The Equestrian Vagabond

Fixin' What's Broke

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:35:00 +0000

Wednesday November 11 2009

For one thing, I'm fixin' my rib. It's mending... really just annoying now at times rather than anything else. The prescription is plenty of exercise, extra calcium, and no more falling off horses.

For another thing, I'm fixin' Kazam, who broke my rib. The Great Rib Incident really isn't the problem, and didn't really contribute to what needs fixin' on Kazam, although dumping a rider and running 90 miles per hour for home in a panic on that day probably didn't make things any better.

What's broke on him is his self confidence. Though Kazam is Jose's half brother - calm, steady, smart, cool-headed Jose - Kazam isn't quite like that yet. He's sweet and smart and trustworthy on the ground, and he wants to be good under saddle... it's just a matter of translating that trust and self-assurance to riding.

The main cause is his sporadic riding and training. Due to various circumstances, Kazam has been a green horse for years - never graduated any further. Steph got him green-broke a couple of years ago, then he turned up lame, so he had time off. Connie started getting on him again last fall - at the time she had him boldly going out alone... and he went lame again so he had the winter off. Then nobody was around to put the time in riding him. He went to a trainer this summer for a month, then had more time off while I was gone. I started him back later this summer, and while I mostly rode him in company, he always had a traumatic time going out by himself. Then I left again for 2 weeks to Kentucky. When I got back, I rode him for 2 days, then went and fell off him and broke my rib. He had 6 weeks off.

I've started back on him again, and, since his biggest problem is going out by himself, that is all that we do. Every day.

And that's all we will do until he gets so comfortable with it that he dreams about wanting to do it. Some days are worse than others, but every day is better in some little way. Every day, he's a little less scared, or less reluctant, or less spooky; he's more relaxed or relaxed sooner, more able to control his panic. He does, however, know every shortcut home, just in case we get caught out in a heavy fog and I get lost.

This is what happened yesterday:

We were coming back home from a good ride. We crested our Tevis hill where we have a view of home. Kazam spotted his horse herd far up the pasture on this side of the creek - not a usual spot... and he started getting wound up thinking about it - Ohmigosh, the horses are not by the house, they are up there!!!!

He did keep his cool and remain responsive and controllable all the way home, but as soon as I unsaddled him and turned him loose, panic mode took over. He took off cantering up the pasture, over a hill and out of sight, whinnying for his mates.

I turned away, figuring he'd cross the creek up there and join them, but then I heard a mighty roar. Here came Kazam - running back toward the house, 300 miles an hour - ohmigod! - whinnying in hysteria, every thundering stride stabbing his whinnies with panic.

I gasped and my heart stopped: shocking - thrilling - terrifying - exciting - all at the same time. I've never seen a horse run this fast, warp speed, not a Quarter Horse in a quarter-mile race out of the starting gate. (Although I did ride a rocket ship once in the Egyptian desert... but that's another story.) I cringed as Kazam got near the barn, afraid he'd just crash into it. He swerved and shot past it and on down the side of the mare pen, sat on his haunches, spun a 180, started sprinting back up the pasture, dropped and spun toward the creek, leaped over it, and headed for his herd, still whinnying up a frenzy. Ohmigod!

Meanwhile, Rhett was already trotting back in this direction to see what the heck was going on - I could see a collision coming! But somehow they all jumbled seamlessly together and caught the electric current and became one tempest, typhooning back my way, blasting across the creek, cutting the corner of the barn at a tilt to the front pen (Stormy the fat boy much slower behind them, and carefully crossing the rocky creek), where they skillfully whirled and ducked and dodged each other in a great upheaval of dust - bucked, wheeled, reared, piaffed, spun, and head-down-double-barrelled in the air, just because they had four legs and they could. An exuberant herd romp!

And suddenly all was calm. One last snort. Sides heaved. Heads dropped to graze. Like nothing had happened. My heart finally jump-started and I drew breath again. Ohmigod!

This is what I'm working to prevent Kazam from doing under saddle.

On his daily solo rides away from the house, it takes a lot of time and patience. I always have a plan, but I don't always stick to it, depending on how he's doing each day. We never go the same way twice; we never rush; I never force him but rather ask him to do something, and make it so he can only want to do what I ask. Every horse is different, so I'm still learning what works best on him to get the best response. We follow trails and washes, and we ride cross-country. We climb hills, because Kazam is not an uphill horse (yet). We practice opening gates... he is getting almost as good as ranch horse Mac and once-upon-a-time dude ranch horse Stormy. When Kazam stops to graze out on the trail, I know he's really relaxed. When he passes by something scary without letting it scare him, he knows he's done good.

If it takes a whole winter of riding him by himself, that's what I'll do. However long it will take to get him going good is however long it will take.

That's our homework for the Owyhee winter.

Snow Dance

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:03:00 +0000

Friday November 13 2009

Is that a beautiful sight, or what?

I do seem to be the only one with this opinion... any Happy Snow Dances I do tend to be greeted with moans, groans, or the trigger-pulling of the imaginary gun in my direction. At the very least you all might get some real Owyhee snow pictures soon. While most people seem to not love the snow, they like looking at my pictures of it.

Now, it's a bit cold for a ride this morning (sunny and gorgeous, but cold), with frost still on the ground and fence rails, and the horses turned broadside to the sun to soak up the warming rays.

But I am going out for a ride, as soon as I pull my clothes out of the dryer, where they are warming up.

To Be (Fat) Or Not To Be?

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:24:00 +0000

Monday November 9 2009

Alright, help me out here. Look at that picture up there. Is Stormy fat? I can see his ribs from the side through his winter coat.

Now look at him from this angle.

I think he might be having twins! Maybe he swallowed 2 beach balls. I swear that Princess was not this wide when she was pregnant with Smokey this summer. Stormy waddles when he walks!

Connie says that I'm in denial that he's fat. I'm not in denial; I just love my horse however big his paunch is, and I just prefer to look at him from the side, where I can't see the protuberance.

He was eating 24 hours a day since we put free-feed hay out in preparation for the winter. Sometimes he had his head buried up to his withers in the hay and he didn't even hear me when I walked up and talked to him.

Steph suggested lunging him half an hour every day. Lunge him! I couldn't get him to trot for half a lap around the round pen, much less half an hour, if I tried with whips and electric prods. He is going to start riding again - get him working up a few hills or washes... though with his navicular, that can't be a strict routine. He's in the diet pen too now, getting access to the hay only morning and evening. Maybe when it snows this weekend (!!) he'll shiver a few pounds off.

I agree Stormy is a wide load... but is he really fat? He's not buffalo fat like Dudley was (was! Dudley is still looking good) - Stormy has no cresty neck, no dimpled butt - nothing but a huge sideways belly.

Or is it just all in your perspective? (As in, perspective from a side view, like I prefer, versus a front or back view).

Or is he just a good keeper?

What do you think? What's the solution? Suspenders? Girdle?

(Stormy is a bit peeved at all the scuttlebutt over his belly - he's very comfortable with his body.)

She IS a Freak!

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Sunday November 8 2009

Thoroughbred racing skeptic-of-Superhorses that I am, I was impressed by Rachel Alexandra (Is She A Freak?), after she beat all the 3-year-old fillies she could find, the 3-year-old boys in the Preakness and the Haskell Stakes, and older males in the Woodward Stakes this year (the first 3-year-old filly to ever win the Woodward.)

After Zenyatta's stunning performance in yesterday's Breeders' Cup Classic (the first female to ever win it), I'm convinced they are both freaks. Secretariats? Ruffians? No. Freaks? Yes. Zenyatta had the announcers stuttering and sputtering after her implausible win. I couldn't believe her run. I couldn't believe it the second time I saw it, nor the third, nor the tenth (I can't stop watching it - I think it was the third time I got over being stunned, and had tears in my eyes.)

It's kind of sad Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta won't meet, (Zenyatta was to be retired after this race) but then I'm glad they won't. With two champions like this, one should not have to end up being a loser.

As for Horse of the Year honors for 2009, it's sad one will be a loser there. In fact it's silly for humans to have to vote who they think is the better Horse of the Year. It's a moot point. Both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are champions, both did everything they were asked this year, both accomplished far more than any other horse this year (or many other years), both turned in outstanding performances that would make them Horse of the Year any other year. It's not like the Affirmed and Alydar rivalry, where Alydar would have been Horse of the Year any other year that he hadn't run against Affirmed. They did compete, several times, and Affirmed came out on top more. What does it mean when humans vote that they think one filly/mare is better than the other this year, when they are so closely matched, but haven't run together? Nothing: it's just opinions. By choosing one, our opinions might just be wrong and still go down in the history books. One of them is not better than the other. They are both magnificent champions this year.

Both of them should share Horse of the Year honors.

Period.

(Guess that's why they don't let me vote. : )

Watch the race on Youtube

What About the Indians?

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Friday November 6 2009

We looked at the Utter Disaster story from 1860. I just rode over the trail where the event happened near the Snake River. Here in Murphy, the county seat of Owyhee, is a monument for the massacre of the Utter wagon train pioneers, erected by the Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers in 1935.

My question: What about the Indians?

If you have read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, you know the story. If you haven't read it, that's one book you should read in your lifetime. But here's the short of the story:

White man comes to America with the need to discover, to escape tyranny, to explore, (or to explore and conquer), or with noble self-righteous goals of 'helping the poor savages'.

Indians don't always see this noble White intention as salvation. Sometimes they fight to keep what is theirs. (Can this really be surprising.) White Man wants the land. White Man needs the land. White Man has more and bigger guns. Indians die. They lose their land. (Except for the dreariest and crappiest places in America for their Reservations the White Man so kindly and generously gave them.)(Unless the White Man changed his mind and wanted those places too). The End. Epilogue: White Man gets the plaques.

John Winthrop, who led a group of Puritans from England to their new home in Massachusetts in 1630, was convinced that part of their mission was to help the native Indians, who wanted and needed their help.

In 1845, journalist John O'Sullivan talked of America's "manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our multiplying millions." (Ah - now there's much more of the truth - 'We's got too many peoples and no room - so scootch over!').

I get it, Manifest Destiny and all that Hoohaw.

Now, I myself am from Sorbian stock (Slavic immigrants from Lusatia, an area in eastern Germany) - Texas Wends - who fled oppression, discrimination, and religious tyranny in the 1850's; and while my ancestors ensconced themselves in a rather peaceful corner of Texas (very likely the Indians had already been run off), I reckon they would have done the same thing to claim and keep their new home, as did the Whites who moved from East to West, taking over their great new land. So you can say my Euro-White Man ancestors did the same thing - came to the New World for a new life, and everything included in that quest; and they probably would have fought and died for that right. And we would have put up plaques for them.

I seem to have the Vagabond gene I must answer to (I know I'm meant to be in the West), and probably would have done the same thing in 1680 and 1860 that I'm doing now (though I'd'a refused to wear those Little-House-On-The-Prairie dresses, thank you very much), so I would have Manifested my Own Destiny, whoever was in my way, too.

Now, back to Owyhee, Idaho and the Utter Massacre (and all the others):

I'm not pointing fingers, I'm not accusing, I'm not acknowledging this was not a tragedy (for both sides), I'm simply reciting history, and I'm just sayin'.

What about the Indians?

Tiny Dancer

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:32:00 +0000

Thursday November 5 2009

Oh, the pure joy of being a little kid. Smokey is 4 1/2 months now. And she just knows how to enjoy life.

Jose played with her a little, reached down and nipped her in the back leg, like he does with Kazam, and she leaped off in surprise.

Lordy look at her buck!

And, come to think of it, she's not tiny anymore. I could swear she is putting on inches every day.

I wonder what new lyrics Elton John and Bernie Taupin would come up with if they watched this little joyful beauty?

Silence is Not Golden

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Wednesday November 4 2009

"Do you ever get tired of the quiet out here?" a city guy asked me yesterday. I had to look slant-eyed at him to determine if he was joking. (He wasn't.)

No, I never get tired of this amazing quiet. I've lived and worked in the city; I've lived and worked in the wilderness, in the forests and the deserts. For how vast and endless the mountains and the deserts are, the amazing thing is how quiet they can be. It's something most people notice out here.

Sometimes when I ride, if my horse's speed matches the breeze, the only thing I hear is hoofbeats in the sand. Nothing else. Sometimes when I hike it's only my footsteps (or my heavy breathing) I hear. I stop moving, and the silence is - huge. The presence of this big open desert - and the mountains and forests - speaks its own silent language.

Especially at night, when the wind stops and the birds and coyotes are sleeping - the quiet is awesome. You hear nothing - and everything.

If I could paint a picture of the majestic, charged, imposing, colorful silence here in Owyhee, it would look something like this up top.

(Or this).

Hallowed Weenies Day 2: Utter Disaster

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:17:00 +0000

Sunday November 1 2009

I have a confession: even though I love doing endurance rides - I am seriously obsessed with them - I just HATE getting out of bed early in the morning before a ride. I think it probably goes back to my racetrack grooming days, when I got up at 4 AM, 7 days a week, for 8 months of the year.

I especially hate getting out of bed early with a night of zero sleep, and a dreadful headache so bad that I'm fighting nausea. Ugh. But no way I wasn't going to ride Jose. Plus I was riding with Steph and Rhett, and Annerose Carlile and GAC Ginger. Ginger is 10. Annerose is 72. She's got nearly 10,000 AERC endurance miles, and about as many entertaining stories to tell. (Like the time she won the Swiss Championship - I think she was in her 50's - after her horse did a somersault on the trail and landed on her and they got back up and kept going; there's a story about getting bees in her bonnet/helmet - but I didn't ask her about that one.)

And it wasn't just another 50-mile endurance ride, and it wasn't just another 50 mile endurance ride on Jose: it was the first ride since breaking my rib 5 1/2 weeks ago. I was definitely not going to miss this one. I downed many Ibus and hoped for the best.

And besides, Jose and Rhett are best buddies, and no way was Jose going to hang out in the corral today while Rhett went off and left him again.

It was chilly and breezy in the dark morning, but skies would be mostly clear for the day. Jose didn't want the bridle. He thinks he goes best in a hackamore. I know better. Bridle first loop, and maybe hackamore the second or third loop. Maybe not.

Off at 8:15 in the sunrise, starting east of Castle Butte, heading for Henderson Flat, site of the Utter Disaster in 1860. Cold strong breeze in our faces, fresh and eager horses, our long shadows pointing the way along the trail west. Jose wanted to fly, but he wasn't pulling hard on me. Rhett was working on pulling Steph's arms out of her sockets. Annerose cruised along on Ginger right behind us, always smiling when I looked back. There really isn't much better than riding a good horse on a trail in the desert sunrise. My headache was gone, I was really glad I got up this morning. : )

Turn north - no Indian attacks - to the Snake River. The river is a stunning blue in the golden sunrise, with little white caps kicked up by the wind. Ginger drinks at the first watering hole, but Jose and Rhett turn up their noses. Great footing along the river, the three horses cruising along the trail around Wildhorse Butte. We merge onto the Oregon Trail westward, where in some places you see the actual ruts worn by the wagon wheels a century and a half ago. We ride over the trail where a few years ago Tom Noll saw cougar tracks, and where I once saw wolf tracks big as my hand.

We make a figure eight loop and head back toward the morning sun, with dark Castle Butte framing horse and rider silhouettes. We thought Jose and Rhett might slow down since they turned away from their home and towards Regina's, but no, they keep pulling us along.

And with 6 miles left on the first loop: trouble. No more trail markings! For some reason, this little bit of connector trail to Regina's didn't get marked. Which way to go?? Fortunately, I was with Steph, who had marked the rest of the trails, and therefore knew which way to go, so I followed her. Lee and Naomi were with us, so they followed us, but there were three riders in front of us who got a bit lost. They were compensated for it, allowed to leave on the second loop before us so they wouldn't lose their placing. A conference between Steph and ride manager Regina and the vets also resulted in lengthening the vet hold to an hour, and dropping the last 7-mile loop, because the loop we just did, and the next one (a reverse of the first one) were longer than the 21.5 miles that were written down.

I didn't care, I was having such a great ride on Jose. He was drinking well and pounding down the food at the vet check (especially when Sandra held the dish for him). We heard Gary's Tennessee Walker stallion came out of surgery well after yesterday's colic, and it wasn't nearly as bad as they'd feared - great news.

Back out on the second loop. Do I put the hackamore on Jose? He thinks so. I think not. As we started out, our horses were relaxed, trotting along casually, on a loose rein. Then Steph put Rhett into a canter, and that was all she wrote. Glad to have the bridle in Jose's mouth, still. He was fresher this loop, having a great time cantering alongside Rhett. We did a lot of merry cantering on the flat stretches with perfect footing over the desert... how could you not??

Still the strong cool breeze blowing in our faces - which we were grateful for. In a few sheltered parts of trail with no wind, the buffalo gnats were horrible (think of those poor settlers in slow ox-pulled wagons). I spit them out of my mouth and blew them out of my nose and wiped them out from under the bandana that was covering my forehead and ears. Some of the buggers still bit me. Jose snorted them out of his nose in indignation.

Even though we were riding over the exact same trails, going the opposite way gives you completely different scenery. Didn't see those kissing rocks before. Didn't see those bluffs that look like a boiled over kettle before. The Snake River is a different color going this way. And even though I've done this Wild Horse Butte trail many times, I never get tired of it. I never get tired of riding in this Owyhee desert.

And Jose wasn't tired of it. He politely requested that we go faster, the entire loop. Never flagged, never let up, no matter which direction we turned. And best, most amazing of all? He finished the ride with a 40 pulse, and ended up tying for High Vet Score. Jose!

It turned out to be (like many, many of my rides are) one of the best rides ever. The Owyhee trails were awesome (even though I've done them before), the company great, the weather perfect, Jose brilliant.

Hallowed Weenies Day 1: Fairies on the Prairie

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Saturday October 31 2009

Just give endurance riders the slightest excuse to get together, and they'll do it. Add in a near full moon, and a chance to play dress-up, and you end up with the 2-day Hallowed Weenies endurance ride at the end of the season in the Owyhee Desert.

And with it being Halloween, there were some scary things to worry about on the 50 and 25 mile trails: Day 1 you rode by "Dead Cow Farm" - an abandoned and rather creepy dairy; by the Idaho Ecology site - the P.C. name for the toxic waste dump near the Snake River; on a sloped trail right by a barbed wire fence; over an old bombing range; and during hunting season. Day 2 you rode over the site of the Utter Disaster Massacre, and, since not quite all of the last bit of trail had completely gotten marked, some of us got lost out there, and it's still hunting season. Yeah.

But the creatures still came out in Halloween droves. There were Fairies on the prairie, many Come to Save the World - a Musketeer, a Crusader, Zorro, an Oreana Cowboy (wait - that was a REAL Oreana Cowboy - Shane pulled Mary's stuck truck out of the sand while she was off riding in the LD), a Star Wars Jawa ("I can't abide those Jawas. Disgusting creatures!" said C3PO - who can quote that entire movie with me?), a skeleton (the horse), a soccer ball (the horse) and referee, Gumby & Pokey, Michael Jackson (who worked as our in and out timer), Where's Waldo, a college graduate, two pink flamingos, Pocahontas, a clown, an angel, of course a devil (someone stole the devil's cape and became impromptu Little Red Riding Hood), monsters, a drunken man on a mule, and Argentinean vaqueros. Steph commented later, "These were ADULTS! - this is GREAT!"

Even the Raven participated, dressing up as a Cardinal! (Someone, I'm not saying who, actually made that bird a costume!).

The Musketeer came all the way from New York City (New York City!) to ride. Sandra Fratelliere rode Steph and John's mare Sunny on her first 50, and it was Sandra's first ride in the Pacific Northwest.

The two pink flamingos were shedding feathers their entire 25 miles... some day a BLM bird biologist will be hiking out there, discover some pink feathers, and be amazed that pink flamingos have inhabited the Owyhee desert! The feathers actually served an extra purpose; since there weren't an abundance of pink ribbons to mark the trail (commented one rider), the pink feathers served as markers for those in doubt of their directions.

And Day One was all-new Owyhee trails. Basecamp was Regina Rose's house down the road from Oreana. Riders took off south, across the highway, up Birch Creek wash, (had a vet check), did a loop through scenic Birch Creek Canyon, (had a vet check), and back home. The LD's hauled out to the vet check to start and did their two loops, through Birch Creek Canyon, (had a vet check), then did a shorter out-and-back loop to finish.

After the awful weather the week before (that is just one point of view!) of wind, cold, rain, and a bit of snow - the weather was just perfect (a unanimous point of view): cool and partly sunny all day, and minimal wind. And the sunset was spectacular.

And even more spectacular was the dinner (for the second night in a row), cooked by Oreana neighbors Amy and Shane and Jessica and Isaac Riley and a couple of their friends. The indoor arena where we ate sounded like the Riley fan club: "OMG!" "This is soooooo good!" "I'm coming back next year just for the dinners!" And the family came around making sure you went back for seconds. Which was almost impossible after the huge firsts they heaped on your plate, but I think everybody managed. And then there was the dessert... The food truly was stunning (both nights) after a long working/riding/outdoor day.

All the scary trail obstacles were conquered with no problems. However Gary Pegg's Tennessee Walker stallion Gus's Mountain Mack, in the middle of the 18-mile loop of the LD, colicked. There was nothing for Gary to do but keep riding him, forcing him to walk in - if he got off to walk, the horse tried to go down. Annerose Carlile and her horse stayed with them; as soon as they got Gus in to the vet check the vets treated him and stabilized him, and he got hauled off to a clinic, where he immediately went into surgery. Awful news for everybody.

And our horse Rushcreek Mac wasn't quite right after he finished the 50. After it got dark, he was standing off by himself, away from Rhett and Jose and Sunny, not eating, and looking dull. Steph went to get the vet, Robert Washington; he checked Mac out and found a small compaction in the colon, but nothing he was terribly worried about. Robert gave Mac some tranquilizers, and stomach tubed him with oil and electrolytes. John sat up with him in the dark and cold, until Mac suddenly snapped out of it. We kept him separated (and Sandra got up to check on him in the middle of the night), and he was fine in the morning.

Next day: I get to ride Jose!!!

Hallowed Weenies Endurance Ride - Friday

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:46:00 +0000

Friday October 30 2009

Friday, the day before the Owyhee Hallowed Weenies 2-day endurance ride! Another ride in the Owyhee desert.

Basecamp is down the road at Regina's place. She's boarding about 30 Kiger mustangs for somebody who breeds them.

Gary and his Tennessee Walker stallion.

Lois and Pat going for a pre-ride.

Mona

Little dog.

Amanda with another little dog - Jethro!

Castle Butte, site of the beginning of the Utter Disaster in 1860.

I'll get to ride Jose on Sunday!!!! First ride after busting my rib. It's been 5 1/2 weeks. That's long enough to mend, right? And Jose will take good care of me.

Lovely sunset over the Owyhee mountains.

Utter Disaster

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:21:00 +0000

Wednesday October 28 2009

If you ride up onto the flats above Pickett Creek and look to the southeast, three drainages over is Castle Creek, coming down from the Owyhee Mountains. Look northeast and you'll see where Castle Creek meets the Snake River, and part of the Oregon Trail and Castle Butte just this side of the river.

If you were here 149 years ago, following the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon by Castle Butte, you might have been riding into big trouble. On September 9th, 1860, (an alternate date recorded is August 1860) the wagon train led by Elijah P Utter (sometimes spelled Otter) was attacked by around 100 Indians, probably Bannock and Boise Shoshone.

There were 44 emigrants total in the group - 4 families (12 in the Utter family, led by father Elijah) and 2 Reith brothers. They had gathered together from southern Minnesota and Iowa and started on the Oregon Trail westward.

One of the biggest dangers faced by the emigrants crossing the country - besides injuries, illness, bad weather, wild animals, treacherous terrain, getting lost, and anything else under the sun - was attacks by Indians.

The Utter wagon train was attacked. The wagons were circled to protect the livestock the Indians were trying to stampede. The conflict stopped momentarily when the white men offered the Indians food. The wagon train started moving again, but they were shortly attacked again on Henderson flat. The fighting lasted into the next evening, when the emigrants again tried to move onward to the Snake River, as they and their stock were desperate for water.

The Indians renewed their attack; in total approximately 50 Indians and 19 whites, including Mr and Mrs Utter and 4 of their children, were killed. The Indians turned their attention to plundering the wagons; the remaining 25 emigrants fled and hid, leaving everything behind but a few firearms, and continued on foot down the Snake River, traveling by night and hiding by day.

A week later the survivors arrived at the mouth of the Owhyee River 75 miles away, where most were too weak to continue. The two Reith brothers went to look for help; the rest hunkered down here and waited for rescue, including 18 children.

After two weeks, more Shoshone Indians appeared at the Owyhee camp and traded some food for the last of the survivors' possessions, and stole their guns.

The Van Norman (sometimes spelled Van Ornum) family then struck out to look for help. Three young girls were taken captive by Indians; the rest were murdered. (The girls were apparently found several years later.)

By this time the Army was out looking for the survivors, having gotten word from the Reith brothers, who had finally made it to the Umatilla Indian Agency in Oregon for help.

The murdered Van Norman family was discovered by the Army, six weeks after they had fled their wagon train; and finally the debilitated party on the Owyhee River was found, 16 people who'd survived on berries, frogs, snakes, mice, a few fish from the Indians - and the bodies of a man, boy and infant who had died. Several young children had starved to death.

This Saturday, at the Hallowed Weenies endurance ride down the road in Owyhee county, we'll have something besides Halloween ghouls and goblins to ponder as we ride over the site of the attacks.

Sweep

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:48:00 +0000

Tuesday October 27 2009

When Rushcreek Mac arrived here from the Rushcreek Ranch two years ago, he was a Working Horse. Didn't have a personality, didn't know what a carrot was, nor a pat, nor a horse hug. He just did his job.

Didn't take long to spoil him with carrots and treats, and soon he got to where he came up for treats, or scratches (but don't touch his face, he doesn't like that). And he learned to play. He learned that from Jose, the Owyhee Social Director.

Mac picks up and plays with things on his own, and he learned that he can engage Jose when he does this.

He got adept at pulling off Jose's ear mask and playing tug of war with Jose.

He picks up buckets and flings them around, and I've seen him picking up a stick and bonking it on Jose's head till Jose grabs the other end.

Today it was the broom. Mac picked it up and chewed on it a bit, then thrust it upon Jose.

They had a good sweeping session, wrestling with the bundled bristles, grabbing it from each other, whacking each other with the handle.

Jose started to leave, and Mac chased him with the broom.

That got them going again.

Great horse fun on a windy fall day, and just goes to show, you don't have to spend big money on those special horse toys. Feed tubs, sticks, ropes, dressage whips, brushes, and brooms will do.

The Perfect Taste of Fall

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:24:00 +0000

Monday October 26 2009

It's a national pastime, isn't it? Going out for a drive to see the fall colors.

Here in Owyhee, to get your taste of fall, saddle up your beloved horse on the perfect October autumn day, and take a ride.

Up on the flats toward the Owyhee mountains;

down into Pickett Creek canyon where the cottonwoods are golden and the quail bush shouts in red, crimson, scarlet, maroon, sangria, burnt orange, rust.

Your horse cruises along, stops to pick at new green grass from last month's rainstorm; cool autumn breezes hinting of winter finger through your hair and tickle your nose.

Nature sightseeing on a perfect cool fall day in a beautiful country on a most beautiful horse (and, first post-busted-rib ride) - the perfect taste of fall.

Smokey's First Trim

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Friday October 23 2009

It was a landmark day in four-month-old Smokey's life: her first encounter with a farrier. She got her first hoof trim.

Steph's been working on halter breaking Smokey, leading her, picking up her feet. I like working on moving her off pressure, front end, hind end, backing. She's very good, ("smartest baby ever," says an unbiased Steph), though she can show an attitude at times. Like when she's hungry - she'll double barrel when she's waiting for the hay breakfast to be delivered, or she'll balk during her lessons, if you catch her at a bad time - like when she just gets up from a nap and is crabby and needs some of Mamma's milk Right-Now.

Linda and Mike of Perfect Balance Shoeing were very patient with Smokey. They recognize that taking your time at the beginning will save you hours, days, years of headaches down the road.

Steph haltered and held Princess close (who could care less about Smokey now, it seems), while Linda held Smokey for Mike. At first Smokey objected - strangers holding her, a man trying to pick up her feet, and she was just not in the mood to deal with any of this. Fortunately she's still small enough she can't out-muscle a human, so when she tried to get away from Linda, she wasn't able to, and realized she had to yield to pressure - i.e. not try to pull or push away.

Once she stood for Linda, Mike used the approach and retreat method,

and, as soon as Smokey did what he asked - picked up a foot - he used the quick release as a reward. With enough approaching, asking, and retreating, Smokey was soon, without objection, and without further trauma, lightly picking up her feet and letting Mike hold them up and trim and rasp them while licking her lips.

First a back foot:

Then a front foot:

Afterwards, however, as soon as Linda took off her halter,
she ran right to Mama to nurse.

Where's the Beef?

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:26:00 +0000

Friday October 23 2009

Where's The Beef?

Who is this slim, shapely, handsome beast? Could this be Dudley, the perennial overweight buffalo-fat lard-butt pudgeball?

No matter what kind of diet he's been on, he can just gaze longingly at the big hay bales behind the fence and it goes straight to his hips. And everywhere else.

So in addition to putting him on a strict diet (AGAIN), we started him on this D-Carb Balance formula. It's for Insulin Resistant horses (we suspect Dudley is), laminitic horses (Dudley's had several episodes), and obese horses (DUDLEY).

The D-Carb is supposed to help the body use the feed as energy instead of storing it as fat. We started him on it on mid-September; he was in a large pen with Finneas - who drove him all day (somehow Finneas thinks it keeps the flies off his face to drive Dudley around all day long). They probably walked at least 10 miles a day, so Dudley was getting plenty of exercise, along with his diet of hay only, and the D-Carb.

During the 5-day Canyonlands Ride, Dudley was stuck in a small pen for about 8 days, and I thought he was getting a little slimmer, though that had to be my imagination, because he was getting zero exercise.

After the ride, he was turned back out to plenty of roaming around. I was gone for two weeks, and I come back to see: hipbones! Dudley has hipbones! And a neck that is not so cresty. The fat dimples over his butt are almost a memory. He's a horse that looks like... well, a horse!
I want to say he's not even so obsessed over food, because there are times I see him up the canyon just standing there and hanging out, and not looking for food, scheming for food, escaping for food, or scheming to escape for food.

I'm not saying this D-Carb stuff is a miracle, and I'm the world's greatest devil's advocate and skeptic, but, Dudley the Beefalo, for whatever reasons, is becoming Dudley Slim Jim.

Welcome to the Club

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Thursday October 22 2009

I didn't realize it at first, but after I fell off Kazam and busted my rib, I became a member of an elite group. Tim Floyd let me in on the secret at the Owyhee Canyonlands ride when I told him why I wasn't riding. "Oh! Welcome to the Broken Rib Club!"

I'm sure lots of people break ribs, but a LOT of endurance riders are members of the Broken Rib club. I can't count how many times, just during the week of the Canyonlands ride, I heard, "Oh, (roll of eyes) been there done that, don't want to do it again!" "I broke 4 ribs!" "I broke 2." "I broke 3 ribs and punctured a lung!" (Note: the Punctured Lung Club is an E-LITE club, one I don't aspire to.)

So you can see why, instead of going to the doctor, I consulted my numerous endurance friends who have dealt with broken ribs, for advice. (Karen B said, "Gee, I don't know whether to be "honored" about being a broken rib consultant or not!")

Best most optimistic scenario for being able to ride again as usual without causing more damage (if I don't go out and fall off and re-break it - or go out and do a dumb thing again like ride an ATV on a bumpy road) is 6 weeks.

Which would just about fit the 2-day Hallowed Weenies endurance ride just down the road at the end of October right neatly into my schedule. That's almost 6 weeks. It's been a very difficult 29 days so far, turning down rides, watching people ride off and have fun without me. That's about as bad as the pain itself. (I can feel sorry for myself so very well, don't you think?)

But meanwhile, through the peevishness of sitting on the sidelines, I've rested enough so that the acute pain has gone away. Now it's more like a butter knife against my insides at certain times instead of a Buck Knife all the time, and I don't have trouble sitting up. It's mostly just twisting now that gives me the most problems. I'm always mentally calculating and measuring everything against, "Well if I'm riding and a horse stumbles, or spooks, how will it feel?" The answer now is, Not too bad.

And so my rehab has started. Besides warm water therapy, massage and herbal liniment, now I've added sit ups, and today, hiking. I went on an hour hike (with one little hill), the most I've done since I broke the rib. My lung hardly felt anything from heavy breathing.

Actually I will probably cheat a bit early, get on Stormy for a little ride on Sunday (special day, his half-year birthday more or less), so that's almost 5 weeks. That should be good enough, shouldn't it? I should be fine, as long as I don't fall off again (unlikely with Stormy).

You don't get extra credit or a promotion in the Broken Rib Club if you rebreak your rib or add some new ones. And Lord knows you people don't want to hear any more weeks of whining from me, so I'll be careful.

He's Hot

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Wednesday October 21 2009

He's not from Texas, but he sure knows how to pose, and he knows when he looks good.

Blame it on me, using him as an exceptionally handsome model for the last 14 years.

Everything IS bigger and better in Texas... bigger and better when it's Stormy in a Texas blanket (posing in Owyhee), anyway.

2009 Kentucky Cup Endurance

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:22:00 +0000

Wednesday October 14 2009

Great weather for an endurance ride, if you're a duck. On second thought, I didn't see any ducks anywhere around. Mid-40's and dumping rain most of the morning, then rain and wind, then light rain and wind, then mist and wind, more rain, more wind, and colder. By noon the officials had decided to shorten the 100-mile ride to 75 miles. Slick course with deep mud, that only got slicker and deeper as the day wore on.

One of those days that this wimpy endurance rider was glad she was not riding.

Lots of blankets in the vet gate

On people too

This little river at the out gate was not there yesterday.

Jeremy, riding Sir Smith, is cold...

but they head out on Loop 3.

Valerie Kanavy, twice former World Champion, heads out on loop 2 with LM Parys. The mare vetted out lame after loop 2 - they'd slipped and fallen on a road.

Gabrielle Mann and Big Easy - they stopped after Loop 2 - conditions just too tough, not worth risking an injury.

Lost a shoe? Put it on in the rain while the horse is eating.

Boy is it muddy.

One of my heroes, Jan Worthington (she's 69) and her cool horse Golden Lightning (Leon), going out on loop 3.

How do you cool a hot horse down on a cold wet windy day? There's a fine line between cooling him down while keeping him warm, and crossing that line to where he's too cold. Here they're putting water on his neck and shoulders, but you can see his tail is clamped to his butt.

Here they're pouring water all over him (and it's cold water, not warm) - neck, shoulders, back, butt. You risk causing the horse to cramp up, pouring cold water on his back and butt. A lot of horses did cramp up behind and were pulled.

The vetting area is a sea of mud - as is everything else.
'

My hero Jan and Leon finished third and got Best Condition!

Many more photos, and stories, at the Kentucky Cup on Endurance.net

Sunshine on the Kentucky Cup Endurance Race

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:32:00 +0000

Tuesday October 13 2009

Just driving into Lexington, Kentucky, among all those rolling hills and white fences of the Thoroughbred farms got my blood racing, and when I crossed Man O' War Boulevard, (Man O' War Boulevard - seriously!), and Citation Boulevard, it literally got my heart pounding. And the Kentucky Horse Park - don't even get me started (I'll follow up on that later).

And in the Kentucky Horse Park - some of the cream of the endurance crop around the world, and friends from around the world, here for the pre-ride for next year's World Endurance Championship. Here are a few photos of the days before:

That's Leon, the gray horse on the left... I'm sure he remembers me, we met in Dubai in February.

Gabrielle, from California, and Big Easy. Little guy, but tough.

Maria from Sweden

Mercedes from Argentina

Mustafa, from India - he had a great time here!

Feast your eyes on these sunny (or somewhat sunny) pictures because it's all clouds and rain and mud from here!

Tony Benedetti - Pacific North Chef d'Equipe

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Friday October 9 2009

He's a bit like an art sculptor, who gathers the different material, works and molds the pieces into one form, shapes it into a piece, and finely details it for the Big Show. But instead of clay or metal, Tony Benedetti, Chef d'Equipe for the Pacific North riders, takes 6 endurance horses and riders from different backgrounds and with different goals, and molds them into a team, shaping them into a finely tuned machine for the Big Show - the Kentucky Cup Endurance ride.

Tony's a bit like a chess player too, trying to figure out the best moves with the best riders and horses to get the best performances out of all of them. Of his 6 horses and riders now in Kentucky, he'll have to choose 4 to be on the Pac North team, and 2 to ride as individuals - and with the talent he has behind and between the reins, that's going to be a difficult and strategic move.

in 1993 Tony was a rider on the North American team, and that was where he realized 'chefing' was very important. He thought it could be done a different way, and that's what got him started doing it. He's been a chef d'equipe "about very other year since 1995." And he thoroughly enjoys chefing and coaching riders. "It's satisfying - helping riders and squads turn in the best ride possible, with the ultimate goal of winning a medal."

He likes the task of taking 6-12 individual people and creating a team culture - and ultimately being successful while having fun getting there. "That is very important, because if you don't have fun, why bother with it?"

Shaping and coaching a group of riders for such a big event is a great challenge. "Despite saying 'this ride is like any other ride', international competition is not like any other ride. It's more difficult, more intense, they've travelled further, and trained more stringently. Most riders don't ride as a team, ever, so that's a different challenge in itself."

Tony is going to have a very difficult time choosing his squad of 4 and the individuals - "it's a great group of very equal and very experienced riders and good horses to work with." The Pacific North riders are Dennis Summers and SHA Ebony Rose, his wife Sue Summers and Mags Motivator, Joyce Sousa and LV Integrity, her daughter Jennifer Niehaus and NH Copperblaze, Gabriel Mann and CM Big Easy, and Carol Giles and SAR Tiki Galaxy. These riders have previously been on 5 World Championship and Pan American teams.

With such talent, several of them capable, on a good day, of finishing in the front, will his riders try to win, or will they just try for a team and individual medals, or will they be riding just to finish well, with the ultimate goal being riding in next year's World Championship?

"Everyone recognizes that next year is The Big Race. But everyone wants to come here and do well, too. They don't want to leave their best race here, but they do want to be competitive. There are some riders in Kentucky not going for the WEC team next year; this one is their big race. Every rider is a bit different." He'll talk to all of his Pac North riders to assess their goals; he'll also look at how the horses have done over the season, and how they are faring in Kentucky - how well they've held up to travel, how they're eating, how sound they are, how they look and feel.

With the strong group he's got, he can't go wrong no matter what he decides.

1 Day and Counting Down

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Friday October 9 2009

A few more photos to preview The Equestrian Vagabond's photo show at Judeen's Art Studio and Gallery in Paducah, Kentucky.

Mane Frame II - yearlings in Belgium

Reflections II - weanlings in Washington

Regret I - in the sunset in Ridgecrest, California

Snow Princess - snowy day in Oreana, Idaho

Stormy Water I - that's Stormy (The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet, of course), in Ridgecrest, California

Up top:
Web II - South Island, New Zealand

That's 14 hours, 50 minutes and 45 seconds left to go - time to hop on the plane!

Kentucky Cup: Cheryl Dell and TR Reason to Believe - Springville, CA

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Friday October 9 2009

He lost his mother when he was 6 hours old, and he was raised with a goat. Maybe that's one explanation why 11-year-old Reason "has got personality!"

Cheryl Dell, a veterinarian from Springville, California, first saw Reason when she was looking for a backup endurance horse. She couldn't, however, afford him at the time, and tried not to think about him. It was her husband who secretly went and looked at Reason and rode him, and arranged with Carl Fudge of Sturgeon Creek Arabians in Manitoba, Canada to make payments. Since then (2005) it's been a great ride: 21 finishes in 23 starts (in the US), 19 of those in the top five, including 8 wins and 4 BCs, and 5 hundred-mile finishes.

On the endurance trails, Reason is "point and go" - though he wasn't always that way. "What a difference a couple of years makes in personality, vet checks, and on the trail. He's now all business, no nonsense. He grew up, got seasoned. He conserves his energy at the start... but he didn't do this at first! It used to take him a long time to pulse down at first because of the excitement. Now he gets excited, but he's calm about it, not amped or wacky. Now he's usually always down in 1-2 minutes in the vet gates."

This is one main reason why Cheryl and Reason are a pair to be reckoned with in the Kentucky Cup. The Spaniards seem to have this down with many of their top international horses, cantering into a vet gate and the horse pulsing right down in under a minute.

The pair participated in the World Endurance Championship in Malaysia last November, where Cheryl thought they might do well, but in the middle of the ride Cheryl was struck with a terrible stomach virus that put her into the hospital where she slept for 24 hours on IV fluids. "You know endurance riders can ride with anything - the flu, broken bones, but this came on fast and it knocked me out!"

Reason travels well - "he's like 'whatever'" - and he flew into Kentucky a few days ago, with Cheryl as groom for him and 2 other horses. Reason is settled into a farm near the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, and Cheryl and her Pacific South teammates are in a house just down the road.

"This is SO much easier than we've ever had it, being so close to the horses. In Malaysia we were 45 minutes from the horses, and we were always exhausted, running back and forth all day, several times a day, to take care of the horses, go to meetings, etc. Here we can relax, and take care of ourselves, which is just as important as taking care of the horse, as it benefits your horse if you are rested and healthy and ready to ride."

Cheryl will be waiting for instructions from the Pac South coach Skip Lightfoot as to how to ride the 100-miler (4 riders will be chosen to ride on a team, 2 will ride as individuals); and while she always rides according to Reason's ability on a given day, and she's focused on the ultimate goal of the 2010 WEG ride next September, she's hoping she can let Reason go a bit to see what he can do. "I had a hard time holding him back in his last ride." Cheryl and Reason finished 7th in the AERC National Championship in Greenville, California, on September 13th.

Cheryl knows her horse so well after riding him for 5 years. "He's super affectionate, he runs up to you in the pasture (as opposed to running away from you). He'll shove me with his head when he's ready to go."

With just 3 carefully chosen rides this year - 1st place in the American River Classic 50 miler in April, 2nd place in the Owyhee Fandango 100 in May, and 7th in the AERC National Championship 50 in September, Reason will be shoving her on the 14th. Watch for this pair to finish near the front.

Kentucky Cup: Sue Hedgecock and Julioslastchance - Park City, Utah

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:50:00 +0000

Thursday October 8 2009

Wednesday found Sue Hedgecock of Park City, Utah, and a load of horses, "driving across Kansas at the speed of light." That was a good thing, since she'd left home in a snowstorm the previous day, driving considerably slower. They are headed for Lexington, Kentucky for the October 14th Kentucky Cup Endurance pre-ride.

Since starting his endurance career in 2007, 8-year-old Julioslastchance, her mount in Kentucky in the 100-mile race, has 11 finishes in 14 starts, having finished in the Top 10 in all but one of those completions. "He's a big trotter. He likes to compete," Sue says.

Sue likes to compete also, and It's easy to see where she gets her competitiveness from: she used to be on the US Olympic Ski Team with her twin sister. She still teaches snow skiing in the Park City mountains in the winters.

Sue is excited about riding in Kentucky, but also a little worried. Julio has tied up twice, the last time in his most recent ride in the Owyhee Fandango 100 in Idaho in May. "I wracked my brain trying to figure out what it was that those 2 rides had in common, what ingredient it was that caused him to tie up. I think it was standing around too much before the rides; he needs to be ridden daily." Sue since changed Julio's training and nutrition program, and has been conditioning him all summer.

The area where Sue lives outside of Park City is great for endurance training. She has a long gradual uphill climb that goes from 4500 to 7000 feet, and she has a good 30-mile trail she can do. "I've put on my heaviest gear, plus 40 lbs, to get him working and build muscle."

Julio is clipped since he already got a jump on his winter coat, and temperatures in Lexington should be in the 40's at night, and 60's during the day. "That should be about perfect."

Sue's looking forward to arriving in Lexington and getting settled, getting on her horse, and seeing what he can do. Additionally, two more of her horses, Fast Eddie and Steadys Temmpo, will be ridden by Brazilians on the 120 km ride.

Ultimately, Sue has her eye on the WEG in Kentucky next year. "I'm not aiming to get nit-picky at this ride, I'm aiming to make it work."

Another Top Ten finish, this one in Kentucky, would work just fine.

Kentucky Cup Endurance: Becky Hart, USA Chef d'Equipe

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:52:00 +0000

(Over the next few days, I'll have a look at some of the competitors in the Kentucky Cup Endurance ride, the pre-ride for the 2010 World Equestrian Games Endurance)

Thursday October 8 2009

Becky Hart is an AERC Hall of Famer with 20,000 AERC miles under her belt, and a former multiple World Endurance Champion; but what she won't be doing at the Kentucky Cup and North American Endurance Team Challenge in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 14th, is riding. Becky is also the US Endurance Chef d'Equipe, but what she also won't be doing at the Kentucky Cup is coaching. "I'm going just to watch, though if someone asks for advice, I can give it."

Since this competition is the pre-ride for the World Equestrian Games Endurance in September of 2010, Becky is hopeful all of the US riders will be focused on that bigger picture. Some riders are going to Kentucky this year to qualify their horses and get their COC (Certificate of Completion - a 100-mile ride time in under 12 hours and 20 minutes) for next year; some are already qualified; but "some of the horses are so good that even if they aren't going for a win in the Kentucky Cup, they'll be right up there."

Becky expects Spain to do well in the 100-mile ride - which is to be expected, since Maria Alvarez Ponton will be heading the Spanish contingent. Maria was recently crowned the European Champion in Italy last month, in addition to her World Endurance Champion title from Malaysia in November of 2008 - on the same horse. She will be riding a different horse, Sahara, in the Kentucky Cup; and her husband Jaume Punti Dachs will also be riding. "Spain is the one we've patterened our crewing efforts after," Becky says, "though since only 2 people are allowed in the crewing box in Kentucky, we can't do our bucket brigade.

"It'll be a good competition, a fast course."

Becky really won't, however, be just kicking back and watching the Kentucky Cup, either. You can bet she'll be wholly occupied, appraising and absorbing every detail of the ride - the horses, riders, times, course - with a critical eye regarding the World Equestrian Games endurance competition next year - the ultimate goal of the US riders and coach.

4 Days and Counting

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Tuesday October 6 2009

Where did the time go!?

It's only 4 days until The Equestrian Vagabond's show at Judeen's Art Studio and Gallery in Paducah, Kentucky, on October 10th, after which I head to Lexington to cover the Kentucky Cup & North American Team Endurance Challenge - i.e. the 2010 WEG pre-ride - for Endurance.net.

Here are a few more of my pictures to sample:

CHIARO - a play with excessive light - Oreana, Idaho

SOAP SUDS I - a morning bath at Keeneland Racetrack, Kentucky

JOSHUA TREE II - in the Mojave Desert - California

JUST A KISS - Diego loves to kiss - Oreana, Idaho

TWINS - entwined weanlings in Enumclaw, Washington

LOFTY - another play with excessive light - Oreana, Idaho

up top - RED BARN I - Wells, Nevada

Must get packing!