Merry Christmas

I was sent this poem and thought it was cute.

A HORSE(WO)MAN’S CHRISTMAS by horse trainer Doris Eraldi

It’s the night before Christmas, we’re out in the barn
Blanketing horses to keep them all warm
They’re eating their dinners, tucked in cozy stalls
Not aware that it’s Christmas or any special day at all

They can dream of spring pastures from their pine-scented beds
No visions of sugarplums dance in their heads
But we people are thinking of merry parties and such
Maybe feeling a little sad at missing so much

This season is special but the horses don’t know
We’ve got work to do before we can go
We finish the chores and head on inside
To get ready for dinner and our own yuletide

It’s nearly midnight, the carols are sung
I remember a story I was told when I was young
How at midnight on Christmas Eve
The creatures of the barnyard can speak to us with ease

I am called to the barn, I wade through the rain
I know I must go, I can’t really explain
I slide open the door, pause for a while
Then slowly walk down that dully lit aisle

A nicker from Casey, a wink from JD
Sleepy old Alibi waking to see
Tucker rustling his bedding, a snort soft and light
Each horse gave a greeting as I walked through the night

I thought about parties bright lit and warm
The ones we don’t go to ’cause we have the barn
And vacations and holidays that we don’t get
When we’re working long hours for bills to be met

Walking all the way to the end of the aisle
I stop to stroke Bonnie, it brings me a smile
She snuffles my face, hot breath on my skin
It starts me to thinking about my horses, my kin

I could be at parties with laughter and mirth
But where I am right now is the best place on Earth.
___________________________________________________

I hope that this year you are brought even closer to the Real reason we celebrate this time of year!!!
Merry Christmas,
Love and Hugs,
Elizabeth/Oakley

Thanksgiving

So, my parents came up for Thanksgiving this year!! My dad and Odin went back to the farms on Monday, while mom and I went to work in the morning and then wedding dress shopping with Courtney!! Then on Tuesday, Mom and I loaded up the horses and donkey and drove back to the North farm. We spent Thanksgiving with Odin's family, riding horses and hunting!

The latest excitement - part 2

The second and way more exciting news is that ODIN PURPOSED!!

He presented me with a T-shirt that said "Perfection takes time, he found perfection, he took his time." Then he told me to look in one of the cupboards of my new trailer. There the ring was with tea lights on either side. I looked at him and said "Are you really doing this" and he said "Don't ask me that" and so I grabbed the ring really fast!! Now we are looking forward to planning a wedding, selling my house and then moving back to the farms in eastern MT after the wedding!

The latest excitement

Well, so just in case you haven't heard: the first exciting thing that happened was that I bought a trailer. The trailer is a 2002, has living quarters, is a gooseneck, is a 3 horse slant load with a rear tack and I only paid $8,600! That is a steal.

Latest Projects

Odin has been teaching me how to weld and make things with metal! These are some of the things I have made, with his help of course.

Odin saved $15, was it worth it? You make the call!

Odin needed a haircut really badly. So, I suggested that maybe I could try cutting it. Here is how it turned out. What do you think?




P.S. The title was Odin's idea!!

Heart Lake ride

So, Lori and I went on what we think was our last "in the mountains" ride of the year. We rode up to Heart Lake near Lincoln, the weekend bow season started so we ran into many pack trains and hunting parties. Rio did very well dealing with mules and the huge packs loaded on them. He had a few "issues" and needed an attitude adjustment (thus the pic of us lunging)! But he did well and he (I mean we :o)) made it back in one piece!

Odin's Latest Creation

Isn't he cute!! It's a farrier and he's even got a hammer and a shoe tacked on.

Pretty Prairie

Hello All!
On Saturday, Courtney and I rode into Pretty Prairie. It is the Bob Marshal wilderness, so now I can say I've been in The Bob. Only about 3 miles, but still 3 miles! :o)



One of the things Rio and I "enjoyed" was crossing stock bridges! We crossed the first one several times before we moved on, but the last time Rio was much calmer.

Part 3 of our latest adventures

So we went to Kalispell, by way of Browning where we got to see their parade and then came back to Great Falls, through Glacier and The Going To The Sun Highway! It was a lot of fun.

Part 2 of our latest adventures

A Montana traffic jam!!

Our last adventures

I haven't updated my blog for some time now, so I'm going to give a quick synopsis!
My parents came for a visit over 4th of July. We had a great time.

Bad news with Willie's feet

I don’t have good news about Willie. My farrier, Dan Wirth, came today and spent a lot of time working on Willie’s feet. He found pockets in both front feet, like there were in his back feet. Unfortunately, his right front is much worse than any of the others as it extends back towards the back of his hoof. He told me that it was important to open up these abscesses or pockets to get rid of the infection. He also stated that even though he removed a lot of what should have been supporting his hoof, it was not doing that and continuing on the poor positioning of his feet, which leads to additional discomfort. He was able to remove a lot of the bad infected hoof on both front feet and they look better “positioning wise”. He is sore right now, but the farrier thought that it was possible he would be sore for a short time, but then feel better because he is finally in the right alignment. The left front hoof is very bruised throughout the wall of the hoof and bottom sole. The farrier felt that this was because of the abscessing and chronic foundering. The farrier was very concerned about the current condition of his coffin bone inside the hoof. He felt that with founder, the bone could have changed condition since the last x-ray last year. I asked him to make a judgment in a “best case scenario” situation. He said that there was not enough good hoof wall on any of the feet to shoe them at this time. He also stated that depending upon the condition of his coffin bone it would be at least a 2 year process before his hooves regenerated enough for him to be ridden. I have enclosed pictures of his feet before and after the trimming so you can see how they are now.

Before...
After...

Willie's first day

Well, Willie got introduced to Donkey today...

I think Donkey was more excited to meet Willie than Willie was to meet Donkey! :o) A little later, Odin saddled up Willie and showed off his riding skills in the backyard. Willie is going to be a good addition to our little herd.


Well, everyone was getting along so well, that we decided to let everyone out in the pasture so that Rio and Willie could meet.

They did so well, we put them back in the corral together. Odin and I thought maybe the reason the meeting went so well, was because Rio was worried he was starting to take on "donkey traits" and loosing his "horsey" identity. ;o)