monroe county fair 2014

It has been radio silence over here for the past few days. I have not even seen a computer and the small amount of time spent at home I have been getting a couple hours of sleep. Why? It's county fair time!

While I didn't show Shyloh, I spent the days with the barn and the big horses. They were hauled in Wednesday night, but I spent the day checking out the fair.

It was mule hitch day which was fun to see. Beth came up and we walked the fair and watched the hitches. We spent a lot of time chatting with the judge, who was a friend of Beth. It was a nice day. Some friend's of ours were showing their Gypsy horses in 4-H and we also watched their trail patterns. Kim had a foal on the way and we offered to go to her barn to check on the mare, since she had to stay at the fair with her nieces. No problem! We went to love on the other Gypsy babies (who are getting so big!) and check on the mare. No foal, but boy was she close. Turns out, that night a filly was born!!

Thursday was the driving classes. It was Isaac's second show and the first show with Jaime driving the new cart. They looked real sharp!

Before entering the show ring

Terry and Reba were in the cart class as well. Reba was a picklehead and caused a little backup. . .but they did look real nice. 

On their way into the ring!

Thee big hitch was Heritage Hills Belgians. They won almost all of the hitch classes; tandem, team, four and six horse hitch. They did not win the unicorn, though. And they bought the whole draft barn pizza later that night, how nice!!

Awesome!

Between the hitch classes, the minis came out to do some fun demos to keep the audience entertained. Meatball and Dexter were part of the fun. They did racing, a barrel pattern, poles, and a driving demo. It was so much fun and the audience really enjoyed it. 

Jaime and Meatball, cantering to the finish!

Anthony and Dexter zooming by!

Cowboy hat on a mini? Yes please!

There was also a ridden draft demo with Kyle on Clutch and Terry on Reba. 

Friday was halter classes. Hidden Creek Draft Horses took Grand Champion Mare for Clydesdales and Shires (Reba), Grand Champion Gelding for Clydesdales and Shires (Clutch), and Grand Champion Percheron Gelding (Isaac). Notch did win the Percheron Geldings 5 and over, but Isaac beat him out for Grand Champion. 

Notch

Isaac

Reba

Clutch

After halter, I went to watch Jessica and Sarah jump their Gypsies. It was great to be able to hang out with those kids and their mom, Christina and their aunt Kim. 

Weee! Jessica and Saiorse

One of the baby Belgians got cast in her stall and Kyle and Terry helped to get her up. She was so calm about it and walked off just fine. Then there was a moment when I saw a cow going into a horse stall. I questioned it, then noticed the hooves sticking out the back of the cow. . .it was having a baby!

Brand new baby!

By this time, I was exhausted. From helping with the big horses, getting them ready for the show, keeping the stalls clean, and walking them back and forth from the stalls to the trailer, I just wanted to sit and sleep. Although, I do admit, it was cool walking the big horses down the midway :)

Cows sleep funny

It's hard being bacon

So cute!

This little one was right across from us! She liked checking out the big horses.

We did walk through the fair to check out the other things they had to offer. It was a fun time, but I am glad it is over. It was a lot of work and I didn't even have a horse there!

scary sprayer

Reason #457932480 that minions are the best. . .they are so easy and fun. Another day spent not doing anything with Shyloh. . .

Jaime and I took Dexter and Meatball for a drive around the block last week. Minions can be harnessed and hitched by one person easily, all from the same side of the horse. Try that with a draft or even a Haflinger!

adorbs!

Jaime was awesome and let me take her favorite pony, Dexter. Meatball gave me so much crap last time I drove him, I was hesitant to drive him again. But he was perfect with Jaime, so I will give Meatball another chance. Plus, he is cute and a minion, what can he really do?

In your face minion!

Ponies are hilarious to drive. They like to race each other, but lately we have been not letting them. They have been getting a bit out of hand with that. We walked, we trotted, it was a nice, enjoyable drive.  Meatball did have one spook at these flowers that rustled and sounded suspiciously a lot like the fly spray that he hates. But that was no big deal.

Jaime is wearing our new farm shirt!

Until this tractor-thing came down the road. . .

Like this, except the wheels were even bigger!

We pulled to the side, but as the sprayer came down the road and into the view of Dexter's eyes (blinders make it harder to see), he got huge eyed and started dancing. Meatball, almost backed into a ditch, then took off, but Jaime got him under control quickly. I mean, that is a huge piece of machinery, a pickup truck can fit underneath it!

Love riding in this buckboard wagon

Dexter and Meatball are pretty calm and cool minions, motorcycles, semi trucks, and other farm equipment have never bothered them. The rest of the drive was uneventful. In fact, it was quite peaceful, me and Jaime and the ponies just cruising down the road. Except for that one time when Dexter got to going too fast and bucked out. . .but it was fine after I slowed him back down. 

Meaty!

When we returned, Reba was very upset that she had to stay back. That horse loves to work!

I am so happy that the humidity went down and the weather was bearable. Love driving those little minions!

***Remember to Guess the Breed for a chance to win something from Two Horse Tack. Contest ends Wednesday at midnight, so get your guess in!***

meatball and the marsh

Things that you should not do in a particular order:

1. Clip an ornery Meatball
2. Take same Meatball on a trail drive to the marsh, immediately following his full body clip.

But that is what we did anyway. Meatball was still a fuzzy mess. I am not sure if minis shed the same or not, but it appears not. So we clipped him. All of it. Also, I am a terrible clipper.

He actually looks like a horse without all that fuzz!

Meatball was tolerant, much more so than his bath or bean cleaning, but still not pleased. Really though, he had to feel better now that his skin could breath and he could feel fresh air and not sweat, right?

After the clip, we loaded up horses to go for a ride and drive at the marsh. I was taking Meatball, Jaime had Dexter, Kyle was riding Clutch, and our friend Anthony was riding Notch. First problem was little Meatball would not load on the trailer. The new trailer has ramps and Meatball was not going up the ramp. What he did do was go to the side of the ramp, hop up, and proceed into the trailer though. Horses are weird. . .

Marsh

We got to the marsh and I had to make a few adjustments to his harness because he lost about 3 inches in hair. We also tried a new bit for Meatball, a mullen mouth half cheek. He was driving in a snaffle half cheek. Everyone got ready and we headed off. 

Can you tell which side I clipped? Yeah. . .the side with the lines (left side)

And Meatball took the lead. He wanted to go and I had to really hold him back, like never before. People were fishing and walking around at the marsh and Meataball spooked at some kid with a fishing pole. Then spooked at a yellow bird.  This horse never spooked while hooked to a cart before. Weird. . .

We were trotting along and leaving our friends behind. And Meatball would not stand still. He had a major attitude. When I corrected him, he took off into an unasked for canter. Jaime stepped in and we switched horses. She is much better at fixing horse problems than me. In fact, I am terrible at it. Jaime gave Meatball a little lesson in listening and adjusted his attitude problem and he was okay after that. 

I stuck with Dexter, who is the best driving pony in all the land. Seriously, he is awesome. 

We got to the water crossing and the drafts went in. And Notch did not want to come out of the water! He was playing, splashing his legs, putting his head in, and just having himself a great time!  

When we finished the loop and were untacking at the trailer, people came up to pet the horses. Then Anthony had an idea. He wanted to know what it was like to ride in the trailer. . .what the horses do, what it feels like. So he sat in a cart and we closed him in. It was only a ten minute ride home. 

We got back to the barn, lowered the ramp, and there Anthony was waiting to be unloaded with a mini! Too funny. He said the trailer was like riding in a Cadillac. It was so smooth and you could hardly feel any bumps. But the horses were looking at him like, WTF? 

It was a fun day, even though Meatball was being a jerk face. I bet he felt a lot better after the drive, since he wasn't a hairy, sweaty mess. Minions. . .

spring clinic 2014

The annual spring clinic has come and gone. Months of preparation by many people are now over until next year. This was the first year that I have gone to the light horse clinic and the driving clinic. And even though I did not take a horse to the light horse day, I still learned quite a bit. 

The kids had a ton of fun on the light horse day. The clinicians were very helpful and offered a lot of small group demonstrations in showmanship, English equitation, Western equitation, trail and trail-in-hand. 

Showmanship

English Equitation

Western Equitation

Trail

The cutest part was a lunch time discussion of the Harry Hughes Youth Group on what Sportsmanship means. The best quote was from a poem that two girls came up with: "be a friend, not a rear end." 

Sportsmanship discussion

The driving day was a ton of fun for me because I got to bring Shyloh and drive Meatball. We had some great clinicians who have many many years of experience showing in the draft and driving world. They were very hands on in our sessions and even hopped in the carts with some drivers to offer instruction. We were broken up into small groups for the draft braiding, showmanship, safe harnessing and hitching, and single driving sessions. Then there was a demonstration on team driving.

Braiding manes and tails

Showmanship

Safe harnessing and hitching

Driving

More driving and team set up

The raffle was a success, too! I think a lot of people were impressed with the generosity of the donors and all the different items that they could choose to win from. The kids were super excited when their names were pulled out of the bucket for winning! And the Youth Group had a fun time drawing the names on both days. A lot of kids went home with some very cool prizes. 

Raffle Day 1

Raffle Day 2

The spring clinic is the kick off to a very busy summer! I am excited for all the fun that is to be had.

new rule

Jaime is always making up new rules at the barn. They are mostly for me and Terry's benefit as we can be Snarky Rider's dream team of what not to do. 

First there was "no getting on your horse from the hay loft, " ahem. . .Terry. 

When they are so big, mounting blocks don't work!

And now there is "no round pen work with the minions." A week or so ago, Clutch had a really strange episode of kinda tying up. His muscles got hard and we was in a lot of pain, so Clutch was moved in with Shyloh and the minions went to live in the round pen. This was so Isaac and Notch would not chase or play with Clutch and Shy is not much of a chaser/player.

Since the weather has been nice, I have been doing my grooming in the round pen. And because I didn't feel like wrangling some minions (which really is a chore) and putting them on the hitching post, I left them in the round pen with us. When I worked Shy, none of the horses cared. The minions stood around and Shy ignored them.

We also stretch! Shy is holding a stretch here, she loves stretching!

If they were too close to the panels, Shy would push through them. Minions didn't care, Shy kept on working and listening to me. All was good. But soon, Shy came to enjoy busting through the minions. It was like "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Shyloh over!" and if I had her at a walk, she would pick up a trot and plow through them, then resume her walk. Once, she actually jumped Meatball! 

But overall, Shy was still listening and working really well for me and the minions ignored her. 

Not the other day. I got Shy out of her pasture and she was in heat. For some reason, Isaac makes Shy go into a nasty heat. Grossness in the next sentence. . .I think she squirts so much that she chaffs herself, then her skin starts to peel. I have to put Bag Balm on it. So, that is what was going on the other day. 

We get into the round pen and she is ready to go, giving a very willing canter. But I wanted her to walk. So she would walk half the round pen then canter through the minions. Dexter must have finally gotten tired of it so he started chasing and biting and trying to mount Shy, so she just went faster. And faster. And faster. And would not listen. 

I put a lead rope on Meatball and tried to catch Dexter, who was being impossible as he chased and bit at poor Shy. She did pop him pretty good though. Eventually Jaime had to come and save the day and a new rule was made. Shy was a tense, sweaty mess from all that cantering around. I felt really bad, but this was the first time it was a problem. Lessons learned the hard way . . . I let her rest, then worked on walk and whoa, because before we needed to be done, I needed Shy to listen to me and she needed to cool down.  She was able to bring herself back together for that, thank goodness.  

The pasture situation should be worked out soon, as the big, giant pasture is almost ready. It is just hard when you have a big, playful blue roan who only wants to hump Shy and chase minions, a Haflinger who can't handle the round bale, and an older Clyde with special needs.