched there as well. Korina honey… Wally is not a hunter pony…LOL  He is a gorgeous animal and very talented but he is just not hunter…LOL However, the ribbons you got with him in the jumper ring were awesome. We weren’t there when you did your courses but can imagine how well you both rocked it! You look awesome on him and jumper is definitely his thing. Congrats. Harley, Alyssa and other friends of Megan’s also rode on Sunday and everyone had a great time.

Still shopping for a horse trailer. What a tedious job to find a two horse ramp load with a tack room in our budget (and sellers who actually call you back when you show an interest in their trailer… very frustrating). But, we will persevere

And just for fun… check out my insane dog going nuts playing with her ball.

Have a great week everyone!

When I first started this blog, there was so much to talk about in my weekly updates. With a new farm and a young horse, there was always something to talk about and share (not to mention relate to and laugh about) with others who have a passion for horses. From a bit of a background about myself, my family and our farm life, to Charlie and his typical young horse antics (including his journey to finally riding in the trailer without any problem), to working with the horses to get them ready for show season… it’s all been great fun. And now that I have people asking why there wasn’t a post or telling me that they love to read (and laugh) at my updates, it feels like every keystroke is worth it.

However, some weeks I feel like I am boring you with ramblings about our horsey lives so it is hard to write about what has been happening and still feel like I am keeping you interested in the goings-on at Shady Ridge and Equine Web Design. But, I guess you wouldn’t be a subscriber if you didn’t enjoy reading my updates so I guess it is probably a case of familiarity… generally what happens to one horse person has either happened to or is familiar to other horsey people. Whatever it is, I want to thank you for being a loyal subscriber and I hope you will read back through some of my posts and offer comments on those that you like. Would love to hear what you are thinking when you are reading any one of my updates (and other helpful articles as well).

So… now that we have cleared that up, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

Last week was a scorcher in our neck of the woods. The temps here (and from what I understand for a lot of areas in North America) have been hot… I think we hit 35C on one day and then there was the humidity levels. Holy kamoly… mid 40s… yuck. It was awful. I feel so bad for so many people who do not have air conditioning. I couldn’t survive without it, especially with asthma.  And now they are saying this coming week will be another scorcher as well. Sheesh.

The horses did not like the heat last week either. They were sweating out there in the paddock just standing there. We went out each afternoon and gave each of them a shower to help cool them off a little bit. We also picked up a salt lick for the paddock for them. Charlie still doesn’t go for it much but the girls love it. When we first put it out in the paddock, both Ellie and Bella were licking it together. I wish I had my camera with me as we stood looking over the paddock fence while both of them were slobbering all over it. LOL It would have been such a cute picture.

The weather also makes horses not want to work…. and who can blame them?! It was still pretty hot around 7pm on Thursday when Megan and Charlie had their lesson. Charlie was sweating in places that I have never seen sweat before. And, you could tell he didn’t want to be out there with tack and a rider on him. He was doing some pretty big bucks. Thankfully Megan has good legs as she stuck through them all without falling off but it wrenched her neck a little so she had to rest that for a couple of days.

Then on Saturday, he was awesome. The temperature was MUCH cooler that day and he did some great jumps and seemed to get his leads every time (correct me if I am wrong, Carole). He was awesome. Ellie, on the other hand… Harley started to ride her but you could see that she was still not 100%. It doesn’t look like she is in any pain but you can see that the muscle on her one back side is not as firm as it was so she felt a little wobbly under saddle. We have decided that it might be best to bring her back slowly and not push her too much by making her jump too high or show in the next Tottenham show. So, it looks like Harley will be riding Bella at the next show or two and Ellie will get some rest. One good thing about it… I get more time to ride her. She needs the slow exercise and I can do that .

We have a couple of busy weeks coming up with a show each weekend. Again, we are trying to get some more mileage on Charlie. He is a pro (or close to it) at trailering now but he still has his little issues in the ring that need to be worked on. I hope the weather isn’t too hot and Charlie is a good boy. We’ll see if the new bit helps

By the way… we are still looking for a used 2 horse bumper pull trailer with a tack room, if you happen to know of one. And we will be selling our 2 horse when we get the bigger one. (Fingers crossed… we have one we are interested in seeing so hope it is as good as the owner says it is and that we can organize our schedules to go see it.)

That’s about it for this week everyone. Hope you all stay cool and have a great week!

And don’t forget to offer your comments on any of my posts and/or let me know what you would like me to write about.