Last Horse Standing

The title has nothing to do with this post, except the horse part, well, and it was standing.  I just like the way the line sounded.

Broken Arrow shows the reason for his name in this shot.

Time to go to Trainer Sam's where she can work her magic.  We started almost too late in the afternoon, because unlike our Magic Man, Arrow was not interested in loading.  He was interested in nothing but Mama.

Sam tried food, loving, leading but Arrow was not going in that trailer.  She ground worked him, led in in the field, still no prize.

If you remember, Arrow is the son of Knot and Charme, an Arabian and a Haflinger.  He is beautiful but just a tad stubborn.

Sam thought maybe if Mom loads, son will load.  Well Mom loaded and that is as far as that went.  Then tying them together to load was an idea, still no luck.

The sun was setting so we had to rely on the old standby, chute loading.  It worked.  As the sun dipped below the horizon, the trailer drove out of sight.

Soon I will have four horses trained to be ridden and I am not trained to ride.  I have ordered "Riding Horses For Dummies", hope that will help.

My Trainer, Sam

Sam is my idol!  She is going to college, works part time in real estate, helps her family run a farm, trains horses, raises her own goats,  has started her herd of cattle, trains children to ride, runs heavy farm equipment, and may walk on water...I haven't seen it but I would not disbelieve.

Now this is how you ride a horse.

In this shot, she has just walked Magic Man through barbed wire on the ground. The chainsaw and the tractor sounds did not bother him a bit.

Shall I ever be able to do this?

Or this?  Notice no bit.

Playing football on a horse

I don't know which impresses me more, Sam catching the ball or Magic standing still for it.

I salute you, Sam!  I want to be just like you when I grow up.

Trailer Loading For The First Time

Magic Man is what last night was all about. He is going to be trained to ride, when Magic returns I will have three horses I never have time to ride. I am a horse lover but not a cow girl. Magic was a surprise from my Haflinger mare, thus the name. I have taken a halter on and off, can get him to go any where, but no ground work. I have no horse trailer so I have never trained him to load. Last night was his first load.

It went rather well, I think. Samantha, Sam, my trainer, my farrier, my friend, got him to load right up with no problem at all.

I was so excited I did not get many pictures. Sam is starting college next week and shall be busy but she will find time to train. Sam trained Knot for me last year and did a great job, I can climb under him and over him with out Knot batting an eye.

After Sam gets all my horses trained, she is training me how to ride!

My Trainer, My Farrier, My Friend

Samantha, or Sam for short, is one of the most awesome young people I have ever met. Sam is one of three adopted children. The parents home school, treat their children respect and values, and teach them how to work. Sam will go to college in the fall.

She trained my Arabian last year at the old age of seventeen, Sam, not the horse. Sam is a hard worker, runs a chainsaw, fixes fence, runs farm equipment, is great with horses and is pretty and

smart too!!!

Sam will be taking Magic to train him as soon as I get my coggins report back.

Broken Arrow gets a halter lesson and follows her like a puppy.

She may be whispering because it's working.

Oh, and she makes wonderful cookies, too!

Farrier Time

Please keep in mind, we have been concentrating on repair rather than grooming. Everyone is started to shed so the slick smooth coats will be here soon. Thank God, Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she dressed these guys in woolies this year.

Sam and Charme have the same color hair.

The boys waiting patiently for their turn. I keep all my horses barefoot.

Got something for me, Mom?

I even got a surprise gift from Sam and her family...goat's milk. I believe it has a fuller body flavour than cow's milk and certainly was much richer than the cow milk in the store. Sam had pasteurized it.

My Farrier Is A Girl....

Meet Samantha Fields, a wonderful young lady, who is now doing my hoof trimming for me. Sam has trained my Arabian, Knot, to ride. Worked with my other horses and got a halter on Arrow today when I haven't been able to in months.

Sam seems to have a personal connections with horses, in fact, all animals love her.

If you notice Charme, my Haflinger, is about to fall asleep.

The third photo is a sign I made out of pieces of my life. Each piece has a story. When we came to the farm, we soon discovered many things has ruined in the barn during years of storage. The A is part of Grandma Pruett's pie safe, the T is part of Grandma's old wash stand, the H is Grandma Greenstreet's chest of drawers and on we go to the M which is part of Dad's bee hive.  The wreath below the sign is rusted barbed wire with horse shoes in it.

I promised I would say when the photos were taken by me so today is the day.